# Solipsism Syndrome



## blacknightmare666 (May 15, 2013)

hello

guys i need help with solipsism ... did any of you suffered from that syndrome? if so please tell me how you're living with it or what helped against it if you got over it.

so thanks and bye


----------



## Guest (May 19, 2013)

SInce I'm here, I'll say this for the nine-hundreth time.

Solipsism is a philosophical concept -- NOT MEDICAL.

DP/DR is not solipsim.

Philosophy can sound like a medical disorder like Sartre's "Nausea" but it is NOT the same. Sartre never had DP/DR. He was a philosopher.


----------



## Hosscat (Oct 23, 2012)

I understand what you mean though, you're having the obsessive thoughts/doubt about the world not being real. Yes its a philosophy, but one that can effect people at sensitive times in there lives. Im battling this too, so I know how lonely it feels. Im trying to just let the thoughts be there, though it is hard.


----------



## Johnnychemonic (Jun 1, 2013)

With all due respect to Dreamer and Hosscat, Individuals experiencing solipsism syndrome feel that the world is not 'real' in the sense of being external to their own minds. The syndrome is characterized by feelings of loneliness, detachment and indifference to the outside world. Solipsism syndrome is not currently recognized as a psychiatric disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (which is a meaningless statement), though it shares similarities with depersonalization disorder, which is recognized. I think I have periods of this syndrome as well.


----------



## ph10 (Nov 24, 2012)

I know exactly what you're talking about, all the people above misinterpreted it... look here. When my DP was worst, I felt certain that the world wasn't real and spent weeks straight ruminating over it until I felt like my head would explode.

But if you've got dp, then you don't have "solipsism syndrome" the way it's clinically defined. You're just experiencing the existential thoughts that most people with the disorder have. But it's anything but permanent. You'll overcome it.


----------



## Guest (Jun 2, 2013)

Johnnychemonic said:


> With all due respect to Dreamer and Hosscat, Individuals experiencing solipsism syndrome feel that the world is not 'real' in the sense of being external to their own minds. The syndrome is characterized by feelings of loneliness, detachment and indifference to the outside world. Solipsism syndrome is not currently recognized as a psychiatric disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (which is a meaningless statement), though it shares similarities with depersonalization disorder, which is recognized. I think I have periods of this syndrome as well.


Yes, I have found that quotation. And it is important that it isn't recognized as a psychiatric disorder. It cannot be found on PubMed, and there is no medical reference to it that I can find. I have always knows of it as a philosophical concept.

The studies done on the "syndrome" are related to NASA and research on astronauts. Loneliness, detachment and indifference can all be taken as layperson terms. Indifference can be taken to mean a negative symptom of schizophrenia -- but in reality that type of indifference extends to not eating, bathing or leaving one's bed. Loneliness can be experienced by all of humanity. Detachment does not mean DP/DR.

Also, there is no clarification as to the lenght of time one suffers from this -- how disabling it is, etc. What is the "severity" -- what is "extreme loneliness" etc. I can see an atronaut or someone on a desert island having these feelings by I don't see them as having a disorder or syndrome. Does the individual, once returned to normal society have this syndrome? I can't find any information on this. Are they then diagnosed with it?

The actual symptoms of DP/DR can lead to isolation, loneliness, and we feel "detached from the world." I have had the horror of it where I felt I was just a thought, the only thought in existence. I wanted to die, but if I was only a thought, how could I kill myself? The concept of "solipsism syndrome" I think only adds to the confusion.

I guess I like to understand things in a very clear way, or this gets all jumbled up. The reason people think they have schizophrenia here. They don't, but it is self-diagnosis. Not a healthy thing to do with any illness ... you also can't perform surgery on youreslf.

Further down that definition it states:



> Solipsism syndrome is distinct from solipsism, which is not a psychological state but rather a philosophical position, namely that nothing exists or can be known to exist outside of one's own mind; *advocates of this philosophy do not necessarily suffer from solipsism syndrome, and sufferers do not necessarily subscribe to solipsism as a school of intellectual thought.*
> Periods of extended isolation may predispose people to solipsism syndrome. In particular, the syndrome has been identified as a potential challenge for astronauts and cosmonauts on long-term missions,[2][3][4] and these concerns influence the design of artificial habitats.[5][6


Atheist Christopher Hitchens described solipsism as:

"I suppose that one reason I have always detested religion is its sly tendency to insinuate the idea that the universe is designed with 'you' in mind or, even worse, that there is a divine plan into which one fits whether one knows it or not. This kind of modesty is too *arrogan*t for me." [Solipsism implies we believe we are the be all and end all of existence -- it is a very selfish state.]
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

Solipsism is found on philosophy debate forums:

http://forums.philosophyforums.com/

Here is a small list of intellectuals discussing solipsism. One is Philip K. Dick (science fiction writer) who probably had some form of mental illness. He wrote many stories developed into films such as Minority Report, Total Recall, and Bladerunner ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") -- all stories dealing with false reality -- science fiction, like The Matrix.

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/solipsism

---------------------

I feel the need to clarify this as I read all the time here, and read it/hear it in the media that psychiatry has TOO many illnesses. That everything is a mental illness. Overdiagnosis of autism, ADHD, and that psychiatrists wish to create more and more illnesses.

Until proven otherwise, I chose to view "solipsism" as a purely philosophical construct. The discussion of astronauts and those subjected to extreme isolation is an interesting topic, however we already have a name for that -- "sensory deprivation" which can cause hallucinations, etc. and other altered states as the brain must be stimulated, and if it isn't it will stimulate itself.

I think we have enough on our hands with DP/DR. Yes I feel "lonely" I feel "detached" ... I can't say I feel "indifferent."

*Just my POV. And as I said, this is a discussion more related to sensory deprivation and being studied as a psychological not psychiatric disorder by NASA in particular. *

----------

NB: Complex PTSD is also discussed on mental health forums. It is also not officially recognized. It is stretching the boundaries of the true definition of PTSD. There are other terms for what someone might call "complex PTSD."

D


----------



## GoldenRatio (Nov 4, 2014)

I am 13 yrs of age and i believe i have *Solipsism syndrome.*​I feel like the world is not real to me, i feel like i am distant from everything.​But i am also intelligent... i see things differently from anyone else, my parents don't understand my theories but they make a lot of sense to me though. i think my older sister has this too, but i think it is all the stress she is putting on herself from her high college classes she is in and searching for a job.​


----------



## peanut butter (Nov 9, 2012)

Solipsism syndrome is not a thing, and never will be no matter how much people want to categorize their symptoms.


----------



## Guest (Nov 4, 2014)

Solipsism has nothing to do with depersonalization disorder. It's a philosophical idea that becomes perpetuated and exaggerated by the rumination and obsessiveness associated with DPD.

I would strongly urge people to not waste their time or delay their recovery by subscribing to solipsism, or even looking it up. It is not something that can be readily dismissed and will only hinder some.


----------



## s0me0ne-else (Nov 3, 2014)

Selig said:


> Solipsism has nothing to do with depersonalization disorder. It's a philosophical idea that becomes perpetuated and exaggerated by the rumination and obsessiveness associated with DPD.
> 
> I would strongly urge people to not waste their time or delay their recovery by subscribing to solipsism, or even looking it up. It is not something that can be readily dismissed and will only hinder some.


This. I read into it and had another "episode" as I'd like to call it.


----------

