Existential/Solipsism OCD is back

[intothewild]

Hey everyone! 

I've been struggling for a few months with this particular topic, and I feel like I haven't actually been able to enjoy anything. 

What's the point in doing things, in LIVING, if everything is fake? That's what I say to myself. I know it's not a fact, and it can't be proved, but, somehow, it's still very scary. 

I feel like I actually believe in solispsism now, and I have no way out. 

I know I'm supposed to ignore these thoughts, that I should just let them go and "accept them". How can I accept the fact that my family and friends are fake? That this world is a big lie, and that I'm the only real consciousness. 

I would greatly appreciate your opinions and advice on this matter. 

Thank you

-Ivan 

[Guest Common_Night-Owl]

Solipsism is so easy to disprove. If you supposedly are the only real Consciousness, if everything that is, is only in your mind, then you should be able to know things about me that I haven't told anyone here, like what I ate today for breakfast, or my real name. And if you're the only real Consciousness, then you should be capable to control my (and anyone's) replies to this here forum topic of yours, because I'm only a part of your thoughts. So can you control me? :-) Did you predict this reply? And why can't you fly?

[Gemma7]

1 hour ago, intothewild said:

How can I accept the fact that my family and friends are fake? That this world is a big lie, and that I'm the only real consciousness. 

The thing is no one's asking you to accept that. You, in fact none of us know if our friends and family are fake, it's just incredibly unlikely. What if you're wrong and they aren't fake, surely it's worth taking that chance to not have OCD any longer

[Guest Common_Night-Owl]

Ivan,

can you stop the current virus outbreak? Can you make it be sunny where I live? Do you know where I live? Can you do fifty push-ups? Can you explain to me the theory of relativity or the basics of quantum mechanics? If you're the only real Consciousness, then you should be all-knowing and all-mighty in this dream of yours.

[Guest Common_Night-Owl]

I've had a look at your profile page and your other posts here (hope you don't mind that). You've mentioned about the 'brain in a vat' idea, which is not quite the same as solipsism, but more tricky. Yet since I've already engaged in this topic, I'll try to respond to that too.

• Look at the world, the whole world. Does it look like something that a demon (or a machinery) would be capable of recreating in your brain, or that it would want to make? After all, demons are evil spiritual beings; a world made by a demon would look more like Mordor (from The Lord of the Rings).

• If you accept the existence of spiritual beings, then you probably also believe in the existence of human souls – as being more and something different than our nervous systems. And souls can't be kept in vats and experimented upon.