January EAP: five sessions with new counselor.

[snoringdog]

Hello Troebia,

I was going to say no need to apologize as well. You didn't attack anyone directly, just described your outlook on logotherapy...

Just because I have chosen existential nihilism as a way of coping with life,

That's a tough load to carry, not many have the strength to do it.
(I lean toward it but struggle with it.)

A definition of nihilism I found is

the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless:

But religious and moral principles are *not* the same, in my mind at least. You can have the second without the first. (And all the religious con men we see around have the first, without the second )

What bugged me most about logotherapy is that it hinges on "meaning", as if what you think and do somehow should be defendable to make sense. Lots of external things don't have "meaning" either but you have to deal with it.

So much of reality seems harsh, absurd and pointless. Read the news any day of the week.
If you dwell on it too much or allow yourself to feel too much, it's absolutely numbing and depressive.

Life may be ultimately "meaningless" in the long time scale, but we do have to navigate what's in our faces every day, as you say.

We seem to be born story tellers. And neurologists/psychologists have described our brains as ongoing prediction machines, from one moment to the next, in effect creating an ongoing sense of reality moment by moment. So, we're constantly trying to make sense of things.

Viktor Frankl's ideas came from witnessing a most horrific example of "meaningless-ness" - the organized and mechanized destruction of millions of people. (I would put Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the same category, and there are others.)

His making "meaning" of the situation was a way of avoiding the utter rage and despair that would seem to result otherwise. Maybe not for everyone, but...

[oak]

Brief plan for fifth and final session
Hi to SnoringDog, with my thoughts on how many modern men effect nihilism
This past week

Brief plan for fifth and final session

Friends, tomorrow is my fifth and final short-term counseling session.

Having successfully achieved the original goal of counseling, overcoming procrastination anxiety by using self-calming tools, we can focus our last session on a broad sweep the Big Issues: love, friendship, professional success, and the meaning of life (or at least my life, here in 2024).

Hi to SnoringDog, with my thoughts on how many modern men effect nihilism

SnoringDog, always a pleasure.

Here is another definition of nihilism I've heard: "everything exists, and nothing has any meaning".

If nothing matters, then why not be 600 pounds, addicted to opiates, eat mostly fried chicken and Mountain Dew, and play video games all day?

If a person can't get ahead in working, dating, fitness, why not just give up?

Such is what I posit to be modern nihilistic thinking, and it appeals to me more than I let on.

This past week

This past week I: met with a mental health counselor, began a ChatGPT weight loss study, had a difficult talk with my boss about my job performance, taught myself a professional skill, and continued to try guitar. I am middling, at best, for all of these.

There is more I'd like to say about this, but it is scary and difficult to face one's shortcomings.

[troebia]

If nothing matters, then why not be 600 pounds, addicted to opiates, eat mostly fried chicken and Mountain Dew, and play video games all day?

I would like to argue that it would be uncomfortable and inconvenient to not take care of oneself. Here's a quote from Wikipedia's page on absurdism which is closely related to nihilism:

Various possible responses to deal with absurdism and its impact have been suggested. The three responses discussed in the traditional absurdist literature are suicide, religious belief in a higher purpose, and rebellion against the absurd. Of these, rebellion is usually presented as the recommended response since, unlike the other two responses, it does not escape the absurd and instead recognizes it for what it is.

So a nihilist can choose to live "ironically", following the rules and taking care of oneself but still being convinced that nothing actually matters. How many stories are there like "I saw the girl standing on the platform waiting for the train and knew that if I didn't say hello I'd regret it forever"? Well, I did say hello and ended up marrying her. Absurdly good stuff and lots of absurdly bad stuff has happened to me. My view is that there is no inner meaning to our existence. There is probably some cosmic meaning to the universe, but we are tiny parts of it that will never find out. And it doesn't matter. Just take care of yourself and your family, while being aware that it doesn't really matter. Say hello to more girls. The universe doesn't care if you hook up or not, so might as well.

[oak]

Hi friends.

I had the unusual experience of a final session after finding out my father was in bad shape, but just before going to see my him and my estranged family.

A fraught situation, to be sure.

While I was bit out of it, as you might imagine, we had a good session: we discussed how I can use the tools she shared with me previously, as I go and face other anxieties.

The second counselor was an unqualified success, and while it is very difficult that my father died, at least I have mental health tools that she so generously provided me the last few weeks.

[Mental Fairy]

You saw this person at just the right time Oak.

[oak]

You saw this person at just the right time Oak.

Well said, Mental Fairy.

If I can take her advice seriously, and if I have a little luck, her wisdom and insight can change the direction of my life.

[manuel_moe_g]

wishing you luck, Oak

<through> the mountain, into the blissful valley, recharge, then repeat going <through> the next mountain, repeating forever...