Why live?

[edgewise1]

"Get busy living, or get busy dying".... My favorite quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Shawshank Redemption".

A great idea to take to heart!

 

[rincewindrocks]

oh god, i can remember where you are at so well

all i can say is, it will pass. at 16, you have tons of new chemicals running through your body

on top of that, you have a bunch of other chemicals running through your body that you put in there

my advice, take a month (it is summer, after all) and get out of dodge. Go camping or backpacking, just get away for a while. you may find that your viewpoint changes some. living the same thing every day is a major cause of depression.

and if that fails to work, just keep chugging. it will get better. i promise

oh, and if the anti-depressants arent working, they may actually be harming you. They all say it is a possibility. quit em, and talk to your doctor

 

[CoffeeDrinker]

I am alive because I haven't exhausted the organic materials that keep my vital organs functioning yet, and no one as put a bullet in me or hit me with a sharp or heavy blunt object. Well I did get a rock tossed at me once, but I survived....
Life, as far as I can tell, doesn't have a "point" like an argument has a point, or a story has a point, it just is. Otherwise what would be the point of a bunch of bacteria living in a dark oceanic crevasse? It just so happens that this bacteria is vital for our survival due to it's ability to break down certain chemicals that no other life-form can, but the bacteria themselves have no idea that they are filling a vital role in keeping everything else alive, nor would they care too much to learn that they did, all they are doing is trying to stay alive themselves.

Humans are cursed/blessed with this damn advanced brain that just keep cooking up crazy ideas that have no survival value whatsoever, like art, music, philosophy, and mathematics (beyond simple counting and arithmetic). We have the ability to do whatever we damn well please. We also have the tendency to feel like shit when we aren't doing what we really want.
You said it would be better if you had no thoughts at all. How very Buddhist of you. Why don't you try turning your thoughts off for a few minutes at a time? That's what's known as meditation.
Also just try to find something that is actually good for you (AKA not binging on hard drugs for months at a time) that you like to do.

I have a bad history with opiates and alcohol too, and doing downers all the time will make you feel depressed, even hating yourself. It's normal what you are feeling. Just know that these drugs have the immediate side effect of euphoria, but a longer term side effect of depression.

Some view humans as nothing more than just a robot made of chemicals. The chemicals you are taking are doing exactly what they have done for millions of people before you.

EDIT: As someone else said "Life is for living"
That's the truth!

 

[Z Y G G Y]

dude...ages 13-18 were the most depressing years of my life. If I would have based life on those years and I would have killed myself then I would have missed a lot. Life gets a lot better once you pass 18. It's not even comparable. You don't really start living life IMO until you are 18. Go to college. Those were some great years of my life. Just remember that for most people life gets better as you get older. It definitely did for me. I was miserable at 16 and now at 28 I am much much happier and excited about life in ways that I wasn't when i was 16.

Go out and do stuff. The more you do the better you will feel about yourself. Sitting home will only lead to feeling like shit. The more you do the more it increases the appetite for more life. It's weird, but the only way really to have a better life is to just go out and start experiencing it. Nothing will be done for you, you have to take your life in your own hands. By sitting and waiting for your life to get better you are just wasting valuable years. Nothing will change for the better until you go out and start experiencing life.

 

[woamotive]

Because for some reason there is this universe that has been created. It's full of beauty (along with the ugly) that I need to explore. Who care if it will mean nothing after I'm dead - it means something 'now'. Live NOW because you can't later. That's reason enough for me.

There are people to love. Make love to. Drugs to try. Places to visit, experiences to enjoy (and not enjoy but learn from). Etc...

See what you're capable of. Prove to yourself that this one life (if you believe there is only one life - if more, than 'this life') WILL be fucking awesome.

 

[Cyc]

I live to find love. I want to be around someone I can love, because it's an obsession of the best kind.

I also live to enjoy myself, and as bizarre as it sounds, to provide enjoyment for myself and my special lady friend (whom I don't love in the aforementioned way, but love all the same).

I also live because life is a game of choices. Tomorrow you can decide to leave the Country and live in the forest, or assassinate an evil person, or take a bunch of oxy and nod out. Or listen to some amazing music. There's so much to do, it would be a waste to not have the option to do it.

One of those choices may end in death anyways.. So you never need to worry about choosing death. It is an inevitability.

 

[entactogenial]

depression and suicidal ideation grind the emotions down . it is overwhelming and relentless .
it colors every facet of life . myself and others, plenty others, have gotten out of the pits of misery through the intervention of western psychiatric and/or psychological medicine .

i got my life back because of finally finding one competent and well informed Pdoc . you have to be your own advocate in these matters as finding a good one can get almost overwhelming .

suicidal thoughts are just a normal part of my thought processess, probably because i've been like this for so long. i've been to 3 horrible psychologists, all of which have recommended anti depressants, every time id say they didnt work, theyd put me on something stronger... and they really didn't fix anything, just made me pissed off about going back there, i'll keep looking though

I live mostly for my family. I spent 28 days in the hospital last year after i attempted to take my life and I totally regret it

Try to see some humor in life... I posted this elswhere but may be helpful to you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRdf9GWuSo

ive been in the hospital once before also, it really made me feel worse about everything seeing my family like that
that video m ade me smile

my advice, take a month (it is summer, after all) and get out of dodge. Go camping or backpacking, just get away for a while. you may find that your viewpoint changes some. living the same thing every day is a major cause of depression.

and if that fails to work, just keep chugging. it will get better. i promise

ive been doing the same thing for the last 2 months, day in day out, probably why everything seems to be getting worse getting away would be nice

dude...ages 13-18 were the most depressing years of my life. If I would have based life on those years and I would have killed myself then I would have missed a lot. Life gets a lot better once you pass 18. It's not even comparable. You don't really start living life IMO until you are 18. Go to college. Those were some great years of my life. Just remember that for most people life gets better as you get older. It definitely did for me. I was miserable at 16 and now at 28 I am much much happier and excited about life in ways that I wasn't when i was 16.

ill keep that in mind, i;ve been hoping for a change sometime, ive been trying to change things in my life but it always ends the same
thankyou to everyones posts

 

[Draigan]

I have something that I want to show you.

Listen to this series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYpBKkCHUQQ&feature=player_embedded#! I think it will make you feel better!!

I just want to tell you that you are going through a truly ancient cycle. Humans have been like this since the beginning of time, but I think you should remember that some people have seen through the veil that makes us ask silly questions like "why live"

 

[entactogenial]

ive really tried for a long time to change my perspective on life.. maybe ive just got to stop questioning myself and everything i do.. im going to be seeing a new psychiatrist in a few days, maybe some more scripts will help

 

[Draigan]

^ Perhaps what you think is the solution is actually the cause? hehe

Whats all the fuss about?

 

[entactogenial]

no real fuss, I just wanted to knowwhy other people live, kind of stupid, im just having a hard time finding a reason to not kill myself. its hard to get rid of those thoughts though, i cant just stop thinking them

 

[Draigan]

Just dont kill yourself. Ive been through so much man. So much pain

BuT!!! Life gets better TRust.

You get more peaceful as you age ^_^, hopefully!!]

Seriouslythough, if you can grasp it, that video I sent you is really brilliant. It can settle a lot of questions that you have about life

 

[entactogenial]

i'm listening to it now, i've listened/read a lot of alan watts work.
i know a lot about his ideas, but i'm asking different questions that can't be answered, i should just stop asking them but its like an automatic thought in my head, it just pops up constantly without me wanting it to, and a lot of the times i just cant ignore it

 

[voxmystic]

i may be the old lady on this thread. 16 was a long time ago. but i remember it being very painful, awkward, difficult. people tell you do do what you love, but i didn't even know what i loved until my mid twenties, when i found a niche and made a real contribution. until then, i was pretty miserable unless i was completely on my lips, and even then sometimes. becoming self-sufficient is better than any anti-depressant. the feeling of empowerment is the ultimate rush! but it's not automatic, or instantaneous. i've rarely met anyone your age who has experienced it.

until very recently, certainly within the last century, it would not have been unusual at all for a person your age to be considered an adult. to perhaps be starting a family. certainly to be fully carrying your own weight, with extensive responsibilities to yourself and your family. as we become more technologically advanced, and require that everyone extend their schooling to adapt to a tech world, we keep our kids in a position of dependence for many years longer than is traditional, or maybe even natural. i think it's a major source of teen angst. just mho.

i think i'm here, and that we're all here, to discover our god/dessness. to realize that we are not separate entities, but are completely merged with each other and All-ness. cyc is absolutely correct to assert that death is inevitable. no need to choose it. it will choose you. but, i don't see how it could be the end. simple physics. matter and energy (us) are enterchangeable, but they never end. ever. the matter and energy that are you have been a million things before, and will be a million things after. death is no escape, just a transition.

i'll have my 40th birthday this summer, and i gotta tell ya, everything just keeps getting better. if i was still as miserable as i was in my teens, i'd probably have opted out years ago. twenties were a major improvement, but my thirties have been just incredible! i'm excited about what the next decade will bring.

i hope you find the courage to face your tomorrows until you get to a place where you look forward to them. i wish you peace.

 

[burntserkits]

OP: You sound like a pretty intelligent person and sometimes smart people tend to overanalyze things and see too much of the negative and focus on that. I really hope you can find peace, friend...

 

[Rondeau]

oh, and if the anti-depressants arent working, they may actually be harming you. They all say it is a possibility. quit em, and talk to your doctor

my friend was misdiagnosed as depressed (he's just shy and awkward) and his doctor gave him a prescription for anti-depressants. He stopped after a month because of the suicidal ideation and chronic fatigue.


by the way, i bet you listen to The Smiths a lot? it's okay, i do too. if not, they might be the musical cure for your depression. They are a band that any troubled adolescent, hell just about anybody who's had a tough time, can relate to.

i'm reading the taboo by alan watts, atm. it's very good.

 

[Draigan]

i may be the old lady on this thread. 16 was a long time ago. but i remember it being very painful, awkward, difficult. people tell you do do what you love, but i didn't even know what i loved until my mid twenties, when i found a niche and made a real contribution. until then, i was pretty miserable unless i was completely on my lips, and even then sometimes. becoming self-sufficient is better than any anti-depressant. the feeling of empowerment is the ultimate rush! but it's not automatic, or instantaneous. i've rarely met anyone your age who has experienced it.

until very recently, certainly within the last century, it would not have been unusual at all for a person your age to be considered an adult. to perhaps be starting a family. certainly to be fully carrying your own weight, with extensive responsibilities to yourself and your family. as we become more technologically advanced, and require that everyone extend their schooling to adapt to a tech world, we keep our kids in a position of dependence for many years longer than is traditional, or maybe even natural. i think it's a major source of teen angst. just mho.

i think i'm here, and that we're all here, to discover our god/dessness. to realize that we are not separate entities, but are completely merged with each other and All-ness. cyc is absolutely correct to assert that death is inevitable. no need to choose it. it will choose you. but, i don't see how it could be the end. simple physics. matter and energy (us) are enterchangeable, but they never end. ever. the matter and energy that are you have been a million things before, and will be a million things after. death is no escape, just a transition.

i'll have my 40th birthday this summer, and i gotta tell ya, everything just keeps getting better. if i was still as miserable as i was in my teens, i'd probably have opted out years ago. twenties were a major improvement, but my thirties have been just incredible! i'm excited about what the next decade will bring.

i hope you find the courage to face your tomorrows until you get to a place where you look forward to them. i wish you peace.

coudnt have said it better myself.

8

 

[unsettled]

I can relate to what you're feeling, I'm going to agree with a lot of the other posters and say wait a bit before you do anything drastic. I deal with 16 year olds all the time and most of them think they know it all, I'm 31 and I realize I was the same way at that age but you really have a lot to experience. Life will open up in ways you can't imagine at this point, you're at a very difficult age. Also intelligence is not good for happiness in my opinion, I almost regret reading all the existentialist literature I've read over the years because it does me no good when I fall into my depressed moods.

Anyway, no way you've experienced it all at 16, give yourself some time. Try to find some things to do that will keep you from thinking, this helps me, it may help you too. Watch something funny. Drinking is only gonna make you more depressed so I'd cut down on that if I were you. I know it's tough but hang in there.

 

[entactogenial]

vox: i hope so too, yesterday i stopped seeing my psychologist for good and in twodays i will be seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, i'm hopeful that something will change, maybe different types of anti-depressants?

burnt: i've started becoming more aware that i severely over analyze everything to the point of turning things around on myself and then questioning why I bother living, this is one of the problems i'm faced with but its become a part of my everyday thinking



unsettled: not saying i've experienced everything, but a fair amount of the fun shit that is possible in this life, i can't picture it getting better as i age i'm afraid buti'm probably wrong
OC helped for a while until I had none.. unless i drink to unconciousness alcohol makes it worse, its really horrid but its all much better than my sober state of mind.

thankyou for the pm hob

 

[Steveywonder]

Life is what you make of it. If you spend your life saying "what's the point of living," you might as well be dead, because you're wasting the one life you have. Go out, have fun, make friends, and try to be as happy as can be.