Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Mental Health Support
Related: About this forumHyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression
A remarkably perceptive piece about depression, well worth reading the whole thing.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
Some people have a legitimate reason to feel depressed, but not me. I just woke up one day feeling sad and helpless for absolutely no reason.
It's disappointing to feel sad for no reason. Sadness can be almost pleasantly indulgent when you have a way to justify it - you can listen to sad music and imagine yourself as the protagonist in a dramatic movie. You can gaze out the window while you're crying and think "This is so sad. I can't even believe how sad this whole situation is. I bet even a reenactment of my sadness could bring an entire theater audience to tears."
But my sadness didn't have a purpose. Listening to sad music and imagining that my life was a movie just made me feel kind of weird because I couldn't really get behind the idea of a movie where the character is sad for no reason.
Essentially, I was being robbed of my right to feel self pity, which is the only redeeming part of sadness.
It's disappointing to feel sad for no reason. Sadness can be almost pleasantly indulgent when you have a way to justify it - you can listen to sad music and imagine yourself as the protagonist in a dramatic movie. You can gaze out the window while you're crying and think "This is so sad. I can't even believe how sad this whole situation is. I bet even a reenactment of my sadness could bring an entire theater audience to tears."
But my sadness didn't have a purpose. Listening to sad music and imagining that my life was a movie just made me feel kind of weird because I couldn't really get behind the idea of a movie where the character is sad for no reason.
Essentially, I was being robbed of my right to feel self pity, which is the only redeeming part of sadness.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 3960 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (4)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Hyperbole and a Half: Adventures in Depression (Original Post)
Fumesucker
May 2013
OP
annabanana
(52,791 posts)1. That was great.
Thanks for posting it.
Will forward.
siligut
(12,272 posts)2. This belongs in the Cool section on the front page
She has a real grasp of the human condition here.
hunter
(38,953 posts)3. Part two...
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html
A lot of it resonates with me, but in my case all the emptiness gets flooded with OCD and stuff related to sleep deprivation/nightmares and eating disorders.
I don't experience the same sort of "it's okay if I die" feeling that I get with say a really bad migraine or times of cluster headaches
In my black hole place there's too much useless OCD crap to be done that wouldn't be done if I was dead and that would be intolerable.
It's possible that could be a problem some day if I change meds, or whatever meds I'm taking fade, leaving me depressed without the OCD as a backstop.
A lot of it resonates with me, but in my case all the emptiness gets flooded with OCD and stuff related to sleep deprivation/nightmares and eating disorders.
I don't experience the same sort of "it's okay if I die" feeling that I get with say a really bad migraine or times of cluster headaches
In my black hole place there's too much useless OCD crap to be done that wouldn't be done if I was dead and that would be intolerable.
It's possible that could be a problem some day if I change meds, or whatever meds I'm taking fade, leaving me depressed without the OCD as a backstop.
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)4. This is positively spot on.
Allie is amazingly gifted at describing the indescribable.