Memories, Identity, and Sanity: The effects of time travel and migration

[EyeSeeCold]

After watching the film 12 Monkeys, the question has been fermenting in my mind: What would be the consequences of a person constantly shifting through timelines and habitations to the extent of uprooting their sense of identity and undermining their memories?

Regardless of what geographic region humans occupy we form relationships with the environment and people around us, there is a German word for this concept known as 'heimat'. These relationships serve to provide existential meaning and a static sense of reality.

In a similar way we form relationships with the time periods that we have lived through, which includes our unique memories of people we've met, places we've been, and things we've seen.


Question of sanity/memory:

Unless a person eventually returned to their original dimension, enough shifts of time period and timeline would make memories less and less convincing. With time travel how would a person determine what is real if reality is constantly being altered? In 12 Monkeys (***Spoiler***), the main character James Cole jumps back and forth between timelines to the point where he questions whether he really is a time traveler on a mission to save humanity from extinction or is just 'mentally divergent' and is fabricating these events out of insanity or desperation.

Migrating to a new land wouldn't be so impactful on sanity, at least not in the same way. You would still be able to distinguish what is real, but would constant space/time travel affect a person's ability to mentally and socially relate to local inhabitants? Does travel tend to cause more of a rift, or does it actually make a person more grounded in terms of universal connection?​

Question of identity:

There is evidence that humans were hunter-gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, which was the first, primary, and longest survival orientation only losing traction as of 12,000 years ago. So with respect to evolutionary psychology how accurate is it to say the (constant) loss of cultural identity would be existentially devastating, or that humans are not very adaptable?

When you leave a timeline, time period, or homeland there would be at least a temporary loss of meaning, wherein a person might cling to their memories as an anchor. But with the possibility of physical and temporal migration what would that identity mean anyway but familiarity? And if familiarity primarily cultivates identity, all it would take to reform that is to live in a certain dimension for awhile as relationships are established once again. Identity is malleable but what would change do to a person? And since it is not fixed, does that make it something to be regarded with less importance?​

 

[StevenM]

I wonder if your information relates to people being homesick?

I live somewhere where it's generally quiet and not very busy with people. I can do my business with ease, knowing that the people around here are familiar and generally safe.

However, when I take a trip to a busy city where there's thousands of people in my field of vision, I get very overwhelmed. I somewhat start to depersonalize, and feel my identity slipping away. I get a strong sense of insignificance.

 

[Base groove]

I will be back, yesterday, to post about tomorrow's experiences in your mind from last week when I flew in from Mars.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I wonder if your information relates to people being homesick?

I suppose in severe cases where there is a high level of anxiety. And when moving away permanently or for a prolonged period of time such as over a year. Basically if the situation becomes an existential issue for the person, and not just a matter of passing nostalgia.

I live somewhere where it's generally quiet and not very busy with people. I can do my business with ease, knowing that the people around here are familiar and generally safe.

However, when I take a trip to a busy city where there's thousands of people in my field of vision, I get very overwhelmed. I somewhat start to depersonalize, and feel my identity slipping away. I get a strong sense of insignificance.

Hmm I'm noticing many similarities. Yeah I think depersonalization / derealization could emerge as a result of multiple time travels or moving all the time. It's also related to being an individual in a crowd though which is something else.

Another time travel film that covers the subject I believe is The Butterfly Effect.

 

[h0bby1]

this stuff happen all the time with internet

 

[QuickTwist]

Good OP.

I believe that as it starts the body becomes at unrest when traveling through different Times/locations. This is something that runs its course but eventually -much later, the individual becomes much more grounded in who they are and what they were going to accomplish. At least this is my reality.