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How do you deal with an existential crisis?

I think it's a fair question to ask. We're all different people and even though we may be going through similar experiences, we're going to deal with them differently depending on our past, beliefs, upbringing and hundreds of other factors that had and impact on who we are.
The reason im asking this question ow is that lately i have been feeling like i dont really belong, like there's something more to life, something i have not yet discovered or experienced and that perhaps im missing out. You know, how when you're a child and you just cannot wait to be a grown up, to do all the things you see them do and just join what seems like a fun party? Well, I always thought that by now I will have it all figured out, life will be exactly how I always imagined it to be - nice flat in the city, job that I enjoy, good friends around.. and so even though I technically have all those things, it seems like something is missing, or out of place. It took me a moment to try to figure out what it is and only a short while ago, I realized that the things that seems to be misplaced is me. As simple, or actually as complicated as that. I'm not happy. Or i dont think i am, but then again, when you have to question it, I think the answer is pretty clear here. Even though I have achieved quite a few things that I hoped for, it's still not good enough. I guess as you're growing up and actually become an adult you've wanted to be for so long, you dont realized that you lose so much during the chase for something that is nothing more but an illusion of having everything under control. Because, when you think about it, in life, we're never actually fully in control. Things always happen, whether we want them to or not, and even when you're at your lowest point, sitting in the darkness of your own bedroom, with a warm blanket on top, life is still going on, everything is still moving - world is not going to stop just because you're feeling low. People die, people leave, you get fired, look for a new job, go broke, get pregnant at the wrong time or with the wrong person, you get ill.. so many things that are, at the end of the day, out of our control. Of course, good things happen as well - you meet new friends, partners, you get that job you've always wanted, see the band you absolutely love, travel the world.. Though, and well, it may just be me, sometimes, when it comes to all those bad things vs good things happening, it seems to me like it's so easy to forget the good, when bad happens. Anyone else gets that feeling? Like now, for example. I moved to the city I always wanted to live in, have amazing flatmates, good friends, got the job I always wanted and I think I'm actually good at, but there's still something that seems to be off. So all those good things that I have worked hard for, are something I now question - do I really need them, is it something I actually want, should I just pack up my bags and move somewhere else, start fresh and perhaps get a free reset of my life?
It's quite ironic, when you think about it, that growing up it seems like all the adults around you know exactly what they're doing - they seem so contained, like they have their all lives together and that's why you admire them and you can't wait to grow up just so that you can play with them. And then you finally do join the party and realize that none of this was real. Not to say, there aren't people that know exactly what they're doing, but let's face it, most of us are struggling? We're pretending to know where in life we are, following the dreams we think we have up until the next one comes up.
Funny how there are so many people, trying to go through day to day life, creating a perfect illusion of bliss and only when they go home (though sometimes not even then) their mask comes off. Take me, for exampled - and I know for a fact that I'm not the only person in this situation; I work in a profession where I'm supposed to be helping people trying to turn their life around - I'm pretty bloody good at it. I have all the answers in the world, I'll sit and listen and talk you through it and then help you look for the best solution. My solutions to my own problems? Ignore them. Bury them under the surface and smile, pretending everything is fine. Smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, pretending it helps with stress. Drink a bit too much on the night out to numb the pain. Get into questionable, short-term relationships with people just so that I do not forget what it's like to have someone next to me, but at the same time keep it shallow enough that nobody's trying to get too close to me and Lucifer forbid get into my head to see all the demons hiding inside there. Sounds like something you can relate to? Funny, how in the world where we talk so much about mental health, we so often actually neglect it and decide to ignore the warning signs. I'm not sure whether it's pride or fear, or perhaps a lethal mixture of both. I just know it's always there at the back of my head.
Anyway.. I started to digress a bit too much now...
Tatsumi · 31-35, M
You start by using paragraph breaks, so you don't cause existential crises for others here. ^_^

I think you're starting from a false premise, and that is that life is supposed to be happy. It's not. It never was. Happiness is an innately transitory feeling. Once you obtain it, it disappears. Like trying to hold water in your hands. It will slip through your fingers. Contentment is much more attainable.

It will never be good enough, though. That's part of the human condition: never being satisfied. Once we obtain something, it loses its special-ness, then we need something else. The journey is the destination in a lot of ways, as they say.

Yes. The brain tends to focus on negatives instead of positives. You don't have to go along with it. As the Buddhists say, that "monkey mind" is completely out of our control: you can get swept away by it like a leaf on the wind, or you can stand back and observe it. In observing it, you're not being controlled by it.

Feel free to hook me up with all that stuff, if you wanna go live in a cave somewhere. *big smile*

Yes. Everyone is basically faking it. But, that's also because what other option is there? We can only do the best we can.

To some degree I can relate with having all the answers yet not applying them all to myself, but I also practice what I preach to the best of my ability: it's somewhat often that I don't listen to myself, but I do enough to keep moving forward and get past sticking points.

The trick, I have found, is treating yourself like you're someone that matters. Kind of a great reflection on humanity, but it's common for people to treat others better than they treat themselves. What if you viewed yourself like one of your patients? What would you tell her?
ordinaryMe · 31-35, F
@Tatsumi I'll keep in mind those paragraph breaks :)

Living in a cave sounds like a brilliant break, to be honest. Know any caves for a short term rent?

It is a bit worrying, when you think about it, but you're absolutely right - we do tend to treat other people better than we do ourselves. Which is backwards, as you should to make sure you yourself are alright within you, in order to be able to do that for others as well.

My patients can be a bit tricky to relate to, as I work in a male prison, so what they're going through is a little bit more complex I think
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basilfawlty89 · 31-35, M
Have you considered you might have depression?
basilfawlty89 · 31-35, M
@ordinaryMe likely it is yeah, are you currently in therapy?
ordinaryMe · 31-35, F
@basilfawlty89 No.. I also suffer from narcissistic personality disorder, not the healthiest combination as convincing myself to go to therapy is quite a struggle
basilfawlty89 · 31-35, M
@ordinaryMe I can imagine

 
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