Distress and Depression

Distress and Depression

We have received comments from readers who tell us that our ideas caused them to be distressed or depressed. If you are one of those readers you need to consider the following. As human beings become anxious they often lose their focus and misinterpret what they are reading. If you understand what we are saying, there is absolutely no reason to be depressed by our ideas.

Why not? First, we may be wrong. What we conclude to be true and correct may not be. Yet beyond the fact that we cannot be sure we are right, the fact is that if we are right, for the vast majority there is nothing to fear or dread. This fact is extremely difficult to accept if you are searching for meaning in your life, you do not believe that there is a life after death, and you are discouraged or depressed before you start reading. When you read our ideas they may touch raw nerves, and you may stop understanding what we are saying.

Either there is a life after death or there is no life after death. If there is no life after death and we are correct when we conclude that physical death annihilates our past, present, and future, then there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to be even the slightest bit distressed or depressed. If physical death annihilates your past, present, and future, then after your physical death you are consumed by a totally peaceful void, with absolutely no pain or sorrow or other negative result. There is no logical or rational way whatsoever to conclude that there is any negative consequence if your ultimate end is a nihilistic death.

If your mind is not receptive and clear, then you may have a violent reaction to our conclusions about death if there is no life after death, a reaction that ignores the fact that there cannot be anything to fear about such a death. It is human nature to attack anything that suggests that our life today may be destroyed by death, yet that reaction can have no rational basis in logic. If your past, present, and future is annihilated by your physical death, after your death you will not suffer pain or sorrow or regrets or anything negative at all, period.

Furthermore, if your past, present, and future is annihilated by your physical death, that fact can have no effect whatsoever on today, on now. If a nihilistic death lies in your future, it cannot affect your present at all. You can live every day, from now to the moment of your death, to the fullest. It is very important to understand that every person who is unwilling to believe that there is a life after physical death can live a positive life for the rest of their life, loving their neighbor, doing that which is good, with the hope that physical life does have meaning and purpose.

There is no reason whatsoever for those who are unwilling to believe that there is a life after physical death to be depressed, there is every reason for them to do that which is good and live the most positive life they are willing to live, with the hope that your life may have meaning and purpose.

Many who are deeply depressed believe that their lives are meaningless, and to escape the pain of living they seek the peace of suicide (if you are suicidal visit www.areason.org). If you are suicidal it may be very difficult for you to accept the fact that if there is no life after death and we are correct when we conclude that physical death annihilates our past, present, and future, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to commit suicide. If your physical death is a nihilistic death, there is no reason to end your life now because you will experience the same “peaceful” end if you die next year, or twenty years from now. Your mind may be too clouded to understand what we are saying, yet if you are suicidal you must take whatever time it takes to fully understand, and you must seek immediate professional help.

If on your physical death your past, present, and future are annihilated, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to commit suicide, because all the physical and emotional pain you suffer in your life, now or next week or next year, will be annihilated whenever you die, even if your death does not occur for many, many, years. It is simple logic that if no matter how far in the future a nihilistic death occurs, it causes all pain that you ever suffered to be as if it never happened, then there can be no logical reason whatsoever to commit suicide now to avoid future pain, period.

Committing suicide necessarily eliminates all possibility of finding meaning and purpose in your life. You cannot know if a nihilistic death awaits you or not, so there is no reason whatsoever not to live for the possibility, no matter how remote you may believe it to be, that in the future you will find meaning and purpose, and perhaps happiness, in your life.

No matter what we may think or you may think right now, there is always a possibility that your life has meaning and purpose. If there is a life after death, or if there is no life after death, there is always a possibility that sometime in the future you will find meaning and purpose in your life. If in fact there is a life after death then there is every reason to live for the hope that you will enjoy a peaceful existence after death. If in fact there is no life after death then there is every reason to live for the hope that your physical existence has meaning and purpose. There is no reason whatsoever not to live for the possibility your physical existence has meaning and purpose right now, simply because during your physical life on earth you can never, never, know with any degree of certainty whether your life has, or does not have, meaning.

If you are depressed and suicidal it is extremely difficult for you to see the absolute fact that there is absolutely no reason not to live every moment of your natural life for the possibility that you may find meaning and purpose and happiness in your life. There can be no reason whatsoever to commit suicide and eliminate the possibility that your life has meaning and purpose. There can be no reason whatsoever to eliminate the possibility that you will eventually find, if not joy and happiness, at the very least peace and contentment in your life.

We have readers who indicate that they are distressed and depressed by the possibility that they may have committed the eternal sin. If God exists and if there is an eternal sin, then God gives us the choice to commit the eternal sin or not to commit the eternal sin, period. It would seem that those who have not committed the eternal sin would be distressed if they believed that they might have committed the eternal sin. It would seem that the very fact that someone is distressed by the belief that they may have committed the eternal sin may suggest that they have in fact not committed the eternal sin.

It seems that physical and mental disease may cause extreme anxiety and depression, and may lead a person to believe that they have committed the eternal sin and that they will live in hell after their death when in fact they have not committed the eternal sin. If you are distressed and depressed by the possibility that you have committed the eternal sin, then you need to talk with those who have not committed the eternal sin, including ministers and religious counselors. If there is any chance at all that you are suffering from physical or mental disease, you also need to consult health professionals. Talk to several people, especially mental health professionals if there is any possibility of mental problems, so that you may better determine what you have and have not done.

It can be very difficult to find qualified professionals, and even when you do find them, it can be very difficult to tell them about your fears. Find qualified professionals and talk to them. You need to overcome any reluctance you may have to talking with those who might help you, and be willing to allow them to help you decide what you really believe is true. Seek professional help now!

If you do not yet understand the fact that there is no reason whatsoever to be disturbed or depressed by our conclusions, including our conclusion that if there is no life after death, then your past, present, and future may be annihilated on your physical death, then you still do not understand what we are saying. Please take as much time as you need to reread and carefully think about what we are saying, until you satisfy yourself that there is in fact absolutely no reason to be depressed by our conclusions, and absolutely no reason whatsoever for any human being to commit suicide.

with love

Val