If you had almost no emotions how would you make plans or decisions? | Hacker News Reader

If you had almost no emotions how would you make plans or decisions?

5 pointsmorpheos13713 comments

Welcome to my life.

What do you mean? When I'm too excited about a project I get saturated with emotions. Then I need to wait and cool down, usually until the next day, but it have taken me up to two weeks. Meanwhile I'll take notes of any idea that crosses my mind. It's when I have no emotions that I can make sense of those ideas and begin implementing them. I'll find that most are a waste of time, some others will cause frustration, but I'm just the servant of my past self, and I'll do as I said.

Read up on the Stoic philosophy for the ancient Greek answer to that question.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism

> Eventually three sub-classes of "things indifferent" developed: things to prefer because they assist life according to nature; things to avoid because they hinder it; and things indifferent in the narrower sense.

I would eat a lot of iogurt and later try to find my gut feelings --- not a joke.

Sounds like anhedonia. Have you looked into therapy? I've had similar struggles with anhedonia, and had some success with Internal Family Systems therapy.

Rationally, of course. You're free from something that undermines your clarity every waking moment of the day.

Rationality doesn't work great because if you are unemotional why does option B seem more rational than option A?

I think I am some kind of failed psychopath or schizoid. I am not violent or a criminal or even too much of a liar but I can't get my life together despite high intelligence.

I move from one impulse to the next driven by weak emotions.

Feels bad but can't seem to do much else.

I have tried therapy and medication. Therapy didn't help. Medication helped a little but I always revert to the old pattern of procrastination.

Honestly, option A sounds as good as option B. Either way, I'm feeling an even keel 7/10. Not a bad outcome for choosing to be rational.

By the way, if you're neither violent, nor criminal, and only sometimes a liar, you're doing better than 90% of the population. Ninetieth percentile is nothing to scoff at. Unless, of course, this very statement of yours is you lying, in which case, you're not really in the club. Are you even as smart as you claim?

If I were in the shoes of the person you describe, I wouldn't feel bad. So don't feel bad. Or do. I don't care.

I don't feel bad. I don't care.

I think most psychopaths are narcissists. I don't feel narcissistic. Therefore I guess I am schizoid.

To me the garden variety or even corporate psychopath seems more normal than myself.

> Feels bad but can't seem to do much else.

> I don't feel bad. I don't care.

???

You seem smart. You do you.

Is this a shitpost? On HN?

You can't spell obsequious without the letters I, O, U.

Like a Vulcan (e.g Spock or Tuvoc)

have you tried factoring in hookers and cocaine in your decisions?

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