I'm 22 and from Yorkshire in England, if you've no idea where that is or what it's like then just imagine Westeros from Game of Thrones but with less murder, more castles and about the same amount of incest.
I've had Depression and Social Anxiety since I was 15, i'd be happy to talk about what that's like if anyone's curious and i'm sure there's other people here who've had experience with one or both of those illnesses who can relate but the short story is that it was really bad and now it's less bad. The Depression doesn't have as tight a grip on me as it used to have which has allowed me to start therapy for the Social Anxiety which has been the really debilitating thing for me over the past couple of years or so. I completely withdrew from life and my social circle when I had to drop out of college at 17 and haven't ventured out of my ever-shrinking comfort zone until recent months with the help of my therapist which is the main reason i'm here (although i'm sure you're all lovely and interesting). I'm hoping talking to new people on the internet can be a stepping stone between talking to no-one and being comfortable enough to go out and meet new people in the real world and i'm sure it will be really helpful in chipping away at my anxiety over time if i can maintain the momentum required to keep posting here.
And obviously the other reason i'm here is that i'm an Atheist and thought this was probably the best community for me to start interacting with. It's very easy being an atheist in Britain compared to other places, in fact i never "became" an atheist i was just born that way and stayed that way because religion has almost no influence on society here. I've read polls that say Britain is 20something% non-religious and i don't know where they get that number from because i've met about 4 people who will admit to being religious in my life
I have given the whole god thing some thought over the years and put some meat on the bones of my mostly culturally determined atheism and here's a quick summary of why i'm pretty sure there's no god
Theism - I've no idea what makes people think that they happen to be born into a society that happens to believe in the one correct god out of the plethora of deities humans have imagined in our existence let alone claim to know what he wants people to do with their genitals etc. This is just pure ignorant tribalism
Deism - Given the absolute chaos and amorality of nature and the universe the only way I could believe in any sort of god would be if he/she/it created the universe and then just got bored or something and stopped trying to guide or oversee it in any way which is how things like cancer and natural disasters can exist. But if that hypothetical god is the real god, then what's the point believing - he/she/it doesn't care and isn't watching us
So that's all I can think of saying, i hope i can get comfortable here and get to know some of you
I've had Depression and Social Anxiety since I was 15, i'd be happy to talk about what that's like if anyone's curious and i'm sure there's other people here who've had experience with one or both of those illnesses who can relate but the short story is that it was really bad and now it's less bad. The Depression doesn't have as tight a grip on me as it used to have which has allowed me to start therapy for the Social Anxiety which has been the really debilitating thing for me over the past couple of years or so. I completely withdrew from life and my social circle when I had to drop out of college at 17 and haven't ventured out of my ever-shrinking comfort zone until recent months with the help of my therapist which is the main reason i'm here (although i'm sure you're all lovely and interesting). I'm hoping talking to new people on the internet can be a stepping stone between talking to no-one and being comfortable enough to go out and meet new people in the real world and i'm sure it will be really helpful in chipping away at my anxiety over time if i can maintain the momentum required to keep posting here.
And obviously the other reason i'm here is that i'm an Atheist and thought this was probably the best community for me to start interacting with. It's very easy being an atheist in Britain compared to other places, in fact i never "became" an atheist i was just born that way and stayed that way because religion has almost no influence on society here. I've read polls that say Britain is 20something% non-religious and i don't know where they get that number from because i've met about 4 people who will admit to being religious in my life
I have given the whole god thing some thought over the years and put some meat on the bones of my mostly culturally determined atheism and here's a quick summary of why i'm pretty sure there's no god
Theism - I've no idea what makes people think that they happen to be born into a society that happens to believe in the one correct god out of the plethora of deities humans have imagined in our existence let alone claim to know what he wants people to do with their genitals etc. This is just pure ignorant tribalism
Deism - Given the absolute chaos and amorality of nature and the universe the only way I could believe in any sort of god would be if he/she/it created the universe and then just got bored or something and stopped trying to guide or oversee it in any way which is how things like cancer and natural disasters can exist. But if that hypothetical god is the real god, then what's the point believing - he/she/it doesn't care and isn't watching us
So that's all I can think of saying, i hope i can get comfortable here and get to know some of you
“The larger the group, the more toxic, the more of your beauty as an individual you have to surrender for the sake of group thought. And when you suspend your individual beauty you also give up a lot of your humanity. You will do things in the name of a group that you would never do on your own. Injuring, hurting, killing, drinking are all part of it, because you've lost your identity, because you now owe your allegiance to this thing that's bigger than you are and that controls you.” - George Carlin
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