I've heard some here say that being low awareness (or "low sentience") is a good thing, that ignorance is bliss, and that because you lack a sense of what's going on around you, life is less difficult to bear. I think that is probably true if you have no awareness, i.e. you're in a coma, functionally dead, but I think being in a state of hypo or hyperawareness is probably non-ideal.
In a state of hypoawareness, you are relatively unaware of your surroundings, of your own thoughts, and of the position of yourself relative to other things. It is a very disorienting feeling. You feel as if you are not real; you are not sure what is going on, what you are doing, or how you are doing things. You feel as if everything around you has gotten lighter, has been made hollow and has drifted away from you. When I feel derealized, I am not really cognizant of myself, or of my ugliness and the other traits I wish I didn't possess. Though I am aware of my unawareness, I'm not aware of much else.
In a state of hyperawareness, you are sensitive to everything; even quiet sounds and dim lights can seem overwhelming. You feel as if you are being crushed by everything external to yourself. There is you, and there is everything else, and everything else so far exceeds you that you are drowning. You feel as if everything has gotten heaver and denser and is approaching you. Even the beating of your own heart can feel oppressive. When I feel like this, I have to avoid everything. I try to minimize my exposure to light, sound, and touch.
Maybe there is a middle ground, when you're aware enough to recognize your surroundings and you feel like you have some ground to stand on, but you aren't too aware, so you don't feel overburdened. That's why drugs or mental illnesses which disrupt you from your normal awareness state have the potential to be so unpleasant, because you are shifted away from this ideal, and so you feel either too real, or not real enough.
In a state of hypoawareness, you are relatively unaware of your surroundings, of your own thoughts, and of the position of yourself relative to other things. It is a very disorienting feeling. You feel as if you are not real; you are not sure what is going on, what you are doing, or how you are doing things. You feel as if everything around you has gotten lighter, has been made hollow and has drifted away from you. When I feel derealized, I am not really cognizant of myself, or of my ugliness and the other traits I wish I didn't possess. Though I am aware of my unawareness, I'm not aware of much else.
In a state of hyperawareness, you are sensitive to everything; even quiet sounds and dim lights can seem overwhelming. You feel as if you are being crushed by everything external to yourself. There is you, and there is everything else, and everything else so far exceeds you that you are drowning. You feel as if everything has gotten heaver and denser and is approaching you. Even the beating of your own heart can feel oppressive. When I feel like this, I have to avoid everything. I try to minimize my exposure to light, sound, and touch.
Maybe there is a middle ground, when you're aware enough to recognize your surroundings and you feel like you have some ground to stand on, but you aren't too aware, so you don't feel overburdened. That's why drugs or mental illnesses which disrupt you from your normal awareness state have the potential to be so unpleasant, because you are shifted away from this ideal, and so you feel either too real, or not real enough.
