Jordan Peterson: How to Deal with Existential Despair

I am not bitter towards life I love it but there’s a part of me that would rather be back to wherever I came from, connected to something more than being isolated in my body alone forever

I like his suit.

Remember guys, the world has changed drastically in the last 30 years, this time right now with technology and social media is the first time our DNA is experiencing anything like that. We're obviously not used to of this kind of life. This is an experimental era for so many thing. We're all trying to cope up with this world that is constantly changing at an unbelievable pace.

Wow, I absolutely stumbled on this as I sit in my car feeling miserable. In hell. Going through ALL of this. I haven't been able to verbalize my inner torture.....this is exactly it. Thank you, I've needed this soooo much. 🕉

I am slowly and deliberately taking my life apart. I seem to think that if I isolate myself it will get better. I move frequently and it feels better for about 3 years until I catch up with me. I prefer being alone and have little contact with my family; have none of my own. I’m no spring chicken. I’m contemplating an existential journey to try to resolve the issue/s. This shit is not much fun.

Brutal. When you are at your lowest and weakest the only way out is to expend what little energy you have left and accept more responsibility and labor in a last ditch effort to merely survive.

A cost/benefit analysis of existence (my existence, at least) reveals that any and all good, pleasure, etc. is far outweighed... FAR outweighed... by suffering.

Responsibility doesn’t cure existential dread, it just distracts you from it

The tower of Babel(social media) is making people sick.

I think the best way to meaning is to sit down and write down what is important, and then what's needed to work towards that. And involve what inspires as part of the important things.

Yep, I’m in hell. Trying to claw my way out. Might not make it. Time will tell.

I just discovered Dr JP, what an amazing amazing man

Ignorance truly is bliss.

It's like I want to be alone forever yet I'm afraid of losing my close ones, wtf is wrong with me? Does anybody else feel this? I'm so deep in I've only slept 6 hours the past 3 days. Idk what to do.....

Was born and raised in a hole in all of my 24 years so far. It's like being chained up and bound and I know nothing outside of the place. Can never escape or be able to truly live for myself. It's just so foreign to me and it is getting worse and worse these days. Feel it's all I'll ever know. 😔

“Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here”

Despair my actually only fear

I don't even see the point if anything anymore, seeing the systems in place in the United States, seeing how hard I've worked saving up money for two years working overtime and everything selling my fucking soul to making some bucks and a third of it was gone within a week due to something that had come up. I don't see anywhere to go, I see how impossible it is to claw myself out of the rat race, school makes up employees, damn near every food and drink is not good for us, debt and chemicals shoved down our throats. Working my job and having enough energy to keep up with life takes all my will power as it is let alone attempting to eat healthy every day (also keeping that stocked), exercising, enough water, enough stretching, doing the exercises correctly. Like I'm just slowly becoming more nihilistic or something along those lines because so many problems so massive and rooted so deep into society and seeing none of my family even look twice at them, makes it impossible to even try fighting it. What fight the whole government? Ranting so hard bro😑

Answer me this - what about the person who is in so much despair they don’t care about gathering up and heading uphill.

I think I understand his point. By taking on responsibility and facing our problems head on, we create meaning and deal with the existential despair. Even though I could get much better at this, I feel like i am doing it quite well. I get top grades in school, and live a healthy life with regular training and social interactions. In spite of this, this existential dread and these feelings of meaninglessness keep returning. Are we supposed to ignore these thoughts and live life in a state of happy, deliberate ignorance? Or do I just need to keep improving until I reach a new state?