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.
What you describe as “not feeling terrible” is what I would describe as “empathy”, aka what makes us humans. Our ability to feel emotions regarding what is not happening to us but to someone else.
There is no need to go seek trauma-like events to experiment empathy, no need to witness a war, a child suffering or something deeply unfair. It’s the same empathy that also makes us able to cry real tears when watching/reading a love story, and sincerely worry about what’s happening to a fictional character that is, by definition, not even a real person. That is the same empathy that makes us feel good when witnessing someone happy in front of us, even a perfect stranger (like this sweet couple sitting in front of me in the bus, yesterday), or feel happy when we see kids playing around on the street or in a park. The same empathy that makes us feel bad when we see those same people not being happy. And it’s the same empathy that makes feel like helping some random strangers that obviously needs help. To care about others, that’s what make us human beings.
So, would I take pills to stop being a human in order to not feel bad? No. At the very least because I know I would also not be able anymore to feel happy, as I would not be able to feel much anymore, if anything.
if everyone stopped caring, how would the world look like?
robot like. De-humanized. A billionaire’s dream I imagine. Even more so that they would make us pay for having access to those magical (?) pills.
Personal remark:
Ignoring real trauma here, just considering our emotional reactions to events happening around us. Imho, the real issue with bad/sad feelings is not in us feeling bad. The issue lies in not being educated to accept and to handle those kind of feelings as a legit part of ourselves. Exactly like so many of us now seem to have become incapable to handle any disagreement or contradictory fact, btw. It’s most likely the same issue.
No pill ever will replace education, or its absence.
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?
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)
I didn’t get the sense they were talking about antidepressants, mainly because that’s not how anti depressants work.
I think they were referring more toto “magically becoming a conservative MAGAT.” They are famous for not caring about issues unless they’re directly affected and being quite callous up until that point.
They do care about things that don’t affect them, though. They care about repressing and punishing people who are marginalized. The premise of the question lacks that bit of nuance.
I don’t know the stats, but I would think people who take antidepressants are more likely to be left leaning (concerning themselves with issues that don’t effect them, in a caring way) than right leaning (concerning themselves with issues that don’t effect them, in a punishing way) because it is a common belief in the latter group that caring for your mental health is some kind of liberal conspiracy.
I know plenty of people on antidepressants and anti anxiety medications that are activists. And plenty of people who would benefit from them but think it’s for “libruhls.”
I just want to back up I_Fart_Glitter here and say I absolutely read this as they said:
“I think they were referring more to “magically becoming a conservative MAGAT.” They are famous for not caring about issues unless they’re directly affected and being quite callous up until that point.”
I didn’t read this as any kind of attack on people who take antidepressants, their statement about “how some people already have it” matches my experience with the MAGA people in my life. They couldn’t possibly care any less about people suffering unless it affects them directly. They even enjoy the suffering of those they see as political enemies.
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.
What do you mean? I already don’t care about the state of the world.
I’m not convinced this pill would be better than death. Empathy is a large part of what makes life worth living, IMO.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Isn’t that just brain trauma?
Why take pills when you can just smoke weed?
Weed can increase anxiety though.
Alcohol, now there’s your poison.
I can’t do either…
Weed started giving me massive panic attacks and alcohol gives me insomnia… I have to suffer this shit reality sober lol
Lower risk of lung cancer, I figure.
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”…
