Robin Williams dead at 63

[timtofly]

That would also vary from individual to individual because of pride, and how much one is willing to give up.

 

[Farm Boy]

You can dudespeak this out of a relationship without much or any direct communication on the topic if you know somebody well enough, I think. But yea, it's all over the place.

I dunno. If in my state of relatively excellent good fortune and blessings I need people to tether me in striking distance of the light, I can only imagine what it'd be like with more noises in the dark.

 

[Narz]

I personally wouldn't trust Religion as an emotional cushion. I think the point is to get into a frame of mind which gives you some kind of peace. Either because you got a goal and hence direction or because you got some inner balance so the direction is yourself or I guess preferable both.
Now Religion can provide that. The reason I wouldn't trust it is that its obviously a lot of smoke and mirrors and that can get cracks any time. Which puts it to a degree out of your control. Rather stick with what is real if you can. Much more reliable. But I guess some insist on something more solid. Even if it is just smoke and mirrors.

Well meditation type spirituality is much better than say, Christian fundamentalism because it requires active participation (meditation practice) rather than just a set of beliefs. Meditation is proven to be good for one's mental state & somewhat effective in treating addiction.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

So, this popped in my feed today.

 

[Cutlass]

There is no goddamn help for depression.

No marches, no runs for the cure, no walks in support of. Even in Canada, the major sources of medical help require insurance to afford. Have you ever tried to afford insurance when you've got a serious disability?

Oh, but we're supposed to have gumption? Start our own charities? Can you see how non-easy that would be. If we were feisty tigers, we'd not have depression.

Nothing. We're just supposed to hide our darkness, put on a brave light or we won't get invited out to do anything. Big Pharma? Given up. Charities? Few to none. Gov't? A trickle.

We're 20% of the goddamn population. No one gives enough crap to spend 20 minutes figuring out how to help and then the occasional hour's worth of effort.
"ElMac can't come out this evening. He can't get out of bed"
"Bummer, that sucks"

Oh, wait, no. They don't know I can't get out of bed. If I tell them that, they'll just not invite me out the next time. Hell, every time my mask slips, I've got an uphill struggle just to find new ways to find people to have fun with.

Welcome to my world.

 

[El_Machinae]

I am wondering just how much the health of people's digestive system affects them mentally.

A great deal, likely. An enormous component of our emotional senses are tied into our body. In many ways, our emotions are a sensory system for our body. We're not wildly cognizant of this, not like we know that our sense of vision is tied to our eyes. But, it's decently true. True enough that I'm willing to suggest they're heavily associated when speaking in casual terms.

Think about how cranky you get when you're hungry. It takes increasing amounts of willpower to overcomes your crankiness. Things that would've been easy to forgive suddenly take patience to disregard. And that's just food, simple fats and sugars. Your digestive system releases a host of hormones and neurotransmitters into your blood where they can go on to influence the limbic (emotional) portion of your brain.

Now, if a simple sandwhich can stop me from seeing the world through the tint of rage, we know there's something there worth learning about, and something there that can go wrong.

 

[innonimatu]

If anything good comes of this I hope it's an increase in awareness of mental health issues.. I mean.. If wealth and fame don't make you safe from depression and suicide.. what chance do us pleebs have in getting through life?

The same. From what cases I've seen depression doesn't depend that much on wealth, though being very poor certainly gives people more reasons to despair and fall into it. Fame can actually worsen it. For some people there's nothing worst that being famous and then perceiving a "fall" from the height of fame. Unhappiness is a maladjustment of needs and means, and a need for fame is something very hard to satisfy... the would be famous who don't make it very often end badly, and so have many famous.

I don't know what were Robbin Williams' problems. But I liked is work, this is was sad news.

 

[Hygro]

It's often harder to pull out of something again than to pull out of something. That terrifies me.

 

[El_Machinae]

Thanks for everyone's kind words yesterday. I feel like I lost it.

Yesterday's slacktivism pissed me off so much. My Facebook feed was jammed with

"If you're depressed, know that help is out there 1-800-DON'T JUMP"

kind of messages. I lost it. We know no one is willing to help. We know we're supposed to fake it so that you won't disparage us. But, this idea that some 20-something negotiating with us is 'help' is outright condescending.

 

[Narz]

This is why I'm getting myself together while I'm poor.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I feel like I lost it.

I found your candidness refreshing

Well meditation type spirituality is much better than say, Christian fundamentalism because it requires active participation (meditation practice) rather than just a set of beliefs. Meditation is proven to be good for one's mental state & somewhat effective in treating addiction.

I recall reading a article where the physical workings of meditation was explained. I am fully convinced it works and it is one of those things which I plan to give a try. Sometime
But for me personally meditation has as much to do with spirituality as talking to a good friend, reflecting on yourself in a diary or going for a run.

 

[Kyriakos]

A great deal, likely. An enormous component of our emotional senses are tied into our body. In many ways, our emotions are a sensory system for our body. We're not wildly cognizant of this, not like we know that our sense of vision is tied to our eyes. But, it's decently true. True enough that I'm willing to suggest they're heavily associated when speaking in casual terms.

Think about how cranky you get when you're hungry. It takes increasing amounts of willpower to overcomes your crankiness. Things that would've been easy to forgive suddenly take patience to disregard. And that's just food, simple fats and sugars. Your digestive system releases a host of hormones and neurotransmitters into your blood where they can go on to influence the limbic (emotional) portion of your brain.

Now, if a simple sandwhich can stop me from seeing the world through the tint of rage, we know there's something there worth learning about, and something there that can go wrong.

Surely the above is covered by the notion of 'psychosomatic' illness?

Afterall it makes perfect sense that lingering mental problems can manifest in bodily problems, for a number of reasons. Moreover a chronically bad emotional state will take its toll on somatic functions, cause the body is not designed to withstand endless misery.

 

[El_Machinae]

Surely you mean somatopsycho illness?

 

[Terxpahseyton]

On the value of depression for society: I am not sure society needs chronicially depressed people. But for hwati is worth I read a psychologly article where people were seperated into different types according to how quickly their brain is willing to make them feel happy.
And it was mused that people who have higher hurdles in their brain to feel happy or satisfied are more willing to take risks / more motivated to achieve special things. Because they need to to find happiness. They are also more likely to abuse drugs, though. Or engage in all kinds of self-destructive behavior. Note I am not necessarily talking of actually depressed people here at all. Just people who have to work harder to feel happy.
Now correlate this to how pretty much the same seems to apply to more intelligent people.

Overall I think an argument can be had that to have to work harder to be happy makes you more resourceful - if one accepts the challenge rather than hides from hit in substance abuse or whatever that is.

 

[Kyriakos]

Surely you mean somatopsycho illness?

Surely you are joking, Mr. Feynman?

 

[Farm Boy]

Well meditation type spirituality is much better than say, Christian fundamentalism because it requires active participation (meditation practice) rather than just a set of beliefs. Meditation is proven to be good for one's mental state & somewhat effective in treating addiction.

I think the corollary you are looking for in Christianity is prayer. The tool is phrased differently, the mystique(or however you want to phrase it) is different but the basic premise is the same thing. I mean sure, some people think prayer is just a laundry list of asking the universe for stuff. Some people think meditation is taking a nap. Some get a little more into it and do the chants, both practices have them, others get very into the management of self, which again both practices do. A Christian will almost certainly tell you that it also requires active participation rather than just a set of beliefs. The latter is "just going through the motions."

 

[shadowplay]

I have to admit I don't usually care too much about a celebrity dying, but this one is hitting me hard, too. I still can't quite believe that Robin Williams killed himself. I don't think that will sink in for a very long time.

 

[Hydra99]

The same. From what cases I've seen depression doesn't depend that much on wealth, though being very poor certainly gives people more reasons to despair and fall into it. Fame can actually worsen it. For some people there's nothing worst that being famous and then perceiving a "fall" from the height of fame. Unhappiness is a maladjustment of needs and means, and a need for fame is something very hard to satisfy... the would be famous who don't make it very often end badly, and so have many famous.

I don't know what were Robbin Williams' problems. But I liked is work, this is was sad news.

But this suggests that external issues influenced his depression. I'd say that depression is a great leveller, it gets you regardless of age, gender, job, financial position etc, it comes from inside you and is unique to everyone, which makes it so hard to explain it to people. It's certainly not unhappiness.
We do know what Robin William's problems were, he'd suffered from depression for a long, long time and just needed it to stop.
I'm not sure it's a case of famous people being more prone to depression as maybe depressed people going into that kind of career.

 

[Kyriakos]

But this suggests that external issues influenced his depression. I'd say that depression is a great leveller, it gets you regardless of age, gender, job, financial position etc, it comes from inside you and is unique to everyone, which makes it so hard to explain it to people. It's certainly not unhappiness.
We do know what Robin William's problems were, he'd suffered from depression for a long, long time and just needed it to stop.
I'm not sure it's a case of famous people being more prone to depression as maybe depressed people going into that kind of career.

I also doubt that 'famous people' are more often depressed than the ratio for their society/area etc, despite changes from individual to individual. It seems that depression primarily results from unresolved traumata, whether they are mostly repressed/nonconscious, or conscious but not really dealt with (due to a number of reasons and in a number of ways).

Basically it seems likely that most people don't have a very 'correct' or even thought-through view of what they supposedly are in their supposed environment and in their own mental world. This can lead to chaos even without that bad a trauma around. But sometimes it can develop to clinical/clinical-like depression from even pre-puberty age.

Also: Welcome to the forums, Hydra with the 98 mortal and 1 immortal, central head

 

[Hydra99]

Thanks
I've read quite a bit about early childhood and how stress in even small babies can result in a rush of adrenailne that can contribute to depression in later life. It's obviously more complex than that but you get the general idea. And I'm not particularly talking about typically traumatic events, like abandonment etc. It's something I want to learn more about.
Looking back I can recognize feelings that I had as a child as being those of depression.