Hey.
I’m the voice in your head as you read this. That’s how reading works. Everyone does it. Is it a female voice, a male voice? Maybe it’s a voice that’s altogether different! Perhaps you’ve even given me an accent or a lisp to make me sound funny. Whatever the case may be, your mind created it. What else do you think your mind’s been creating lately? Is it really your mind, or is it you?
Anyway, if you decide to have a Snack today then enjoy it! It’s the small things that make you smile.
19 comments
I love how you capitalised snack
Snacks deserve capitalization, wouldnt you say so?
?~^_^~?
Indeed, they do..
Sometimes, doing something absolutely ridiculous is all it takes to make your day better.
Youre right. Ill do something ridiculous.
What is this ‘you’, that is somehow separable from ‘the mind’?
Exactly. That’s the point. You’re in control of your mind.
To elaborate, too many people have the mindset that their feelings just happen. People who dont take responsibility for their own thoughts or feelings. People who dont utilize enough healthy coping mechanisms, and then complain that they’re still depressed. It isnt your mind that’s hurting you, it’s your decision not to take control of it
Some people are too afraid to move out of their own comfort zones and take healthy chances. These kind of people “think” their reality, instead of just being in the moment.
What is the ‘you’ that is in control of ‘your mind’, and how does it do so? (does it use lots of tiny levers?) How is ‘you’ distinguishable from ‘the mind’. What makes a decision, if not the mind?
Is it possible to feel the opposite, simply based on the decision to do so? If ‘I’ decide to love the taste of boiled cabbage, does that make it so? Could one simply decide that having one’s finger nails ripped out is a deeply pleasant experience, and make it so?
Feelings arise, out of the interaction of the body with the environment. Actions taken can sometimes improve those feelings, but the decision to take those actions and the response to them are themselves based on previous interactions. Coping mechanisms can be undertaken, and yet not have the desired effect, because previous experiences effect the way they interact with the brain. Or they can be perceived as pointless and not undertaken, based on previous experience. Fear is based on the reaction of the brain to previous experience. Thoughts are experienced. They arise, then fade. Where did that sentence come from? And this one? Did ‘I’ choose it before ‘I’ thought it? My brain produced it, as it does all ‘my’ experiences, based on a combination of biology and previous experience. There’s no unified ‘you’ in there, pulling the levers.
Mental suffering is experienced. One can consciously decide not to mentally suffer on a daily basis, and yet the experience of suffering persists.
TLDR: Coping mechanisms are fine (but limited), and ‘the self’ is a mental construct. The mind is what the brain does. Responsibility is a means of relating socially, not some objective state of reality. ‘Complaining’ about depression is pointless (unless you believe in prayer), but talking about it to others can itself be a coping mechanism.
The You in control of your mind is Awareness. You can experience suffering, but you dont have to wallow in it. If an action doesnt work, take another action. a different action. it’s not that difficult
What I’m trying to convey is the difference between who a person is inside their head, and who they actually are outside of the ego
Feelings arise out of your thoughts. And sure, your previous interactions do play a role INITIALLY. You have to continue to take actions anyway, because eventually, your brain creates new pathways, and suffering despite taking action decreases. If you suffer, and you take action, and it doesnt work, then you have to keep trying anyway and keep thinking positively anyway. It’s a fight. it’s a climb. It’s a process. But it’s one that you have control over.
Many people have told me, “You obviously dont know what it’s like to be depressed.” But I do. I’ve been depressed before. My response to that is, “You obviously dont know what it’s like to begin to recover from it.”
In short, to answer your question, Yes. It IS possible to feel the opposite simply by changing your thinking process. It takes time and practice. But that’s how you do it.
‘Awareness’ is experience of. It’s not control of. The decision ‘to wallow’ in suffering would itself based be based upon the combination of prior experience and natural disposition. If you feel you have ‘to wallow’ in it, then you do. If you feel the opposite, you don’t. The decision will arise, as all others do, based on the state of your brain at that point. If you’re able to think your way out of depression, lucky you.
Feelings and thoughts both arise out of the interaction of the brain with the environment. Sometimes the awareness of a thought will trigger a further emotional response. Sometimes the awareness of a feeling will trigger a thought. But conscious thought is simply the surface headlines to what’s going on in the brain. It’s far from being the dictator of all emotion. Seriously, read some popular neuroscience. You’re way off on this.
The brain does constantly creates new pathways, as new stimuli are encountered. Over time the brain may shift to a state that produces less suffering, and there are some experiences that can help facilitate this. But it’s far from being dependable, which is what you seem to consistently miss. Psychological/neurological understanding lags at least a century behind medicine for the rest of the body. Some things work for some people (some of the time), and we don’t really understand why. There’s no reliable cure for depression. The evidence for the general effectiveness of ‘positive thinking’ as a treatment is pretty damn shaky, but if it works for you, then cool.
What I would suggest is that you know what it’s like to be the kind of person you are, with your feelings of depression, whatever those consisted of. But depression has a vast range of different causes, degrees, and effects. Sometimes it’s chemical, sometimes based on trauma, sometimes it’s situational, sometimes a response to chronic physical pain or disability (check out Lost Connections by Johann Hari if you’re interested.) It can be an incredibly complex web of all these factors, that’s sometimes impossible to unpick. And you’re projecting your experience onto others, and saying ‘look, if you just do what I did, you’ll recover like me.’ But other people aren’t all like you. Their brains don’t respond in the same way. Their environments are not the same. But it’s like you’re insisting that it’s this simple binary thing. It just…boggles my mind. It’s almost like you feel the need to convince yourself or something?
So, anyway…someone walks up and kicks you repeatedly in the nuts. No problem right? Happy thoughts!
I didn’t hear any voice in my mind while I read it. My mind translated it into binary and I heard beeps.
Snacks don’t really make me smile. I guess sometimes they do? The cookies and cream bar I had yesterday tasted meh tbh (and I’m not that fussy lol).
I’ll elaborate a little:
Some people don’t have the resources to take action. Whether its mentally, emotionally or financially. All three may be able to be dealt with but for some people its far more difficult than others. Its very complex. Everyone is different. I know theres people who want to change but they either don’t have the resources and/or the opportunities to do so.
I’l elaborate more:
Squeak. Eat cheese.
(Truthfully though I got out of a terrible situation around 4 months ago)
Thank you, this made me smile for the first time today. I needed that badly. Thank you.