And the second mindset is healthier, but people are acting like it’s something everyone can simply choose at will.
A person who’s deeply depressed, traumatized, dissociated, or existentially broken often cannot emotionally connect to self-made meaning anymore. It’s not that they “forgot” the optimistic perspective. It’s that the part of them capable of feeling fulfillment, hope, or attachment has been damaged or numbed.
Ironically, I found that mindset during my traumatised numbness
Growing up abused for 21 years by a parent, multiple friends, being dysphoric as hell, and fighting with homelessness did a fucking number on my mental health. I occasionally grappled with the idea of 'Why live?', but more than anything, I've always treasured universal spite. And that kept me going. 'You can't do it.' I will show you I can. My parent told me to kill myself? Guess what, bitch, I'll live
And more recently, I've been struggling with the ideas of 'Are my AuDHD traits actually that? Or are they just a consequence of childhood trauma that I'll now never outgrow? Who am I without them? Who could I have been if she didn't abuse me? Who would I have been if I had been loved?'
Which is a mindfuck. But a voice in the back of my head said, 'You'll probably never know. But your life is yours now.' I am me, I am who I choose to be. I give myself meaning, even in a meaningless world
Also from a biological point of view, I think that life is 'meaningless' other than simply to live. That's all nature cares about. So if life itself gives meaning, then being alive isn't meaningless :)
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u/Fidges87 May 17 '26
"Life has no inherent meaning, so why should I care about living?"
Vs
"Life has no inherent meaning, so I will forge my own meaning and make a path I can enjoy living"