Existential crisis?

LegacyUser

I think im having an "existential crisis" . The last few days after reading about the nature of the universe and whether everything in life/ our apparent reality may be predetermined i have become very worried and detached from reality. just looking around me i find myself questioning everything i see and worry about the nature space, time etc. At times im more worried than at other times and have a panic attack lasting many minutes. i try telling myself that this is the only reality i know and the ultimate nature of the universe/reality is irrelevant to my everyday life but its hard convincing myself. I had been feeling a bit depressed last few weeks (i suffer with anxiety and depression but it wasnt too bad for the last year untill last few weeks). Im having trouble sleeping(had to take 2 sleeping pills last night) which is making the matter worse as i get more anxious when tired/overtired. Im considering going to a psychiatric hospital if it gets really bad again(its comes and goes and at present isnt too bad but in back of mind all the time) or going to a psychotherapist/counsellor as soon as i can.

Bodhidharma

I would love to solve your problem, but your asking questions which no one can answer.
I dont really know your situation but i would guess that your asking these sort of questions because of some other issue(s) that you are trying to avoid having to confront.
You need to realise that asking questions is a good thing. Your confused, so what. I'm confused. The difference between us and others is, at least we know we're confused. People can live their whole life without asking these sort of questions. I've asked them.
About your questions on the nature of the universe. We cant ever know, so dont worry about it. The universe is a good thing to contemplate now and then, but dont dwell on it. What you need to realise is your own significance. Remember, the universe is real, but without you in it, it wouldn't exist. You are as important as every other thing in the universe, even the sun. Once you realise your part in the larger scheme of things, and believe me you have one, you can concentrate on your own problems. Once you recognise there is something within you, confrony and overcome it.
I know all these big topics can lead you to feel helpless and insignificant, but trust me, your neither. I hope you feel better soon.
And if you do figure out the nature of the universe, give me a message:)

Talliesin

Yeah. There isn't really anything anyone here can say to dispell existential crisis; I mean "there is a God" is hardly going to cut it.

Trinity

i can totally emphatise with that. I felt exactly the same years ago except i couldnt quite put it into words, but you have described it just there.

It was at a time in my life when i suffered panic attacks and anxiety, although luckily enough i never suffered real depression. These thoughts you describe actually brought on panic attacks and made me feel totally powerless and like i had no control over me or my life or anything that could or would happen.

I didnt find a magic cure however i did fill my life with other things. Rid myself of a lot of stress, baggage. I did this by writing lists of things that were bringing me down and working out what i could dump basically. I started small, the little things!

Some things i couldnt get rid of but i learned to deal with them. SOmetimes when i lie in bed at night i have some bad thoughts but i try to replace them with good ones..

Dont think this will be of any help to you but all i am saying is i do understand.

troubled12345

"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom." -Isaac Asimov.

I think that the above sums up a lot of problems nowadays, including many people's depression. I spent years thinking, musing, wondering, worrying about those same questions that plague you now. Society in general avoids and ignores the problem to a sickening degree. We should not have to face these questions on our own. Children should be encouraged to philosophise from a very young age in groups with adults, perhaps at school. (One could blame the simplistic approach with which religion is taught to kids but I'm not going to go into that.)

It's not even an attempt at trying to make SENSE of it alll; we all know (or should know) that we can't change the entire universe, that it is the way it is and our minds cannot comprehend it fully. It's more a quest to find a way to live with that huge burden that is the knowledge that we are just tiny little specks in the universe.

Many people avoid the problem by never asking in the first place - after all, pondering this type of question always breeds more questions: such is the nature of philosophy.
Others give up the wondering and choose to just ignore the field altogether. The problem with this is that those questions can suddenly spring up on you again when things go bad in life. They can then take you by surprise and you won't know how to deal with them. Cue: midlife crises or worse.
Another option is to think about it in such a way that you catch yourself whenever you begin to overthink and start to become lost and depressed about it. The idea here is to accustom yourself to the facts so as to decrease the power they have over you. It boils down to fear, basically. A fear of the vastness of the universe, a fear of our own "insignificance", a fear of death.

Familiarising yourself with these notions takes away a huge proportion of their potential to scare and depress. Face them. Think about them. Be rational and realistic. Don't allow them to overpower or overwhelm you. Once you've come to accept the truths and the questions, put them aside. Place them in a safe space in your mind and leave them there for another time when you might like to rethink them. The thoughts are YOURS to entertain. The should NOT be allowed to take control of your other thoughts or your emotions.

The very fact that you are troubled by these revelations shows that you are highly intelligent. You have a LOT to offer this world. I could say, then, that any of your time wasted on thinking depressive thoughts like those is time badly wasted. But I don't agree with that point of view. The thing is, I strongly think that philosophising is time well spent, so long as it's not all it's spent on. It develops the intellect, broadens the mind, deepens understanding of your own self and the reality in which you exist (and you DO exist, don't forget that!!) and it provides you with a valuable insight into the workings of the human mind.

I hope this guides you somewhat. Keep posting:)

troubled12345 wrote:

I think im having an "existential crisis" . The last few days after reading about the nature of the universe and whether everything in life/ our apparent reality may be predetermined i have become very worried and detached from reality. just looking around me i find myself questioning everything i see and worry about the nature space, time etc. At times im more worried than at other times and have a panic attack lasting many minutes. i try telling myself that this is the only reality i know and the ultimate nature of the universe/reality is irrelevant to my everyday life but its hard convincing myself. I had been feeling a bit depressed last few weeks (i suffer with anxiety and depression but it wasnt too bad for the last year untill last few weeks). Im having trouble sleeping(had to take 2 sleeping pills last night) which is making the matter worse as i get more anxious when tired/overtired. Im considering going to a psychiatric hospital if it gets really bad again(its comes and goes and at present isnt too bad but in back of mind all the time) or going to a psychotherapist/counsellor as soon as i can.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies. Good to know others have similar feelings and/or can empatise. Still finding myself "uncomfortable" in my own reality but no more severe "attacks" of panic/fear yet today, i had two severe bouts yesterday as was tireder. Can't beleive what has happened in last week, was doing quite well in overcoming depression/anxiety without medication over the last year and then this hits me. Hopefully i'll continue to improve and not disimprove over next few days.

Black Swan

I think many of us struggle as you do, at one time or another. I entered the arts, and now offer my audience a little respite from their ponderings and day-to-day troubles.

I would suggest you continue your reading, but mix it up a bit with alternative views? Viktor Frankel comes to mind in a work he wrote decades ago called Man's Search for Meaning. Yet another, of an entirely different bent is a very short book with a poem called the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyan (rendered into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald). When faced with the troubles of the world, a quote from the last work strikes a chord with me:

"Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse -- and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness --
And Wilderness is Paradise enow."

I found a mix of talk therapy, meditation, art, and researching buddhism completely changed my life. As we grow up, we interpretate the worlds signs in a negative way. There is always a positive spin on everything. Listen to it. The world is telling you something. You need to learn from this experience and take action. View fear in a different way, as a learning process. You will be free. The only thing stopping you is fear of the unknown. Deep inside there is a curious child crying to be set free. I wish you all the best in the future. Be Free.

Beruthiel

The writings of the Dalai Lama can be very calming. You do not have to have any religious beliefs to read him, you can be a complete atheist and enjoy his body of work.
Try to work on yourself as a person, be as good as you can be to others, read to help you grow as a person, take pleasure in the things around you. The only thing you have control of in this life is yourself, open yourself to the possibilities of what exactly that means.

Realise that if you allow bad thoughts into your head and dwell on them, all this will do is worry you, nothing changes except how you feel.
They are just thoughts after all, you have allowed them in, you can also shut them out. It can take some practice replacing them with good thoughts.
Whither you allow good or bad thoughts into your head, the only thing changing is your mood, the rest of the world remains the same.

stevenmu

Having struggled with the nature of reality myself, I think it's important to keep in mind that whatever "reality" actually is, there's all kinds of perspectives from which it can be viewed. It can be looked at from a scientific point of view with the theories of relativity, quantam mechanics and so on. It can be viewed from religious or spiritual points of view. And, it can also be seen from the common day to day perspective, where whatever the other perspectives say, at the end of the day you still have to get up in the morning and go about your daily business, maybe go to work, pay some bills, eat a few meals, meet friends/family etc, watch some TV and so on.

I think the trick is to keep this last "everyday life" perspective as the primary one, without this you have nothing and the others mean very little. Keep the others as an interesting hobby, something to think about or read up on in your spare time, but always keeping in mind that whatever you or others discover about quarks, black holes or God, your ordinary day-to-day life is still the most important of reality for you, and won't really be affected by it greatly.

chamlis

I think you seriously need to broaden your reading material, my friend.

I'm curious as to what exactly you find troubling? It is a very broad subject matter you have. If we are to believe the universe is infinate, very broad indeed!

I have read many books on many different topics regarding these issues amongst others. If you were to be specific I could perhaps recommend something? Others could aswell.

Oriel

Troubled12345,
Do you drink much alcohol?

LegacyUser

Hi Troubled.

Can I ask, have you a job? Because if you have you wouldnt have as much time to work yourself into a psychotic state by trying to answer unsolvable questions.