Got Depression?



You spout this bullshit like it's fact.
There are people talking about "chemicals", "chemical imbalances", "chemical deprivation" and "clinical illness" completely in the abstract, without any specific details.

When people appeal to "science" without being scientific, that sounds a lot like bullshit to me.
 
Please avoid abstract biology.
There are people talking about "chemicals", "chemical imbalances", "chemical deprivation" and "clinical illness" completely in the abstract, without any specific details.
When people appeal to "science" without being scientific, that sounds a lot like bullshit to me.
Lack of serotonin is a direct cause of depression.

Just like you cannot will cancer away you cannot always will your body to increase the amount of serotonin or serotonin receptors in your body.

Better?
 
ITT: Otherwise intelligent people not drawing a distinction between depression caused by sad things and depression caused by an otherwise unwarranted chemical imbalance.

Let's assume I say my hand hurts instead of my head.

Maybe my hand hurts because I'm a little bitch, but If I had a broken fucking arm you wouldn't just tell me to man up.

If low blood sugar is a real thing then surely "low happiness chemical" is a real thing.

Does it adequately explain why 20% of Americans are on anti-depressants?

Of course not. But just because you're essentially calling into this argument sick doesn't mean people don't get sick.

gotta run..
 
Lack of serotonin is a direct cause of depression.
Is it a cause?

Just like you cannot will cancer away you cannot always will your body to increase the amount of serotonin or serotonin receptors in your body.
Sure, you can get more sleep for starters.

Unless you have some sort of chronic shortage.

Who here has a chronic serotonin shortage?

I might be the only person who remembers this thread started off with existential crisis, not people's undiagnosed and or unconfirmed biological issues.

I like you a lot.

Deal with very deep depression for a few years. Hang out with reformed drunks. Live with someone who has had a massive brain injury.

Then come tell me about how we're slaves to arbitrary chemical imbalances. Tell me how we can't exercise our will to change our circumstances or improve our lives, even when we're mere inches away from ending it all.

I'm done.
 
guerilla what's happening baby? every time i think about you i get asthma baby. wanna go for a big debate?
 
Is it a cause?


Sure, you can get more sleep for starters.

Unless you have some sort of chronic shortage.

Who here has a chronic serotonin shortage?
I'm sure plenty of people reading this thread do. I don't, but I currently don't suffer from severe depression. I cannot speak for anybody else in this thread, or in general.

I might be the only person who remembers this thread started off with existential crisis, not people's undiagnosed and or unconfirmed biological issues.
Sure, but if anybody is feeling down for any period of time they should talk to a doctor. It could "just" be an existential crisis, or it could be rooted in something deeper. Neither of us have the expertise to diagnose one way or the other over the internet.

I like you a lot.

Deal with very deep depression for a few years. Hang out with reformed drunks. Live with someone who has had a massive brain injury.

Then come tell me about how we're slaves to arbitrary chemical imbalances. Tell me how we can't exercise our will to change our circumstances or improve our lives, even when we're mere inches away from ending it all.

I'm done.
We are all slaves to our chemical makeup. Your willpower is a trait determined by the chemicals that make up your body. There is nothing in your body that is not made of atoms and any action you make that could restructure how those atoms act was an action based on a previous atomic structure you had no control over.

So your entire life plays out in a deterministic fashion based on the atoms in your body and your conscious is left with the illusion of control. But I think we've had this conversation before.

There are people with a lot of willpower who have reformed themselves. There are also people who are very smart. Telling somebody who doesn't have a lot of willpower and is dealing with depression to force themselves out of it is akin to telling somebody who is mentally slow to just "get smarter". It's very easy for a smart person to say that, just like it is very easy for somebody with a lot of willpower to say what you are saying.
 
There is nothing in your body that is not made of atoms and any action you make that could restructure how those atoms act was an action based on a previous atomic structure you had no control over.

So your entire life plays out in a deterministic fashion based on the atoms in your body and your conscious is left with the illusion of control.

Very well put, I know others think about this sort of shit too but it's always interesting to uncover them, as lets face it MOST don't.

Though I would add that those said actions are based not only on the previous atomic structure but also how that structure has been affected by outside forces. Or put simply we are all nothing more than a sum total of our genetics and our environment. Some would add in the soul but even if that is the case, where did this mystical soul come from? Did we have a "choice" in which "soul" we were given? no we didn't....so the illusion of willpower argument still stands whether one is religious or not.

As such Guerrilla I guess I should stop getting annoyed at what you are saying as it was always inevitable that you'd be a dick in this conversation, you have no real control over it. ;)
 
I might be the only person who remembers this thread started off with existential crisis, not people's undiagnosed and or unconfirmed biological issues.

You know this how? Are you a treating doctor of the OP?

Once again we see opinion dressed up as fact.

Even if we were to assume that it IS an existential crisis, it has obviously effected his mood and therefore his chemical makeup and indeed his biology. So have you now in all your infinite wisdom answered the age old question of the chicken and the egg?
 
I'm talking about full-on existential crises that result in a complete and total lack of emotion.

I think this is what he's referring to, although later on in the OP I mention "clinical depression" as well.

Sometimes I do wonder if there is a chemical/medical root to my existential crises that might manifest itself in a more concrete way if I were differently educated.
 
I think this is what he's referring to, although later on in the OP I mention "clinical depression" as well.

Sometimes I do wonder if there is a chemical/medical root to my existential crises that might manifest itself in a more concrete way if I were differently educated.

Exactly my point. Even if you self diagnose something as being non-biological and having merely existential origins you don't know it for sure, neither do I and certainly some dude on a forum with an axe to grind doesn't. I would even go so far as to say that even a treating doctor doesn't know for sure. There are just too many variables in the human body.
 
What you resist persists. So if you start actively fighting the depression, trying to not be depressed, guess what you will get?

As long as you pursue happiness you cannot be happy. You cannot become happy (or successful), you can only be happy.

All you really need to do is to look inside and observe. Observe purely with no judgement. Observe thoughts, emotions, sensations and feelings.

Accept what is going on and just let go. Let go fully and let go of everything.

Let go of resistance. Let of all concepts and beliefs. Do not believe your thoughts. The minute you start believing what your mind has to tell you, your mind is in control. Your mind is your bitch, so treat it like that. Do not give it any attention, unless you need to use it as a tool.

Changing diet, exercising, not drinking, etc. can help. But do not try to run away from it. There is no where to run. You are here. No thought, emotion, feeling can last. They are always passing. However you are not passing, you are always observing everything.

You are the screen on which everything projects. NOTHING can touch you. Your body and mind might get depressed, but what does it have to do with YOU? You are just there watching it. If this is not empowering I am not sure what is.

All you need to do is fucking do nothing! LOL There is nothing to do. Just be.

Just relax and stop trying to control your life. Let it flow naturally as it goes. Just have a little bit of trust, it will all be fine. You can still do the best you can in everything you do.

Cliff notes:

  • Do not resist.
  • Let go off everything. Every belief, concept, feeling or emotion.
  • Just be.
  • Observe your thoughts, emotions, feelings and physical sensations. But do not analyze them, do not give them ANY POWER.
  • Do not try to control your life. Just do your best in everything you do. That is all you can do.
  • Let everything come and go naturally, don't try to force things.
  • ?????
  • Profit: learn how to deal with any BS that might arise, with any BS that might come about externally, any loss, any collapse.


Just because our society conditions that we have to be successful, have to be achievers, make money doesn't mean it is right! Society can tell us a lot of insane things. Do not believe anything.


Oh yeah and for clinical condition crowd.... What does clinical depression consist of? Thoughts, emotions, sensations and feelings, doesn't it? So if you can deal with those right now, you can deal with it, no?

Edit: Also do not fight your feelings. If you want to cry, just cry! Do not resist. If you feel like shit, just feel like shit, accept it fully. Ok now I am feeling like shit. All of a sudden, you might notice a space of acceptance open up inside of you, that although you still feel like shit, but you are not fighting it and it is fine.

Much love bros.
 
^^ thanks for that Andrey, I love to hear everyone's experiences, this is how we can truly take away from them and model them into our own.
 
This thread makes me want to punch everyone, I've been looking for an official reason to quit WickedFire and the rampant ignorance in this thread is a perfect opportunity.

Fuck all y'all, later folks
 
^^ well that's pretty fucking depressing, there are some great "take aways" from this thread. But in the end you're the only one who can transform yourself to who you want to be based off of your own beliefs, everyone's experience is different.
 
I'm not talking about "the blues" or "feeling sad", I'm talking about full-on existential crises that result in a complete and total lack of emotion.

Wondering if WF has any experience with this, and what if anything has helped to alleviate it.

I know some of you fat bastards are clinically depressed, so speak the fuck up.

You understand we're gods children right? And by that I don't mean Jesus loves you bullshit, I mean we have the ability and skills to do what ever we choose, when ever we choose, where ever we choose.

No other time in history have people been able to achieve this level of freedom and most people on the planet right now never will.

We make our living from a job that can be done any where in the world with the only requirement being an internet connection.

We have a level of freedom, that a lot of us take for granted, that others would kill for. Ask a guy stuck in a cubical working 9 to 5 what he would give to be you.

I'm not ragging on you, I feel for you, I do. But damn, the though alone of the freedom we have is enough to bring a smile to my face.
 
I actually relate to the avoidance part of the equation quite well, although I've never been one for self-pity. It does seem like working online allows me a degree of escapism, and it's certainly much easier to bob up and down in a digital pool than it is to face the real world some days.

This is a problem that relates to our industry as a whole.

Historically, it's why you see a lot of people who write (think authors) do a lot of their work in coffee shops or places with people. It's worked for them for centuries. The same is true for us, since we can work anywhere.

Unless you have physical meetings with clients, you need to get out of the house or office and spend a couple hours a day around people and interact or you'll find it's very easy to disassociate yourself--inside and out.










Oh, and do some yoga.