Fellow Atheists

[Roknrol]

Spiritual types seem to have endless amounts of "hope" for when times get tough.

I haven't got that.

What helps you when life sucks and it seems to be a trend? Changing your life seems to be one way, and it's one that I've used a lot in the past. But I'm tired. Like, you have no idea how exhausting my life has become. I'm tired of fighting and trying (and failing to make a difference). Thoughts?

[Juniper]

Re: Fellow Atheists

I don't think my approach is very sustainable and likely terrible for heart conditions but... Spite seems to work OK for me as of late. Then again, I'm not really sure I fall into the Atheist category (yet?) but I haven't felt spiritual in a very long time... like, over a decade for sure.

[Roknrol]

Re: Fellow Atheists

Hi Juni!

You know I feel you on that...you were around for my struggled conversion to Atheism.

Spite has worked for a really long time for me (as you're also aware lol)...it's just lately I can't seem to bother. When I see something that really pisses me off, I'm reminded that I am one of over 8 billion and that their momentum far exceeds my own.

Of course, I still have 'good' days...but the bad days are getting more frequent. I look around and see people struggling 'more' and have no idea how (or why) they bother. I hear people's "recovery" stories and how they "succeeded against great odds" or "despite their disabilities" and I'm still left wondering why they even bother?

I'd bet that a lot of it (for me) is watching the world move backwards. Progressives haven't had a real "win" in a very long time and the people dragging us back to the stone age have all of the money, all of the power, and absolutely none of the empathy. But that still leaves me feeling pretty hopeless and helpless.

[Juniper]

Re: Fellow Atheists

That's a really crummy feeling and I'm sorry you're going through it. The world definitely feels like it's circling the drain right now but I'm hanging on to the hope things start to look up soon. For you and for everyone else that's stuck dealing with the world's bullshit.

[Roknrol]

Re: Fellow Atheists

On the one hand, I absolutely agree with you...but on the other, I have to wonder if the world has ALWAYS felt like it's circling the drain. The more history I read (not just facts, but actual words from actual people actually alive at the time), the more I wonder if my perspective is just skewed because right now I just happen to be alive.

I mean, the past was awful..always has been. But more awful than now? Less? I think a lot of that just depends on perspective.

Still...there are good days and bad days. Today...things are going ok

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Fellow Atheists

Spiritual types seem to have endless amounts of "hope" for when times get tough.

I haven't got that.

What helps you when life sucks and it seems to be a trend? Changing your life seems to be one way, and it's one that I've used a lot in the past. But I'm tired. Like, you have no idea how exhausting my life has become. I'm tired of fighting and trying (and failing to make a difference). Thoughts?

I'm gonna be this person - therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. Failing that, I've stayed alive the last 14 years because I got a cat.

[Roknrol]

Re: Fellow Atheists

Boy, that would sure be nice. Now I'm going to be "this" guy lol

Insurance covers - at most - two visits to a therapist. This works out to 1) diagnose 2) drug. Barring that it's completely unaffordable since the healthcare system let me get so far along with my heart disease that I can't even work right now. I would LOVE to actually get some damned professional help, were it acheivable without being attached to a church.

[Rhythm]

Re: Fellow Atheists

Embrace the suck, and learn to see the the genuinely hilarious in the dangerously absurd. That's how I do it, anyway. Basically, the same thing that people who believe in gods do. Cope isn't branded, it's universal to us.