Discuss..Quote:
Originally Posted by wiki
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Discuss..Quote:
Originally Posted by wiki
I think that it can be part of depression for some (for me it was more a matter of *why bother constructing a future, it doesn't matter anyway*), but I don't think we should even attempt to come up with one definition of depression, just like we shouldn't come up with any one solution.
When I was in my worst depressive state, no *I care about you and I am here for you* helped me. What helped were friends helping me with the daily grind of living, and giving me concrete and objective advice when I asked them to. When my friend suffered from bad depression, she rejected any attempt at finding a solution and was looking for lots of emotional care and verbal affirmation.
My point is that I am suspicious of making depression and how to handle/treat it one whichever thing. I think it is even type-related. ;)
an adjective that doesn't mean much beyond "very sad & demotivated" that people try to treat like a technical category with clear delineations when it isn't.
in my experience,
an opportunity for spiritual growth in the aftermath of a defeated ego. If embraced, what's left in the destruction becomes the seeds of understanding, an intimate relaying of self-awareness to a consciousness that, by itself, has to struggle with knowing what's truly important.
I like the OP quotes. Adding my cents... depression is a dissociated state of unfulfilling pleasure and ignored pain... Caring can reconcile it; can recognize the pain and can provide real fulfillment. Only trouble with that is it relies on outside sources for fulfillment, which are not reliable... often not even accessible. You can try to look within and overcome it. That is very difficult but ultimately what's required. And that is done by embracing pain.
I don't think care is the opposite of, or somehow irreconcilable with apathy -- the latter is often indulged to relieve the pressure implied by dealing with things we care about. care/concern is a fundamental quality of man's existence, hence "the inability to construct a future" being flawed; depressed people may express dismay and disinterest about the future, but the function is still active, on some level. overall I agree with rat that the important thing is embracing the pain. having to do so through anger, especially when it concerns a 'loss' or any situation where you were degraded or abused in some way, is probably the most difficult, because you effectively have to collapse internally to dissolve whatever resistances were bound up with the feeling. external sources of support are nice but not always present or directly relevant to one's needs/state.
Depression is all too common yet those suffering from it are marginalised, often by people who have experience of it to some degree themselves. It's a sorry state of affairs.
Clinical depression isn't extreme sadness or melancholy. It's a qualitatively different condition based on chemical changes in the brain:
http://youtu.be/NOAgplgTxfc?t=13m4s
I also believe it is an expression of powerlessness and hopelessness. That's my personal experience.