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Saturday Night

Studies at De La Salle University - Manila Lives in Cainta, Rizal Single Speaks Filipino, English Born on November '87 From Cainta, Rizal
I’m going to say what I think about perspective, and why I can’t really agree with the implications of this post. Perspective is impossible to gain without experience. Perspective can not be transferred through communication between separate beings, it has to be observed. So a person has to be in the right places at the right time. This is unfortunately, mostly luck. Beyond that, a person has to be willing to open themselves up to a new perspective and be honest with their self (admitting failures and mistakes), so they have to be capable of introspection, which is learned gradually through experience, trial and error, and the motivation to even think about these sorts of things.  The next step is application, where the conclusions of the introspection can be applied, and this requires more honesty with the self, it’s a different step. It means acknowledging that the new perspective is the better one, which is very hard to do relying merely on past experience and no experience with the new perspective. It takes a faith in oneself to do this, or self esteem. Lastly, this is assuming the person evaluated the experience correctly to gain wisdom. This is very difficult to do, and requires years and years of experience. My point is this. Depressed people are lacking in all the above things I highlighted. Depressed people often avoid new experiences, they often isolate themselves. Even when they are in a new experience, they are not engaged, because the lack of dopamine (basal ganglia dysfunction is correlated with depression, ADHD and so on) reduces the ability to focus. This makes it harder to grasp the important bits of an experience, which makes it hard to introspect. Application requires faith in oneself, and depressed people are notorious from suffering from extremely low self esteem. This is yet another hurdle, inextricably linked with why the depression started in the first place. Thus, the downward spiral. And finally, it requires persistence. And if you are already extremely depressed, and you fail a few times in a row, I mean I don’t know about you but sometimes there is only so much a single person can take. This is usually what we call rock bottom, you have absolutely no hope, you tried many times over to get better, and you failed at each one. You have no incentive to keep trying, because you have had no indication that what you are doing is working at all. Because things are probably not better, more likely worse, you lack the ability to correlate good behavior (wisdom) from bad behavior. This is where coping mechanisms come from, combined with what feels good the fastest because your basal ganglia is already malfunctioning, so instant gratification (food, drugs, sex) are often top choices, with really bizarre controlling behavior and thought patterns (eating disorders, ocd, personality disorders) trailing in at a close second. The individual can literally not figure out what leads to the better way, and what leads worse. Some things just feel better, and some of those things in the long run are really fucking bad. ______________The best studies I have seen about depression and actually curing it, to the point where the person is more capable as an individual, more compassionate towards others, generally they are a better person, is this. They have someone(s) in their lives who care(s) deeply about them, and is willing to tough it out with them. They offer guidance when it is helpful, and love and support when it is not. They encourage the person, they help build their esteem up. They are the rational mind when the depressed person fails, they are the counter to all the negative thoughts. They encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior, but with reasons that make sense, typically leading by example.Depression is hard to cure. Depression has a tendency to get worse because it’s so complicated, because the longer you let it go, the more shit you have to sift through later (well, as with most mental illness). Depression is isolating, the depressed person is often very self centered (and who wouldn’t be, I’m not being patronizing, when life seems absolutely miserable you simply can’t afford to expend any emotional energy, you barely can expend it on yourself). So, a lot of depressed people come off as anti-social, possibly manipulative, generally not fun people to be around. So it takes a very compassionate person(s) to assist them.  This is rare in of itself. I know I am making this out to seem hopeless, but it really is a big fucking deal. Every small step you take towards getting better is huge. One must I think, constantly remind themselves of the progress they have made, and genuinely feel a great deal of pride in that, because it is really hard. - surely_youre_joking (reddit.com/r/depression)

I’m going to say what I think about perspective, and why I can’t really agree with the implications of this post.

  1. Perspective is impossible to gain without experience. Perspective can not be transferred through communication between separate beings, it has to be observed. So a person has to be in the right places at the right time. This is unfortunately, mostly luck.
  2. Beyond that, a person has to be willing to open themselves up to a new perspective and be honest with their self (admitting failures and mistakes), so they have to be capable of introspection, which is learned gradually through experience, trial and error, and the motivation to even think about these sorts of things. 
  3. The next step is application, where the conclusions of the introspection can be applied, and this requires more honesty with the self, it’s a different step. It means acknowledging that the new perspective is the better one, which is very hard to do relying merely on past experience and no experience with the new perspective. It takes a faith in oneself to do this, or self esteem.
  4. Lastly, this is assuming the person evaluated the experience correctly to gain wisdom. This is very difficult to do, and requires years and years of experience.

My point is this. Depressed people are lacking in all the above things I highlighted.

Depressed people often avoid new experiences, they often isolate themselves. Even when they are in a new experience, they are not engaged, because the lack of dopamine (basal ganglia dysfunction is correlated with depression, ADHD and so on) reduces the ability to focus.

This makes it harder to grasp the important bits of an experience, which makes it hard to introspect.

Application requires faith in oneself, and depressed people are notorious from suffering from extremely low self esteem. This is yet another hurdle, inextricably linked with why the depression started in the first place. Thus, the downward spiral.

And finally, it requires persistence. And if you are already extremely depressed, and you fail a few times in a row, I mean I don’t know about you but sometimes there is only so much a single person can take. This is usually what we call rock bottom, you have absolutely no hope, you tried many times over to get better, and you failed at each one. You have no incentive to keep trying, because you have had no indication that what you are doing is working at all.

Because things are probably not better, more likely worse, you lack the ability to correlate good behavior (wisdom) from bad behavior. This is where coping mechanisms come from, combined with what feels good the fastest because your basal ganglia is already malfunctioning, so instant gratification (food, drugs, sex) are often top choices, with really bizarre controlling behavior and thought patterns (eating disorders, ocd, personality disorders) trailing in at a close second. The individual can literally not figure out what leads to the better way, and what leads worse. Some things just feel better, and some of those things in the long run are really fucking bad.
______________
The best studies I have seen about depression and actually curing it, to the point where the person is more capable as an individual, more compassionate towards others, generally they are a better person, is this. They have someone(s) in their lives who care(s) deeply about them, and is willing to tough it out with them. They offer guidance when it is helpful, and love and support when it is not. They encourage the person, they help build their esteem up. They are the rational mind when the depressed person fails, they are the counter to all the negative thoughts. They encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior, but with reasons that make sense, typically leading by example.

Depression is hard to cure. Depression has a tendency to get worse because it’s so complicated, because the longer you let it go, the more shit you have to sift through later (well, as with most mental illness). Depression is isolating, the depressed person is often very self centered (and who wouldn’t be, I’m not being patronizing, when life seems absolutely miserable you simply can’t afford to expend any emotional energy, you barely can expend it on yourself). So, a lot of depressed people come off as anti-social, possibly manipulative, generally not fun people to be around. So it takes a very compassionate person(s) to assist them.  This is rare in of itself.

I know I am making this out to seem hopeless, but it really is a big fucking deal. Every small step you take towards getting better is huge. One must I think, constantly remind themselves of the progress they have made, and genuinely feel a great deal of pride in that, because it is really hard.

- surely_youre_joking (reddit.com/r/depression)

In this post: reddit  depression  insight  
February 15 at 10:36am
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Feelin' like a Monday but someday we'll be Saturday Night.

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