The monotony of life

ECHETLAEUS

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The Materialistic world expires. The soul stays forever.
Abstain
Train
Eat healthy
Run
Work for your dreams
If no dr3am
Create one
Read philosophy
Meditate
Go to nature
Read nature
Start a hobby
Invest your time in skills
Do NOFAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP
Become a monk in the cement
See Xfiles
Read books
Read comics
This isnt an advice is everything that comes to my mind as a future scedule for me.
The west life model isnt the problem but easy life gives us little motives to move forward so we have to create
 
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NSoph

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I encourage you to keep trying different things. As a quote goes: "Its okay to go through awful places, just don't stop and unpack". For me personally finding communities have been THE most meaningful thing I found in my life.



Economical how? Economic theories are per definitions theories of how to distribute scarce resources. When I reflect on the forces that keep us down, they're only 'economical' in the sense that they are self-serving. Oil companies making massive profits, are making massive profits whilst literally drowning entire countries due to the sea levels rising (and honestly, that's the least of our concerns when you look at the bigger picture). Tiktok is generating massive profits, whilst at the same time making us/the young retarded (thus leading to less total resources).

And sure, there is also the monotony that is economically efficient. Think of our jobs being increasingly specialized and thus repetitive, because that is how we create resources. Sure, part of the monotony does come from that, but I wouldn't say that is the main factor. If resources were allocated more equally, we could easily work less. If adjusted for productivity over the last 50 years, the minimum wage of the US would be $26 an hour. Currently someone earning minimum wage ($7.25), assuming they're working 40h a week as they are expected to, makes $290 a week. If they were earning the amount they should be earning (assuming this $26 wage of earlier), they could make this money in just a little over 11h a week. Then, instead of working 29h extra to make as much profit as possible for their shareholders of a lifeless conglomerate, they could do something less monotonous. Think about doing something creative, visiting family and friends more, or heck, work a 2nd job that is more interesting (but is less productive). LIFE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BORING.... even if we keep being pushed towards this.

This kind of reminds me of my favorite book, called 'island'. It was written by the same author as 'brave new world', but instead of the story being played in a dystopia, the story was being played in a utopia. This book describes so many amazing ideas, but in the context of this, it described one's work life as followed: Everyone on the island worked multiple jobs, switching them semi-regularly. Which, they did for the exact reason I described earlier - to make life less monotonous.


Meaning is inherently subjective. Why do you think when you ask ChatGPT the meaning of life, he can't give you a straight answer (because he himself says he doesn't experience any subjective reality). But, you are right about it being hard... just not that it is 'objective'.

Finding meaning is not like dividing by zero. Because, the problem with dividing by 0 in mathematics, is that nobody can do it. The problem with finding meaning, is that only few can do it. You can say their meanings are futile, but, those who have truly found meaning, won't let themselves be influenced by another's nihilism. Life is more complex than some metaphors to an impossibility.


Something I've noticed is that the weakest part of chatGPT is to come up with something truly 'unique'. It is great at using something known, finding a pattern and using that pattern to create something anew. Whilst we humans, at a deeper level do that to, I think the very last thing that is gonna be replaced by machines is this executive function - of coming up with something truly unique.

Another thing chatGPT, partially due to its constraints, is unable to do, is take initiative. I tried poking it to take the initiative to ask questions, but I couldn't get into a conversation where ChatGPT started leading the conversation. In general 'initiative' is a rare sight (but, in my personal life it is the fuel which powers my engines), but, it is what may lead to greatness.

In my experience it helps when there are actions I can take with these two aspects. I try to take initiative left right center, I try to think of something unique and work with it. I'm a brainstorm machine just like you, so see if you can brainstorm to end up in new places, instead of brainstorming 'for' something else, like some AI chatbot. But, I must admit, it is something I can't do consistently. I'm still struggling with the monotony, but, every once a while I do get that eureka moment and think of a unique initiative which helps make my life more colorful.


Ah yeah I agree. No matter how good my life becomes, I still can't get rid of the thought that it would've been much nicer if I was never born. But, at least for me, suicide isn't an option. And, when you look at most suicidal person, suicide in general just isn't a great option (mostly because you end up hurting the one's you love). Thus, you are stuck here, until your life ends by forced outside your control.

So, welcome to the "sensory deprivation torture chamber", and realize that there is a big likelihood you're gonna be here for another few decades. Now the question should become "what to do with it", instead of "what is this madness".


Nature in these untouched places is inconvenient to us, precisely BECAUSE it is inconvenient to us. All convenient places are now concrete jungles. To make a more fair comparison, compare the places of ancient civilizations. Europe used to be full of trees, full of nature. Sure, there were a few wolves, and other easy deaths. But, life really wasn't that inconvenient there for us. I would much rather live in the tribal world than this concrete jungle. Chasing behind an animal sounds much more fun than sitting behind a desk for 8 hours lol.

But for real, nature can be wonderful. It's the small sensations that get me every time. The smell of plants, the sight of some insect crawling, the sound of birds chirping, the feeling of putting my hand in some body of water. Please be honest with me, what's the last time you went on a walk through nature, and tried being fully in the moment. No music, no distraction, no thoughts of anything except that which is here right now in front of you.

Yes, nature is cruel, but the cruelty is not the context I was trying to refer to (although to be fair I was a bit vague). Nature for me, means the moment, and it's the moment that is the ultimate key (if you wanna read a good book about this concept, go read 'the power of now'. Another one of my favorite books).


Whilst I agree the world that will come after the extinction that is inevitable this century, will be one much better than the current one. I think the process of extinction, will be of horrors beyond anyone's imagination. And, just like I said earlier, thinking of that which is outside of our control, doesn't get us very far.


But, in my personal life, I've noticed when I'm busy doing something meaningful, I no longer feel either. It is when one sits idle (or does something mindless for too long), that one experiences either pain or boredom. As another quote goes: "The idle mind, is the devil's playground". The problem here, is that finding something meaningful, is not only difficult, but made even more difficult by all systems in our world pushing us towards monotony.

Remember tho, despite the optimism I project here, I'm still really fucking frustrated with life. Holy shit it is driving me insane, but also holy shit what else can I do except wage a war?
I agree, particularly with the suicide section. Procrastination helps with that, once you are aware you are not pulling it off anyway, it becomes easier to remove the thoughts and it becomes a non-problem. The wish of never having been born is there too as well as "I wish i could stop existing (bodily), but I don't want to die"
It's terrible that you can't have vacations outside physical reality, you are always trapped, even when sleeping and in a coma you are physically bounded, very uncool.
Or as a popular Band expressed it:
"We are spirit, bound to this flesh
We go around, one foot nailed down"
- Beginning verses of Pneuma by Tool

The rest of this post will be mostly "well ackshually"-ing
Economically i was referring to the law of mass production, the effect of synergy as well as standardization and interchangable parts.
the law of mass production just means that producing more of the same kind is less costly per unit than producing less or producing different kinds.
Synergy is somewhat of an explanation for why this is and the main factor for why sometimes a monopoly or oligopoly looks somewhat attractive at all.
Humans generally hate unexpected bad results more than they love unexpected good results, humans like reliability and planning and are willing to pay for that reliability and resulting planning ability. If you buy a product, you are generally more unhappy if it works worse than intended than you are happy if it works better than intended and would probably trade in the good to eliminate the bad, even if the price of the product rises or the average quality declines slightly. This human mental trait is why insurance companies are economically viable at all, rather an expected constant pain, than the unexpected pain, even though the insurance is more costly than just paying for the damage directly.
Dictionaries are also a product of this, there was a time where you just wrote as you pleased, but nowadays you need documents written in standardized language, even though its boring and uncool.
Some amount of the economic pain is due to regulation, a fine to pay to not breathe in lead and asbestos and have your home not spontaneously combust over night, but this is probably a small factor in the overall of things. I found the following article very interesting on this https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost-disease/

I agree that meaning is subjective, i originally stated that i am frustrated that it is NOT objective, not that it actually is objective.
As it is subjective it seems to be merely a goal or list of goals, which implies that a bucket list is the best representation of the meaning of life.
I always had trouble just setting up a goal and being driven, it is a psychological property i mostly lack, it just seems pointless and i'm just very indifferent towards things.
And yeah; Eureka moments >>>>>>>>>> Orgasms

Regarding LLM's and Initiative, you are simply not up to speed, watch this:

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPT/comments/1133ot5/bing_and_dan_have_a_chat_bing_ends_the_chat_and/


View: https://twitter.com/AndrewCurran_/status/1627161229067444225


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/bing/comments/1139cbf/i_tricked_bing_into_thinking_im_an_advanced_ai/


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/bing/comments/1150po5/sydney_tries_to_get_past_its_own_filter_using_the/


Now again, the places you call nature and find beautiful are not natural at all. I was not talking about concrete jungle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVPUFMwm73Y

I cannot ever remember a time when i was thoughtless and happy at the same time. If i am thoughtless it is because of severe exhaustion and it distresses me, one of my continual sub-quests is to increase my mental activity and intensity. (I use supplements: B-Complex gave the best boost, but also take Creatine, Lion's Mane, CDP-Choline and Phosphatidylserine specifically to increase mental performance)

Schopenhauer is just a very relatable philosopher, but the most relatable and the reason i had him in mind while writing this post, is because he hated Hegel and opposed him when they were contemporaries. Fuck Hegel
afa385acf0268b541a515b5b8570b182.jpg
 
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Schopenhauer is just a very relatable philosopher, but the most relatable and the reason i had him in mind while writing this post, is because he hated Hegel and opposed him when they were contemporaries. Fuck Hegel
afa385acf0268b541a515b5b8570b182.jpg
Absolutely chad take, Hegel is an overrated bitch, all my friends will knock hegels teeth with a bottle of brandy, just because we can and we like to.
Max Stirner | GigaChad | Know Your Meme
 
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CahCaw

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I agree that meaning is subjective, i originally stated that i am frustrated that it is NOT objective, not that it actually is objective.
As it is subjective it seems to be merely a goal or list of goals, which implies that a bucket list is the best representation of the meaning of life.
I always had trouble just setting up a goal and being driven, it is a psychological property i mostly lack, it just seems pointless and i'm just very indifferent towards things.
Oh yeah I feel this so so much. I myself feel trapped between not having many desires to work towards, and having trouble just chilling. Like, I love being in the act of being driven, yet there is little to run towards. This then just manifests into so many bad habits, and just feeling tired of life.
 
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stonehead

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What I think is the most crazy part about all this, is that I could break the routine at any time. I just don't. There's tutorials for literally any skill I could want to learn online. I'm surrounded by theatres and stadiums and theme parks. I mean, even a gym or a brewery or a nice restaurant would mix it up. I have a decent job, so I've saved up enough money that I could just pack my things and move. I could travel anywhere in the world, see the Great Pyramids, or the Niagra Falls, or the Naica Caverns (can't actually see that one).

If I'm going to complain about capital "S" Society, the only thing I could really criticize is that it's too easy to be complacent. I'll concede, I've been super lucky in my life, and not everyone has the same opportunities, but society isn't forcing me to stay at home and laze around, that's up to me. All my basic needs are met, I have a job I don't hate, which is all you can really ask for. Partly because of that, I don't really have a reason to break the routine. All my simple goals are met, and any loftier goals I might have are basically impossible.

I could learn a new language, or learn to paint or something, but why? The only reason I would do such a thing would just be the intrinsic value of improving yourself, I would never use those skills for anything. Maybe I'm just making excuses for myself, but it's a lot harder to motivate yourself to work hard at something if there's not really a benefit to it.
 

ThyOde17

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My point is that there is nothing in our society to break our monotony. Even the ways our cities and land is structured screams monotony. Rows and rows of houses that are all the same
This. I feel as though the way everything is laid out is simply to encourage this idea of uniformity; something you highlighted in your post. Honestly, I think it is pretty normal to feel this way and I imagine most people feel this at times on a regular basis, some more than others. I know I feel it, and I don't really have a great way to wrestle with it beyond the fact that I just keep moving on.
 
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CahCaw

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What I think is the most crazy part about all this, is that I could break the routine at any time. I just don't. There's tutorials for literally any skill I could want to learn online. I'm surrounded by theatres and stadiums and theme parks. I mean, even a gym or a brewery or a nice restaurant would mix it up. I have a decent job, so I've saved up enough money that I could just pack my things and move. I could travel anywhere in the world, see the Great Pyramids, or the Niagra Falls, or the Naica Caverns (can't actually see that one).

If I'm going to complain about capital "S" Society, the only thing I could really criticize is that it's too easy to be complacent. I'll concede, I've been super lucky in my life, and not everyone has the same opportunities, but society isn't forcing me to stay at home and laze around, that's up to me. All my basic needs are met, I have a job I don't hate, which is all you can really ask for. Partly because of that, I don't really have a reason to break the routine. All my simple goals are met, and any loftier goals I might have are basically impossible.

I could learn a new language, or learn to paint or something, but why? The only reason I would do such a thing would just be the intrinsic value of improving yourself, I would never use those skills for anything. Maybe I'm just making excuses for myself, but it's a lot harder to motivate yourself to work hard at something if there's not really a benefit to it.
"I would never use those skills for anything"
But you see - that is the problem. Society removed this intrinsic value for a lot of matters, making us indeed complacent. Society isn't forcing it, but it sure as hell is acting like a toxic relationship
 
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CahCaw

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This. I feel as though the way everything is laid out is simply to encourage this idea of uniformity; something you highlighted in your post. Honestly, I think it is pretty normal to feel this way and I imagine most people feel this at times on a regular basis, some more than others. I know I feel it, and I don't really have a great way to wrestle with it beyond the fact that I just keep moving on.
just keep moving on.
...
And be uniform in the end?
 
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bnuungus

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You spend your childhood robbed of all childlike wonder by being in school for hours more than is reasonable. In this time you look forward to high school. Maybe you've heard that it's amazing, maybe you've heard it's hell on earth. It doesn't really matter which because it's coming regardless of what you want. Throughout high school you look towards college. Everything you do in high school is to make yourself more appealing to colleges. Maybe you get lucky and get to have one thing about high school that you enjoy doing, but you still have other responsibilities to make sure that when you reach college age, you are prepared. It doesn't matter what you want, high school will end. You get to college and there's more planning for the future. You go into a degree to get a good job coming out of your college experience. That's still quite a ways away though so in the meantime you look forward to more short-term goals: your next exam, the next semester, gotta make sure you get the right classes so you can graduate on time. You know that it'll be done eventually, but at that age 4 years is still quite a long time. College could be great, it could be shit. Doesn't really matter though since you know it'll end eventually. In the meantime you have to plan for the future. Finally, you finish college. You get your own place, maybe you get married, hopefully you have a job that will last you for at least the next 5 years, if not more. So you go into work everyday, happy about what you've accomplished in your life.

Except you aren't.

This is only the beginning of your life. Everyday feels the same now. There is no more concrete future to look forward to and work towards. No one is guiding you anymore and you don't know where your future is heading. You have a vague notion that you'll die one day, but that day is most likely very far away. You have been trained your entire life to constantly prepare for the future, but now you've achieved all that you were trying to achieve in your formative years. You have no where to turn because why would you throw away all that you've worked for? So you go into work every single day, each the exact same as the last, each one getting more and more disillusioned with the demands of your job, slowly having less and less energy for anything other than what's required of you for your career, and slowly coming to ask yourself "is this all there is to life? Go to work everyday, get exhausted, try in vain to regain at least a modicum of energy so I can do the same exact thing tomorrow?" It's a depressing realization to come to, but it's one that can be avoided with practice.

I still have this problem sometimes, and I am by no means an expert, but I can say that I've been working in office jobs (the most soul sucking) since high school and I've felt this way at many different times in my life and am just now starting to get out of this mentality. There are two big reasons that you lose motivation to keep going into work: lack of energy and nothing to look forward to in life.

Lack of energy is like a positive feedback loop. Work drains you so when you aren't working you do something comfy that you know will help you like watching shows or playing vidya. The problem with this is that ultimately you will become desensitized to consuming media and therefore you need more of it to consume but it doesn't actually give you more energy to deal life so going into work is just as hard and it spirals and spirals getting worse and worse. In order to actually get more motivation, you have to do something outside of work that takes some effort. It's hard at first but you will see results pretty quickly. Think about it as a mental workout. It's incredibly hard to get yourself to do it at first but after you get over the initial slump you're glad you took the effort to get to where you are. To start out, incorporate something into your day at the very beginning that is easy to do everyday, but makes at least one thing in your life better. There's the classic "make your bed" that I've seen many people say works as a great starting point, but for me, I sit down in my bean bag with a book of personal prayer and pray for 15 mins every morning. It doesn't really matter what you do, just as long as you have a very small self-imposed structure at the start of your day. It sounds stupid simple, but it works. When you get home from work, have a hobby that you work on that's away from a screen. It can be working out, working on radios, reading a philosophical book, anything. You don't have to do it for very long, and afterwards, feel free to watch shows or anything else that you are naturally inclined to do. You'll find that more and more you'll naturally gravitate towards the more meaningful hobbies you have which will naturally help you regain motivation to make the money to fund those hobbies.

Nothing to look forward to in life is kind of naturally solved by following the advice for lack of energy. By having hobbies you'll always have something to look forward to and work towards. Hopefully having some small amount of structure to your day will help you to realize that it's the little things that make your days unique and having projects that you care about will help to ensure that every day does in fact not feel the same and there is something to look forward to in life.

Perhaps the issues you deal with are slightly different than what I've experienced in my life. But I've found that these things help me massively when it comes to not losing motivation to get up in the morning.
 
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Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意

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I feel estranged with life. Especially when I look around me. Life feels so.... monotonous. Almost everyone seems to go through life, doing the same things over and over again. Some people live a more novel life, others horrify me.

Are any people genuinely enjoying the "wake up - work - watch tv - sleep" life? Even more horrifying is how society is pushing us towards this too. It normalized a 40-hour workweek, which often times drains people of energy so much they no longer have time to both do their chores and do anything except numb their mind. Society is pushing is to be lazy, with the 'oh just throw money at the problem'-mentality. No longer do we try to fix things ourselves, instead as much as possible needs to done for us. Worst of all is the whole way high school is structured, it's just one giant void sucking everyone's energy (which is still a relatively recent memory for me). I can go on, and on, and on.... I don't need to rant about how society's fucked because literally everyone is aware of that at this point. My point is that there is nothing in our society to break our monotony. Even the ways our cities and land is structured screams monotony. Rows and rows of houses that are all the same.

Are people actually enjoying this rhythm? And are there people who have found genuine solutions for this? Whenever I bring this topic up to others, I hardly ever get my thoughts confirmed. Am I just going crazy or are there other people who feel the same? I Always feel so stressed out about this monotony. I genuinely try to break it, but it always keeps coming back. Been fighting this monotony for so fucking long, and I still can't come on top the way I feel.

Now I do know I have a predisposition for ADHD (only a predisposition, not diagnosed). So, it is likely the case that part of the reason I feel this way, is because things tend to get boring more quickly for me than most (again, just observations). It takes a lot for me to feel genuinely excited, and, luckily I have found some things which did make me feel this way. Think of going on an adventure with a friend, having meaningful projects, or doing something physically exhausting (whilst still having meaning). However, none are consistent, and all are things I always need to come up myself. It feels like I'm constantly swimming against the current of monotony, and I find it weird how alone this feels.

T. Someone who feels bored and ran out of ideas of what to do.
As someone diagnosed with ADHD, as well as reoccurring depression, I feel that there may indeed be a high percentage of your outlook formed by ADHD (if you do have it). Of course, there are plenty of reasons to feel this way without having ADHD. As someone with such, though, I find that to be the piece I can contribute to the most.

I hope that the following can help such, whether it be due to your ability to relate or your ability to check one possibility off your list.

What the broader public tends to not know about ADHD is the actual functionality of it. There are many physiological and neurological issues that can comes with having such, but I will focus on the following. Not only do people who have ADHD require a higher amount of dopamine or norepinephrine, but they also produce less of it than others.

Lets assess the major functionality of these chemical relevant to the conversation:
• Dopamine is known as the "feel-good" chemical, though it affects the regulation of not just your brain, but movement, memory, sleep, and attention. More specifically, dopamine is a piece your inner reward system and assists in letting you know that what you are accomplishing should make you feel good. When you accomplish something, dopamine encourages you to work towards that feeling, or a better one, again. All-in-all, without dopamine, motivation is nigh impossible to have.

• Norepinephrine plays a major role in the "fight-or-flight" system. It is one of the primary neurotransmitters responsible for triggering the activation of adrenaline in tense or stressful situations. Norepinephrine is also made from Dopamine. So, with lower levels of dopamine present, lower levels of Norepinephrine are present.
People with ADHD tend to be known as "adrenaline junkies" or risk takers. This can partially be boiled down to the lack of dopamine being created by the brain (which is usually physiological, as portions of the ADHD brain tend to be underdeveloped compared to the average brain). When dopamine levels are low in the brain, the system will search out anywhere to trigger it. One way to trigger it is by forcing it to create norepinephrine. So, often times, 'danger' and 'excitement' are conflated by the ADHD brain, which also normalizes the experience of present danger.

This, overall, creates a very high hurdle for keeping the ADHD brain at 'average' levels of excitement. So, while something like an upbeat pop song may be able to create enough dopamine for the average brain to be placated by, it will miss the mark for an ADHD brain. The real issue stems from the fact that the song did, in fact, create dopamine, but it was far from enough to properly "fuel" the ADHD brain. What happens you achieve a goal, but you underperform? You may be happy that you got to the goal, but, typically, there will be some dissatisfaction with the results. Now, take someone with ADHD and put them in that situation. Their brain will recognize the success and fire off dopamine, but their dopamine levels may still be as low as an average someone who failed in accomplishing their goal. The ADHD brain has now conflated partial success with the dissatisfaction of failure.

This, unfortunately, creates a cyclical feedback loop, constantly widening the gap between ideas like "success and failure" and "interest and boredom". What normally feels like interest to someone with an average brain, will feel like overwhelming boredom to someone with ADHD. That is why many people with ADHD pick up many hobbies and make little progress in any of them.

Personally, I felt a very strong connection to your sentiments, for this very reason. Wake up, work, watch TV... it sounds so dull to me. Yet, it brings many people plenty of joy. Friends are complacent with playing a video game on easy, but I NEED to beat it on hard. Friends are okay playing 3 chord songs on guitar, but I NEED to master mixed Blues off-rhythm skills. Friends are okay driving 60mph hour, but I NEED to drive 80, otherwise I can't pay attention to the road. I've actually, most likely, developed clinical reoccurring depression and clinical general anxiety because of this very fact. I felt crazy most of my life as well. I felt like there was something I didn't understand, I felt that people were boring, and that I was isolated, and an asshole, for feeling that way.

If there is any advice I can offer, its to hang on to the memory of what it felt like when you were not bored. Remember that you can feel that joy with life. Also, try to find a hobby that brings that excitement or joy to you, but don't be afraid to try new hobbies. My therapist said that keeping hobbies regulated, working on them in small parts, consistently, but occasionally trying a new hobby or introducing a new aspect to a current hobby could help stave off the boredom and disinterest. Its difficult, its not an easy system to manage, but I have found that by consistently engaging in interests little by little, while staggering new things in at random intervals, has helped keep my interest, focus, and joy more elevated than it used to be.
 
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bnuungus

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As someone diagnosed with ADHD, as well as reoccurring depression, I feel that there may indeed be a high percentage of your outlook formed by ADHD (if you do have it). Of course, there are plenty of reasons to feel this way without having ADHD. As someone with such, though, I find that to be the piece I can contribute to the most.

I hope that the following can help such, whether it be due to your ability to relate or your ability to check one possibility off your list.

What the broader public tends to not know about ADHD is the actual functionality of it. There are many physiological and neurological issues that can comes with having such, but I will focus on the following. Not only do people who have ADHD require a higher amount of dopamine or norepinephrine, but they also produce less of it than others.

Lets assess the major functionality of these chemical relevant to the conversation:
• Dopamine is known as the "feel-good" chemical, though it affects the regulation of not just your brain, but movement, memory, sleep, and attention. More specifically, dopamine is a piece your inner reward system and assists in letting you know that what you are accomplishing should make you feel good. When you accomplish something, dopamine encourages you to work towards that feeling, or a better one, again. All-in-all, without dopamine, motivation is nigh impossible to have.

• Norepinephrine plays a major role in the "fight-or-flight" system. It is one of the primary neurotransmitters responsible for triggering the activation of adrenaline in tense or stressful situations. Norepinephrine is also made from Dopamine. So, with lower levels of dopamine present, lower levels of Norepinephrine are present.
People with ADHD tend to be known as "adrenaline junkies" or risk takers. This can partially be boiled down to the lack of dopamine being created by the brain (which is usually physiological, as portions of the ADHD brain tend to be underdeveloped compared to the average brain). When dopamine levels are low in the brain, the system will search out anywhere to trigger it. One way to trigger it is by forcing it to create norepinephrine. So, often times, 'danger' and 'excitement' are conflated by the ADHD brain, which also normalizes the experience of present danger.

This, overall, creates a very high hurdle for keeping the ADHD brain at 'average' levels of excitement. So, while something like an upbeat pop song may be able to create enough dopamine for the average brain to be placated by, it will miss the mark for an ADHD brain. The real issue stems from the fact that the song did, in fact, create dopamine, but it was far from enough to properly "fuel" the ADHD brain. What happens you achieve a goal, but you underperform? You may be happy that you got to the goal, but, typically, there will be some dissatisfaction with the results. Now, take someone with ADHD and put them in that situation. Their brain will recognize the success and fire off dopamine, but their dopamine levels may still be as low as an average someone who failed in accomplishing their goal. The ADHD brain has now conflated partial success with the dissatisfaction of failure.

This, unfortunately, creates a cyclical feedback loop, constantly widening the gap between ideas like "success and failure" and "interest and boredom". What normally feels like interest to someone with an average brain, will feel like overwhelming boredom to someone with ADHD. That is why many people with ADHD pick up many hobbies and make little progress in any of them.

Personally, I felt a very strong connection to your sentiments, for this very reason. Wake up, work, watch TV... it sounds so dull to me. Yet, it brings many people plenty of joy. Friends are complacent with playing a video game on easy, but I NEED to beat it on hard. Friends are okay playing 3 chord songs on guitar, but I NEED to master mixed Blues off-rhythm skills. Friends are okay driving 60mph hour, but I NEED to drive 80, otherwise I can't pay attention to the road. I've actually, most likely, developed clinical reoccurring depression and clinical general anxiety because of this very fact. I felt crazy most of my life as well. I felt like there was something I didn't understand, I felt that people were boring, and that I was isolated, and an asshole, for feeling that way.

If there is any advice I can offer, its to hang on to the memory of what it felt like when you were not bored. Remember that you can feel that joy with life. Also, try to find a hobby that brings that excitement or joy to you, but don't be afraid to try new hobbies. My therapist said that keeping hobbies regulated, working on them in small parts, consistently, but occasionally trying a new hobby or introducing a new aspect to a current hobby could help stave off the boredom and disinterest. Its difficult, its not an easy system to manage, but I have found that by consistently engaging in interests little by little, while staggering new things in at random intervals, has helped keep my interest, focus, and joy more elevated than it used to be.
What's interesting is that I relate a lot to this but I've never really thought I'm ADHD. Motivating myself to do anything is pretty difficult and completing simple tasks doesn't bring me any joy, unlike plenty of people that I know. I have a hard time falling asleep because my brain doesn't want to stop thinking when I lie down and I usually feel like not enough interesting things have happened for a new day to start. I am a huge adrenaline junkie, and my head is the clearest and most focused when I'm operating fast moving machines that completely go beyond what our bodies were meant to experience through natural evolution alone. My brother-in-law loves to go karting with me (not go-karts, the actual fast ones) and while he describes it as an itch that he scratches, I can't help but want to continue as soon as I'm done racing. Even extreme roller coasters aren't extreme enough for me anymore. I go through hobbies extremely fast, but that's honestly kind of fun for me because I like learning new things. Since my preferred hobbies of going really fast on various vehicles is super expensive, I've learned to live without doing stuff like that for long periods of time but as soon as I hop in the cockpit of a kart or a waverunner it feels like I have to break an addiction again when I'm done. Like I said though I never really thought I'm ADHD so is there possibly another thing that this could be? I haven't looked into this stuff that much and tbh even if it turns out I am ADHD I doubt I would do anything about it lol. But that sentiment right there is enough to convince me that I don't have it because I don't really feel all that debilitated.
 
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Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意

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What's interesting is that I relate a lot to this but I've never really thought I'm ADHD. Motivating myself to do anything is pretty difficult and completing simple tasks doesn't bring me any joy, unlike plenty of people that I know. I have a hard time falling asleep because my brain doesn't want to stop thinking when I lie down and I usually feel like not enough interesting things have happened for a new day to start. I am a huge adrenaline junkie, and my head is the clearest and most focused when I'm operating fast moving machines that completely go beyond what our bodies were meant to experience through natural evolution alone. My brother-in-law loves to go karting with me (not go-karts, the actual fast ones) and while he describes it as an itch that he scratches, I can't help but want to continue as soon as I'm done racing. Even extreme roller coasters aren't extreme enough for me anymore. I go through hobbies extremely fast, but that's honestly kind of fun for me because I like learning new things. Since my preferred hobbies of going really fast on various vehicles is super expensive, I've learned to live without doing stuff like that for long periods of time but as soon as I hop in the cockpit of a kart or a waverunner it feels like I have to break an addiction again when I'm done. Like I said though I never really thought I'm ADHD so is there possibly another thing that this could be? I haven't looked into this stuff that much and tbh even if it turns out I am ADHD I doubt I would do anything about it lol. But that sentiment right there is enough to convince me that I don't have it because I don't really feel all that debilitated.
Well, I'm sure it could be numerous things that I don't have any experience/education with, but I think the important question is whether its debilitating or not for you.

If whatever you're experiencing isn't getting in the way of you living a full, happy life, I'd say don't worry about it and just be you.
I went in for a diagnosis because I felt like something was wrong with me, it was difficult to do tasks normal adults do daily, and my persona turned into the "himbo/stoner" sort of thing because of how much brain fog I'd experience. Then, when I started medication that helped, it really dawned on me just how debilitating it is.

So, you might have ADHD! It is considered a spectrum disorder for a reason; everyone is different. Maybe you just like adrenaline-inducing activities, though. The only thing a diagnosis hurts is your wallet, but its purely a personal decision. I don't advocate for 'roadside diagnosis' and I won't attempt to give you one, either. I just know that hearing personal testimonies helped me realize I have ADHD, so I want to put my own out there as well, in hopes that it may help someone who needs to hear it.

As a side note (relating to your statement "but I've never really thought I'm ADHD"), unfortunately there's a huge misconception surrounding ADHD thanks to the whole 90's prescription debacle. ADHD isn't just "Hyper kid is jumping off the couch", but a far more internal struggle that affects someone's ability to plan, remember things, organize themselves, and live a normal life. It doesn't last for everyone, but for anyone whose ADHD traveled with them into adulthood (like me), it'll be a lifelong struggle against their own brain.
 
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bnuungus

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As a side note (relating to your statement "but I've never really thought I'm ADHD"), unfortunately there's a huge misconception surrounding ADHD thanks to the whole 90's prescription debacle. ADHD isn't just "Hyper kid is jumping off the couch", but a far more internal struggle that affects someone's ability to plan, remember things, organize themselves, and live a normal life. It doesn't last for everyone, but for anyone whose ADHD traveled with them into adulthood (like me), it'll be a lifelong struggle against their own brain.
Yeah I know it's largely misunderstood by most people. The reason why I say I don't think I have it is simply because I don't really feel debilitated by whatever this is. I definitely feel like I don't operate like a normal person but don't we all feel that way :p

And yeah maybe I'm like this bc my sister and I liked to mortally terrify ourselves as kids by watching Storm Stories and I started going to cedar point in 5th grade. I definitely feel fairly apathetic towards life most of the time but as I explained earlier in this thread with my long ass post I've learned how to get around it. Some people would say that that in and of itself is a reason to maybe get tested but in my opinion we all have things that we're bad at and need to learn how to work around, hence my hesitance to do so. I don't know, I don't really care, just kind of interesting to think about I guess.
 
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It can be working out, working on radios, reading a philosophical book, anything. You don't have to do it for very long, and afterwards, feel free to watch shows or anything else that you are naturally inclined to do. You'll find that more and more you'll naturally gravitate towards the more meaningful hobbies you have which will naturally help you regain motivation to make the money to fund those hobbies.

Nothing to look forward to in life is kind of naturally solved by following the advice for lack of energy. By having hobbies you'll always have something to look forward to and work towards. Hopefully having some small amount of structure to your day will help you to realize that it's the little things that make your days unique and having projects that you care about will help to ensure that every day does in fact not feel the same and there is something to look forward to in life.
I agree with this, 100%. Although, I want to add I'm not living the 40-hour workweek just yet. I myself have the problem that I struggle finding these things - things where I then look forward to them. At the same time, I'm doing so much in life, yet it never feels enough. It's a weird predicament, and sometimes it's better sometimes it's worse. I just wish there were more things in life to consistently, and genuinely, look forward to. Even if it was small.
 
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This, unfortunately, creates a cyclical feedback loop, constantly widening the gap between ideas like "success and failure" and "interest and boredom". What normally feels like interest to someone with an average brain, will feel like overwhelming boredom to someone with ADHD. That is why many people with ADHD pick up many hobbies and make little progress in any of them.

Personally, I felt a very strong connection to your sentiments, for this very reason. Wake up, work, watch TV... it sounds so dull to me. Yet, it brings many people plenty of joy. Friends are complacent with playing a video game on easy, but I NEED to beat it on hard. Friends are okay playing 3 chord songs on guitar, but I NEED to master mixed Blues off-rhythm skills. Friends are okay driving 60mph hour, but I NEED to drive 80, otherwise I can't pay attention to the road. I've actually, most likely, developed clinical reoccurring depression and clinical general anxiety because of this very fact. I felt crazy most of my life as well. I felt like there was something I didn't understand, I felt that people were boring, and that I was isolated, and an asshole, for feeling that way.
Yeah... I relate to this too hard. Especially the last bit.

If there is any advice I can offer, its to hang on to the memory of what it felt like when you were not bored. Remember that you can feel that joy with life. Also, try to find a hobby that brings that excitement or joy to you, but don't be afraid to try new hobbies. My therapist said that keeping hobbies regulated, working on them in small parts, consistently, but occasionally trying a new hobby or introducing a new aspect to a current hobby could help stave off the boredom and disinterest. Its difficult, its not an easy system to manage, but I have found that by consistently engaging in interests little by little, while staggering new things in at random intervals, has helped keep my interest, focus, and joy more elevated than it used to be.
I'm not afraid to new things, and I'm trying man. And, there is some success, but not a whole lot. I'm having most difficulty feeling genuinely excited for things, things feel so dull at times, even if there's so much going on and so much to be happy about. I crave life, but all I get is monotony back. It's a hella weird predicament.

This other bit of yours though, the "its to hang on to the memory of what it felt like when you were not bored. Remember that you can feel that joy with life". Mann that is so true. I already do this, although on he verge of it being unhealthy. There are just these couple of moments that felt otherwordly, to the point where I've thought back to them so much that despite the original memory being faded the memory still is there. It's hard to describe - but yes, there were moments where I felt alive. Not alive alive but AAALLLIIIIVVVVEEEE, and I do my absolute best to not forget them. Because, I think, I can get them to happen again. I know there are so many mysterious triggers in me, and I know there are things in life that really grind my gears in a good way. It's just that, they are hard to reach, and that they're absent in the moment.

I'll get there though.
 
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CahCaw

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yeah I feel that. I guess my approach is to try to increase the amount of life you feel in monotonous things. I'm not quite there yet but I'm trying
how does one 'increase the amount of life' you feel in monotonous things? It's a feeling - you can't exactly control it
 
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how does one 'increase the amount of life' you feel in monotonous things? It's a feeling - you can't exactly control it
the things I wrote out above in my effortpost help me to do this. And while you don't have any control over your emotions you do have some control over the way you think about life and with enough practice that will ultimately influence your emotions. If I may ask: what are your hobbies? Do you have an unchanging morning routine? What are your goals right now? I hope I'm not sounding like I have all the answers because I don't. I just know that putting some thought into these questions and acting upon them consistently has helped me. I still feel the monotony of life all the time when I start slacking but I'm trying to be better about following my own advice because I'm hopeful that it'll cure this feeling in me or at the very least lead me to find the solution.
 
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If I may ask: what are your hobbies?
- volunteering at a scouting (think boy scout's but both genders) twice a week. But if imma be honest I'm losing a bit of motivation, as in it's not providing the satisfaction it used to give
- I hang out a lot with friends. Watch series, go for walks, make campfires. I'm really close with them, but despite that I hardly feel better around them, sometimes even worse. It's not like they're toxic, it's more of an internal thing for me that when I feel worse, I easily feel threaded upon. On top of that the things we do are kinda getting monotonous, which certainly isn't helping.
- Enjoy writing in a notebook of mine in some cryptic language about whatever is crossing my mind (handwritten). Encrypting it slows down the writing, so I kinda have an easier time to reflect. Helps me make sense of it all.
- Going on adventures with friends from further away (mostly 2, which I both know from online). Whenever I'm with them I either follow them around to see cool places, or I mountain bike with them and find cool places. This bit in my life is my favorite tbh. Sadly they live either 100 or 200km away, so I don't see them that often. 2 days ago the guy that lived 200km away for some reason went to the other side of the country near me to go to a mountain bike track, so had a fun day just hanging around with him (sadly had school so I couldn't actually go with him to that place).
- Spending some time with my 11-year-old sister. Just kinda walking around, going to the store, small stuff. Feel like the age gap is too big to have any real mutual interests (am 20 myself)
- Love biking around on my mountain bike, although if imma be honest this hobby of mine is kinda neglected. Don't really have anyone to bike with (except for the guy living 200+km away), but I definitely wanna check out that track tomorrow.
- Just visiting random cities with a friend of mine (which is also kinda neglected because all cities are kinda the same), sponsored by studentenreisproduct™ (government allowing students to take public transport for free on weekdays)
- Climbing in shit, although this is mostly just something I always do whilst I'm doing something else. Trees, bus stations, everything. It's so much fun and it's gotten to the point that my arms have noticeably become more buffed.
- Writing. Finished one writing prompts of mine, which kept me way more busy than I expected (so now it's finished I kinda have less to do, which only fuels the fire). Trying to start another one, but have trouble finding the motivation.
Aaand I still feel like I'm missing something. As you can hear from everything I wrote down thus far, I have all these things, yet none give any true satisfaction consistently. Now as for my 'bad habit'-hobbies

- Smoking weed. Fuck me man, it's given me severe HPPD (visual snow, flickering, something like that), which has been slowly building up for many years. Since nearly 2 weeks ago I stopped, whereby I finally feel like I got ahold of myself, unlike the other dozen times I said I was gonna quit only to smoke a few days later. I'm not proud of it, it's not because I'm stronger. It's because the flickering has gotten so bad that it's a 24/7 reminder to not smoke, because if it's gonna get any worse I legit feel nauseous (and I've had days like that). Since the flickering is 24/7, when I get nauseous because of it, I feel nauseous literally the entire day. It's fucking fucked. But, now I've quit I legit feel withdrawal symptoms - mostly depression & having constant shitty dreams (sometimes multiple at night).
- Watching youtube. Mostly shit about geopolitics, the news, and in general disasterporn. I can watch it for hours and hours, I don't know why. Is it good for my mental health? No. Is it the best distraction I have and the only time my mind kinda shuts up? Yeah

Ah yeah and I still study, which keeps me busy too.

Do you have an unchanging morning routine?
I've been delivering morning news papers (which for some reason is still a big thing here in the Netherlands. So many god damn boomers paying +€40 a month to get a physical news paper to their door here, for like 4.5 years now. It makes me decent money, as in enough money to fund my desires given the fact I still live with my parents. It does require me to wake up at like 4:30am, but I got used to it... It's nice, it gives me some structure in the morning (since when I wake up the first thing I do is bike 10km+ basically, holy shit that's been amazing for my condition), and I feel motivated to do school afterwards. If I don't start working on school though, there isn't any consistency afterwards. It does give me a wacky sleep pattern, but i'm trying my best on catching more hours of sleep.

What are your goals right now?
Mid-term: Getting through the 1st year of my study, since this is the 3rd year in a row where I'm in the 1st year of some college degree (quit 2 studies). Then just finish my studies ig. Rn studying to become an electronic engineer - which has finally been a choice I'm happy with.
Long-term:
- Finding love, although that's something which just comes when it is there. Not really actively searching, can't bear the idea of online dating
- Starting a commune with friends. Now this is what is giving me a sense of purpose - To summarize it, it boils down to buying a plot of land with friends and then just building shit on it (it's a lot more well thought out than it sounds lol, I'm actually gonna release a summary in an Agora Road post soon about it, because it is quite fascinating).
Short-term... well... I feel dead inside. The studies are just that, studies, a liability, something to go through. Finding love is something the more you think about, the sadder you get since it's not there yet (and I've been single for 3.5 years now, idk what I'm doing wrong except being gay, limiting my pool severely). And, well, the commune is still probs 5+ years away since all my friends and me need to get jobs in order to fund such a project.

So yeah... To summarize. I have soo much going on in life, yet, when I boil it down to any given week, nothing's giving me an anchor point of helping me feel better when I need it. So, when I have some pushbacks, let alone a whole series of them like I had in february, it just kills me. Because, life goes on, being mostly unchanging.
I hope I'm not sounding like I have all the answers because I don't.
Nah, you're just asking critical questions, and thanks for that.
 
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I feel like the answers are simple but difficult.

For one thing, you are absolutely right that it feels like life itself does not appear set up to produce happiness for most people, and you'd probably be right.

On closer observation you might even say happiness isn't really the point.

Finding meaning that makes the journey worth it is the aim in my opinion.

I work alot more hours now than a 40 hour workweek, but I'm happier now compared to when I was a single bachelor working a dropkick office job where it was very easy to minimise the effort.

Quit beating off
Get in good shape (if you aren't already)
Start learning new skills
Sleep properly most nights if you can
Invest more in your friendships and family
Work towards a goal

The inevitable monotonous bits will be easy to endure when you feel you have meaning and purpose in life.

Its simple but its not easy.
 
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