Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Weapons of Self Distraction

I'm probably projecting here (I've hear psychologists use that word so I'm gonna pretend I know what it means) but why do we do it to ourselves?

I'll happily hamstring myself by playing hour after hour, day after day of games; sitting here while my muscles slowly, subtly atrophy and my eyesight gets gradually worse. And when I'm bored with that I'll veg out and watch a movie with my flatemates, deafen myself with some music, curl up and read a book. If I'm feeling sociable I'll go out with some mates, talk some crap and slaughter some brain cells with beer and spirits, gradually poisoning my liver into the bargain.

Some people like to go out or stay in and watch a bunch of complete strangers move a ball from one end of a field to another while another bunch of complete strangers try and move it in the opposite direction, and afterwards maybe they'll pick a fight with one of the people who supports a different team of complete strangers to the one they've chosen as their own.

And what do my strong feelings on the pointlessness of all this drive me to do? Do I get up and start excercising? Do I go get a decent nights sleep so tommorow I can be relaxed and refreshed and go out and learn a new skill? No; I feel compelled to write out an incoherent attempt at explaining what I'm thinking to a group of people randomly collected together by an interest in one particular kind of time-leech who probably wouldn't be interested even if what I had to say was worth listening to in the first place.

And with that I can pretend I did something, a low-effort, low-risk outlet for the energy that I might have used to some purpose if I'd had the strength of character to let it build up to painful levels.

Comments

  • DekronDekron Member UncommonPosts: 7,360
    You have just described just about everyones life here!  BTW, WTF is a flatemate?  image

    --------------------------------------------

    33.333333333333336% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?

    --------------------------------------------

  • FinweFinwe Member CommonPosts: 3,106
    Probably a british term for roommate.

    "The greatest trick the devil played on humanity in the 20th century was convincing them that he didnt exist." (Paraphrasing) C.S. Lewis

    "The greatest trick the devil played on humanity in the 20th century was convincing them that he didn't exist." (Paraphrasing) C.S. Lewis

    "If a mother can kill her own child, what is left before I kill you and you kill me?" -Mother Teresa when talking about abortion after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

  • dan101dan101 Member Posts: 9

    Because it's fun? Because you're a rat pushing down a bar recieving stimulation?

    Judging by some of the complaints I see from MMO players, men with guns are at their house holding guns to their heads, forcing them to play these terrible terrible games that the designers nerf, which causes them untold grief. Blame the men with guns.

  • UmbroodUmbrood Member UncommonPosts: 1,809

    It is called human nature...

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Originally posted by Jerek_

    I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  • rathmarathma Member UncommonPosts: 3,786
     music, MMO's and drinking are apart of life. It's what seperates us from the animals.

    image
    Sky and Beyond: Developer
    www.skyandbeyond.tk

    image

    image

    http://www.OriginNow.com - Official Fanboi

    EverQuest II : Level 20 Paladin - Antonia Bayle Server
  • Sir-SvenSir-Sven Member Posts: 773

    You sound like me a year ago. If you don't live with your parents like I do, (mind you I'm still in High School), than you should have no problem getting back on your feet. Check this webpage out. It can give you motivation if you read it correctly and give it some thought. Don't ever read on the defensive, consider what the people are trying to say. Unless its some BS. Then ignore it. Anyway, here is the link. Click here.

    image

    image
    image

  • Projecting (if I remember correctly from my Psychology course from last year) is taking a characteristic about yourself and projecting it onto another person.  Like when lazy people say everyone else is lazy, that's projection.

    But in the end ya gotta do what makes ya happy, cause if you're not happy... :( <profound statement here>.

Sign In or Register to comment.