From 2018-2021 I spent most of my time lying on mattresses while accepting unemployment checks and not much else. ... I now believe the root of my suffering was in a philosophical mistake
The writing wouldn’t be as persuasive, but it might be worth mentioning that you also had a mysterious gut condition that may have contributed to your suffering?
I’m not sure the right way to address this. My burnout and disabling depression predated my gut condition by something like 9 months. My doctors have told me that inciting events for gut symptoms like mine very often include a period of severe stress/burnout. Given that I was quite fit and healthy, without any history of chronic illness, it seems likely the causality of what you’re suggesting was reversed. However, it’s true that once my gut symptoms started this made my subsequent suffering much worse. =(
That makes sense. Btw, I was suggesting that maximizing caused suffering and gut problems caused suffering, not that maximizing couldn’t lead to gut problems.
Ah, got it. My current theory is that maximizing caused suffering (stress) which caused gut motility problems which caused bacterial overgrowth which caused suffering, or some other crazy feedback phenomenon like that.
Sometimes positive feedback loops are anything but. 😓
I love this post, just one nitpick:
The writing wouldn’t be as persuasive, but it might be worth mentioning that you also had a mysterious gut condition that may have contributed to your suffering?
I’m not sure the right way to address this. My burnout and disabling depression predated my gut condition by something like 9 months. My doctors have told me that inciting events for gut symptoms like mine very often include a period of severe stress/burnout. Given that I was quite fit and healthy, without any history of chronic illness, it seems likely the causality of what you’re suggesting was reversed. However, it’s true that once my gut symptoms started this made my subsequent suffering much worse. =(
That makes sense. Btw, I was suggesting that maximizing caused suffering and gut problems caused suffering, not that maximizing couldn’t lead to gut problems.
Ah, got it. My current theory is that maximizing caused suffering (stress) which caused gut motility problems which caused bacterial overgrowth which caused suffering, or some other crazy feedback phenomenon like that.
Sometimes positive feedback loops are anything but. 😓