No, nihilism isn't a mental disorder; it's a philosophical belief that life lacks inherent meaning, but intense nihilistic thinking can signal or worsen conditions like depression, leading to hopelessness, emotional numbness, or suicidal thoughts, and in rare cases, it can appear as a delusion in severe disorders like schizophrenia. It's a worldview, not a diagnosis, but its overlap with mental distress means seeking therapy to address the underlying feelings is crucial.
Individuals with schizophrenia have an increased risk of premature mortality (death at a younger age than the general population). The estimated average potential life lost for individuals with schizophrenia in the U.S. is 28.5 years.
Nihilism is caused by people becoming inhuman. Becoming inhuman happens in all large-scale societies that fails to see that we are different and where we adopt the ideas of the machine, like both Dostoevsky and Nietzsche write about only in different ways.
Introduction. Nihilistic delusion (ND) is one of an assortment of narrowly defined monothematic delusions characterized by nihilistic beliefs about self's existence or life itself.
An optimistic nihilist basically reaches the following conclusion: “Since there is no grand scheme here, I can, myself, decide what I should do with my life. Optimistic nihilism is the ability of a person to create his own meaning after fully accepting that the universe is a large place of meaninglessness."
Nihilism has several types, but four common ones are Existential Nihilism (life has no inherent meaning or purpose), Moral Nihilism (no objective right or wrong), Epistemological Nihilism (knowledge is impossible or baseless), and Metaphysical Nihilism (reality itself might not exist or have inherent structure). Other forms include Political (rejects institutions) and Mereological (no composite objects).
Existential nihilism has diverse practical implications since people usually act with a purpose in mind, sometimes with the explicit goal of making their lives meaningful. As a result, the belief that there is no higher meaning or purpose can bring about indifference, a lack of motivation, and anxiety.
Famous thinkers associated with nihilism include philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche, who explored its cultural impact, and Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, who popularized the term; while historical figures like Buddha and King Solomon are sometimes linked, and contemporary figures like Jean Baudrillard, Emil Cioran, and literary characters (Rorschach, Tyler Durden) embody nihilistic themes, it's complex as many famous figures (like Nietzsche) critiqued it rather than fully endorsed it as a life philosophy.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) Nietzsche was undoubtedly the most famous schizophrenic in the entire history of Western philosophy. He spent the last eleven years of his life in a vegetative, psychotic stupor.
Cotard Delusion, also known as walking corpse syndrome is the belief that “you or your body parts are dead, dying, or don't exist.” This delusion can occur during severe depression or psychosis.
There are many different types of nihilists. The most common ones, from what I can tell, are existential nihilists, who deny that there is an inherent meaning in life, and moral nihilists , who deny that there is an inherent morality.
Nihilists are terrified of life, death, loneliness and everything else, but admit nothing. Existentialists are afraid of life, death, loneliness and everything else, but at least they admit it. Absurdists laugh at their fears of life, death and everything else.
Nihilists don't believe in objective meaning, so they don't see love as an inherent cosmic truth, often viewing it as biological (dopamine, pair-bonding) rather than spiritual. However, a nihilist can experience and value love as a subjective, chosen experience, acknowledging it's a powerful human feeling (a chemical reaction) that creates personal meaning in a meaningless universe, rather than dismissing it as not real or meaningless.
Out of all the mental disorders including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, which do you think is the deadliest? A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses (Arcelus, Mitchel, Wales, & Nelson, 2011).
Many people experiencing psychosis lack awareness of their condition, a phenomenon called anosognosia that affects up to 98% of those with schizophrenia. Self-awareness during psychosis exists on a spectrum—some people have partial insight, others recognize symptoms only after episodes end.
Borderline Personality Disorder is frequently cited as one of the hardest mental disorders to live with, not because people with BPD are difficult, but because the disorder itself is emotionally intense and relentless. It affects the way a person sees themselves and others. Feelings come on fast and strong.
Instead, God tells him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV). This is a powerful reminder that even when people struggle with challenges like mental illness, God's strength and power can be revealed through weaknesses.
The "25 rule" (or "rule of quarters") in schizophrenia suggests that outcomes fall into four roughly equal groups: 25% recover fully, 25% improve significantly with some ongoing support, 25% improve somewhat but need considerable help, and 25% have a poor outcome with chronic illness or suicide risk, highlighting the varied nature of schizophrenia's long-term course, though some sources use a "rule of thirds" with similar proportions for different outcomes.
Among these, the 5 A's of Schizophrenia serve as essential markers for identifying and assessing the disorder. These include Alogia, Avolition, Anhedonia, Affective Flattening, and Asociality. Each of these symptoms represents a diminished or absent function that is critical for daily living and social interaction.
It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.
A nihilist is defined as “a person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles.” Stephen Hawking was an atheist but that doesn't mean that he rejected all moral principles and to the extent that religions address moral principles, it is likely he agreed with those principles as ...
Dostoevsky did not believe in nihilism. Crime and Punishment is designed to show the danger of such a philosophy, since Raskolnikov hurts others, including his own family, due to his belief in nihilism.
Moral nihilism is the idea that there are no objective moral truths in the world, and morality is a man-made concept. There is no objective basis for what is moral or immoral. For example, killing isn't good nor is it bad, it just is.
The theory purports to describe the human situation to create a life outlook and create meaning, which has been summarized as, "Strut, fret, and delude ourselves as we may, our lives are of no significance, and it is futile to seek or to affirm meaning where none can be found." Existential nihilists claim that, to be ...
What is happy nihilism? “Happy nihilists” generally advocate some stance that is neither eternalism nor nihilism in the usual sense. Often, they suggest the subjective choice of one's own meanings, which is existentialism, not nihilism.