Call of the void. My understanding is that it's your brain inventing risky scenarios so that you can shrink from them in revulsion, as practice for "don't do that."
this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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Brain: Dont drive off that cliff!
Me: Heueheuehe sharp left turn
I have that weird shit all the time. Not with self harm exclusively, but for example very graphically imagining how I'd accidently slip and being hit by a truck or something like that.
Turn it off please, I don't like.
Imagine, if you like, that you are sitting in an armchair with your feet on a coffee table and someone lobs a kettlebell at your knees. Consider the sound. Picture the interesting angles of the limbs.
Yeah thanks. You just made the top spot on my naughty list. No presents from me, pal!
You're very poetic with your sadism.
Same, although often stuff that won't kill me, but will just make me ill or upset. Practically every time I clean my guinea pig's cage, my brain looks at the little tablet-shaped turds they leave behind and thinks "just eat one" see what it's like".
I hate my brain.
Those candies taste like shit :-|
In my case it's more like, "You're so clumsy you're probably gonna chop your finger off. Look at you, I bet you will. Try and get real close to it like you're chopping veggies without chopping your finger off. Bet you can't. You probably can't clean the blade real fast on the sharp side because you'll chop your finger off. Pussy."
You have to show your intrusive thoughts who's boss. "MAKE IT A CHAINSAW MOTHERFUCKER!"
The call of the void gets me pretty bad too, Stamets
I learned about this "call of the void" on Reddit and am surprised that so many people experience this.
I don't. Am glad I don't. Intrusive counterproductive dangerous deadly thoughts, ugh, why? Can psychotherapy cure people from having such thoughts?
Dafuq? You don't? Man, this is that whole lack of inner monologue / afantasia thing all over again
Yup I've never experienced intrusive thoughts, so apparently it's not a universal thing that all humans experience. I do have an inner monologe though, and I do visualize people's faces in my mind, so please don't diagnose me with aphantasia.
I mean, you jump off one cliff and it's fun and suddenly your body thinks all that dangerous deadly shit is gonna be wild I dunno that's how it started with me. Now all the cliffs look fun even if there isn't a safe landing spot unders and all the voids start looking more and more exciting. Go fig.
it's that voice in the back that's always there, but waits for a quiet moment to suggest crazy shit. I liken it to very very mild, controlled tourette's - random impulses that shouldn't even raise to the level of conscious thought but for whatever reason slip through the 'noise' filter.
The noise filter is just a forest that has grown since childhood. That "voice" is, imo, curiosity.
It definitely is crazy shit, not always self harm. For whatever reason I always get it when I see nice cars, my brain immediately goes to "kick the headlights!" and then I cringe when I imagine it actually happening, it's so odd because the desire pops up but my reaction to it is disgust or "pain" like I definitely don't want to do it.
Brains are weird lol
Humans are so adaptable because we constantly test boundaries, especially subconsciously. Intrusive thoughts are just testing risk management.
well put
don't let the intrusive thoughts win!
wait those thoughts aren't normal?
They're very normal. Best thing to do is not sweat them. Fixating on them is what can cause issues.
Pure OCD has entered the ring
The french pleasantly call this "The call of the void."
Who's it whispering to if not me? And is it talking about me?
Your brain tells you to? Mine literally tries to force me to jump from ledges.