How important my moods are to me

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

I am going to explain what my good moods are like to me. I know I’ve talked about this time and time again. But all my previous topics were way too long and I wish to give an effective brief summary here so people get a clear message.

First off, I am a hedonist as I’ve said before. That means you think that pleasure (your good moods) are all there is to life and are all there is to having meaning, joy, and happiness in your life. It is a life in which you solely live by the pain/pleasure principle. That is, to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Any moral values you have only give your life meaning in the context of the pain/pleasure principle. That is, your life can only have meaning, joy, and happiness if you are in a good mood and don’t have any suffering in your life at the moment.

Now the words “hedonism” and “pleasure” imply something less important. It implies that you are living your life for nothing more than some pleasant sensation such as from hot chocolate or being rubbed on the back. This is a misconception of my own hedonistic life. My good moods are very profound and life depending experiences for me in my life. So it is for this very reason that I would no longer refer to myself as being a hedonist and is why I would no longer refer to my good moods as being “pleasure.”

My moods are not nothing more than pleasant or unpleasant sensations. They alter my entire perception of reality. They are life altering mental states. Many people claim that they are nothing more than sensations and that one can have meaning, joy, and happiness in his/her life even while feeling down, blue, and depressed. But I have never understood this. It never made any sense to me.

When I am depressed, it is not just some unpleasant feeling (sensation) I am getting and nothing more. When I am depressed, the entire universe around me lowers down into a state of hell. My life then has the worst meaning. If I live a depressed life, then my entire reality has changed for the worst regardless of what great things I do in my life anyway.

But when I am not depressed and have my good moods, then my life is transcended into a state of paradise. It is the most profound and beautiful life for me. But having neither my good or bad moods is neither heaven nor hell for me. It is like being in limbo. So my good moods are absolutely vital and life depending for me. Without them, then it is like I am being suffocated. My good moods are like the air I need to breathe. I need air in order to live physically. But I need my good moods in order to live in terms of having good meaning, love, joy, happiness, and inspiration in my life.

It’s as if my good and bad moods are not moods at all and shouldn’t even be referred to as being “moods.” It’s as if they are some sort of supernatural sixth sense of my brain that transcend all other mental functions including thought. When I am in a good mood, it is like I am having the most profound and greatest transcended experience ever. It is like I am sensing heaven itself. It is like I am living in heaven.

But without my good moods, then I can tell myself all I want that my life still has good meaning, love, joy, inspiration, and happiness and I can do all I want with my life, but it is like I am in limbo in which all those things I am telling myself are nothing more than words and phrases and not any true good meaning, joy, happiness, etc. So my good moods are like some transcended mental experience bestowed upon me by angels of heaven. They are what transcend me, my life, and my composing dream into something truly great. They are what inspire my compositions and are the only things that do so.

Now I am a materialist and I do not believe in anything supernatural. So I am just giving a metaphorical description here for what my good moods are like to me. I am also not saying that I am better and unique than everyone else and that my brain is gifted and better than anyone else’s. I am just simply explaining what my moods are like to me. My good and bad moods are like portals to heaven and hell. That is how powerful and profound they are to me. No other mental state compares to them. Not even my way of thinking alone.

When I am in a good mood, I have entered heaven. My life is full of bliss, joy, happiness, inspiration, and good meaning. My good moods are a sacred divine transcending life force far beyond any of my other mental functions. This is what my experience of my good moods are like to me. Even the version of joy and happiness that Buddhists speak of which is a content mindstate, this is nothing in comparison. The content mindstate is a state of thought and that’s all it is. If you have depression in your life, then the Buddhists would tell you to accept and be content with your life anyway.

But these Buddhists are dead wrong here. They say that this content mindstate is true happiness, joy, and good meaning in one’s life when it is quite the contrary. My good moods transcend any state of thought I can ever achieve in my life. Like I said before, no other mental state compares to them. So my good moods are the only source of true happiness, joy, good meaning, and inspiration for me in my life. Without them, then my life is empty and meaningless. Especially if I am depressed. When I am depressed, I have entered the portal to hell and no content mindstate can ever possibly give my life any good meaning, joy, happiness, etc. while I am depressed. It is no different than being content in cold, empty, meaningless space. Your life is still meaningless regardless of how content you are.

I said before that my good and bad moods are like a supernatural sixth sense of my brain. It is like how psychics enter whole new supernatural realms. As long as they are in the realm of a bleak world that is fully of emptiness and despair, then them being content in such a realm is very likely to not bring their lives any meaning, joy, or happiness. Let me tell you that. So that is what depression is like for me. When I am depressed, it is like I have entered a whole new realm in which no way of thinking can ever possibly bring my life any good meaning, love, joy, happiness, etc.

Same concept also applies to my good moods. As long as I am in a good mood, then no way of thinking can make my life empty and meaningless. I am currently in a state of paradise of no suffering at the moment when I have my good moods. It’s like I am in heaven. When you are in heaven, there is no more meaninglessness and it doesn’t matter what you think to yourself, your life cannot be meaningless. So my good and bad moods are not just simply moods. They are not just simply pleasant or unpleasant sensations. They are forces of heaven and hell.

Therefore, I would not call myself a hedonist, I would not call my good moods “pleasure,” and I would even go so far as no longer referring to them as “good moods” anymore either. I would instead call myself a “supernaturalist” in which I live for a supernatural force of heaven in my life and rely on it to give my life meaning. My good moods are like the transcending life force of a deity. They are the life force of a transcended angel. So I would instead refer to my good moods as being “spiritual transcending life force” and I would instead refer to my depression as being “soul-destroying life force.”

2

You just described a “manic-depressive” or “bipolar disorder”.

…very common in today’s environment.

3

In that case, I have to say that like most of the intellectuals, you also misunderstood what Buddhism suggests.

Buddhism never talks about being content of anything. It suggests becoming detached/neutral/immune to all types of feelings, whether good or bad, which is an entirely different proposal from having a content mind state.

With love,
Sanjay

4

Alright then. This mindstate is nothing compared to our good moods then.

5

Hi Matt I would like to know which type of anhedonia you have. there are different types. I have depression and I would like further insight into your nature.

anhedonia 1 - A quiet sadness, a feminine attitude. A breeze through the trees, a girl in the woods with nature, who looks down on humans.
anhedonia 2 - Depression. Bad attitude and normally unhappy but finds thrills in life like going to parties and doing drugs to cope.
anhedonia 3 - Social depression. Normally unhappy and miserable, sometimes cries. Happiness is rare because the person is socially unwanted, and rarely has interesting activities. Despair is a common feeling. Enjoys music.
anhedonia 4 - Chemical depression. Due to social depression, the person loses hope. It no longer cries, and its feelings are mostly continuous misery. It only feels a few emotions, such as hate, disgust. It no longer feels despair, because it has come to terms with itself. Happiness is rare, but every now and then it laughs or cries at something if the circumstances are right. Gets angry easily, especially at unwanted music. This is also categorizes as psychopathy.
anhedonia 5 - 100 percent anhedonia. Literally has a neurological condition where it cannot feel pain or pleasure. Has no emotions or physical sensation whatsoever, and could not even feel if someone stabbed its hand with a sword.

Which one of these are you most often, Matt?

Also, I wonder if your medication is making you worse. Schizophrenia is caused by excess dopamine, so the meds they give you may block your dopamine which may reduce your pleasure sensations.

6

Solitary state due to no emotional ties but use that to my advantage
Physically alive but philosophically committed to being dead forever
Then slowing waiting until death actually does come for me one day
Thinking this openly about death makes me free on this side at least
Could be completely wrong when on the other side but I accept that

7

You can claim that, and you are also right in saying that according to your definition of good mood.

But, Buddhism and many other sects of Hinduism do not consider good mood/pleasure as a goal or true goodness. Their defintion of true goodness is entirely different from its western understanding. Their interpretation of goodness goes beyond pleasure/sadness and even sin/righteousness.

I made an interjection just to point out the misunderstanding about Buddhism. Sorry for the interruption. You can continue with your points further.

With love,
Sanjay

8

(I’m as much talking to myself as I am to you)

We are all human beings. Complete organisms.

As much as our biology influences us, so too does our psychological state. Both contribute to the structure that is our being.

Our understandings, ideals, values, memories, anticipations. Whilst these may be influenced or even spawned by our physical reactions, they exist in their own right.

We are both emotional and rational beings. Even if one can’t feel it, the awareness of cruelty and needless suffering can be a strike against one’s sense of good state.

Emotions encourage and suggest reactions to the environment, and furthermore, reinforce / validate behaviour. Yet, they are not always conducive to what’s in our interest. They aren’t contemplative, broad thinkers, or slow to respond. They can’t be relied on to always lead one well.

And here in lies the relevance of rationality. In this realm, one considers all factors that emotion responded to or ‘neglected’ alike. Rationality can produce systems that are more refined for the task than emotion alone.

It’s a more fitting reflection / representation of oneself to present / prioritize one’s rational systems and identify with them, over what one’s emotional reactions to the environment are.

To discern / produce / prioritize a response to the environment not by one’s initial emotional reaction to it, but by the deeper rational understandings and objectives.

This may be off, and I don’t think I’ve quite said all and as I intended, but I’m not well and can’t invest or produce properly - sorry.

9

But by this, you are implying that our emotions are nothing more than pleasant or unpleasant sensations and that one can lead a meaningful life through rationality alone. My emotions (moods) are nothing like that at all. Like I said before, they are completely life altering mental states. It is then rationality alone that gives my life nothing at all. As I stated before, I wouldn’t even use the term “moods” or “emotions” since that might imply something of less importance here. I would instead metaphorically refer to my good moods as being some transcended supernatural sixth sense of my brain that can sense and transcend me with all the life, power, and beauty of my composing dream and this universe. They are what breathe life into everything in my life.

I would refer to my good moods as being a powerful divine sacred angelic force of heaven and my depression as being a powerful soul-destroying force of hell. So as you can see here, it is like my experiences are almost entirely unique and I experience my moods completely different than everyone else. Otherwise, people wouldn’t be dismissing their moods as being nothing all that important and instead deeming rationality as being more profound and important. But, of course, there are actually many people like me out there. They feel that their very being is destroyed as long as they are depressed and don’t have their good moods. They, too, think that their good moods are what breathe life and profound greatness into their lives and goals/dreams.

10

I think what the boy is saying, is that his bad moods are like walking around with his leg being continuosly sawed off, and he can’t enjoy simple things.

For example, there are non-hedonistic pleasures, like curiosity hard work and science. He is saying he cannot even enjoy those things because it is like someone continuously putting a drill in his knee.

I dont think someone could enjoy meditation, or nirvana, being told that the “drill in your knee is not real.”

This is basically a Satyrian discussion over mind over matter, and how moderns with shitty lives think their shit don’t stink, just because they are taught to enjoy what is not in their nature to enjoy. Basically, if a businessman teaches a modern to brainwash themselves into thinking that shit tastes good, a modern will say that shit tastes good.

11

Exactly. We live in a modern moral pressured society and I have every reason to believe that the version of good meaning, love, joy, happiness, and inspiration that people say we can have in our lives while we are depressed and don’t have our good moods, I think this is the “brainwashed” version. In other words, it is not the true version. The true version can only come through our good moods and nothing else.

Depression is nothing more than shit to me while my good moods are gold. As long as I am depressed; in other words, as long as I have a pile of shit in my life, then it doesn’t matter how I think or what I do with my life. It doesn’t matter whether I help and inspire innocent people all around the world or anything else. That is not going to give my life any gold. The fact is, I still have this pile of shit and my life is still shit.

To me, artists who suffer from depression and claim that it has made their lives great and inspired them is an utter joke to me. It is like they are flinging shit around in their lives and claiming that it makes them and their lives greater. It is like they are smearing their shit on their works of art and claiming that this is true greatness. I see nothing great about living a depressed life no matter how you embrace and use it.

But give me gold (my good moods) and I can be someone truly great and live a truly great life. My works of art would truly then be inspired and would have the mark of a goldsmith.

12

Nobility is pursuit of freedom. Hedonism is pursuit of happiness.

These are two very different things.

Freedom is the capacity to act out every single possibility that pops up in your head.

Happiness, on the other hand, is heavily biased in favor of positive possibilities such as love and pleasure.

A man who strives for freedom does not complain about pain (or any feelings he is feeling as a consequence of his striving.)

Hedonists run away from pain into pleasure. Masochists, due to shame, run away from pleasure into pain.

I’d say that depression is some variety of masochism.

13

But this life is not about our thinking at all in terms of giving our lives good meaning. Our moods alone in of themselves independent of our thinking dictate the meaning in our lives. Our way of thinking alone independent of our moods doesn’t give our lives any meaning. But so many people are brainwashed by this modern moral pressured society into thinking the other way around. They think that our moods don’t dictate the meaning in our lives and it is instead our way of thinking that dictates the meaning in our lives. This is backwards.

14

The problem with our modern societies is that they are slave societies that discourage freedom and creativity.

Freedom means being able to act out every idea that our minds come up with. This has little to do with positive moods, because sometimes, if not most of the time, acting out your ideas means going through negative moods.

Modern societies shame us for coming up with our own ideas. How is this resolved? By resolving shame, not by running away from it in positive moods. By clinging onto positive moods, you forget to act your reactions and so you end up becoming a slave to your positive moods.

15

But our good moods are really the only things that give our lives good meaning though. Think about it. We see what happens with animals in the laboratory. When they don’t have their good moods, they give up on their mates and pursuits. But when their reward system is stimulated in which they have their good moods, they are very encouraged and pursue their mates and goals much more. So this says a lot here. We as human beings are no different. But the only reason why there are some people in this world who still claim to have good meaning in their lives while they are depressed and still pursue their goals anyway while depressed would be because they are just forcing themselves and nothing more. They are brainwashed into thinking that their lives still have good meaning while depressed when this was never true. It is instead our good moods that encourage our survival in the sense of giving our lives good meaning, love, joy, happiness, inspiration, etc.

16

It would be helpful for him to categorize what type of depression he has, so I can see what exactly type of moods he is suffering from. Is it trying to live life with an arrow to the knee, or is it just a mild breeze he can overcome?

[size=85]anhedonia 1 - A quiet sadness, a feminine attitude. A breeze through the trees, a girl in the woods with nature, who looks down on humans.
anhedonia 2 - Depression. Bad attitude and normally unhappy but finds thrills in life like going to parties and doing drugs to cope.
anhedonia 3 - Social depression. Normally unhappy and miserable, sometimes cries. Happiness is rare because the person is socially unwanted, and rarely has interesting activities. Despair is a common feeling. Enjoys music.
anhedonia 4 - Chemical depression. Due to social depression, the person loses hope. It no longer cries, and its feelings are mostly continuous misery. It only feels a few emotions, such as hate, disgust. It no longer feels despair, because it has come to terms with itself. Happiness is rare, but every now and then it laughs or cries at something if the circumstances are right. Gets angry easily, especially at unwanted music. This is also categorizes as psychopathy.
anhedonia 5 - 100 percent anhedonia. Literally has a neurological condition where it cannot feel pain or pleasure. Has no emotions or physical sensation whatsoever, and could not even feel if someone stabbed its hand with a sword.[/size]

Which one do you have Matt, 1 2 3 4 or 5?

17

It is not our positive moods that give meaning to our life. It is actions that we need to perform that do. Performing these actions does not necessarily make people feel happy. It makes them feel free, but this is different from feeling happy.

For example, when I feel extremely dizzy, I can feel free, but I cannot feel happy.

When you give all of yourself, you feel free, but not necessarily happy.

We are not animals. Animals, I’d say, are far more rigid than humans are. One of the defining characteristics of humans, as Carleas said in another thread, but in the wrong context, is flexibility. We are capable of releasing ourselves from our instincts. We are capable of “letting go”. But of course, not every human is. You, for example, aren’t.

18

Good luck with that.

19

Depends on your definition of happy. Dizzy can make me happy. So can’t a job well done. Happy!=eating a lolipop.

Guess its too much effort for him to type a 1,2,3,4, or 5…Yet he can make some of the longest posts on ILP. He seemed to ignore my question to him before, so let’s see what he does now. Lethargy and ignoring people seem to be trademarks of modernity.

20

When you successfully adapt to dizziness (= let go of fighting against it) then a kind of happiness is experienced. The process of adaptation itself, however, isn’t quite as happy.