I am writing this on behalf of my good friend who is an INTJ and came to me asking if I could think of any possible solutions for him. He reports feeling total numbness, apathy and disinterest in everyday life. He determines his goals by asking, "If I killed myself today, what would I regret not doing?" Before, his answer was "See what life is like in another country, and experience it for yourself." Well, now he has done this, for three years, and the only reasons he has to live, which he reports not feeling strongly about at all, are his wife, dog, the possibility of witnessing further space expoloration/ colonization, and playing more video games. He is very good at video games, and is good friends with a number of game developers of different games in which he is one of the top players in the world. These are highly competitive real time strategy and MMORP games.
I am personally concerned as he is pretty interested in morbid things, such as a collection of suicide notes written by people that were released on the internet recently for the benefit of psychological research.
Today he asked me if I'd ever taken anti-depressants (which I had) and what the effects were like. Being an INTJ, he won't accept anything that will inhibit his ability to do his job or his overall cognitivve functioning, which is how he derives his self worth, welf esteem, etc. (Please Understand Me 2 by Keirsey identifies this).
So, I think he just wishes he wasn't so emotionally numb, and is looking for something that would make him feel better about life. Philisophically he has been a fatalist for years, and I honestly believe him when he says he wouldn't care if
he died tommorrow.
He used to do alot of ecstasy, for a few years of high school, and he says it was after that that he became so apathetic. So it seems like drug use has definitely shaped his present cognitive workings.
I am just wondering if anyone can offer any ideas to help my friend. We are both living in China right now, and due to my interest in psychology I am basically the unnofficial counselor/psychologist of my immediate group of ex-pat friends.
My best idea so far is to look up naturopathic/nutritional remdies for deppression and start from there, as my friend definitely won't accept anything with negative cognitive side effects.
Any suggestions?
I am personally concerned as he is pretty interested in morbid things, such as a collection of suicide notes written by people that were released on the internet recently for the benefit of psychological research.
Today he asked me if I'd ever taken anti-depressants (which I had) and what the effects were like. Being an INTJ, he won't accept anything that will inhibit his ability to do his job or his overall cognitivve functioning, which is how he derives his self worth, welf esteem, etc. (Please Understand Me 2 by Keirsey identifies this).
So, I think he just wishes he wasn't so emotionally numb, and is looking for something that would make him feel better about life. Philisophically he has been a fatalist for years, and I honestly believe him when he says he wouldn't care if
he died tommorrow.
He used to do alot of ecstasy, for a few years of high school, and he says it was after that that he became so apathetic. So it seems like drug use has definitely shaped his present cognitive workings.
I am just wondering if anyone can offer any ideas to help my friend. We are both living in China right now, and due to my interest in psychology I am basically the unnofficial counselor/psychologist of my immediate group of ex-pat friends.
My best idea so far is to look up naturopathic/nutritional remdies for deppression and start from there, as my friend definitely won't accept anything with negative cognitive side effects.
Any suggestions?