Does reading too much cause you to feel detached from reality? This semester I have read and studied a combined 50-60 hours a week and I barely feel grounded in reality at this point. Considering I spend more time in my mind and thinking about abstract concepts than in reality socializing or working, it makes sense.
When I leave my house I feel ethereal, and almost like I am outward looking in through a glass. I am wondering if there could be any permanent deleterious effects of hermetic studying. I basically feel high every day.
I mean, I'm highly depersonalized like 95% of the time and it sounds like you are too. Reading probably (?) doesn't have that much to do with it, but yeah, it's kind of disorienting. Pretty well established mental state: don't know of any solid steps to bridge the gap w/ reality, but what I do is just act out emotions as if they're real and that seems to convince others and myself (occasionally) that I'm a real person.
Scariest thing about it is surfacing from wherever the fuck your head is at to something like presence when you're behind the wheel of an automobile, screaming down the highway, doing eighty in heavy traffic with several human beings in the vehicle with you.
Easton Williams
I know that feel. Tha world ain't real. The greatest problem is that I always have to pull myself together not to do some supreme bullshit, like driving my car full speed against a wall or something. It's some kind of curious boredem, I've lost my feeling of fear.
Carson Powell
Sounds to me like you're just tired, man. Get some more sleep.
Asher Rivera
Reality is a myth
Kayden Turner
Sometimes I feel I'm the only person on lit that loves life more instead of less because of reading
Henry Sullivan
How did you do it? What do you read?
Isaac Jones
OP. I want to hear more. Just elaborate as much as you can.
Kayden Reed
Nah man, I'm with you on this one. All these other guys are just projecting their issues onto this awesome lifestyle.
David Roberts
just smoke some DMT and read Terence McKenna
Brandon Edwards
Everything But it's true though, I feel the high when I go out as well. To me, that's kinda the point. You are not detached from reality, other people are just numb. When reading becomes a pacifier (e.g. chick lit) that's when you're doing it wrong. Don't worry user, real art wakes you up like that. You'll get used to it. It is kind of addictive though, you're right about that one
Dominic Powell
>tfw spent months abusing meds & reading all day in bed before getting clean & no longer being able to focus & read
i feel like god incarnate was cast out from heaven into the mind of a pleb
Camden Myers
Good stuff.
Justin Harris
Yes. Read Cervantes and Checkhov, also Dostoyevski and Pessoa.
Bentley Hill
I felt the same way today. I had to talk to someone else and I was shocked. It was kinda frightening.
Aaron Bell
I get this a lot. Especially when after marsthoning an essay or a coding project. That's when I learned the value of a nice walk. Take a deep breath, hear the stochastic sounds of nature, feel the wind blowing across a grassy meadow. You've no destination but to walk. I find that these moments strengthen by connection to my natural side.
Sebastian Nelson
In highschool my mental health was not the greatest. I smoked a little weed and it must have instigated some change in my brain chemistry. I began to have these episodes where I felt helplessly disconnected from my own body and from reality itself. It's hard to explain but I felt like an emotionless and physically numb observer watching somebody else control my body from a distance or like watching a movie of myself. Almost like there was something obstructing my mind/body relationship. I would try everything to pull myself back into reality but nothing ever worked and I would have to wait it out. Sometimes it lasted for days. Over time the episodes got less frequent and went away all together. It really freaked me out and I never figured out if there is a name for it or if I'm the only one. I've never told anyone but this thread reminded me of it so I figured I'd tell you guys. Oh yeah, I could also intentionally trigger it just by focusing on that feeling of disconnection but I always regretted it after and I'm too afraid to try it now.
Aiden Cook
Same.
Angel Rodriguez
Sorry for dropping some rap but this helped me out when I was facing the same question.
