Stress

[Alec Benson Leary]

I've been wondering, has Chris ever mentioned about what he's going to do after Barb's no longer there to take care of him? He reads our posts, so he must have thought about it.

chris has it in his head that life is going to magically become better for him once she dies. he's patiently waiting each day for her to pass so he can finally grow up and live his life. which ironically enough, is pretty much half over.

He knows it's Barb that is holding him back, but I don't think he's directly connecting her death to freedom. Chris rarely can put 2 and 2 together. It's mostly us on the cwcki forums are the ones who are putting 2 and 2 together when it comes to Barb's death meaning freedom for Chris.

I think Chris honestly believes that he will have acquired a sweetheart/caretaker by the time Barb goes.

It's like Marvin says - he really is incredibly, incredibly stupid. He's had a solid decade of evidence thrown in his face, delivered through both experience and explicit exposition, that his love quest is not functional and that its 0% success rate is not going to change in the future. But he doesn't process any of that data. Also relevant is that he doesn't calculate things based on reality or facts, he calculates things based on what he wants to be true. To him, his love quest will still succeed "some day", and since he vaguely knows that he needs someone to be there for him when his mother no longer is, he automatically defines "some day" with the parameter "before my meemaw is dead".

 

[Holdek]

I think some folks here are over-thinking this (although I tend to over-think everything about Chris, so take this with a grain of salt). The things that stress Chris would stress us too. Arguing with our fathers. Having to move the doghouse. Whatever. The difference is, we think, "Shit, I have to move that dog house. It's heavy and this is going to suck." But it takes like five minutes to move the doghouse, and in another five minutes after that we've forgotten about it because we have moved on to the next things in our lives, and whatever stress we had about the doghouse has mostly dissipated.

For some reason Chris likes to hold on to that stress, or maybe it just effects him more and for a longer period of time, IDK. Some folks here have put forth some good theories on why that is.

But at the end of the day, Chris is basically acting like a big baby and crying about everything that is even just somewhat uncomfortable.

chris has it in his head that life is going to magically become better for him once she dies. he's patiently waiting each day for her to pass so he can finally grow up and live his life. which ironically enough, is pretty much half over.

He knows it's Barb that is holding him back, but I don't think he's directly connecting her death to freedom. Chris rarely can put 2 and 2 together. It's mostly us on the cwcki forums are the ones who are putting 2 and 2 together when it comes to Barb's death meaning freedom for Chris.

I think Chris honestly believes that he will have acquired a sweetheart/caretaker by the time Barb goes.

It's like Marvin says - he really is incredibly, incredibly stupid. He's had a solid decade of evidence thrown in his face, delivered through both experience and explicit exposition, that his love quest is not functional and that its 0% success rate is not going to change in the future. But he doesn't process any of that data. Also relevant is that he doesn't calculate things based on reality or facts, he calculates things based on what he wants to be true. To him, his love quest will still succeed "some day", and since he vaguely knows that he needs someone to be there for him when his mother no longer is, he automatically defines "some day" with the parameter "before my meemaw is dead".

So he basically thinks about what he wants in a future point in time, and then works backwards to make that a reality. We all do that. I guess the difference, though, with Chris is that when his battle plan meets the unpredictabilities of the battle, he doesn't adapt his tactics or re-assess the feasibility of his ultimate goal.

Kind of like Hitler in his bunker at the very end of the war in Europe. (Chris is worse than Hitler!)

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

So he basically thinks about what he wants in a future point in time, and then works backwards to make that a reality. We all do that. I guess the difference, though, with Chris is that when his battle plan meets the unpredictabilities of the battle, he doesn't adapt his tactics or re-assess the feasibility of his ultimate goal.

Well, more than that. When you or I desire something, we usually come up with some kind of plan. Chris doesn't plan anything. He just assumes that what he wants will eventually happen with no input from him necessary.

 

[Happy Nappa]

He's in total denial, but he's gotta know just how screwed up he is somewhere in his mind.

I think it's the tension between those two things. Chris may be too spergy/spoiled/dumb to have genuine self-awareness... but he's "with it" just enough to be aware of what other people think of him. To make matters worse, he thinks he is a genius, artist and romantic ideal who shouldn't have to exert the slightest effort to get everything he wants. The friction between what he thinks he is and what the rest of the world tells him he is creates his version of "stress."

 

[mendoza]

He's in total denial, but he's gotta know just how screwed up he is somewhere in his mind.

I think it's the tension between those two things. Chris may be too spergy/spoiled/dumb to have genuine self-awareness... but he's "with it" just enough to be aware of what other people think of him. To make matters worse, he thinks he is a genius, artist and romantic ideal who shouldn't have to exert the slightest effort to get everything he wants. The friction between what he thinks he is and what the rest of the world tells him he is creates his version of "stress."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_rage_and_narcissistic_injury

 

[Holdek]

So he basically thinks about what he wants in a future point in time, and then works backwards to make that a reality. We all do that. I guess the difference, though, with Chris is that when his battle plan meets the unpredictabilities of the battle, he doesn't adapt his tactics or re-assess the feasibility of his ultimate goal.

Well, more than that. When you or I desire something, we usually come up with some kind of plan. Chris doesn't plan anything. He just assumes that what he wants will eventually happen with no input from him necessary.

Yeah but, wasn't his [cwc]Love Quest[/cwc], [cwc]Attraction Sign[/cwc], [cwc]Dating Profiles[/cwc], etc., his plan for acquiring a sweetheart from the ground up?

 

[CatParty]

So he basically thinks about what he wants in a future point in time, and then works backwards to make that a reality. We all do that. I guess the difference, though, with Chris is that when his battle plan meets the unpredictabilities of the battle, he doesn't adapt his tactics or re-assess the feasibility of his ultimate goal.

Well, more than that. When you or I desire something, we usually come up with some kind of plan. Chris doesn't plan anything. He just assumes that what he wants will eventually happen with no input from him necessary.

Yeah but, wasn't his [cwc]Love Quest[/cwc], [cwc]Attraction Sign[/cwc], [cwc]Dating Profiles[/cwc], etc., his plan for acquiring a sweetheart from the ground up?

sure, but they were done in the laziest possible manner. not to mention, he put forth absolutely no effort into making himself attractive or desirable in order to find a "sweetheart".

 

[mendoza]

When you or I desire something, we usually come up with some kind of plan. Chris doesn't plan anything. He just assumes that what he wants will eventually happen with no input from him necessary.

Yeah but, wasn't his [cwc]Love Quest[/cwc], [cwc]Attraction Sign[/cwc], [cwc]Dating Profiles[/cwc], etc., his plan for acquiring a sweetheart from the ground up?

sure, but they were done in the laziest possible manner. not to mention, he put forth absolutely no effort into making himself attractive or desirable in order to find a "sweetheart".

Some gal pal attempting to let him down gently probably gave him the old line "you'll find someone when you aren't looking" and he took it literally.

 

[CatParty]

Some gal pal attempting to let him down gently probably gave him the old line "you'll find someone when you aren't looking" and he took it literally.

was probably barb. in between all the "you're so handsome and special" talk

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

To be fair, I'd probably be stressed, too, if I were Chris.

Nobody taking me seriously? Wallowing in a house of filth and detritus with an insane mother? Having no friends, no outlets, nothing to get up for in the morning except for vidya and McDonald's? I'd be getting cabin fever within a week.

Now, to be fair, I have a lot more introspective capability than Chris, but Chris at least knows that his life isn't normal.

I'll live in my world with concerns about jobs, families, economy and politics, thanks. I wouldn't change places with Chris for all the tugboat in the world.

 

[mendoza]

To be fair, I'd probably be stressed, too, if I were Chris.

Nobody taking me seriously? Wallowing in a house of filth and detritus with an insane mother? Having no friends, no outlets, nothing to get up for in the morning except for vidya and McDonald's? I'd be getting cabin fever within a week.

Now, to be fair, I have a lot more introspective capability than Chris, but Chris at least knows that his life isn't normal.

I'll live in my world with concerns about jobs, families, economy and politics, thanks. I wouldn't change places with Chris for all the tugboat in the world.

New what if inspired.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

So he basically thinks about what he wants in a future point in time, and then works backwards to make that a reality. We all do that. I guess the difference, though, with Chris is that when his battle plan meets the unpredictabilities of the battle, he doesn't adapt his tactics or re-assess the feasibility of his ultimate goal.

Well, more than that. When you or I desire something, we usually come up with some kind of plan. Chris doesn't plan anything. He just assumes that what he wants will eventually happen with no input from him necessary.

Yeah but, wasn't his [cwc]Love Quest[/cwc], [cwc]Attraction Sign[/cwc], [cwc]Dating Profiles[/cwc], etc., his plan for acquiring a sweetheart from the ground up?

The attraction sign and dating profiles are actually just a list of requirements for prospective Sweethearts to adhere to. The only planning Chris did when using the attraction sign was deciding where to park his fat ass.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

Yeah but, wasn't his [cwc]Love Quest[/cwc], [cwc]Attraction Sign[/cwc], [cwc]Dating Profiles[/cwc], etc., his plan for acquiring a sweetheart from the ground up?

sure, but they were done in the laziest possible manner. not to mention, he put forth absolutely no effort into making himself attractive or desirable in order to find a "sweetheart".

My point exactly. Chris follows a from-A-to-C logic when it comes to getting what he wants. A is the starting gate, C is the goal, but B is "how do I actually get there?" and he never, ever gives it any mind. No matter how long he continues to fail, no matter how many times people show him incontrovertible evidence that he needs to change his ways, he just doesn't care about the "how do I get there" part.

To be fair, I'd probably be stressed, too, if I were Chris.

Nobody taking me seriously? Wallowing in a house of filth and detritus with an insane mother? Having no friends, no outlets, nothing to get up for in the morning except for vidya and McDonald's? I'd be getting cabin fever within a week.

Now, to be fair, I have a lot more introspective capability than Chris, but Chris at least knows that his life isn't normal.

Chris knows he's not normal, but I think it's more just that he believes everyone is jealous and afraid of him for no good reason. He has no true self-awareness, he thinks he lives on the center of the grid and it's everyone else who has swayed into the red.