I, like most of us on Lemmy, live a better life than almost the entirety of the rest of human history.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the world and by extension you have been so kind to me and I turned out to be just this worthless waste of oxygen, my existence a net negative of epic proportions and yet I'm too cowardly to at least end this miserable experiment.
Life is full of wonders and joy and there's so much more to enjoy!
Life is full of putting on a face and smiling and playing a well-adjusted individual and I'm so tired.
Welcome to depression-ville, population way too fucking many.
I'm not sure how applicable mine are but here goes:
About a decade ago, I got back into soccer as an adult. I played as a kid so it wasn't as bad but my fitness took a couple years to get back up to snuff and I had a bunch of pulled muscles the first couple years. Now though, it's my favourite thing and I play 3 times a week (which is admittedly, too many times) and for those three hours, I don't think about the world, work, politics, life or anything, all that matters is keeping a ball out of our net. (And of course I've made some great friends along the way.)
As part of the getting back into shape, I've really dug swimming. It's easy on these old man muscles and you can feel the improvement. (the hot tub afterwards is pretty nice too.)
I also got back into reading non fiction. I hadn't looked for anything really new or interesting since the mid 00s, and reddit for all its faults had some really interesting suggestions in r/fantasy and r/sciencefiction which were a blast to read!
During the pandemic, I tried video games. Not really for me but some folks love them.
There's an independent theatre down the street and I love just popping in and seeing what weird and wild stuff they have. Sure, at home is cheap but there's something amazing about the big screen especially for a slower movie that would be way too tempting to bust out a phone for. I would never have made it through Lawrence of Arabia, the Good the Bad and the Ugly or Skinamarink without busting out a phone if I hadn't been in a theatre.
There are some great little indie music venues in my city, there's something refreshing about watching a young garage band that'll go nowhere but is having a blast.
Some of my buddies are really into board games, which are fun. Not quite my thing but I fully get it.
I dunno, maybe some of those appeal? But really, I think the question is what are you interested in? What makes you smile? Or what has made you smile in the past?
I like making stuff. The point is that you do something where you can see something grow over time into something more than just the sum of your effort. It can be anything.
I own a house, so most stuff I make are extensions or improvements on the house. Last year I build a chicken coupe. This year I remodelled the unused hallway.
If you don't own a house you could try volunteering somewhere. I recently started volunteer work with the theatre group my daughter is a member of.
Or maybe gardening, rent a plot at a community garden.
Even working out at the gym can have the same effect.
This is how I like to think about it. There’s so many cool things I haven’t gotten to experience, both natural and man-made. Giving up would mean I never get to see them and appreciate them.
What's the point of life at all? Its been slow the first 25 years, the rest being slow doesn't bother me much anymore. I'm tired, but I'm too lazy to go out quick.
Careful, you'll wake up one day with an onion on your belt excited about the early bird special at IHOP. It only gets faster, at least up to 40. I suspect it only continues to get faster until we're just waking up for meals and napping and doing puzzles the rest of the day, which honestly still sounds pretty nice.
Why does it need to "amount" to something? Do you know anything about most of the people who have lived? Do you expect that of everyone around you?
Enjoy yourself, enjoy being alive and embodied while you are, maybe you accomplish something for someone else, maybe you don't, no big deal. Just being here is an incredible thing to have.
I'm vegan, non-binary (with dyed hair), car-free, a member of a linguistic minority, poor, and many other things that make conservatives think the world would be better off without me. I strive to survive mostly to spite these fuckers.
If nothing else, my family. I don't have a good sense of the future or life goals, so I keep myself moving by setting small goals. Plans to bake something, working on a painting, just little things around the home.
Hello fellow non life goal setter!
Having that life goal mentality fucked me up for years, went to therapy and learned to live in the present while trying not to obsess about the future. So now little things are what keeps me going: Getting to yoga class, fixing a nice plate of food if I feel like it, petting my dogs, crocheting so I feel thr burden of the stuff that has to get done a little less.
Nicotine, pain killers, a laughable disability payment...
...and a furious, blinding rage at the inequity of modern terminal stage capitalism that has doomed our planet to ecocide and most of its inhabitants into petty, self-centered, egotistical and ignorant caricatures of human beings...
...which has mostly congealed and calcified into some kind of mixture of contempt and spite that is either the basis of, or what I can erroneously yet convincingly present to myself and others as the basis of my identity, self-worth and sense of humor, concluding that merely surviving as long as I can, and pursuing that which I enjoy which requires next to 0 monetary expenditure, is the meek and feeble yet largest middle finger I can personally raise toward all who pursue wealth accumulation, or enable those who do.
Whenever I habe to ask myself that question I remind myself I'm doing the best I can considering the circumstances of my upbringing. And that I already did a lot of good even though it often damaged myself.
The people I have chosen to spend my days with. My spouse, my child, a few friends. And also daydreaming about vacation...specifically vacationing with all of those people. That would be incredible.
I've started blogging about videogames. So I'm just enjoying writing about stuff and looking forward to my posts on Wednesdays. No one reads it but it's nice to write my thoughts down about games that I play.
It was a quote that I read on lemmy. Someone was talking about dealing with suicidal thoughts and he asked his friend why he shouldn’t kill himself. His friend thought for a minute and then looked at him and said “Mornings are pretty nice.”
It was at that point he realised he shouldn’t be looking for some great reason for some great reason for life and instead just be.
The delusion that the world will inevitably turn out fine, despite occasionally saying the opposite. That, and the massive amount of stuff I still wanna do (games to play) and experiences to be had (music to be listened to, shows to be watched, computer mumbo jumbo to be learned)
Up to about the 1980s, the popular magazines used to frequently run cartoons with ragged-looking people holding up 'It's the END OF THE WORLD!!!!' signs. Guess they ran out of variants on that joke. But Doomsday Prophets have been around for centuries (some made big money from it) ... and yet ... here we all are.
We humans like to scare ourselves, but observation seems to show that it's not a big worry. Will it all end, sure, some day. When? NOBODY KNOWS. Carpe diem, my friend ... seize the day. And go ahead and make plans and execute them. Save your worry time for the little things that are inevitable.
My lucid dreams are unspeakably realistic, comprehensively and indistinguishable from reality. It's like waking up each night into a horrible dystopia.
In my nightmares, there's a global autocracy, a kind of maximalism of pain which forces people into mass slavery, but it's not even according to their whims, it's simply a price for existing.
Everyone’s different and some medications work better for one person than another. I can’t speak for OP, nor can I suggest that your experience would be the same as mine, but finding an antidepressant that works was a game changer for me.
It helps keep the “doom” thoughts from spinning in my head. That is, I can hear or read about something bad, but it won’t keep coming back to haunt me throughout the day. Ever lie down to sleep, but instead find your mind awake for hours with worries and anxieties? My antidepressant prevents that.
An interesting side-effect is that it also keeps songs from getting stuck in my head. Again, YMMV, but note that it does take time (usually at least 2 weeks, maybe more) for the full effects to kick in.
I arrange to do culturally stimulating things in the evenings or weekends like seeing a concert/opera, going to an art gallery or a movie. The rest of the time I'm pouring effort into my career or long term relationship, which are both rewarding in the long term. Sometimes I like "switch-off" entertainment like sports when I've got a free schedule.
I, like most of us on Lemmy, live a better life than almost the entirety of the rest of human history.
Life is full of wonders and joy and there's so much more to enjoy!
Gratitude is essential to happiness, studies show and also just duh.
And there really is good reason for it - e.g. all the literal wars fought in the past so that we could have such wonders as we do.
Happiness isn't entirely just a choice, but it is partially one. 💞
Oh, and also chocolate, definitely chocolate.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the world and by extension you have been so kind to me and I turned out to be just this worthless waste of oxygen, my existence a net negative of epic proportions and yet I'm too cowardly to at least end this miserable experiment.
Life is full of putting on a face and smiling and playing a well-adjusted individual and I'm so tired.
Welcome to depression-ville, population way too fucking many.
What do you enjoy? Need some tips on what to do outside of work. :)
I'm not sure how applicable mine are but here goes:
About a decade ago, I got back into soccer as an adult. I played as a kid so it wasn't as bad but my fitness took a couple years to get back up to snuff and I had a bunch of pulled muscles the first couple years. Now though, it's my favourite thing and I play 3 times a week (which is admittedly, too many times) and for those three hours, I don't think about the world, work, politics, life or anything, all that matters is keeping a ball out of our net. (And of course I've made some great friends along the way.)
As part of the getting back into shape, I've really dug swimming. It's easy on these old man muscles and you can feel the improvement. (the hot tub afterwards is pretty nice too.)
I also got back into reading non fiction. I hadn't looked for anything really new or interesting since the mid 00s, and reddit for all its faults had some really interesting suggestions in r/fantasy and r/sciencefiction which were a blast to read!
During the pandemic, I tried video games. Not really for me but some folks love them.
There's an independent theatre down the street and I love just popping in and seeing what weird and wild stuff they have. Sure, at home is cheap but there's something amazing about the big screen especially for a slower movie that would be way too tempting to bust out a phone for. I would never have made it through Lawrence of Arabia, the Good the Bad and the Ugly or Skinamarink without busting out a phone if I hadn't been in a theatre.
There are some great little indie music venues in my city, there's something refreshing about watching a young garage band that'll go nowhere but is having a blast.
Some of my buddies are really into board games, which are fun. Not quite my thing but I fully get it.
I dunno, maybe some of those appeal? But really, I think the question is what are you interested in? What makes you smile? Or what has made you smile in the past?
Playing an instrument, regularly going to a sports club and regularly doing cardio is great for me
I like making stuff. The point is that you do something where you can see something grow over time into something more than just the sum of your effort. It can be anything.
I own a house, so most stuff I make are extensions or improvements on the house. Last year I build a chicken coupe. This year I remodelled the unused hallway.
If you don't own a house you could try volunteering somewhere. I recently started volunteer work with the theatre group my daughter is a member of.
Or maybe gardening, rent a plot at a community garden.
Even working out at the gym can have the same effect.
This is how I like to think about it. There’s so many cool things I haven’t gotten to experience, both natural and man-made. Giving up would mean I never get to see them and appreciate them.
Pure stubborness and a fear of death.
Best motivation.
Basically nothing. But like I'm gonna die eventually, why try to rush to the finish line?
But what is the point of living a slow life, if it means you'll die and it'll all amount to nothing anyways?
There is no point to life. It's not an fps adventure game, it's a sandbox.
Some servers have FPS PvP, but most seek to go back to sandbox mode.
What's the point of life at all? Its been slow the first 25 years, the rest being slow doesn't bother me much anymore. I'm tired, but I'm too lazy to go out quick.
Careful, you'll wake up one day with an onion on your belt excited about the early bird special at IHOP. It only gets faster, at least up to 40. I suspect it only continues to get faster until we're just waking up for meals and napping and doing puzzles the rest of the day, which honestly still sounds pretty nice.
Why does it need to "amount" to something? Do you know anything about most of the people who have lived? Do you expect that of everyone around you? Enjoy yourself, enjoy being alive and embodied while you are, maybe you accomplish something for someone else, maybe you don't, no big deal. Just being here is an incredible thing to have.
My continued existence pisses off fascists.
I'm vegan, non-binary (with dyed hair), car-free, a member of a linguistic minority, poor, and many other things that make conservatives think the world would be better off without me. I strive to survive mostly to spite these fuckers.
If it helps, I'd quite likely be your friend if we knew eachother.
You’re beautiful! You have every right to be here! Show those fascists indifference and live your life to the fullest!
Adenosine triphosphate
Legs.
My wife. I love spending time with her. She's my whole world.
Curious what I might see next.
This is the way.
Nicotine and spite.
Caffeine and anger.
Coffee and cigarettes 😁
Scotch and chocolate.
Business idea: scotcholate
I remember little chocolate bottles with alcohol in them, they were great
Surprise. Fear and surprise. And ruthless efficiency.
And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope!
I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition!
I was.
Caffeine these days.
games, anime, programming, music and lemmy
My pets. They deserve the best. They're all so spoiled.
"My pets aren't spoiled. They are compensated fairly for the services they provide."
Because this is the only ride in town, might as well buy a ticket.
You never bought a ticket, you were born on the train.
If nothing else, my family. I don't have a good sense of the future or life goals, so I keep myself moving by setting small goals. Plans to bake something, working on a painting, just little things around the home.
Hello fellow non life goal setter! Having that life goal mentality fucked me up for years, went to therapy and learned to live in the present while trying not to obsess about the future. So now little things are what keeps me going: Getting to yoga class, fixing a nice plate of food if I feel like it, petting my dogs, crocheting so I feel thr burden of the stuff that has to get done a little less.
A lack of alternatives. The only option is to get up and go to work.
Music, dog.
Yeah! Like, singing your favorites to the dog but changing the words to be about their floppy ears or their Frito paws.
You know what's up
I was about to say my dog. But i feel like he's about to die.
Nicotine, pain killers, a laughable disability payment...
...and a furious, blinding rage at the inequity of modern terminal stage capitalism that has doomed our planet to ecocide and most of its inhabitants into petty, self-centered, egotistical and ignorant caricatures of human beings...
...which has mostly congealed and calcified into some kind of mixture of contempt and spite that is either the basis of, or what I can erroneously yet convincingly present to myself and others as the basis of my identity, self-worth and sense of humor, concluding that merely surviving as long as I can, and pursuing that which I enjoy which requires next to 0 monetary expenditure, is the meek and feeble yet largest middle finger I can personally raise toward all who pursue wealth accumulation, or enable those who do.
Dietary fiber.
I’m too wimpy to kill myself.
Ditto. Effing survival instinct.
Spite of all the people who want me dead or want to see me fail
I'm not even being sarcastic
Metabolism mostly. Kinda glommed into a listlessness of not knowing what I'm doing with my life in a professional sense.
Pure spite towards my depression
Whenever I habe to ask myself that question I remind myself I'm doing the best I can considering the circumstances of my upbringing. And that I already did a lot of good even though it often damaged myself.
Landlord demands rent so I have to keep working to pay it
Life can be rough but by all measures I have a good one.
Zooming out and realizing the value of what I have is important, even when I'm dealing with mental health, dying loved ones, finances, etc.
Food and water.
The processes by which my body produces energy and keeps going haven't stopped functioning yet.
The people I have chosen to spend my days with. My spouse, my child, a few friends. And also daydreaming about vacation...specifically vacationing with all of those people. That would be incredible.
Caffeine and revolution /s
In all seriousness its art, history, and books. Human expression is all very fascinating to me and I am excited to continue learning about it
Humanity has limitless stories to tell, and a lifetime of stories to experience already. There's a lot I want to hear about~
No serious health problems and make enough money to not be homeless and have minor luxuries.
As soon as I get cancer or some serious health issue, or about to be homeless, c'est la vie and good fucking riddance.
The incredible happiness of exchanging the time I was given on earth for money so I can pay my bills. Highly recommended, 10/10.
Inertia, stopping everything and giving up would require slightly more emotional labor than the status quo.
I guess I don't have anything better to do?
Family (including my cats), curiosity, caffeine, food, my living instinct.
I really like learning things and every day I'm here, I have the opportunity to learn more.
Lisa needs braces.
Dental plan!
I've started blogging about videogames. So I'm just enjoying writing about stuff and looking forward to my posts on Wednesdays. No one reads it but it's nice to write my thoughts down about games that I play.
The next chapter of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
Edit
On any other day:
When a new chapter gets released:
Waiting for the day we finally and collectively eat the rich.
Figuratively: my family Literally: caffeine and sugar
Just good ass coffee
This guy ass brews
Not asking that question
Mornings are pretty nice.
Wtf?!?!
It was a quote that I read on lemmy. Someone was talking about dealing with suicidal thoughts and he asked his friend why he shouldn’t kill himself. His friend thought for a minute and then looked at him and said “Mornings are pretty nice.”
It was at that point he realised he shouldn’t be looking for some great reason for some great reason for life and instead just be.
I have never read anything that made me so angry.
what keeps the water going while it makes its journey from the Alps to the sea?
Gravity?
Me, but it's a lot of work.
I'm too fucking lazy to kill myself, that's what.
Sunsets and sunrises; a butterfly. Watching deer walk. The hope of a healthier, happier, world for everyone.
I like reading books, having meals with my spouse, seeing friends, listening to music, dabbling with my hobbies, and petting our cat.
Oh; and drugs
The next Warframe expansion
The delusion that the world will inevitably turn out fine, despite occasionally saying the opposite. That, and the massive amount of stuff I still wanna do (games to play) and experiences to be had (music to be listened to, shows to be watched, computer mumbo jumbo to be learned)
Up to about the 1980s, the popular magazines used to frequently run cartoons with ragged-looking people holding up 'It's the END OF THE WORLD!!!!' signs. Guess they ran out of variants on that joke. But Doomsday Prophets have been around for centuries (some made big money from it) ... and yet ... here we all are.
We humans like to scare ourselves, but observation seems to show that it's not a big worry. Will it all end, sure, some day. When? NOBODY KNOWS. Carpe diem, my friend ... seize the day. And go ahead and make plans and execute them. Save your worry time for the little things that are inevitable.
Video games, tbh. Absolutely love it when a new, good FPS drops.
My lucid dreams are unspeakably realistic, comprehensively and indistinguishable from reality. It's like waking up each night into a horrible dystopia.
In my nightmares, there's a global autocracy, a kind of maximalism of pain which forces people into mass slavery, but it's not even according to their whims, it's simply a price for existing.
I'd go on but it's too spooky and sad.
The rest of the time life's pretty good.
Well if you're lucid, can't you just like fly out of there or something?
I mean, don't all the dream characters die when you wake up? Seems kinda
Not good
Legs
The self-destructive voice is a liar. We do not listen to them.
Anti-depressants.
Do those really work though or do they take the edge off feeling absolute despair all the time?
Everyone’s different and some medications work better for one person than another. I can’t speak for OP, nor can I suggest that your experience would be the same as mine, but finding an antidepressant that works was a game changer for me.
It helps keep the “doom” thoughts from spinning in my head. That is, I can hear or read about something bad, but it won’t keep coming back to haunt me throughout the day. Ever lie down to sleep, but instead find your mind awake for hours with worries and anxieties? My antidepressant prevents that.
An interesting side-effect is that it also keeps songs from getting stuck in my head. Again, YMMV, but note that it does take time (usually at least 2 weeks, maybe more) for the full effects to kick in.
My family and my dream as cliched as it sounds
Weed
gaming,developing sites,lemmy,discord,etc
Blåhajar
Death being the most boring shit I can possibly imagine is pretty high on the list.
Whatever it was, I forgot what it was today
You're looking at it.
I DON'T KNOW
Providing for my family.
Video Games, friends and my dream of buying a sailboat someday to sail around the world.
3 Things: My Cat Billy Joel And my Programming
The thought that I might eventuelly find someone who I can share my life with and I would share hers.
I arrange to do culturally stimulating things in the evenings or weekends like seeing a concert/opera, going to an art gallery or a movie. The rest of the time I'm pouring effort into my career or long term relationship, which are both rewarding in the long term. Sometimes I like "switch-off" entertainment like sports when I've got a free schedule.
Bees¹, birds², leaves, oat milk, new jokes, hateful music, ugliness of a dead body, desire³, spite⁴, sonder...
¹Inheritance Cycle reference
²Coots and seagulls and crows
³What you desire is what you lose in death, because your dead.
⁴Pick someone dead you don't like and laugh that you're alive and they have to decompose.
Fear of death
My wife and my son, my hobbies, and also Bob's Burgers, Psych and Community.
Love for my family and friends, mostly. Aside from that, spite for the things that want me dead.