Why is legitimate Existential Crisis confused with depression ?

[lsa]

And what, i dont have my own list of problems? You deal with it instead of letting it get the best of you.

LOL. Spoken like a person with absolutely no clue about mental illness.
When you are dealing with severe depression you are so down you cant even manage to shower, take the trash out or even pick up the phone. Its like you are not your self and something have taken over your body and mind.
You see no light you see no hope. Its all pitch dark.


(how ever a cat would be able to help you out with this problem only 25.99/h call me!)

 

[Mike]

If that response seems harsh I don't mean for it to be. It's just that a lot of people on here are very ignorant about mental illness and it's frustrating. I get tired of this smug attitude of superiority where people are acting like they're not mentally ill because they're just above such weakness. No, you're not mentally ill for the same reason you don't have cancer or sickle cell anemia or cerebral palsy. Complete and total luck in having good genetics. You don't have life figured out in some way mentally ill people don't. Our brains don't fucking work correctly, because we are sick. We do not want to be this way, and did nothing to deserve to feel this way.

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

Herpa derp. Do your problems include severe mental illness? If not you don't know at all what it's like or what you're talking about. "Regular" people always seem to have this idea that severe mental illness is something you just power through with positive attitude or mental fortitude. That isn't how it works. Your entire personality is just chemical responses caused by neurotransmitters. If your brain is fubar and not regulating these chemical responses correctly you are fucked for life.


Doesn't mean you can't live a successful life, but the depression is never going to go away fully no matter what you do. People always look at fucked up people and say "if I was in their shoes". Guess what though, if you were in their shoes you'd have to deal with being fucking crazy so it wouldn't be so simple. Waking up feeling like shit every day sometimes for years at a time. Your thoughts following you into your dreams so there's never a break. Knowing what you;re thinking or feeling isn't logical, but being unable to stop. If you don't have depression don't judge people that do. Just enjoy your normal functioning brain that you did absolutely nothing to earn, it was just handed to you. So don't act superior.

You don't know anything about me

 

[BigInJapan]

Life's a trip just ride the waves brahs. Suicide ain't even an option. Just ride that shit out, it's the hand you drew. I suggest you people get down with meditation.

 

[lsa]

Ok then kill yourself. That's what you're resigned to it seems. You don't want encouragement. You want to stay down, like a defeatist pussy.

I can't help you with that.

(Please don't kill yourself, btw).

 

[Mike]

You don't know anything about me

Fair enough, don't recall saying I did. Willing to bet you haven't struggled with mental illness your entire life. Most people that have done that have a bit more empathy about it. I really dislike people acting like depressed people deserve it or are somehow doing it to themselves. Clinical depression =/= being sad for no reason

 

[Harmonica]

Herpa derp. Do your problems include severe mental illness? If not you don't know at all what it's like or what you're talking about. "Regular" people always seem to have this idea that severe mental illness is something you just power through with positive attitude or mental fortitude. That isn't how it works. Your entire personality is just chemical responses caused by neurotransmitters. If your brain is fubar and not regulating these chemical responses correctly you are fucked for life.

Was there a time when you were free of these problems? Like when your life was going in a positive direction with everything working out for you? If so, then your problem is not clinical.

 

[Mike]

Lol first saw these a couple years ago. They're awesome and accurately describe dealing with people. The number of fucking people that have told me it's my own fault or I enjoy being sad. Yes I like being fucking miserable all the time, that's logical.

 

[Guestx]

Ok then kill yourself. That's what you're resigned to it seems. You don't want encouragement. You want to stay down, like a defeatist pussy.

I can't help you with that.

(Please don't kill yourself, btw).

As Mike90 suggests, this is merely the rhetoric of someone who hasn't "been there" or who at least isn't there now.

 

[lsa]

Lol first saw these a couple years ago. They're awesome and accurately describe dealing with people. The number of fucking people that have told me it's my own fault or I enjoy being sad. Yes I like being fucking miserable all the time, that's logical.

It an old one but a good one.
And its a very true one. People that have no experience with mental illness are often clueless and when they try to help they often come of as morons and make things worse.

 

[Mike]

Was there a time when you were free of these problems? Like when your life was going in a positive direction with everything working out for you? If so, then your problem is not clinical.

No, these problems started when I was 12 years old and I have severe psychiatric illness in my family history. I've been told( by psychiatrists and psychologists, not a random dude) it's very likely I inherited this genetically from my father. Having things in your life going well for you certainly mitigates it and makes it a LOT more bearable, but it's always been there.

Even when things are going well you always have to work hard to try to prevent a relapse.

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

Fair enough, don't recall saying I did. Willing to bet you haven't struggled with mental illness your entire life. Most people that have done that have a bit more empathy about it. I really dislike people acting like depressed people deserve it or are somehow doing it to themselves. Clinical depression =/= being sad for no reason

So what do you want me to say, given that I'm already in this conversation? I give my two cents on how to try to improve your perspective of life and you reject everything in favor of championing your depression. What can anyone say?

This conversation should have started with "don't bother." Dude even said that it's valid to live in despair.

 

[Guestx]

Was there a time when you were free of these problems? Like when your life was going in a positive direction with everything working out for you? If so, then your problem is not clinical.

This actually is one of my primary contentions with your previous statement. Sometimes even success is just not satisfying. You're left thinking, "I thought it would be different."

 

[Harmonica]

No, these problems started when I was 12 years old and I have severe psychiatric illness in my family history. I've been told( by psychiatrists and psychologists, not a random dude) it's very likely I inherited this genetically from my father. Having things in your life going well for you certainly mitigates it and makes it a LOT more bearable, but it's always been there.

Even when things are going well you always have to work hard to try to prevent a relapse.

Serious question - what made you happy throughout your life. List everything that comes to mind, both big and little, no matter how trivial it might sound.

 

[Flemmy Stardust]

As Mike90 suggests, this is merely the rhetoric of someone who hasn't "been there" or who at least isn't there now.

What does that matter? You want nothing to do with any positive offering anyone will give you.

 

[Harmonica]

This actually is one of my primary contentions with your previous statement. Sometimes even success is just not satisfying. You're left thinking, "I thought it would different."

The chase is better than the catch. One of life's big truths that's either overlooked or completely missed by people.

Or it could be that you were after the wrong thing and therefore feel no joy in accomplishing it.

 

[Guestx]

So what do you want me to say, given that I'm already in this conversation? I give my two cents on how to try to improve your perspective of life and you reject everything in favor of championing your depression. What can anyone say?

This conversation should have started with "don't bother." Dude even said that it's valid to live in despair.

I think sometimes the best therapy is to merely be understood. The most soothing comment is, "It's okay. You're loved."

Not that anyone expects that specifically from you at this particular moment.

 

[Mike]

One point that always comes up in these conversations is the idea that you have to deserve to be sad. Well you don't know what I've gone through,, or you haven't gone through enough to feel like that. Look at everything this guy went through and he doesn't feel like that. Totally off base.

Environment and upbringing are a factor, but depression is often times genetic in nature. We aren't sad all the fuckin time because whatever has happened to us is worse than what everyone else is going through. We're sad all the time because our regulation of serotonin and dopamine is all fucked up. The chemicals that literally tell you to be happy and enjoy shit and stop dwelling on the depression. Every single emotion and personality trait is simply controlled by chemical balance. If your balance isn't right, you're gonna have a bad time. People that AREN'T like this DON'T have that issue, so of course you don't walk around sad every day. You're not SUPPOSED to, we're not designed to.

 

[BigInJapan]

Serious question - what made you happy throughout your life. List everything that comes to mind, both big and little, no matter how trivial it might sound.

What if the only answer is drugs. And lots of them.

 

[Mike]

So what do you want me to say, given that I'm already in this conversation? I give my two cents on how to try to improve your perspective of life and you reject everything in favor of championing your depression. What can anyone say?

This conversation should have started with "don't bother." Dude even said that it's valid to live in despair.

Dude I just don't dig the smugness I get in conversations like this. Depressed people aren't depressed because we want to be, or haven't considered the things you mentioned, or we're just weak. We're sick. Literally sick, there's a reason EVERYONE doesn't have clinical depression, it's the result of a dysfunctional brain.