ToughDiamond wrote:
I've been a good match to the "depressive realist" label for a long time. It's a controversial concept that suggests people such as myself are somewhat unhappy because as staunch realists we refuse to put a positive spin on things. People generally prop themselves up with a bit of wishful thinking, it seems. They groundlessly assume that things will probably get better. However badly they behave, they usually cling to the idea that they're justified. They're not interested in their weaknesses. Whatever crap goes down on Earth, they believe there's a supreme being who will put it all right one day. Doing the lottery gives them hope of great wealth, which helps them go on, though a simple statistical analysis would show that nearly all of them will end up out of pocket. They toil for years thinking they can achieve the American Dream, though it's probably about as achievable as winning the lottery. Traditionally they've believed in a utopian afterlife, without requiring its existence to be demonstrated.
I don't know whether Aspies are more geared to diligent truth-seeking than anybody else. We're often said to be pathologically honest, so maybe there's a connection. Perhaps the problem is in thinking that the truth will set us free and lead to happiness. Personally I think it'll just make us "better" informed, but not necessarily happier.
I think we tend to live in the logical part of our minds, at the expense of the emotional side. I wouldn't expect that to lead to much happiness.
Stop getting in my head and repeating my thoughts!! !
The odd thing for me is that although as I wrote it I feared I might just be bringing myself and everybody else down, shortly afterwards I began to feel better, and since then I've been more buoyant than I've been for quite a while, for no apparent reason.
11 Apr 2018, 8:17 am
