I think people are nice. It’s just they usually reserve that niceness for their family and friends. People treat people they don’t know with little if any regard. Something I’ve learned living in a place where small homes in packed neighborhoods by the freeway sell for a million dollars, while many homeless wander the street.
You and I, as students of Sociology, know very well just how much of an impact society at large can have on the way in which we perceive ourselves and how we live our lives.
I think that realizing that society isn’t all it’s cracked up to be is the first step in undoing the damage caused to your self-perception.
But on a micro scale, there are still kind-hearted people who care about one another and see the best in each other.
Writing everyone off as simply homogeneous components of a flawed system will cause you more pain in the long run-- there is still plenty of good in others who care.
You just reminded me of micro-level analysis, which I wrote a small essay on. The relationship between a person to person. But I don’t have that kind of relationship nonetheless and I will most likely die alone or live in isolation.
People around me act like they care. But in reality, they don’t. They don’t give a ■■■■.
I want to live a happy life. But in truth, I’ve lost all support system and I’m basically left alone. It’s the truth. I don’t have a meaningful in-person relationship in my life right now. I’m completely isolated. So it doesn’t make sense to me when people say that my life matters or that I am loved because I am not.
I hope that by detaching yourself from societal views a bit, you’ll start to heal from the pain caused by the heavy stigma in your country.
You might not be able to change the way in which your mother addresses your mental illness, but you can practice acts of self-kindness and self-compassion.
I meet many nice people. Most people at work are polite, respectful and pleasant to me. And I return it.
There are a few jerks but I figure it’s just life that I am going to get fu*ked with a little at some points during the day. And I try to return that too. I realize I can’t win all the time and just knowing that sure eases the burden.
I like to say, “Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.” And my time will come.