The Toll of Seeking Truth
The connection between the search for truth and psychological destabilization can be seen as a process in which an intense and often continuous intellectual struggle to understand the essence of existence leads to a profound inner conflict, which, in turn, triggers manifestations of emotional and physical strain. In attempting to address such existential questions, a person faces uncertainty and doubt, which generates emotional tension. This emotional state—especially when the question of the existence of a Supreme Mind becomes paramount—requires enormous mental effort to process, thereby imposing additional strain on the body.
For example, as noted in one source, the search for truth comes down to posing the most important question: “where is the greater probability: in the absence of the existence of God or in His presence?” (source: link txt). This question in itself is a source of deep mental pressure, as it becomes a constant ordeal for many, leading to internal contradictions and doubt.
Such intensive mental struggle can evolve into physical overexertion. In another example, a situation is described where a severe emotional state and years of tension associated with a morally significant task lead to “brutal exhaustion of the body and brain” and even significant strain on the heart and the entire body (source: link txt). This demonstrates that the psychological destabilization caused by high intellectual and emotional demands due to the search for truth directly affects a person’s physical health.
Thus, it can be said that the constant quest for answers to life’s most important questions not only presents a person with complex moral and intellectual challenges but also burdens them emotionally and physically. This appears in the form of chronic stress, nervous overexertion, and severe states of exhaustion, when mental efforts and the emotional struggle for truth lead to physical changes and overloads on the body.
Supporting citation(s):
"Так вот, это первое. Но сразу скажу, что первое не решается раз и навсегда и окончательно на том этапе, когда у человека нет ничего другого, кроме рацио. Здесь вопрос решается так: где большая вероятность, где меньшая, что более вероятно предположить – существование Высшего Разума, будем называть так Бога..." (source: link txt)
"Умирают всегда от чего–нибудь. Но погубившая его ужасная болезнь позволила бы ему все–таки прожить десять, пятнадцать, двадцать лет, не будь того страшного переутомления, которое он испытал ради спасения Дрейфуса. Ибо было же чудовищное нервное перенапряжение, длившееся в течение нескольких лет. Жестокое переутомление тела и мозга. Перенапряжение сердца, наитяжелейшее из всех возможных. Перенапряжение всего организма." (source: link txt)