has anyone ever felt...strange?

Question

I've been reading Japanese literature and recently...well...for about six or seven years i guess, i've just felt...isolated from the human race...like i somehow feel i'm living in a bubble of dead space...anyone else felt this?

Answer 1

Yes... I felt like that once. I remember eating some mushrooms beforehand... Then I saw some little green men with a crock of gold and some lucky charms

Answer 2

It is definitely more than just you. There is a general trend in our culture to self-isolate. The availability of the internet provides the degree of connection to other humans and their ideas, but allows you to tailor your interaction to the level you feel comfortable, and to control those interactions to a degree never before possible.

Did you ever read Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock"? Things change faster than the human psyche can incorporate it. This trend shows no hope of slowing.

Those of us who are *ahem* mature, have by this age, had about all the conflict many of us want for a lifetime, and withdrawal into a safe sanctuary is one strategy for achieving this. You sound like a quite intelligent and insightful person, with capacity for self-examination, so I feel confident that you will not allow it to get to pathologic levels.

If you get worried about this, get out of the house. There are still lots of things you can do. Volunteer at the twice yearly public television or radio fundraiser. Answer the phones or organize their paperwork. Sling a hammer for Habitat for Humanity, sign up to deliver meals for Meals on Wheels, involve yourself in the Blue Santa program for the local police department. Some of those suggestions do not require long term commitment on your part, but will appease that side of your brain that knows it needs human interaction.

Keep reading, maybe throw in something different for a change. I just read "A Basque History of the World". Very well written, and enjoyable read, and I learned a lot. My favorite to re-read to lighten my mood is "A Confederacy of Dunces".

Keep up the self examination, quite healthy for the soul

Answer 3

Yes, I feel like that... like I'm different to most people I know. I see my past years as a static picture. And the isolation is something I live everyday with...

However, how does this connect with Japanese literature? I wonder.

Answer 4

If you're reading a lot of stuff from a different culture or time period, no, it's not weird to feel a little strange, or disconnected from your surroundings (your brain is still in medieval Japan!)

There's lots of stuff you can do to help that - I would try to find some kind of other activity to balance that out, something that requires you to be really focused in the moment.

Answer 5

I usually feel isolated from the human race. I walk around in my own giant bubble.

Answer 6

Yes. That's when it's time to go to social circles and stir things up a little. Either that or you should go find a nice quit bookstore where you can get what you want without having to speak to a lot of people. If it's your choice to be isolated, go ahead. If not, try the social stuff.

Answer 7

maybe you're living too much in books and need to get out and live more on the outside. Too much isolation does funny things to the mind, take a break and do something physical.

Answer 8

I took some yellow pills once that made me feel like i was in my world, every 2 steps i had to ask my mates where we going cos i kept forgetting and all the buildings wobbled, one of many self induced states like that.
those were the days, now i live in the real world and it SUCKS!

Answer 9

Yes sometimes...Mostly on the weekends after a few Budlights lol. Just have to do a reality check and make sure things are in their right place.

Answer 10

Feel strange? Yes, when a seven year old asks while walking along with me."Is all this real?"