You get to live a happy life and don’t care about all the horrible things happening all across the world. You wouldn’t feel terrible for children getting killed in a genocide half the globe away, every day. Blissful ignorance.
My response would be no. And I suppose most responses are gonna be no, but I also don’t think anyone who already doesn’t care would take a pill to start caring. That’s an interesting concept to me.
I’m sure that what me caring does to my mental state is far worse than however good is anything it does to anyone else. But by that logic, if everyone stopped caring, how would the world look like?
EDIT: It’s permanent. It doesn’t take away your emotions, it just stops you from caring about things like wars as long as they don’t directly affect you. Just like many people already have it.
Sometimes it’s more than I can take and I take time away from social media. And it’s not lack of caring, it’s just a weariness of feeling helpless. What can men do in the face of such reckless hate? But I can’t do it forever. Evil can’t be left to its own devices.
Once people stop caring its when things will start to get worse.
Freedom is only something you miss when it’s gone, and something you don’t appreciate when you have it.
No. I feel it is my duty to pay attention. To read the articles, to look at the faces of the murdered. Otherwise it’s like their misery was for nothing.
Just like many people already have it.
And there it is. This is a not so thinly veiled post being highly judgemental about people on anti-depressants and the like.
As you’ve identified:
I’m sure that what me caring does to my mental state is far worse than however good is anything it does to anyone else.
So… if it’s not helping anything, and arguably harming yourself, what is the point?
I promise you that it is possible to be aware of these horrible things going on, accepting that you cannot do anything about them, minimizing of the negative impact on your own emotions and mental state… and to be able to move on with your own life and enjoy what there is to enjoy around you. All at once.
That isn’t a “lack of caring”, it sure as hell isn’t fucking ignorance. I honestly take quite a bit of offense at that.
It’s basic acceptance of what you can and cannot change. The relatively recent idea that if you aren’t emotionally distraught about world events then you don’t care is one of the most toxic and damaging to mental health things in recent time.
Some people will call it stoicism, but it’s not even going that far.
This whole idea of “I have to stay aware of all the suffering in the world, and I have to have strong feelings about all of it!” is just “thoughts and prayers” with a whole bunch of extra steps that people often use as justification to look down upon others who don’t stay as up to date, or who don’t get as emotionally invested.
So to answer your question, no. I wouldn’t take pills that work as you describe.
Thankfully, that’s not how anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication fucking work! (Unless you’re on far too high a dose or perhaps on anti-psychotics instead)
In my opinion the world is at this shitty state exactly because so many people just don’t care and turn a blind eye to so many injustices, awful things happening in the world. You can ignore the smell of smoke coming from the neighbour, but enough sitting around will just get your roof on fire, as well. Even if the fire avoids you, you could easily be the person burning inside while the neighbour is just “taking their pills”, not caring about the state of the world.
Had more people cared, we wouldn’t see the same atrocities as back in and around WW2, Fascist states and semi-dictatorships running wild without anyone stopping them, white men oppressing minorities, etc.
Pretty sure drugs work like that already.
Is anyone going to pay my bills while I’m on these pills or am I going to be homeless?
Empathy is something to be proud of. We’d just be dogshit conservatives without it.
Not feeling any empathy is horrible, but feeling absolutely god awful about things you can’t do shit about isn’t exactly a virtue.
I think there’s some humanity in shared sorrows regardless of your power to stop it. Everyone can contribute a little also. I think with enough motivation empathy can lead to discomfort that can inspire massive change in an individual for the better and in some cases massive changes in a society for the better.
I don’t want to stop caring. I just want them to turn off the torment nexus, even if it’s only for a little while.
It’s easier to just stop accessing the news.
I’ve done this to myself. I don’t care less about people. I still want good things for people not matter how far away they might be. But I’ve worked hard to try to accept the difference between my circle of concern and circle of influence. I try to do what I can, and the fact that there is large-scale badness, does not undo my tiny-scale goodness. We can only change what we can.
Also, it’s important to know that social media and news pour money into making you angry and upset. It is worth taking a step back and limit your exposure to bad sources of news. I’m off all social media (other than Lemmy) and I follow news only via RSS, only via curated feeds and with heavy use of blacklisting phrases. There’s no point in ruminating and being fed the same trash news all the time. Work towards stopping feeling bad and starting doing good.
Why take pills when you can just smoke weed?
Lower risk of lung cancer, I figure.
Weed can increase anxiety though.
Alcohol, now there’s your poison.
Fuck no.
My wife and I often tell each other that we wish we were stupid and happy.
I mean does it improve my ability to survive?
Like I have depression, does it make my depression go away for the duration of its effects?
Sure, maybe I’ll take it.
I mean, I still remember what empathy is from my hippocampus, and I’ll just remind myself not to be a monster…
But I guess the major downsides is that I would not longer be able to “feel” the atmosphere of a movie/tv show. No longer able to “feel” the music. “Feel” the poems I write… idk if I could even write poems anymore.
No longer be able to feel the emotions associated with my past… the nostalgia… the pain… the trauma…
I hate the trauma…
But at the same time… it reminds me who my enemies are, so I don’t make that same mistake again… so I’ll know… know to take precautions… cuz my enemy is still alive and nearby…
I need to be able to feel to finish my memoir (finish lol more like start writing it… I barely got 100 words in).
So…
idk…
temporay effects… maybe…
I wouldn’t take a permanent one…
It’s permanent.
How it affects your depression depends on whether or how much is it caused by caring about the suffering of people all across the world. What inspired me to post this is a thing I’ve seen multiple times in comments on the internet - people saying that treating their depression is kind of pointless as it’s mostly caused by their awarness of that.
It doesn’t take away your emotions or empathy, or your ability to feels strong emotions during a movie. There are many people - I would maybe say the majority - who love their families, pets, neigbors, whatever, but fates of people from somewhere else in the world suffering in wars or genocides leave them cold. They just don’t care. Maybe a little, but definitely not as much to feel bad about it on a daily basis.
So like a selective suspension of empathy for anyone not part of your “in-group”?
Sure… I’ll take it.
I mean, I was already gonna prioritize my group over others… this doesn’t change much for most people… an average pleb like me can’t save the world, so I’d save those I care about first.
If I somehow end up being a leader where I actually have the ability to change things… my memories could still be there as a spiritual guide… as in hey, now you are in control, save those that are weak… hopefully I don’t forget to be a good person lol…
As for everyone else… probably a lot more intense tribalism. Its gonna be even more fucked if someone consider themselves to be the only person in their “in-group”…
stop looking at social media. That does what you’re asking without any drugs
And also stop talking to people who look at social media?
you can ask them to stop bringing up doomer stuff. I find that most people respect that boundary pretty well.
