Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Physical health and mood states and Philosophical beliefs:

Physical health and mood states and Philosophical beliefs:

I am not sure if anyone has ever done a study linking physical health to the philosophical beliefs of a person; I discovered from my own  recent experience, that they can be strongly related!
I have come across several research work linking mood states to physical health , but none on physical health and philosophy.
I recently had a severe blood loss and was feeling extremely weak for more than two weeks. I did all that I read on the internet to fix it (except visit the doctor……….I am currently in a “Doctors-are-useless”, frame of mind) i.e. I took iron tablets, ate meat such as beef, ate iron rich food such as dhals & eggs(I dont think eggs and dhals are all that rich in iron) and  did not strain myself with physical work.
I lay on my bed, weakly, with thoughts going around in my head randomly. Somehow, I got to thinking about nihilism. And that Nihilistic  Philosophy seemed so perfectly logical !
 I tried to read a bit about other philosophies too but it was Nihilism which seemed to make perfect sense to me, at that point in time, when I was lying weak in bed!
Nihilism has been in my thoughts on and off, my entire life, ever since I discovered it while studying in college. It has attracted me, most when I am depressed, feeling hopeless or feeling physically sick.

Now, my question is, what was the state of physical health of the founders and followers of Nihilism? Did a physical checkup find that they were low in energy or blood sugar or something vital?
I am convinced that if the founders of Nihilism are given psychological tests, many are bound to score high on depression and other scales of mental illness. But it is not just mental illness or a mood disorder which can make a person think nihilistically. After my blood loss experience, I think an extreme bout of physical ill health can contribute to Nihilistic  thoughts.  What do you think?

 Of course, I have come across several sick people, who were stoic, cheerful and real gems... they were wonderful souls, all through their illness….trying their best to not be a  burden to others, trying to get better soon, trying to do as much as they can without adopting the ‘sick role’.

There are several research studies linking good physical health to good mood states and so many other positive things.

 I would like to also know, if there are any Nihilists in the world, who have excellent physical health, excellent mental health (i.e. they are cheerful; not schizophrenic; well adjusted in the world; have resilience in the face of difficulties; are honest and get along with people, etc) and are Nihilists, i.e. who do not believe in the meaningfulness of things or life. I would like to meet one if such a one exists, and ask him or her, “what makes you tick?”

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