Why Your Perception Is Your Reality?

Every individual has their own perception of reality. Our perspective on life will determine how our life plays out. Each of us perceives the world through our own eyes and this will alter our perception based on previous life experiences, the environment in which they live in and several other factors. Reality is a fixed factor whereas perception varies. Relating perception to our everyday life is easier than one may think, the way we view the world and everything around us has a direct effect on our actions, behavior and overall thoughts.

Whether you live a balanced, healthy life or not, this reality versus perception causation occurs within all humans unconsciously. Do you believe that we manifest our realities? The perception of how you want your reality to look like in present-day or the future, and what we think we need can cause someone to develop a negative outlook of life ultimately leading to depressive states, developing materialistic values and being easily influenced by outside forces such as the media.

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If your mind is predominantly filled with negativity, imagine how many negative thoughts you are unconsciously creating on a daily basis that alters your perception. Our feelings follow what we are thinking, and dwelling on negative thoughts can send us spiraling down into depression. These pessimistic thoughts more than likely begin during ones early years of life as “70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence”. Depression, a very common but extremely serious mental health illness, usually results with one feeling as if they’re drowning in quicksand and can’t escape.

Not only may it lead to isolation, but also suicide as they feel as if the world is a constant battle and trying to destroy them at any chance it has. The diagram behind me displays different negative outlooks, and how one leads to another and it’s continuously never-ending the cycle. Ultimately, the perception of how you want your reality to look like and what we think we need can cause one to develop a negative outlook on life and lead to mental health illnesses such as depression.

Now, as a child, I along with probable others dreamt of growing up and living in a massive mansion with all the cars I loved and associated it with happiness. However, do materialistic things such as money create never-ending happiness? Well a considerable amount of evidence states that: “people who place a relatively high priority on materialistic values/goals consume more products and incur more debt, and have lower-quality interpersonal relationships(...)”(Kasser 2016). In other words, having only materialistic values can be unhealthy. Once these possessions that one derives there happiness off of are gone, what are they left with? Nothing. The Venn diagram present represents the internal conflict one deals with who only pertains to materialistic values. They struggle with balancing community values, such as having respect for others, as well as materialistic values. Therefore, the perception of how you want your reality to be can cause materialistic values to be negative.

Do you believe that social media has a positive effect on the way you perceive reality? Well, social media can change one’s perception of reality due to the content present on apps such as Instagram and Snapchat. With celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian posting pictures showing off their looks and body, it is continuously changing our perception of beauty along with each individual’s reality. For instance, “After Kylie Jenner made her statement confirming she had lip fillers, cosmetic surgeons saw a 700 percent request for plumper lips”. Once a social media influencer changes her or his appearances, young teenagers, such as us, are more than likely to instantly change our perception of things and our behavior to fit the current trend or style.

In conclusion, the way you view your reality, whether it be positive or negative, can significantly affect your mental and physical health. It can lead to mental health illnesses and many deep psychological problems that reality is unable to see. Perception and reality are intertwined, and our dreams, state of mind, and outer influences all control our behavior, thoughts, and actions, making everyone’s so-called “reality” different.