diary i guess
it's 3 am and i'm tired but i can't sleep, sleep scares me. figured while i'm awake i may as well do something potentially useful and start a diary on here, not sure how effective it'll be but we'll see i guess. in my local community im considered a leader but i cant lead, cant even lead myself in the right direction let alone other people. i'm falling behind in just about everything i do and can't help but feel numb to it, effort seems futile and there's nothing i can do, no one to really talk to either seeing as i'm fake with my friends and my dad is too busy drinking to even care, imy life is all just a big facade and i'm the one being fooled.
i don't even know what the hell im doing in life, i'm failing in everything i do and will probably have no opportunities for the future. i'm straight up terrified of school because im expected to perform well and i'm not, going to school for me is horrifying because i straight up cant pretend to be who i'm not anymore, but i need to keep going anyway for the sake of my dad. just feels like it's all falling down and there's nothing i can do and no one to relate to, i get so anxious every day and just freeze up but i hold it in because i can't let others have that perception of me. school in around 4 hours and i'm terrified.
will just try to update this based off of how i'm feeling, not sure how often that may be but i'll try for at least daily, seems super unstructured and im sorry for that just wanted to get it out because i don't know what else to do, so apologies for that.
for context i'm a 16 year old male in my junior year of high school, forgot to add that in the last post, and school today was pretty bad, felt nauseous all day as if i was about to throw up for whatever reason, couldn't bring myself to eat any food and felt like the world was spinning, took a short 3 hour nap, of course im still tired but cant sleep haha.
just thinking about school makes me feel like trash because i know that i've messed up and i cant really do anything to catch up and it all just feels like a big snowball effect with sports, academics, extracirriculars etc. can't even work out/lift because it feels like ive lost all my strength and everything i've worked for.
i have to teach a class tomorrow night about aerospace and i feel thoroughly terrified, theres no way i can perform how i need to in order to teach others, cant even teach myself. supposed to be a big presentation infront of a ton of people but i just cant feels like i'm about to freeze up and disappoint everyone including myself
@xelimious
I felt this exact same way when I was in school. I remember not being able to sleep because I was anxious, and feeling nauseous in the morning and not being able to do well in my classes. In the end, you dont have to be perfect. As long as you can get through to graduation, youll be okay. :)
ok i know this sounds strange but i just cant do it anymore
sure theres some people that listen and try to help but whenever i try to talk about myself it feels so awkward and i just cant bring myself to do it
i could just sit there looking at the chat for hours not doing anything because i feel petrified whenever i try to communicate how i feel
god this is stupid and its my fault
@xelimious
Okay, I have a lot to say about this.
First of all, listen here buddy: you are not stupid! ❤️ Imagine if a friend felt this way; would you think that they are stupid and its their fault? (Gosh I hope not lol). Thats not at all true.
For the awkwardness, I feel the same way every time I talk to someone. I just say, F*** it. :P Everyone makes mistakes. No one will know if you mess up while talking to a listener, and you can explain if you do. Be confident in those mistakes. ☺️
I hope Im helping in at least some way.
@TheAnxiousLioness
hey thanks for your comments, i appreciate it.
i say it's stupid because as i was growing up i've just been told to shut up and not speak of anything in regards to my feelings, which probably contributes to why i'm so adverse to it now, i don't know.
i dont think i really have the confidence to just talk about it because its so ingrained in how i was raised and think today that it's negative and just seems like a burden
just overslept the start of school and now i'm late but yet i can't bring myself to go
have a ton of tests and assignments due today that im unable to complete anyhow
i dont know that seems like a trash reason for justification but that's what i'm going with
screw it right
elaborating on this previous post it feels as if i've been looking for any reason to avoid school as of recent, i always find myself checking my grades online and too scared to even go, looking for any reason such as "being sick" or some other arbitrary reason, let alone actually fail, which is what i'm setting myself up to do by not going but it seems so pointless. i can't get work done because it seems like there's no reason to do so, i'm not motivated and it feels as if im unable to do it.
it feels as if i deserve this though as i put myself in this situation and its therefore my fault, but i didn't really use to have this mentality, i used to get my work done all the time on time generally taking due diligence and turning in good assignments, just recently that ive been getting caught up in this
some days i hope i get sick just so that i don't actually have to search for some excuse, but then i do shit like stay up all night and eat like trash that does actually make me sick, fufilling my intended goal, i guess. just makes me feel like crap and breaking my leg i imagine would feel better than being in school and pressured to do everything i just can't do
@xelimious
often when a person feels overwhelmed a coping mechanism kicks in - avoidance
it sounds like this is whats happening to you its too much and so consciously and even subconsciously your mind is coming up with ways to avoid it all negative thoughts intended to dissuade you eating things to make you sick exc. what can you cut out of your life to make it less overwhelming and more bearable for your mind to deal with so that it doesnt trigger this coping mechanism ? school is important for your future so maybe look at relationships or sports or other extracurricular activities step back and take a good look at everything your doing whats necessary what isnt necessary ?
@jennysunrise8
yeah, that's the thing, school is important for your future, and perhaps it is avoidance but it doesnt matter anymore
even when i do go to school, i'm present but not actually there, i'm in the class but not actually learning. just being in the class gives the perception that i'm trying, does it not? even if i'm unable to complete the simplest of assignments at least i 'tried', no?
the problem is that withdrawing from something is considered to be failure, i guess my extracirriculars and stuff are different because people are relying on me, i can actually try to do something there rather than sit around and pretend to be doing something, i can try to lead, no matter how terrible i am at it, i can try to help my team, even if i make everything worse in the end, it's something i can actually do rather than not do and it feels like the only thing keeping me going right now.
@xelimious
you "being present but not actually there" (dissassociating) is another mental effort to avoid it is good that your trying but if you cant be there mentally long enough to focus and learn anything of course your grades are going to suffer eventually you can practice some grounding techniques to help you focus essentially fighting against your minds coping mechanism and forcing it but the mind is creative and persistent so you can expect a battle on other fronts if you do that to try and make you avoid or you can respect that its too much and change some things so that its no longer too much i understand that you feel responsible for other people but you should put your own needs first if your so overwhelmed and exhausted wouldnt that affect your performance inevitably leading to why you dont feel like you can give it up to begin with - disappointing people ?
a good player is someone who is 100% in the game mentally and maybe it would be better if you were honest with them now so that they can get a replacement i think coaches understand the concept of students being overwhelmed and would appreciate and respect your honesty that is actually thinking about whats best for the team is admitting its all too much and you need some self care instead of putting everyone elses needs before your own have respect for your needs and your overwhelmed mind
@jennysunrise8
yeah it does seem like it would lead up to me eventually being a disappointment, but i just don't see it as feasible for me to catch up and stay on track with my classes, it's illogical since by avoiding going to classes its making the situation worse, but i don't know. i guess it's my own selfish desires keeping me doing extracirriculars and stuff since school seems so impossible but im still able to express myself through other means, even if it may eventually result in my failure it feels as if it doesn't matter right now because it's in the future, if that makes sense, it's not something i have to deal with immediately but rather i can hold off until i'm forced to deal with it.
so while it might be affecting my performance in school i dont feel like it matters because
1) they allow me to actually do something somewhat productive with my time
2) it's in the future and i don't have to deal with it immediately
@xelimious
you could do that just focus on what is right in front of you and avoid thinking about the future sometimes its good to do that but i think in this case its just another attempt at avoiding what is too overwhelming for you but yes you could just continue and change nothing at all ignoring your mental and physical health until you just break down and cant do any of it i think its wiser to make some changes in your life though to prevent that from happening when something has to give something does and the consequences you might regret not just making changes that wouldve prevented it theres nothing more important than your mental and physical health and your mind is prepared to fight for both even if consciously you think its important to continue with everything just as it is
@jennysunrise8
i dont think im clarifying what i mean to say too well
even if my extracirriculars are contributing to my failure in the future, i can't imagine going on without them because school is simply an entirely negative experience for me and i can't really picture what i would do without those extracirriculars, because they're the ones giving me at least some sense of placement, enjoyment, or the satisfaction of being able to do at least something, none of which i get from school.
it may be wiser but my emotions are irrational in ways i cant explain, and i'm upset that it's taking such a toll on me, i try to be generally logical and analytical but this doesnt appear to be a situation in which i can do so, what i'm saying doesn't really make sense but i don't know how else to phrase it
@xelimious
you explained it very well just now its something you enjoy doing and it makes you feel good about yourself and exercize helps a lot with stress so im sure it helps with that too i didnt mean to give up everything besides school just try to find some things to give up change some things so that its not so overwhelming if your doing a lot of extracurricular activities maybe reduce it to just one the one you get the most enjoyment from doing
think about how each thing makes you feel not just sports but other activities you do including people you spend time and emotional energy on think about people too who can be contributing to feeling overwhelmed you can take a break from people or anything else think about each thing and really ask yourself why your doing it why your dealing with it do you feel obligated do you not really want to but some fear is making you stay or stuck for some other reason or is it because you really enjoy it and want to do it ?
it might help to write down each thing your doing people and things your dealing with in your life and just write down why your doing it how you feel about each school is something you dont love but something you have a legal obligation to continue going to until your 18 at least (although there is online public school thats an option too late to enroll this year but you could do that next year something to look into) but you could make some changes cut some things you realize you really dont enjoy being apart of and it would help a lot i think
@jennysunrise8
the problem is even if i dont give up everything i'm giving up stuff i enjoy for something that i don't, plus the pressure from my guardian to do those certain extracirriculars and succeed in them are very high, so it's just something i can apply myself in, possibly warranting praise, improvement, enjoyment, and to give it up for something that seems hopeless just doesn't feel like a good trade to me, i'm halfway done with the first term and i don't feel like there's room for recovery, to succeed in classes, it just feels too far behind.
i don't really have any close friendships in the "real world" as some would call it, i don't have close friends from my time in school, or anything i do really. my only close friends are a few people online i've known for just about all my life and would do anything for, i don't feel like i need to do stuff for the sake of not letting my friends down, as i don't really feel that connection with anyone in real life, but rather for not letting the team as a whole down as i gave my word that i would try my best and participate fully in my extracirriculars. as a whole, my friend group in real life is just an illusion, some facade i put on so i can have a crowd of people to go to and not be an outcast along with the pressure from my guardian to participate in what i do
i don't think i can just stop doing things just because i may not like it, as it feels like i've built my life up around those things.
@xelimious
thats true you have built your life up around those things it is your life your used to it and the people around you are used to it too and expectations but if your grades this term are poor i think people will at that point realize your doing too much and expect you to choose what to continue and what to give up so your grades will improve all you can do is try with everything your expected to do and you are your going to class like your supposed to even though your having a hard time concentrating and even though you dont see the point in doing it when your grades come out if theyre as bad as your expecting them to be i thing at that point people will have different expectations for you theyll expect you to take a break from some thing until your grades improve and will realize their mistake in thinking you could do so much at the same time
when do your mid term grades come out ?
@jennysunrise8
i can view my grades throughout the term, right now i'm failing multiple classes and it seems like too much to recover from regardless, just feel like it's pointless as i'm too far behind. i'm 4 weeks into this term, which means that there's another 4 weeks and then grades are finalized for the term.
@xelimious
Hi--I've been reading through the whole thread and everything happening with school and just wanted to see if I'm following what you're describing.
Summary
You're currently falling really far behind in school. The situation is that you're so far behind that even the easiest tasks in your classes feel like things that you aren't able to do... let alone hard tasks. When you're in class, you're sitting there just pretending like you're following what's happening and like you're able to do work, but honestly absolutely nothing makes any sense. And it feels really exhausting and pointless to be sitting there pretending when you're not actually learning. Going to class doesn't result in you learning the material. You're also really afraid that someone will notice the fact that you're failing at school. And even more afraid that someone will notice the fact that you're afraid. Overall, school is just a place where you feel absolutely terrified on multiple levels.
You were going to school for a while because your dad expects it and has strong expectations that you be successful, but at a certain point it just became too much to bear. And it feels like things have snowballed to a point where it was unsalvagable and there was just no way to recover from it. Like, it's a lost cause and an impossible amount of work to try to catch up at this point because the class is so far ahead of where you are. There's no motivation to try and put yourself through something so miserable if it feels like there's practically no chance of success.
You realize that school is important for your future and it's absolutely something you want to succeed at. You used to be successful in the past, and it felt good. Right now though, there's a feeling of having just lost all motivation. And even things outside of school feel like they've lost their meaning or purpose, because it's like the direction for life as a whole has disappeared with school being such a black hole and dominating everything else. School is absolutely important to you and something you care about, which is why you feel so miserable. The problem isn't that you devalue school or don't realize it's importance. The problem is that the situation feels impossible to fix on a practical level.
You've been trying to find any excuse you can to be able to skip school and avoid having to be there. Sometimes, you do things like not sleeping or eating that end up making you feel sick and you actually have a legitimate excuse for skipping. Maybe it's because of stress, or maybe it's your way of getting the desired result. It doesn't feel good to be sick and have your health/well-being in shambles, but as you put it, even having a broken leg would feel better than being in school. School is just agony.
The one thing that is really going well that feels like it's thriving is extracurricular activities. Maybe on some level it's just an escape, an avoidance strategy, or could be seen as selfish/irresponsible to pour a bunch of energy into that and let school languish. But it feels like that's pretty much the *only* thing that is going well. Unlike school, it's a place where if you put effort into something, it actually has an impact! You're able to do things. People are depending on you, and you're actually able to satisfy their expectations. Or maybe you won't, but at least you feel like you're able to try and there's motivation there and you're doing something. Maybe you might even get praised for what you're doing and have a sense of accomplishment. Also, your dad puts a huge amount of pressure on you to continue doing extracurriculars and succeed at them. So, it feels like that's a win-win... you enjoy it and get meaning out of it, and it also keeps your dad off your back. If you were to drop extracurriculars, it would just make everything worse than it already is; your dad would hold it over your head that you're failing, and you'd also be losing the *only* thing in your life right now where you feel like you are effective, absorbed, and have some small amount of meaning/purpose (and social approval). So, as far as your options go, dropping extracurriculars definitely feels to you like it's off the table and not even worth considering.
Reactions
My own personal sense is that in order to improve at school, you'd need to be able to approach it in a way where you really are able to start at the very beginning (wherever you first started feeling lost) and work your way through all of the easiest material.
From what you describe, the current classes might as well be taught in a foreign language because they aren't making any sense. What you say about not learning anything by attending class makes total sense. If you stick someone who hasn't learned algebra in a calculus class, they're not going to understand a damn thing. And it doesn't make them stupid or mean that they're intrinsically incapable of learning it in the long-term. They just haven't learned the chronologically earlier material that is a mandatory prerequisite for grasping the later material. So, the only solution is to learn the earlier material and work gradually toward the harder material based on what you've already learned... which is what's ideally supposed to happen in school if it's actually working properly. :)
That somehow needs to happen in a way where you're able to move through it at your own pace and it doesn't feel completely painful. I'm not sure how exactly.
But I do feel like if you were able to somehow get that up and running and succeed at it, everything else immediately falls into place. You'd have a sense of competence/confidence, you wouldn't feel as afraid of failing in school, which would then mean you'd have less anxiety about needing to conceal fear around classmates. I imagine that if those negative feelings went away, your motivation to do work and ability to concentrate/absorb on it might also increase.
I'm not sure what the best/most practical way to accomplish all of this is, or whether it's something that is even possible to implement on short notice when the semester is already halfway over and failing classes seems like an inevitability. But, that's the direction where my mind feels like it goes.
(Note: I feel like this pressure to perfectly catch up is something really destructive. It creates a situation where the vibe is, "You must do this impossible thing and do it perfectly or else you will be punished." And you know very well that you can't realistically come anywhere close to what's being asked, but there's nothing you can do about it and this outside person is going to crucify you all the same regardless of the excuse you offer... so you understandably panic because you're stuck in a hopeless situation.)
@frigidstars27
thanks for that, you mostly verbalized how i feel.
that does appear to be the situation and i agree, whenever i try to catch up more and more work just comes out, as i said it's a snowball effect that builds up over time, and right now it's an avalanche haha
@xelimious
you could go back to where you last understood and learn the material on your own and you can catch up that would be a very productive use of your time in class its a time set aside for learning the teacher is teaching something you dont understand so ignore the teacher and be your own teacher use that time to be productive and work on catching up if everyone else is reading page 400 in the textbook and the last thing you learned and understand was on page 39 go back to it school time can be productive if you want to make it productive your right it is pointless and very much a waste of time right now if your just sitting in class going through the motions and learning nothing and the longer you continue doing that the farther your going to get behind right now your only a few weeks behind you can use class time to catch up
there are people who already know how far behind you are who do know the truth that there is something wrong and they are your teachers they know what your grades are they know your having a problem and i think all your teachers would be happy and proud of you to see you putting effort into trying to catch up showing that your trying to catch up falling behind in classes because you have toomuch going on in your life too many distractions is no new thing it happens all the time you can be honest with your teachers they are the few people who do know and of course they want you to do well in the class so any effort they see you trying to catch up they will encourage it thats their job is to help people learn things
eventually people will learn that a mistake was made too many things at once too many distractions your worried that people will think bad of you for not being able to do everything will be disappointed in you i think youll find out your wrong about that theyll only realize it was a mistake to allow so many distractions while your going to school try not to worry about the scenario or the reactions you think people will have your mind doesnt know the future or how people will react this hasnt happened before
@jennysunrise8
yeah i definitely agree and have tried to do that, the problem is that it's a largely losing battle especially if it's a subject where what you learned in the past being critical for what you're learning now, i.e. math, foreign languages, etc. another big thing with that is learning on your own, where you may not be quite grasping the subject how the rest of the class did in the guided lesson, possibly missing certain stuff, and the problem is amplified if it's built off of prerequisite classes and their knowledge along with what you learned thus far.
@xelimious
having a tutor can help with that you would need to make time for that you might be able to find something online a tutor who can help you catch up these coming up grades it might be too late to change much the only way to improve your grades and start making progress is to first catch up you could use the time in class to start doing that when more people realize what your grades are which might be very soon people can help you get a tutor once they learn about your grades getting a tutor might not even be a choice for you to make if people learn about your grades right now you can maybe manage to raise your grade a little so that you can pass your classes and not have to retake the classes if you dont pass the class you will just have to retake the class there is no moving forward to the next class if you fail the class your in thats what tests are designed for to evaluate your understanding and see where you need to be if you cant show that you understand and are ready to move to the next class you will just have to retake the class and maybe summer school this coming up summer will be needed to finish catching you up so that next fall you will be where everyone else is
it will take extra time and extra work if you cant do it all now you cant continue doing everything you have too many things holding you back taking up too much of your attention and energy you cant move forward until you free up some time so its not holding you back but like i said people will realize this and if they do care about your grades giving things up to free up time to work on catching up wont be a choice it will be something your expected to do it might be a choice what you must give up so youll have to think about that if your told you have to choose and give things up
i dont think people will think anything beyond the fact that your just doing too much your just too distracted it doesnt mean your a failure or not intelligent it just means your doing too much and people will realize that and realize changes must be made so that you can catch up most students do not have so much going on outside of school for this reason but its not the end of the world you wont be allowed to continue until you do catch up in the classes your in it will be ok itll get fixed you will eventually catch up and everyone will just learn an important lesson about time management 
life is full of mistakes everyone makes them dont be so hard on yourself your only doing what everyone else does its completely normal and so understandable by other people whats happening time management is something that everyone struggles with at some people people understand the concept maybe you just dont realize they do at this point but they do
@jennysunrise8
yeah i'm going to try and catch up during class but i'm definitely not in the financial situation to be using a tutor or anything along those lines, definitely trying to avoid retaking the classes of course. definitely adverse to stepping back from the other stuff, so i'll see what i can do.
@xelimious
you could google " free tutors online " i just did a search and a lot turned up non profits and volunteers there are several different places online just one site https://bit.ly/2LIE8bq
@jennysunrise8
i'll keep that in mind but the big issue for me is in the act of actually doing it, as of recent i've been doing stuff like playing video games and reading/learning what i enjoy because it's a sort of release for me, i should be working on what i need to do, but it just doesnt feel like i can, these daily habits that i now have take up most of my time and energy. this is especially amplified when i look back on it and see how much time/energy i'm wasting, being disappointed or upset with myself often, it's definitely not optimal but it's easier to just let it happen and there's no spark to keep it going.
seems pretty arbitrary or stupid since it's my fault, but it's just a cycle that's been going on for the longest time and seems impossible to stop/alter
@xelimious
yes it is easier to just let it happen changing habits causes discomfort and an uneasy feeling because you dont know what will happen by doing it unlike your current habit of doing things where you know exactly what will happen and theres a feeling of safety and security in just keeping everything as it is even though rationally you realize its not good for your life theres a little internal struggle going on about that giving up what you know the reactions you know for the unknown there is some resistance to that thats pretty basic yet strong and is not concerned with logic and quite annoying but believe me when i say its something every person deals with and what every person gives into at least for some time the desire for comfort and security is strong and motivating for every person
but like i said you will probabally soon be getting some outside help with changing your habits i think other people will expect you to after your grades come out your habits will be looked at and reevaluated and im sure that causes anxiety the thought of that happening but itll help having someone else make you change your habits so as anxiety provoking as that all is itll help and itll change and im sure youll be glad when its all over and done with and you can move on and start getting good grades again
sorry ive written so much in your diary i feel bad its just that in the forums i have a habit of just having an idea when i see something and then i have the urge to write when somethings on my mind completely forgetting that its someones diary so sorry about all this ill stop now but im a listener here so you can private message me anytime you want to chat about anything i dont want to invade your space here even those im doing that again now lol sorry also i love your latest entries :)
now in a few hours i have to sit through a pilot training class like i do for 3 hours every week despite not even being able to handle normal school and failing that as is, this is clearly a great use of time.
im failing too see the point, life appears to be a huge joke and i'm the punchline
it's the weekend
the only time of temporary relief and it flies by so fast
i sometimes contemplate how it would be like to live off my days in the middle of nowhere, perhaps in the woods, relying on only myself with no other obligations or expectations that must be upheld, no one to disappoint except myself.
over time i imagine my ancestors went through many hardships for me to get to this point, to where i would even be conceived. of course if they could see me now i would imagine they would be disappointed with my actions, but who knows? i simply feel as if i have a responsibility from my ancestors and to my descendants, that my name is not my own, but instead borrowed to serve the purpose of continuing on to generations now unborn.
while i still feel numb, i feel as if there's a purpose for me being here, even if i don't confide in the comfort of religion, even if death is to provide freedom of this world. nothing is authentic in this world, all of it simply derives from what we're told and therefore expected to do. i wish to be free, not held to the confines of society, not relied upon for the benefit of others, of course that appears to be unrealistic in this day and age, but a child can wish.
i do not confide in a faith, which brings the question of what happens after? will i even be able to conceive it? how am i here? of course, even if you are to choose one of many contradictory religions (dependent on perspective) statistically odds are you chose the wrong one, or is the right one whatever you want it to be? different perspectives from how people are raised really amazes me on what other people believe, and i find that really interesting.
who am i? the only answer i've been able to come up with is that i am myself, whatever that entails. what am i not? i'm unsure. these thoughts have stuck in my mind over the past week and whenever i attempt to reflect on it it's as if i'm not able to grasp the complexity of it, just makes me feel stupid and then i have to start back from square one. i'm unsure if following this train of thought will result in me recognizing who i am, or getting more lost than before.
i'm tired, so apologies for this, i simply wanted to write this down somewhere.
who am i? i cannot find the answer to this seemingly simple question, there is simply nothing there. i know what i am in relation to society and my role within it, but who really am i? i have a name, but that is just used to identify me, that's not who i am, it is just a name given to me. the world does not center around me, but yet it is what my experience is centered off of. i'm not really anyone, and as a product of that my actions, emotions, and feelings as a whole are equally insignificant. i associated qualities with myself, perhaps what i liked to do, perhaps what i did, but it's simply insignificant, i associated all of these with myself, but it is not unique to myself, there's nothing truly there, my identity, myself, i, there's simply nothing there.
@xelimious
Thanks for writing this--I'm finding this discussion really interesting. If I'm understanding, you feel like you want to have a sense of self and a purpose for being here. But it's really difficult to latch onto anything for multiple reasons:
1) Self is causally conditioned
Whatever you come up with might just be something socially conditioned that was molded onto you rather than something that you created or that belongs exclusively to you. If you were raised under different circumstances or experienced different things, you might have become a completely different person. Even if you do something, the fact of whether or not you wanted to do it might not be something in your control.
2) Life is impermanent
It's hard to know whether anything you do really matters given the inevitability of death and uncertainty of what happens afterwards. Maybe it would be comforting and simplifying to believe that certain actions lead to a positive afterlife, but you're not really on board with that kind of assumption, however pleasant it might be.
3) Self only points to a collection of transient things
It feels like if you try to identify your essence or true identity, the only thing you can point to is a bunch of different actions, feelings, and thoughts. But, those things are temporary and not unique to yourself, so they don't offer a sort of unique/permanent foundation for meaning or identity.
***
I tend to have the following kinds of thoughts when I grapple with these types of issues.
1) Whether or not I know what I am, I tend to feel things and care about my feelings
Regardless of whether or not I have an identity or purpose, I know that I'm seeking a certain kind of happiness or peace. And there are practical things on a day-to-day basis that increase the likelihood of me feeling good. Like, more often than not, I'm happier if I'm getting enough sleep and remembering to eat. So even if my entire reality is in shambles, I still go to sleep and eat food and so on because those are part of the handful of reliable/consistent things that tend to work and be practically helpful regardless of what else is going on. :)
2) Self/goals are moving targets that have to be reidentified periodically
Something I personally love to do is to sit down and make all kinds of lists, maps, models, and systems to try to structure and document my current sense of who I am, what I want, and what things I believe will make me happy.
It tends to usually involve defining dimensions or categories that I find to be conducive to my happiness when they're functioning well (e.g. physical well-being, work/to-do list, social safety, theory/models, sources of immersion/fun, self-expression, offering something helpful to other people).
What I notice though is that without fail, almost every system I create stops working within about 2-4 weeks. :) There are always new experiences, feelings and thoughts flashing in and out of existence, and changing circumstances in my surroundings. It's sort of like, the system I created was built on the assumption of a certain set of internal/external starting conditions. But if those conditions change, then the model is no longer relevant.
This doesn't stop me from creating models or finding that process helpful. I just create with the understanding that I'm going to have to do it again at a later time. It's not a flaw or problem for me, any more than I see it as a problem that I have to eat meals every day (rather than eating once and having that fulfill my hunger forever).
To give another example, I'm writing this post now, but maybe in a few hours/days I'm going to feel disgusted with it or repelled by it and want to let go of it or sort of dissociate myself from it. Sometimes I feel disgusted with models in general. There isn't anything in my life that I haven't gotten tired of and wanted to throw out the window at some point or another. :P There are so many dimensions on which I'm oscillating.
It ends up feeling to me like in the midst of that chaos, the most useful ability is just being able to discern how I'm currently feeling and whether or not a given thing aligns/harmonizes with my present feelings. It's also really important/valuable to me to feel like it's okay to drop things if they no longer work, rather than forcing myself to be stable/constant if it feels insincere or impractical. In that respect, all of the analysis you're doing to deconstruct reality and destroy a fixed selfhood actually feels like a blessing... because it offers support for a more present-centered/moment-to-moment approach.
3) Despite impermanence, I sometimes still perceive progress or evolution
Something I learned about in school was the idea of the scientific method as an iterative/cyclical process: you have a theory for how things are, you test it by gathering data, you compare the theory/data to see how well they match, you revise your theory to try to reflect the data, and then the process repeats.
What I find really interesting is the idea that there aren't any final truths in science. Whatever theory you have is just the current/best version, but if new data comes in that changes the picture, it's understood that the theory might get scrapped or revised in favor of a better one.
But this doesn't mean that everything is completely unknowable or that there is nothing being gained. Over time, the theories become much more sophisticated/nuanced, they yield better results, they work better with reality, and they reflect the impact of lots of really tiny shifts/improvements that might be happening very gradually. It's sort of like water eroding rock to create a canyon. (And maybe every now and then, there are breakthroughs where things move really quickly.)
Sometimes because it's all happening so slowly, it appears as though no progess is being made and you're just flailing around in circles. But other times, if you compare against something a year ago or five years ago, it's possible to see that the overall picture has become much more refined, new methods have been developed, or certain problems aren't as impossible as they used to be.
4) Some parts of myself do not belong to me and cannot be controlled
On the one hand, I sometimes like to think of myself as someone who is making decisions, doing things, planning, thinking, organizing, controlling, and manipulating circumstances according to my liking.
On the other hand, there's another side of myself that feels more emotional in nature that just kind of bubbles up and *happens to me* and is what it is. And it's not something that I can fully control. It's almost like the more I try to control it, the more it resists and lashes out in rebellion as if to say that it's more powerful than me.
This is where I've found a lot of really interesting applications and intersections with Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, and Jungian psychology. I tend to think of theistic religion as describing this "not-me" aspect and some best practices for relating to this dimension. The qualities of it are that it's more powerful than me (omnipotent), it sometimes embodies a much deeper understanding than what I'm able to recognize consciously (omniscient), and it tends to point me in directions that are worthwhile and beneficial if I apply myself to them (benevolent). The attitude I have toward it is one of reverence and wanting to have a certain submissiveness, trust, or harmony with it even if I can't fully understand, describe, justify things in an airtight way. In this context, concepts like grace, humility, faith, and acceptance start to feel like they have some practical meaning. As a result, I can read devotional texts and feel really moved and supported by them on a personal level, and yet still find myself agreeing with atheistic critiques of what I feel to be a "straw man" understanding of religion.
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Apologies for writing so much and hijacking your thread. I just really love this topic. :)
i am rather upset with myself
another failed term but i dont really care
they're removing the feed for whatever reason which seems like a poor move
guess going back to this will substitute as my feed even though it's not the same
@xelimious
yes for now people jwill ust have their threads and profile space to write in hopefully something takes its place soon im going to miss it too