Relax! Take it Easy!

r/conspiracy Optinside, "The Conspiracy is within you."

At the heart of our daily lives, is a hidden project: the economy of our minds.

We have been infected by an “achievement” virus. In this entrepreneurial-fantasy society, we are taught that only the affluent are winners and that access to the top is open to anyone willing to work hard enough, regardless of their familial, ethnic or social background – if you do not succeed or improve, there is only one person to blame. You.

This achievement mindset exploits us under the burden of a false “freedom” and sense of autonomy that brings with it the urge to constantly work, even on ourselves. Identifying ourselves as self-improvement projects, we no longer differentiate work from leisure. This relentless engagement in the process of self-improvement gives rise to a number of maladies, from depression to nervous collapse.

“The exhausted, depressive achievement-subject grinds itself down, so to speak. It is tired, exhausted by itself, and at war with itself. Entirely incapable of stepping outward, of standing outside itself, of relying on the other, on the world, it locks its jaws on itself; paradoxically, this leads the self to be hollow, and empty out. It wears out in a rat race it runs against itself.” - Byung Chul-Han

We no longer need to be pressured into maximizing our productivity by an external power.

In a society where the only imperative is to achieve, no other constraints are needed. No coercion is required: having internalized the goals of optimal performance and achievement, we exploit ourselves.

Self-exploitation is more efficient than external-exploitation because a deceptive feeling of freedom accompanies it. Rather than being pressured to maximize our individual productivity by external forces, we now willingly expolit ourselves in the name of individual achievement.

Just as addicts seek constant gratification from substances, individuals in a hyperstimulated society continuously seek new stimuli or experiences, often leading to a cycle of dissatisfaction. The quest for fulfillment through these means lead to a perpetual state of unsatisfied wanting. A search for connection without real community. One way this change comes out is that depression, rather than oppression, is now the sickness of the age.

Hyperattention is a fragmented and rapid form of attention in this society. This form of attention, with constant stimuli from technology, media and our physical environments, is compared to the alertness seen in animals. Animals exhibit a constant, restless vigilance necessary for survival. In humans, this hyperattentive state is linked to the continuous stream of information and stimuli, leading to a decrease in the capacity for deep, sustained attention and contemplation.

Even in our leisure we burn-out. Time is emptied away.

The reliance on external validation or material success for self-esteem in this culture, often leads to a fragile sense of self-worth, or none at all, as these are contingent and often unstable. This can result in a continuous cycle of striving and anxiety, as individuals constantly seek to prove their value and suppress their existential fears.

Modern society is gripped by an ‘imperative to achieve’, or that you’re not enough — and mass burnout and depression is the result.

“A society that grows more sad, is a society that grows more mean.” - David Brooks

The happiness people often display is more about societal compliance and less about genuine contentment, leading to a disconnect between their true feelings and the image they present to the world. This faking of happiness is a symptom of a deeper problem in society, where the focus is more on appearances and external achievements than on inner development and genuine human connections.

Therapy as “Soma”

Therapy and “Mental Health” has been co-opted by corporate interests and social media, turning it into a tool for promoting an idea that everyone is fundamentally flawed and in need of a therapist, as well as a tool for mental optimization, life hacks, productivity and compliance among individuals and workers. Betterhelp has profited wildly from it.

Many prominent companies and organizations have implemented mindfulness programs as part of their employee wellness initiatives:

Amazon introduced "AmaZen" stations, also known as "ZenBooths," in their warehouses

Google: Google's "Search Inside Yourself" program

Intel: Intel has a program called "Awake@Intel,"

General Mills: General Mills has a meditation room in every building

Self awareness and resilience are some of the most popular buzzwords of mental health advocates. But very little is mentioned about the dangers of excessive self-awareness that can lead to a state of "paralysis by analysis" Which happens when an individual becomes so caught up in introspection and self-examination that they become unable to make decisions or take action. This over-analysis can lead to a crippling self-consciousness where one is always second-guessing their instincts and choices.

When one is excessively self-aware, they may become overly concerned with how they are perceived by others, potentially leading to a sense of isolation or disconnection from the world around them. When someone is constantly monitoring and censoring their own thoughts and actions, they may lose touch with their genuine self, instead becoming a reflection of what they think they should be. Too much self-focus can border on narcissism. This self-obsession can make it difficult to empathize with others, as the individual becomes overly preoccupied with their own inner world.

Huxley's portrayal of a drug called soma in Brave New World, highlights the dangers of a society that relies on medication to manage emotions and maintain social order. It suggests a loss of individual autonomy and critical thinking, as people are conditioned to seek chemical solutions to their problems rather than addressing them directly. Huxley uses soma as a critique of the relentless pursuit of pleasure and happiness, suggesting that such pursuits, when taken to extremes, can lead to a shallow and unfulfilling existence. He implies that true happiness and fulfillment require a deeper engagement with life, including its challenges and discomforts.

"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude."

Much of what is being considered therapy is an idea that "with the expert help of your therapist or counselor, you can be fixed, made right, and more successful in life”. But successful for whom?

"I am worried that the Mental health movement and the role of psychology will help to adjust man and make him run more smoothly to produce and consume. Psychologists will become the priests of the industrial world. The meaninglessness of our culture will make people sick, and the mental health movement will adjust people, telling them they're neurotic, you just need therapy or medicine. Extinguishing awareness of the true reality. Taking away revolt”- Erich Fromm

Healing and fighting back.

Slowness represents a quiet protest against the frenetic pace of modern life. A quiet, contemplative home can be a refuge. To reclaim our aptitude for deep contemplation, we need to welcome boredom back into our lives. We need to slow down, resist constant stimulation, and give our psyches room to breathe. We need time to reconnect with ourselves, and the space within. With real community, with others who receive and give our full attention.

“You’ve got to be able to say, I’m going to pay more attention to you than I am to myself. But it also requires skills. And one of them is, treat attention as an on/off switch, not a dimmer. If you’re in conversation, you should be paying 100 percent attention or 0 percent, but not 60 percent.” - David Brooks

Less calculation, more contemplation.

True creativity requires wasting time. But here wasted time isn’t time spent unproductively—time spent scrolling, or playing games, or skittering around the internet—but rather time spent not doing. That is, not merely an absence of doing, but a not-doing so complete it doesn’t stimulate.

Culture presumes an environment in which deep attention is possible. Increasingly, such immersive reflection is being displaced by an entirely different form of attention: hyperattention. When we cannot articulate or express our pain, in a way that we find meaningful, we come face to face with unimaginable frustration and suffering.

“Sleep brings rest to the body, boredom brings rest to the mind” - Walter Benjamin

In the worst situation, Primo Levi, a famous Holocaust survivor and Author highlights the importance of maintaining one's humanity and dignity in the face of dehumanizing treatment. Even in the most inhumane circumstances, individuals strive to find meaning, maintain personal integrity, and cling to remnants of normalcy and humanity. Even in the face of relentless dehumanization, Levi and his fellow prisoners sought to preserve their sense of self through small acts of solidarity, sharing stories, and maintaining a semblance of cultural and intellectual life."One form of resistance was to try to remember what was beautiful."

"Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions."