Whenever I get really depressed about something I have a habit of googling really fucked up images of people who are disfigured or deformed in some way. It makes me feel better about my own life and appreciate what I have, but it also seems kind of disturbing. Maybe I’m just a freak. :eek:
I guess your motivation behind it, to feel gratitude for what you have, makes it not fucked up, but it is a little weird to me. I’m easily disturbed, though, so I avoid what you seek.
I have felt better about myself after having seen people the worse-for-wear due to alcohol,
particularly one picture of some poor bloke who’s just woken up from a pillow of his own puke. I’ve done that in the past.
It feels good to know that I’m beyond that now.
Maybe we can compliment each other. I have been greatly disturbed by seeing photos of a disfigured person person for the first time in 34 years. I have an iron stomach and a detached demeanor for clinical issues in general. Blood and gore are no concern.
Check out the man who turned into a tree and feel better about yourself. Look at his hands and arms in the second photo down. However, don’t forget the fact that he has horns growing out of his head as well.
I haven’t been able to shake these images for days. Maybe it can offer you some relief.
No, I’ve done this, too, but not lately. With me it’s more like I like to go through sick sad news stories (hmm…maybe I watched “Daria” too much as a child). Then I feel good about myself.
I don’t know. I had a girlfriend who, when she got angry, would look up pictures of kittens to calm herself down. The only difference is that yours has the taboo factor, but it sounds like that just makes it more helpful.
Spending some private time on rotten.com is a better alternative than going around in public with a self-esteem problem, which can cause you to do inappropriate and harmful things.
I don’t think so, no.
Now, if you were to go around berating the lives of your friends and coworkers, just to feel better about yourself, that would be fucked up. Gawking on the Internet? Maybe unusual, but not fucked up.
A few years back when I was having some emotional problems I would read the suicide newsgroup on usenet when I was feeling particularly low. Not because I was actually planning on offing myself, but because reading about how badly other people’s lives sucked actually made me feel a little better about my situation.
There’s something to be said for wallowing in the darkness a little. Sometimes we need a little perspective.
I think the horror genre may be so popular for this reason – bleak, violent, frightening books and films actually cheer up a subset of the population.
Part of me believes this is a fundementally selfish thing to do. Imagine if you were on the other end, thinking “There’s someone out there, looking at how bad my situation is, and thinking ‘At least I’m not him/her’”
That said, I am not against the idea of doing this. The person who’s life you are comparing your own to will never know*
*Actually I’ve known people (or person) who made me feel good simply because They were in a worse situation than me at the time I knew them. I never told them this though.