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 All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
Thu May 9, 2013, 12:01 AM May 2013

Hyperbole 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.
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
That was great. annabanana May 2013 #1
This belongs in the Cool section on the front page siligut May 2013 #2
Part two... hunter May 2013 #3
This is positively spot on. LiberalAndProud May 2013 #4

hunter

(38,264 posts)
3. Part two...
Thu May 9, 2013, 01:59 PM
May 2013
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.
Latest Discussions»Support Forums»Mental Health Support»Hyperbole and a Half: Adv...