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Porkus_Aurelius t1_ixhsjsa wrote

I can't find it now, but I read an article about this that supposed our reason for having these feelings is that we are analyzing the situation and we ultimately decide it's a bad idea. The urge to do the thing isn't so much your brain pushing you to do it, but rather considering what would happen if you did.

That said, there is nothing wrong with talking to a therapist if you really feel like acting on these things.

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Applejuiceinthehall t1_ixhtfmi wrote

I have heard something similar, that it is the brain simulating what would happen. obviously hard to test something like that so it's just speculation

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HobbyMathematician t1_ixhueub wrote

I also read something similar alongside that it is hard to comprehend for your brain the freedom of your choices. You could end or totally ruin your or other's life with simple actions, you just choose not to.

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Mistica12 t1_ixiy12s wrote

Kierkegaard explains this feeling in his book, The Concept of Anxiety. As an example, he asks us to consider a man standing on a cliff or tall building. If this man looks over the edge, he experiences two different kinds of fear: the fear of falling, and fear brought on by the impulse to throw himself off the edge. This second type of fear, or anxiety, arises from the realization that he has absolute freedom to choose whether to jump or not, and this fear is as dizzying as his vertigo. Kierkegaard suggests that we experience the same anxiety in all our moral choices, when we realize that we have the freedom to make even the most terrifying decisions. He describes this anxiety as “the dizziness of freedom”, and goes on to explain that although it induces despair, it can also shake us from our unthinking responses by making us more aware of the available choices. In this way it increases our self-awareness and sense of personal responsibility. ”

https://educationmuseum.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/kierkegaard-anxiety-is-the-dizziness-of-freedom/

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OmegaIXIUltima t1_ixjumpx wrote

Fascinating, I experienced that second fear just last night.

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MSMmethenger t1_ixljcn0 wrote

"Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don't hang yourself, you'll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both."

Good ol' Soren, cheery bloke.

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Intergalacticdespot t1_ixnwwel wrote

I think research focuses on edge cases too much. We don't think of the number of times we have an urge to put a candy bar in our pocket at the store, put a fork in the garbage disposal, or dump a cup of coffee into the printer/our cubicle mates' lap. But I think it's all the same. Even just what if I didn't tie my shoes today, what if I didn't look back before I backed the car out, what if I flipped off that cop on the side of the road. All of these things are similar but less life threatening and don't really come up in the research as much. If at all. The focus on what if I throw myself off this bridge missed that...we have similar anti-social or destructive thoughts about things all the time. It misses some of the complexity of human experience when we only talk about extremes or edge cases. Imo.

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Old-Chemist-1748 t1_iy9tix7 wrote

I really can't say that I've ever been on the edge of a building, and been afraid of MY IMPULSE to throw myself off. And I've literally sat on a 10 story parking garage, like with my legs over the side of the building just you know sitting there like on a bench. I mean I knew that I could very well maintain my balance, I'm not afraid of heights, so really neither fear applied to me there. But never have I been afraid because I have a choice to jump. I mean that could apply while I'm walking down the street. I might just decide to jump in front of this truck. I understand the concept of what he was trying to say, I just don't think his delivery is very good. I think I have pictures of that, I mean of me sitting on the top of that building. I'm grandma though I don't know how to add pictures. Can you even do that?

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Yeagen t1_ixj608i wrote

The best ELI5 I saw is that we are constantly told "murder is bad" and accept it. When you get one of these feelings, it's basically your brain going "hey you sure? Yea? Ok cool just curious"

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PassiveChemistry t1_ixjqg6a wrote

This reminds me of a weird thing that seems to happen in my head when I get excessively stressed (e.g. uni final exams that I'd drastically underprepared for): I would find myself thinking about various ways of topping myself with a kind of detached curiosity, although I never felt I was actually in danger.

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butterflifields t1_ixl0ztl wrote

That could be cause for concern if you find its happening more frequently. My ideation started that way and without correction became an attempt. It could be nothing but better to be aware.

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uniqueUsername_1024 t1_ixm6udc wrote

Just wanna emphasize what the other commenter said.

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PassiveChemistry t1_ixm7417 wrote

Fortunately I'm completely fine at the moment and am now in therapy for tangentially related reasons, so if it starts again I'll have the necessary support I think. Thanks for the concern though.

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Sharpshooter188 t1_ixjhahy wrote

I had a mini panic attack once while driving down the freeway one night due to this. I thought "Just one turn of wheel and I could potentially kill myself and others. that all it would take." So then I gripped onto thr steering wheel pretty hard. Kind of "to make sure" that didnt happen. as though some outside force was going to magically make it happen.

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muchnamemanywow t1_ixjnk7n wrote

Well that's a relief, I've had loads of intrusive thoughts about homicidal shit that really creeped me out moments later. I always feel so guilty afterwards too. (After the thought has passed, not the alternative 💀)

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f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4 t1_ixl00c9 wrote

>there is nothing wrong with talking to a therapist if you really feel like acting on these things

Actually... if you tell people you are having suicidal thoughts, you may quickly find yourself losing autonomy and be held in a hospital for a week for observation at a cost of $50,000

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152centimetres t1_ixlgrpd wrote

unless you actually have a plan in place they usually aren't actually allowed to hold you against your will like that

like if they ask if you have suicidal thoughts and you say yes they'll ask if you have a plan in place or an idea about how you'd do it - thats the part you say no to even if you do

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Brennir10 t1_ixmhpoo wrote

Unlikely. Maybe if you call your therapist repeatedly at 3 am threatening to do it but not just talking about it. Suicidal ideation is much more common than people think and is not the same as being actively suicidal. A decent therapist usually knows the difference. I have had suicidal ideation for YEARS ….AND I have easy access to a very definitive method of suicide….and I’ve been in therapy for years and talk about it openly. The only time I was ever kept against my will was when I basically set everything up for the suicide,then got scared bc I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to die but I was 100% sure I would be dead in a few hours if someone didn’t do something. I told someone who drove me to the ER. Even at the ER if I had the chance to change my mind ( not sure what would have happened then) but didn’t bc I knew if I went home I would kill myself that night. I did get stuck there for a few days which were largely useless but got me through the impulse to die safely. It did cost though I am lucky to have insurance. But It’s not as if the moment you mention suicide you are involuntarily committed, at least not in any of the US states I have lived in

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VolkspanzerIsME t1_ixku2uu wrote

So if I'm understanding this right our brains are seeing modern society and all it's daily trappings as a bad bet and a losing proposition and so tells us that it's a good idea to nope out of the situation in any way possible.

This makes a lot of sense.

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uniqueUsername_1024 t1_ixm73ux wrote

No, I think it’s that brain is always analyzing various choices. For example, if I’m looking at a restaurant menu and craving pizza, my brain might ponder, What if I get a burger? It doesn’t mean I secretly want a burger, or that pizza is harmful; it’s just a thing that happens.

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