Discussion Apathy

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by Cosmic_, Oct 28, 2018.

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  1. Dr_H_16

    Dr_H_16 Well-Known Member

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    How about you imagine if something very, very bad happens to one of your family or bestfriend, and think how you would react to it?
    What are you feeling? Worry? Fear? Or, nothing at all?
    If you feel nothing at all, then you have a problem.
     
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  2. Allchemic

    Allchemic Well-Known Member

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    Well, I think that if you need to think "I am not the only one that way" them you may have a problem, because its clear even to yourself that there is something in you that may not be normal. Honestly, I classify myself as a weirdo for many motives, and knowing that there are more people like me out there only makes me more concerned about the future of the world... but I guess that is not the topic here '3'.

    It is good to not concern yourself with it, as it is not a problem - it may prove itself a bit troublesome in social interactions. Whatever the source is, it may or may not be associated with another mental disorder like depression. You say that it is not related to your depression or a previous experience, but, honestly, how can you be sure? The human mind is complex and we can't always remember traumatic or bad experiences (do note that as a psychology student I am taught to not take a patient's opinion about his problem as the absolute truth, and that I should make him question himself and delve deep into his own mind, so I have nothing against you and I am not calling your a liar; and I am not treating your as a patient too, it is just that in this situation this is the position I think I should take) and so there is no way to be sure. That is why I can only recommend professional help if you want to known the source of your apathy.

    On another note, the same goes for your words of being apathetic since your childhood. Our memories may not be as trustworthy as we think, and we can't really be sure if a certain feeling has always been there or not; it may have sprouted after a certain event, but as we repress the event so that we will not remember it, the feeling remains. That way, when we think about this certain feeling we are unable to connect it with a specific situation that happened on our past. So unless you can remember every single day of your life, and every single experience, you can't say for sure if some experience during early childhood lead to your apathy.

    Now I am going to sleep, 'cuz my vision is blurry. Farewell and take care, and do not worry! o/
     
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  3. Maid Chan

    Maid Chan [Professional]

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    Im sure there's many more person that makes this world a worse place to life rather than just being a weirdo '3' we add colors to the world
     
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  4. Cosmic_

    Cosmic_ [Novel Addict] [Lazy Writer] [Meh Editor]

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    It’s not that I feel nothing and more of that I care less than most would.
     
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  5. Dr_H_16

    Dr_H_16 Well-Known Member

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    So, do you find it scary?
    I mean, for example, what if your mother died (Okay, I'm going to an extremely dangerous area, but please forgive me, I'm not smart enough to give you another example), will you cry? or do nothing?
    I ask this to you because I have an almost same problem with you. I ask this question many times to myself, and my answer almost makes me fall into despair.
    I say 'scary' because that is how I feel when I think about it.
     
  6. reagents 11

    reagents 11 disaster personified

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    This.

    Apathy in me mostly because i realizes there's more burden and responsibility of everything i cared about than i could hope to achieve on my own. In example how i hope to save all the kittens in the world, or how i couldn't save every unfortunate orphan children out there.
     
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  7. art17

    art17 [Wandering Poet]

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    You sound perfectly normal for me...
    You only need to be responsible for yourself... your immediate family like your parents and siblings... as for relatives and others people are secondary....

    Being emphatetic doesnt mean you have to care for everyone in the world... If you have a friend that's in trouble, wheter you want to help him or not is your decision. If you can't help him at least you can cheer him up and encourage him.
     
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  8. Kuro_0ni

    Kuro_0ni Cocooned in a Life transition

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    My honest opinion.

    You good sir, are overthinking things. Having a feeling of indifference is fine. Society just has become more filtered to the point were business marketing makes people have the misconception of things. No one can force you to feel a certain way, other than by doing something unnatural (e.g. taking drugs or experiencing an extreme event).

    If you are going about your daily life, and you just live as how you please. Why must you be compelled to feel sad if another person gets hurt physically, mentally or emotionally. Your reaction should be a true reflection of your thoughts & emotions. If you appear as having little to no desired reaction (based on social acceptable norms) for small incidents it is perfectly fine. You are you, based on your accumulated experiences. So I say experience more out of life.

    Relating to fictional or non-fictional characters of stories is fine, because you are just emulating those experiences mentally. And acquiring the experience of said characters, hence the feeling & elation of such events are life-like.
     
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  9. venu101

    venu101 Well-Known Member

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    That makes two of us.
     
  10. Finalbeta

    Finalbeta Science Nerd

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    It would be quite hard for me to get through such an event
     
  11. Kuro_0ni

    Kuro_0ni Cocooned in a Life transition

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    And how you are feeling is pretty much normal in this community. There a quite an amount of individuals here that, are in agreement with you. I also have experienced what you have gone through, to a certain extent.

    So I say to you, keep you chin up and live as how you want to live. Find joy in what you wish and continue forward amongst the crowd.
     
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  12. tmark0099

    tmark0099 Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the club :blob_pompom::blobhighfive:
    It has become fairly common. That's why if you watch Psycho-Pass or Black Mirror, you can easily see them coming to fruition.
    My suggestion watch One Piece or other shounen titles:blobangel:
     
  13. Tsukkin

    Tsukkin [is currently lurking]

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    We were born sick, you heard them say it~

    Ok jk i'll stop singing that song lol. I say, you shouldnt think too hard on this. There is nothing wrong with you. Some people r born with great emphaty, and some people r not. Living environment can make differences too. I don't believe you dont have any emphaty, unless you're a robot, maybe less than other ppl. And it's ok, it's normal. Well, what's normality anyway? *shrug*
    You said it yourself in one of the comments, thats just how you are and it has no negative impact in your life. There you go! You already have the answer~

    Listen, in the end the only person who has the right to tell you how to live, is you. Who says you should be more caring, more sad, more hurt, more affected, more angry, more disgusted, more offended or more empathetic about things? If you don't, you don't. Or at least that's what i think
    But...
    If you wish to improve and to feel more empathetic about things, you can seek help. Professionally, or go experience things u never know. Like doing good deeds or stuff, make some friends, etc etc. See, in the end its up to you, whether u choose to stay apathetic, or to be more empathetic about things. People who love you for you, will always stay beside you no matter what. So if you wish to change, do it for yourself, not for society who thinks that its not "normal" to be an apathetic person.
    Best of luck~ :blobsmilehappyeyes:

    P.S i too, have the same problem as you. And its my personal way to solve that. And i might be wrong so...do enlighten me if i say something wrong
     
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  14. mir

    mir Well-Known Member

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    I felt something similar a long time ago.
    I thought there was something wrong with me, and used stories and music to practice feeling different emotions more strongly (example: If there was a sad part and I didn't feel that sad, I'd keep rereading it and pushing the emotion harder until it increased. There is an emotion-body connection, so it's possible to use the body to effect the emotions (with breathing rate and such), the same as emotions can effect the body (causing you cry or your heart to race) ).
    But let me tell you, it's a lot easier to deal with too little emotion than too much, especially when it comes to practical things. I often think that practice back then was a mistake...
    And, your current situation should probably fade out and change to normal with time (a few years maybe) if it's anything like how it was for me.
    And then of course, (the obvious bit) the depression is probably playing a part in causing it. If you can get that to lift, then this symptom should get lighter too.

    Something that might help you to feel like you're not lacking something, is to decide on what you think about different important things. What do you find acceptable and inacceptable? Where do you draw the line for different things? Many/most people seem to rely on their emotions when it comes to that, but since yours are muted right now, you can try working it out through thought instead.

    If someone asks you why you aren't as emotionally riled up about one thing or another as they are, don't pay attention to them. Remember that they aren't an expert on how people should be either.
     
  15. Femme Fatale

    Femme Fatale | Sublime Goddess Of Chance |

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    To be empathetic is not all it's cut out to be. To survive in a world like ours, empathetic people have to learn serious coping mechanisms. It's like having an open wound in a very vulnerable part of your body that you need to shield constantly. So exhausting.

    When you decide that you have had enough of apathy and want to feel again, you can open yourself slowly to new, positive and moving experiences. If it's hard to do at first, talk with your doctor or other health specialist about your options.

    In the end, we are all freaks trying to find our way. :)
     
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  16. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

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    Sounds familiar. I've been feeling apathetic since I can remember. Kindergarten, primary, middle, high school, university, now... Various degrees of apathy. Barely made any friends because I found most people around me perverts and gossips with mundane aspirations. I honestly don't think it'll get better. You're kinda stuck seeing the reality of how banal life actually is, too smart to be happy with what you're given, too mediocre to rise above the others and become rich lol. Well, that's me.

    I don't intend to marry or have children because I can't stand the triviality of it, the lack of privacy, the need to compromise with others, and various other reasons. Like just see how many hundreds of thousands of children disappear each year (460,000 just in the US, 120,000 in UK, 100,000 in Germany, tens of thousands in Australia and others). Imagine you bring a child into this world, despite knowing full well you're not giving them much of a future - polluted air, water, soil, food, as well as rising costs and unemployment. But still, you care for the child, bring it up with care, and one day, some rich pervert grabs it away from you, because to them, you're just cattle and they can do whatever they want unpunished. Best case scenario, you manage to keep it safe till it grows up and becomes just another taxpayer for the country. That's the whole meaning of our existence right now. How can you ever not be apathetic?

    However, knowing all that, there's no point in working on your apathy. It's better to work on your interests. Life is short anyway, just make the most of it. As long as you're not hurting others. Read, write, draw, hike, get a dog, a cat, whatever. Find something to bring you joy. The joy has to come from within though, don't wait for something to coincidentally happen to feel happy. Don't count on others to make you happy. You're gonna wait forever. Make yourself happy and live without regrets. Don't die thinking "I wish I tried XYZ". Go for it now. And I don't mean drugs, let's just make it clear. It's high cost and meager returns. In the end, it brings you nothing but darkness. Go for constructive and fulfilling things. And read up on Epicureanism if you feel like it. Nihilism does nothing for you, it's already a state of mind and it doesn't present any solutions toward well-being.
     
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