[JAG]

What if one has a underlying belief that the "real world" is not important, and that the most important things are thoughts about existence. Then what? How do you change that belief? What can one do to be made to believe the real world matters?

 

[Guest]

I guess it would have to depend on what thoughts about existence are. For me, yes they are the philosophical ponderings of physical and mental existence on this earth, thoughts about how i am just "being here" without really feelilng like it most of the time. But, they are also thoughts about how I exist and fuction in the world. For me that is where the tie-in happens. I believe I exist. I believe that what I do, how I live, how I function in the world is a result of my existence and how I carry it out. From that, I find it extremely important to do things that make me content, that please me, that matter. That is how the real world matters to me. Without the drive to use my existence to create things and help people and work and play and be pleased I would, at least mentally, cease to exist (or at least feel like it).

Does that make any sense????

 

[JAG]

Let me give you an example:

The DR'd person feels like there is a pane of glass between them and the outside world. Therefore there is a sense of disconnect from the world. As a result, the DR'd person just might feel that things in the head are more important, even more real, than external concrete things. Know what I mean?

So, how does the DR'd person change to think that things in the real world are more important than more abstract concepts?

 

[Guest]

I am dr'd and dp'd. I know what the disconnection feels like. I have been through the experiences where I became completely absorbed in the illness, trying to get past the pane of glass or foggy world. For me, it took TIME, gradual recovery. As time has gone by I have grown comfortable with my current state. I must have gone through some acceptance of it, probably out of necessity, for if I had never gone through that stage I would not be able to function properly in my day-to-day life. Once I accepted it for what it was and learned how to deal with it I could then go on with my life, and with that, find that the real world is more important than the crap that goes on in my head. I don't know, it must be some kind of survival technique.

But what it takes is time, and during that time, a gradual willingness to accept your current state and be comfortable with it.

 

[JAG]

I have DR 24/7. I do live with it too, and I did after a long time start thinking that it was just the way I am and accepted it. I'd be shocked if it disappeared one day.

 

[Guest]

A while back I read a book entitled SACRED PAIN by author Ariel Glucklich. In this book he talks a bit about what he refers to as the "neuro-matrix" ( theoretical?) an anatomical mechanism situated somewhere in the spinal cord which acts to regulate and control the influx and outflux of nervous signals throughout our body in relationship to the brain and various brain responses to pain as well as other sensations. ( there was some fascinating studies mentioned in the book having to do with exploring the nature of "phantom limb" pain, you know the brain recognising pain impulses coming in from a body part like a leg that no longer exists, or if the sensation of pain has it's origin in the brain itself rather than in the peripherals) Anyway if there is an over load of input certains things happen in the brain, and on the other hand if there is not enough neural input signals coming in, certain other things are likely to happen.

For instance in "sensory deprivation" experiments where one is submerged in water at body temperature in a completely dark sound proof water tank people generally begin to "hallucinate" in various ways rather quickly. On the other hand an over load of sensory input from external sources can overwhelm the indivdual "ego" and make it feel subsumed within the magnitude of the influx, like one may experience in severe pain or intense orgasmic pleasure.

In any case I definitely feel that our relationship with the external world outside our heads is a essential factor in shaping our sense of "self." It is part of the "gestalt" of how we percieve ourselves.

Did I answer your question?

john

 

[JAG]

Let me try to answer my own question.

It will help you feel that the external world is more important if you focus on the external things that interest you most.

 

[Axel19]

Yes Jag, you've just answered your own question, I would agree. Focus outwards.
I do know what you mean by being more preoccupied with your own thoughts than the outside world. I think it may be another coping mechanism....ah f*ck it I can't be bothered to come out with another half baked psychoanalytical theory.