Music Banter - View Single Post - Depression and suicide
View Single Post
Old 08-23-2010, 04:43 PM   #65 (permalink)
mr dave
nothing
 
mr dave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: everywhere
Posts: 4,315
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA View Post
Like you, I have seen a lot of press about feeling happy and at peace. For example, consider that best-selling book, "Eat, Pray, Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert, who went on a world trip to find happiness and meaning in life, as if those were something you "find" outside yourself. People sometimes seem a little obsessed with the pursuit of happiness. I don't know how much the expectation to feel happy actually increases the severity of people's depression or the number of people diagnosed as depressed, though I wonder about this.

My guess is that people whose depression is severe (meaning fairly independent of life events) probably would be very content with just feeling present (alive, but feeling neither bad nor good).
that last bit is totally spot on. i've dealt with depression for longer than most MBers have breathed oxygen. i don't want to be happy all the time, i just want to not be depressed all the time - and it INFURIATES me to no end when someone tells me i'm 'supposed' to be happy when i'm enjoying a flat day (i'd rather be bored than bummed out).

as for Eat, Pray, Love what a crock of self serving garbage. the whole self-discovery angle is a contrived plot to sell a travel book. but it's not like Hollywood would bother pointing that out or filming worthwhile adaptations when they can cash in on common insecurities without presenting any sort of redeeming idea or message.
__________________
i am the universe

Quote:
Originally Posted by bandteacher1 View Post
I type whicked fast,
mr dave is offline