Nietzsche isn’t a great example. His health was dreadful throughout his life, and it’s really astonishing how good his mood and vigor were, given the crippling nature of his ailments (until his ultimate collapse). Philosophy in his case was probably a mood booster and a good coping mechanism.
There are lots of paths you can choose to wander down in philosophy. If you suffer from depression, one of the symptoms is that when you reach a crossroads in this wander, you’ll choose the path that leads into the dark dismal swamp of nihilism and a dark uncaring universe with no meaning or point. That’s not philosophy’s fault, that’s depression’s fault.
But “dwelling on stuff” in general probably isn’t a good strategy for dealing with depression, so if you’re spending time philosophizing that you should be spending exercising, improving your diet, socializing, making doctor’s/counselor’s appointments, checking things off the basic-life-tasks to-do list so life doesn’t get overwhelming, etc., then you might want to take a break.
Nietzsche isn’t a great example. His health was dreadful throughout his life, and it’s really astonishing how good his mood and vigor were, given the crippling nature of his ailments (until his ultimate collapse). Philosophy in his case was probably a mood booster and a good coping mechanism.
There are lots of paths you can choose to wander down in philosophy. If you suffer from depression, one of the symptoms is that when you reach a crossroads in this wander, you’ll choose the path that leads into the dark dismal swamp of nihilism and a dark uncaring universe with no meaning or point. That’s not philosophy’s fault, that’s depression’s fault.
But “dwelling on stuff” in general probably isn’t a good strategy for dealing with depression, so if you’re spending time philosophizing that you should be spending exercising, improving your diet, socializing, making doctor’s/counselor’s appointments, checking things off the basic-life-tasks to-do list so life doesn’t get overwhelming, etc., then you might want to take a break.