I hate to talk about this because it makes me feel crazy at worst and silly at best but not too long ago during a very nasty period of my life when I was on the streets there was periods I was actually question if video games, comic books, animation, basically “nerd culture” was actually real or was it all in my head.

It was due to both me at my mental lowest point of my depression but also being surrounded by both wannabe thugs and people who were trapped in the 1950's “Father knows best” mentality and it was near impossible to talk about nerdy things for years, plus add in shows like the Big Bang Theory which on the surface looks like it celebrated nerd culture but in actuality mocked it viciously.

It was awful, I would quickly realize that was silly yet for the longest time I was feeling like I love was just made up in my head and did not really exist, like there were no comic books, video games, animation, genre books or the such and there was only alcohol, drugs and work.

I just wonder if anyone else had those moments of despair caused by negativity?

It's all escape. A coping mechanism for dealing with a reality that is otherwise intolerable and downright boring as hell.

Imagination may have evolved so we could seek solutions to problems. One problem is putting up with “all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that flesh is heir to.”

So humans can imagine other possibilities so they can tolerate the worst.

Maybe not the right answer, but it's one that gets me through the days.

I can understand that - when things look that bleak and nothing around you reflects the things you like, and you're probably consumed with just trying to survive/get through the day, the stuff you like can seem so far away. And under extreme circumstances and depression it could even seem like it never existed.

Sorry to hear about those struggles - I hope you're continuing to do better these days.

Banes wrote:
I can understand that - when things look that bleak and nothing around you reflects the things you like, and you're probably consumed with just trying to survive/get through the day, the stuff you like can seem so far away. And under extreme circumstances and depression it could even seem like it never existed.

Sorry to hear about those struggles - I hope you're continuing to do better these days.

Thank you.

I am in a lot better place right now, I got my own room, I can watch stuff I like and block out the constant barrage of news everyone around me loves and working on getting my GED in the future.

At the time though, it was very bleak. And I am wondering if people are kind of addicted to reality, since nearly everyone with that 1950's mentality never seems to stop watching and talking about the news or watching reality shows.

@Furwerk Studio-

This is a very interesting idea and even more interesting due to the current situation in the world. I was having a discussion with a long-time friend, he is a model employee, clocks in at the allotted time for his salary/paycheck snd he is always getting accolades at work and commended by his boss. I find myself to be an avid traveler, getting lost at exploring small towns, large cities, places across the USA, Europe, and Asia.

Well during the discourse, he mentioned that he always felt that traveling was like living in a suspended reality where it never felt like his real life. I felt the opposite, I thought that if traveling felt like a suspended reality, then is the actual reality worth living? Ever since I started earning money, I put aside savings in order to travel, to wander, and explore the world around me, opening my social circle and places far and across the globe. Travel is very much part of my reality and I would never trade anything for it.

Now when you asked if comics, video games, and other things you do as a hobby we real, I would say a resounded, “Yes!” Because they are very much part of my real-life reality, too. They are hobbies, guilty pleasures, and ways to spend the time which is also the reason I love to travel so much.