Absurdism as a coping mechanism
In a crazy world, it's okay to stop taking things seriously
The world is really messed up right now in all sorts of ways. Politics, economics, the environment, wars, social division, yada yada yada. It's no laughing matter.
Or is it? Sometimes, it seems the best thing you can do is treat the whole world as a joke.
Absurdism is a philosophy that says the world is arbitrary, illogical and irrational. There's no point trying to make sense of it. It just is what it is.
Absurdism and nihilism are similar in some ways, but there are significant differences. The nihilist attitude is that everything's messed up, so what's the point? It’s fundamentally negative and defeatist.1
The absurdist attitude is more like Taoism, an acceptance that you can't control things, so you might as well enjoy the ride. This belief can actually be very empowering. It enables you to accept the capricious nature of things. Chaos is simply a fact of life, you can't stop it, you can only go with the flow.2
Just as neural variability predicts complex cognitive performance, our openness to life's inherent ambiguity can unlock new ways of understanding and thriving.3
This has a number of interesting side effects. It makes you much more resilient to misfortune, and much more appreciative of the present moment. To the absurdist, there's no point dwelling on the past or the future, because they don't exist. All that exists is now, a moment to be savored or mocked.
Absurdists also tend to have a greater sense of personal values and meaning. They’re less driven by cultural norms, especially fashions, because they see how innately ridiculous they are. It's hard to propagandize an absurdist whose likely reaction to everything is to laugh at it.4
Most absurdists take great pleasure in the surreal. They enjoy letting that innate creativity rip, and creating a unique perspective on the world. No no matter how bad things get, they can always find a deliciously bizarre way to turn it into something amusing.
The moment I started adding “so what” to these terrible feelings, life started to make sense again.5
Does this solve the problems of the world? Not really. But then again, how many of us are in a position to solve the world's problems? Absurdism is a way for us to cope with the world's problems by refusing to take them seriously. It doesn't mean you don't care or don't understand. Quite the opposite: it usually means that you’ve thought about the issues and chosen not to let them get to you.6
In times of stress, comedy is one of the most powerful weapons we have.
I'm not a doctor, dietitian, nutritionist, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, meditation trainer, yoga teacher, or anything else. My academic background is in anthropology, and I've taken some neuroscience courses, but otherwise I'm self-educated. Nothing in this blog constitutes professional advice.
Camus’ Absurd and its Application to Existential Psychotherapy, Philosophical Practice, 2022
Absurdism and Coping: A Follow-Up on "It Is What It Is", Psychology Today, 2023
How to Deal With a Deeply Meaningless Existence, Psychology Today, 2024
A Case for Absurdism in Critical Health Psychology, International Society for Critical Health Psychology, 2023
Absurdism: The Philosophy That Changed My Mindset, Medium, 2024
The Daily Wisdom of Absurdism: Finding Meaning and Resilience in Life's Chaos, Rebellious Wellness Therapy, 2023
Yup this is definitely me.