/lit/ - Literature

The Catcher in the Rye

books don't work that way

go for a walk

Anything by Ayn Rand.

Not even trolling, her ideas are kinda stupid but some of her stuff gives you a huge confidence boost.

Read some Bukowski and start drinking.

>>2159774

Concurring. If ever you start acting like a little bitch, read Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead.

>>2159781
I was thinking maybe Anthem. Fountainhead and Atlas are rather voluminous.

>>2159774
>>2159781

A feel a little bit of undertow in /lit/ right now. I like it. Don't be a second-hander with a copy of Gatsby. Fuck shit up.

Nietzsche, of course.

Read Guy Debord and Bataille and Baudrillard (hell, read anyone who puts an ounce of thought into their work) and realize that you should be whiny and apathetic and nihilist if you live in a western society as it is the only reaction that proves you have an IQ of over 100 and (to risk the cliche) are 'alive.' Sorry bro, but the simple facts of the matter are that though western society may look all fun and great and comfortable, humans we're simply no meant to live in conditions like these. We're more at home in the third world.

>>2159796
i'm surprised by the actual amount of good points you're having tonight.
btw I'm not really bothered by that, as much as I am by all this "you're not entitled to be sad" shit.

Of Human Bondage?

As an alternative to reading, you could get religified.

>taking a self-guided journey through the rich world of literature
>escaping a downward spiral into self-loathing, asocial nihilism
pick one

Everybody should lighten the fuck up. The world is a sick, sick place, but your individual happiness is the only thing you should care about. So do what makes you happy, surround yourself with people you care about, ignore everything else and just enjoy the ride.

>>2159796
get a clue nerd

I have never seen a sad solipsist.

>>2159796
I have to agree with this guy, partially at least. I don't agree that it is sensible to act whiny, apathetic and nihilist, but acknowledging that something is wrong is good. The human mind has developed in a very specific way for as long as humans have existed. That is, in tribes. Deviating from that results in a whole mess of problems. In our society it is extremely hard to be content. Contentedness is natural feeling of adulthood, but no one feels that much anymore. Children are discontent naturally to grow into their roles, and successfully doing so leads to being content. But now there are no roles to grow into. Children are just discontent and remain discontent until they die.

steppenwolf ma nigga, the only book a so called "intellectual/cynical/misanthrope" needs. Just read any Hesse book.
They all about a person that has it all intellectually but is hell-a sad (why i so smrt? boohoo)
Each has a main character going out an being one of the "child people" and lo and behold!! HAPPINESS!!!
There's other things, but that's the gist of all the meanings in his books.

>>2159810
>>2159796
>>2159772
/thread

>>2159855
where u read that, i want to read it to

>>2159870
Read some books on anthropology

prometheus rising by anton wilson.

thank me later.

>>2159876
books plural? nah

>>2159855
Actually, this is p spot on. Everyone younger than 40 these days seems to be stuck in perpetual adolescence. Many seem increasingly determined to never have to grow up.

Anyway, get on the general social survey and find what things correlate with happiness, then try to live your life more like people who are happy live theirs (if what makes them happy could potentially apply to you).

Personally: for years, one source of unhappiness for me that not many people think about these days was homesickness while I was away at school. If you're away from home, find ways to visit those you love more often and make life better for them.

http://public.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/aurelius.html

>>2159765
Exercise it releases dopemine and raises self confidence.

>>2159976
> Anyway, get on the general social survey and find what things correlate with happiness, then try to live your life more like people who are happy live theirs (if what makes them happy could potentially apply to you).

Homer Simpson did this once, in the episode that Moe took the crayon out of his brain and he became intelligent. But being intelligent made him sad because being sad correlates with being intelligent. So he had Moe put the crayon back in so he could be happy, because being happy correlates with having a crayon in you brain fucking up your intelligence.

I once had a philosophy professor throw crayons into the lecture hall and tell us that it was the secret to being happy, according to Aristotle (apparently). The problem, though, is that, according to Aristotle at least, shoving a crayon into your brain is not "noble." Fuck Aristotle though, if he's so smart how come he's dead?

>>2159987
so does cocaine. and you don't even need a gym membership.

>>2160005
until you deplete your natural reserve of serotonin.

then you're really fucked.

>>2160005
Yep, you can just take that money you were going to spend bettering yourself and waste it on poison instead.

>>2160005

well i never, a tripfag advocating cool recreational drugs.

>>2160000
Nice quads. Anyway, all that from the Simpsons is why I threw the qualifier "if what makes them happy could potentially apply to you" in there. Getting a lobotomy is right up there with suicide in terms of "solutions" to unhappiness.

>>2160012
no you just start taking more drugs when your old dose doesn't have the desired effect

>>2160017
I don't know if I'd call exercising "bettering yourself." That reeks a little too much of the sort of self help bullshit that only ever works as a placebo. I mean it might be a good idea to exercise if you want to feel good, but let's be honest, all you're really doing is feeling good, and all you've really done is found a natural drug of sorts with few negative side effects.
> poison
don't be silly

>>2160018
does it count as tripfagging if you don't have a tripcode? Because I mean anyone can take my name and use it and no one would know.

>>2160023
> Getting a lobotomy is right up there with suicide in terms of "solutions" to unhappiness.

why is that, exactly? Would you say that any "unnatural" change to one's brain as a solution to unhappiness would suffer from the same problem? For example, let's say Bob was born with a chemical imbalance in his brain, whereby he felt very anxious at time when he shouldn't be feeling anxious at all. This was making Bob unhappy. So he starts taking Valium or something similar, and he's no longer anxious when he shouldn't be, and thus he is happy. Assuming Bob couldn't reasonably have hoped to achieve such an effect without artificially manipulating the material make up of his brain, would he still be in the wrong?

If you make it past the first year, I think you'll find your depression eases into a comfortable dysthymia, which you can internalize and adapt into a way of life. It's not perfect, but it beats the hell out of misery and surrender.

Oh, and read Terry Pratchett. If you're familiar, re-read Night Watch. If not, read Masquerade or Mort.

>>2160042

You're pathetic.

>>2160066
He's not wrong though, and attacking him shows how terrible you are at reasoning. I hate people like you who have a set belief and instead of offering counter points, bury your head in the sand of anger and resentment.

>>2160066
Just because you use fitness as a tool to ignore hardship does not mean he's said anything wrong. I've ran a mile or more everyday for years. I still live with my mother who has always hated me and I'm still depressed about not having a good job. Fit does not always necessarily equal happiness.

Infinite Jest

Go for a walk. Get out and run until you can't think anymore. This helped me.

You should then read Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi.

First

World

Mother

Fuckin'

Problems

Son

>>2160099
but not fit always equals unhappiness. Don't confuse a sufficient condition for a necessary one.

>>2159765
Hey OP, on top of the philosophy that's been suggested, check this one out if you think it applies to you (lol you're on 4chan, of course it does).

Also read the biographies of some people you think are badasses.

>>2160099
You should work on getting your mother to like you. She did poop you out of her bum, you know? You do owe her your life. Maybe you shouldn't be such a shit to her.

"Sometimes a Great Notion" by Ken Kesey. You are Leland. Become Hank. Read it. It'll all make sense.

I know that feel, bro.

Victor Frankl will give you some Shoah-sized perspective without making you feel like an asshole.

No one suggested yet, so how about All Quiet on the Western Front?

Definitely the book that made me think about my life the most. This shit was pretty much happening to everyones great grandfather.

>beatan guys to death with shovels
>lyan next to a guy you killed for over a day as explosion and bullets fly around you, looking in his wallet and seeing the picture of his family
>bludgeonan hordes of rats off your food
>seean your mom as she dies from cancer and starves while you fight hundreds of miles away
>carryan your dead friend for miles only to realize he died at some point along the way

>>2160286
>you will never fight in a brutal war
>you will never come to confront your humanity in your darkest hour

Serious answer alert: Richard Brautigan helped me out of a similar situation OP. Check out Revenge Of the Lawn (short stories) or Trout Fishing in America (short stories/novel(?))

I find him very uplifting, unlike anything else I've ever read.

>>2160286
Im with this guy. For me it was Johnny Got His Gun, but very similar novels.

How bout you cut the shit

>>2160356
I was just about to mention to the OP about how he should learn to astral project...

>>2160375
well bob monroe's books might facilitate that specific skill better

>>2160383
He seems like a nicer dude then Godfre or whoever, who kinda became more or less a cult leader. Anyway, you learn AP or OOBE or whatever and either learn perspective or discover that human perception is capable of some pretty crazy, illusory shit.

>>2160158
>Get out and run until you can't think anymore.
I think I might do this now that I know a location where no one will recognise me. Any more tips on this beyond grab a water bottle and go?

<-----

Best way to deal with depression:

>>>/fit/

For pick me up reading:

Nieztsche
Taoist and Hindu philosophy.

>>2160096

He is wrong. I see no reason why I should be the one to open his eyes. I just wanted to express my opinion of him because he disgusted me that much.

>>2160099

Getting in shape is only one aspect of bettering yourself. If you don't have a job, that's obviously another obstacle to overcome. There are many.

Everyone has an idealized version of themselves in their mind. Examine this image, discard the things about it that are in the realm of fantasy, and then think about the things that you need to change about yourself to become the person that you now see. Usually these aren't even that complex - get a job/a better job, get in shape, maybe a change of wardrobe. Each step that takes you closer to your ideal self will raise your self esteem, and as you grow in confidence other things fall into place for you as well, so some of those previously "unattainable" traits may actually develop within you (social anxiety usually diminishes, for example). You will without a doubt become happier.

You should also understand that the greatest happiness comes from the people around you. Surrounding yourself with friends, family, a partner - people you really care about - will always keep you from sinking into real misery, so long as you're not a totally self-centred cunt. Having said that you will probably keep worrying about all those things that you wish you were, if you don't actively try to better yourself.

And a little perspective never hurts. Remember: you live a comfortable life. You do not have to worry yourself with the genuine hardships of survival. First World Problems.

By all means ignore this as self-help tier bullshit. Stay exactly as you are now and make no attempt to change any aspect of your lives. Keep feeling sorry for yourselves. Keep making up reasons for why it's okay to be a gloomy little twat. I'm sure you'll all have wonderful lives.

>>2160708
Thanks D&E.