u/blue_rhombus_

My question for people who have recovered from this theme is: how on earth did you learn to live with the uncertainty of whether other people exist?

I know I’m supposed to learn to live with the uncertainty, but I don’t see how not fighting the question of ‘what if my loved ones don’t exist outside my head’ does not equal ‘I accept that I might be alone in the universe, and that my love might not be making anyone’s life better’. Accepting that would make my life meaningless and depressing.

Context for me: I have existential OCD of a Boltzmann brain and solipsism theme. (Boltzmann brains are a physics thought experiment that basically asks ‘What if you’re a brain floating in space with fake memories of the past, experiencing what you only perceive to be a complete reality?’ More info at the bottom of you want.) (Solipsism being the idea that you can’t prove other minds exist outside of your own.)

My core fears are being alone and not making a positive impact on others around me. (With this theme, I’m afraid that other people don’t exist outside of my head.)

I’m a couple sessions in with an OCD specialist; this fortnight he told me to work on doing things that matter to me - spending time with loved ones, making art ect. - while the intrusive thoughts yell in the background.

Any help is appreciated, thank you for taking the time to comment.

Scientific & philosophical explanation of Boltzmann brains in this video - you only have to watch to 6:18 to understand. Are You A Dream Of The Universe? - YouTubewww.youtube.com › watch Big trigger warning though, this is the video that started my OCD. (Of course, everyone is different and I know it won’t freak everyone out.)

Context: my fears are around people not existing as complex individuals outside my own head - Boltzmann brain theory and brain-in-a-vat theory. I am currently a few weeks into ERP.

Did you have a moment of realisation of any kind during therapy, or was it just a slow progression of starting to feel better? How did you move on from worrying about theories that cannot be proven or disproven? How did you get from that feeling that you’ve discovered a terrible universal truth (like ‘my loved ones might not really be there/exist the same way that I do, I might be completely alone in the universe’) to feeling like a real human again and believing that other humans do exist the same way you do, and you’re not alone? Anything else about overcoming this horrifying theme you want to share?

Thank you for your help everyone.