Depressed

[thepretender]

I am so glad that it helped you. I can imagine that it would. I think a lot of people can identify with many of the characters...
I know it helps me when I know that I am not alone with my feelings.
This movie touches on so much
and
on so many different levels.
It really is one of my favorites...

[greedy]

i'm sorry to ear you were dpressed but happy your better now if you ever need to talk the people on this board are some of the kewlest ever

[Omnipotent]

artisticdarkness said:

I have Clinical Depression, I am 14 and attempted suicide twice, I found this movie a year before the darkest time of my life and as I watched it I didnt understand. While I was at the peak of my depression, I watched the film again, this time fully understanding and it opened my eyes to "How beautiful the world can be" I have a girlfriend, and couldnt be any happier now. the world is rather beautiful and I must say to the cast, "They made me do it".

ArtisticDarkness

Yeah and I'm the fucking easter bunny.

Are you fucking kidding me? A film does not cure you of a major depressive disorder. I know people who 'actually' suffer from clinical depression and they would punch you in the mouth if they met you for claiming a movie can turn grey skies into sunshine. And you have a girlfriend too. Wow, how very Darko. You're an attention whore who wants seem special, sure, we all do. But some of us don't feel the need to lie and pray on other people's kind nature for sympathy. Well unfortunetly for you I'm not the friendly gullible type, so make like a hermaphrodite and go fuck yourself.

[artisticdarkness]

Omnipotent, that was so rude and uncalled for, seriously. The movie did not "Cure" me, I still suffer from it but it helped me realize that through darkness, you can try to see what is good. Youre accusatory remarks sicken me and I believe people like you are what make this world what it is. Your opinion is your opinion and that is all it will be to me.

[ProvidencePortal]

Well, the truth is, it is at least unlikely and at worst irresponsible to suggest a movie turned things around for you. Omni's right -- people with true clinical depression don't snap out of it because a movie inspires them. They can't choose to feel better about things. But many people think they should, and treat them as though, because they don't get better, they must not want to get better. That leads to a lot of pain and sadness.

I think it's great if the movie inspired you. And, hell, we all have a tendency to speak in hyperbole for attention ... especially online, where things can be made to feel like reality more easily than in a face-to-face conversation. But I think O-Jack's right: it's better to have it called out to you know -- albeit painful -- than to go through life thinking "I can say whatever I want, and if noone says anything, then they agree with me and I can believe it."

[Omnipotent]

artisticdarkness said:

Omnipotent, that was so rude and uncalled for, seriously. The movie did not "Cure" me, I still suffer from it but it helped me realize that through darkness, you can try to see what is good. Youre accusatory remarks sicken me and I believe people like you are what make this world what it is. Your opinion is your opinion and that is all it will be to me.

Your exact words were "I couldnt be any happier now", the polar opposite of "I still suffer", and your lie has just been confirmed by the fact you deleted your original post, but unfortunetly for you the whole thread doesn't go away.

And yes it was rude and uncalled for, but then again who requests to be insulted?

I'll take full responsibility for this corrupt planet we live on too. I'm violence at its finest, I created racism, I'm the reason there's third world countries, hell as we speak I'm behind the scenes waging the next world war. Shut the fuck up...

[thepretender]

Wow...I can't believe I just saw this right now.
Why on earth couldn't this movie be the very important turning point?
Why couldn't it reach out to us at our darkest hour ...offering some hope that we are not alone with these feelings?
It could be the base jump from which all future contemplations are measured.
Seriously...some people find their faith and strength and hope in Jesus and the Bible.
I find that more unbelievable than someone gaining valuable insight from this movie.
There is so much crap in the Bible.
Yet people...even those who are not depressed...cling to those holy words as if that is where all answers come from but there is sooo much darkness in the bible.
Aks Julia Sweeney. She looked over the whole thing and wrote "Letting Go of God" :-)
But the point is...depression is very hard to diagnose and very hard to medicate and there are times in between diagnoses and medication that people can even think they are cured even to the point where they stop their medication so I don't see how any cyber-diagnosing is helpful to this discussion.

[thepretender]

And...I don't think that any sympathy was being solicited.
When someone comes on and is hopeful...they are not seeking sympathy.

[thepretender]

This is EXACTLY the kind of movie that depressed youth are going to gravitate to...
It does give hope.
They might not be aware why they feel so connected to Donnie or anyone's character yet...esp when they are 15 but I know one thing...
When I was 15...I didn't know squat!
What helped me learn was having people discuss things with me calmly and rationally.
When I was bullied...(it was 37 years ago so no sympathy is necessary) it wasn't helpful... in any way...like I said before...I go back to places and I get awful flashbacks of those stupid pitiful feelings that I had back then.
If someone had a problem with me...
it was clearly a sign that their problem lies within themself.
Otherwise they would just let me be me
right?

[artisticdarkness]

Thank you Thepretender

[greedy]

so omni what can we expect with the next world war

and pretender i agree it can be used as a turning point it's no more fake than religeon god and the bible


*edit
also it's not good to delet post no matter how stupid something you said was if it needs to be deleted let the mods do that otherwise do as i do and let every assinie comment be there for the world to see

[ProvidencePortal]

greedy said:

it's no more fake than religeon god and the bible

Here's the thing about "why couldn't this movie be the turning point -- it's no more fake than Jesus" ... thinking about Jesus can't cure clinically depressed people either.

It's a chemical imbalance. It requires medical treatment supported by psychotherapy. The great sadness of depression is that it's a me-alone disease: while in its depths, you're surrounded by people who tell you to "snap out of it" and offer all sorts of ideas for things that could "turn it around" for you ... like a new romantic partner, a change in job, a move, a renewed focus on a religion, etc. These people are well-intended, but their perspective is terrifically painful for the person who's depressed. The depressed person is likely to feel many of the same feelings -- "shouldn't I just be able to change this with my mind? Why can't I just decide to feel better?!" -- which compounds the effects of the disease.

If you had the blues, were down, had had a bad few months, were sad, etc., etc. -- then, yes, a movie or a book or a conversation might be the thing that helps you shift your perspective and look ahead again. But if you were clinically depressed, no amount of any of those things will alter your state of mind -- that's the insidiousness of the disease.

So I am troubled when people perpetuate the idea that one can just "snap out of" clinical depression with an uplifting song or fun TV show. Not only is that not true, it hurts -- probably kills -- depressed people to be told it, to internalize it, to agonize over it. It further alienates them from their loved ones and isolates them from the world.

[Omnipotent]

I concur Jason

[thepretender]

I totally hear what both of you are saying...
I do know that there is difference between being depressed and clinical depression.
I am not sure that there are many people out there that do realize the difference tho and that educating each other could help in so many ways...
I think there was a kinder way to do that, but that is my sticky issue
:-)
I haven't really thought that much about clinical depression lately.
Lately all I am thinking about is PTSD and the things that can bring it on and how unprepared our medical profession is to deal with it.
:-(
I lost a very good friend to suicide about 3 years ago and while I understood that he was bi-polar I think that he had a lot more going on because of his experience in Viet Nam.

[ProvidencePortal]

thepretender said:

I think there was a kinder way

As I've said before and continue to believe: that's a lesson we all could learn from you.

I expect I'll fall off the wagon more than once before I learn it well, though. You seem to have it in your nature, and I respect and admire that. Others have to get reprogrammed.

Last bit on the topic: I do believe there are times when someone is well-served by a wake-up call that is so uncomfortable it forces them to reset and take stock.

Growing up, I read at an above-average level, so I wrote with more sophisticated syntax than other kids. People -- meaning kindness -- told me what a terrific writer I was, and of course I loved the idea and decided to believe it. Trouble was, they were wrong ... or at least, they were inaccurate. I wasn't that good. Certainly not so good that I could start thinking of myself that way. But because they told me what I wanted to hear, I actually lost ground. The time I might have used to get better I began wasting on crap -- self-centered, immature drivel.

I started showing this crap to others, and no one wanted to be unkind, so they were either quiet or offered praise. Rinse, repeat. So in the end it cost me. I self-identified. Writing became persona, not hobby or practice. Over and over I got the self-satisfaction of proving yet again how smart I was ... by forcing assent through a social loophole. People thought honest was mean, so they lied. I got to keep living in an idea because no one wanted to be the asshole that burst my bubble.

All the people who started off wanting to encourage me became all people who helped freeze my ability in time. But the crazy thing is, what I needed was real feedback. It could have been kind too, but probably by that point, I wouldn't have listened. I was too far into the story. I had too much self-delusion to break up to get to the truth. I would have needed a battering ram to bust through it all.

So I guess I'm saying, diplomacy and kindness aren't always the same thing. Sometimes the kindnest thing is to take someone out of a pattern, show it to them broken over your knee, and say, "see, this wasn't it. But you can find it, still. You just have to get out there and look."

edit: moved a sentence, added a space and retyped a word