Are you radically different than your younger self? Are there key elements that have stayed the same? Most parts? Do you feel as if you’ve followed the “roadmap of life” or forged your own path? Have there been “chapters” or do things all sort of slide into one contiguous flow? Share what you’d like!
Reminds me of the events that transpired over the last half a decade or so.
Over the last several years my mental state was deteriorating. Stress accumulated. Various stuff, employment, overworked, underpaid. Inability to afford housing. Covid. War overseas. Had a mental breakdown at some point. Ended up on meds and in therapy. After multiple sessions was informed by my psychologist that “the reactions you’re exhibiting are normal for a person that has experienced all the items and stress associated with all we discussed up to now, unfortunately I cannot help you as the response is perfectly normal and there’s nothing wrong with you”
I still don’t know how I feel about that specific statement after several thousand dollars of therapy, but I guess it’s better than assuming my depression isn’t “good enough” to be real depression.
There’s a good chance the world should be ashamed to be in the state that it’s in, not for you to be ashamed that you finally see it as it is.
You might like this hidden brain on languishing and how if unadressed it can turn into other mental health issues. But basically the concept is you’ve got everything you need - yet you still feel this uneasiness inside your being. Your call, but it was an interesting listen. *It is tied to an author who just published a book just a heads up.
I had a listen, thank you.
Unfortunately it does not resonate with me since the issues I faced… or rather still currently facing, are basic things that are missing, for example not having a safe space or being able to afford a place to call my own in which I could even think to begin to thrive. It’s not that the shrink didn’t see my problem, it’s that he understood that most of these are socially engineered problems, that given proper legislation from the government for social services and habitat and controlling/reigning in the rampant runoff capitalism that we’re experiencing would alleviate or resolve, and unfortunately he, being a medical professional, is not able to assist with that. He validated that I was indeed exhibiting symptoms of severe depression from these items and did the best he could, but even today, the situation stays much unchanged in most of those items. And no, I don’t have much hope for anything to change in the future, despite all the social movements we’re seeing pop up.
I’d love to be proven wrong.
Hey thanks for giving a listen. I thought it was a interesting thing to hear. Cause you see, one of my lovelies just had a babe. She’s setup, I’m happy. Life is good, or not. Cause like legit she’s going through it. But I also have a friend, brilliant buddy, actuary (so he makes that $$) but he sort of always feels this low-grade depression haunting him. He figures it’s just life. These kinds of things make me think. And make me think this guy, maybe he’s on to something. Just it’s nice to have a sit and think about stuff you know?
The only thing that helps me exist in the space you’re talking about is two things. a) Letting go of what I cannot change. Because I cannot do a damn thing about a majority of the crap going on in the world. And the crap that is affecting my life directly. Like you said, it’s a rigged thing. You just don’t have much agency over these kinds of things and we’re all setup in different ways even from before birth. Which is naners when you think about it. Your shrink sounds like he is a realist, but it also sounds like he didn’t do much to help you big-picture. Just confirm your feelings. Which I mean, that’s big because when you spend your whole life thinking “am I crazy or…?” that shit wears on you. But also, I can say from my (piddly but very meaningful) experience with my shrink that I can ramble (and can’t I?) and rattle off all the shit oozing from my brain. But then she kinda like gathers it and helps me sort it out. And then she like, helps me not feel so shitty about it all by offering an alternative (not correct, not happier, not better) perspective and lets me have a think on it. And if I dig it, I take it. And if I don’t, I let it go. And it kinda helps because we’re very similar people as far as I know. And I am so thankful she’s in my life. But legit I found her on Open Path and went through scores of people (just tabbing through) until I found someone who resonated with me. Which has sorta been the thing that has worked for me as a whole in my life. I head on through life, and the people who resonate with me tend to be the people who help me grow. So like, maybe you just haven’t found your right fit yet?
But all shit aside, you’re not alone in a lot of these things. And finding ways to mitigate the pain, while not adding to it long term (like addiction) is super good. If you’ve got even a 4x6 space you can carve out consider popping some hitt into your life. It helps with a lot of things, but first and foremost it’ll slow your brain down a bit. And then maybe spend some time refinding yourself. Figure out what you like, what you don’t. If you don’t like anything right now - maybe find something you could like or reembrace something you used to like. And if you’ve got even one human being you can talk to regularly (and I am talking like guy at the gas-station, online, childhood homie) just keep doing that. Cause they will help pull you through this.
Just work little by little. I bet you there’s a sea of people on here who will tell you they didn’t think their lives would get any better than they did. I felt like I lost it all at one point in my life. But you just put together the pieces little by little and you come out stronger for it in the end. It feels like shit the whole way, but it’s way better being emotionally on top, than being drowned on the underside. You just gotta find the path that works for you to that point. And you’ve gotta know that you aren’t the only person feeling this way. And of course there’s a million ways you can go about it. But yet again, try to go the healthiest because it’s easy to keep smashing yourself to pieces instead of grabbing the glue. Gl =/
I understand you’re coming from a good place and I appreciate that but it seems I might’ve given the wrong impression, so let me clarify as a wrap up to this thread.
I am employed full time, making decent amount of money as far as the average pay in the country is concerned. Work conditions are decent.
I do have a place to rent but it goes up in price every year with no justifications and no work being done to correct or address a lot of the issues it exhibits, including but not limited to the ever growing heat problem (much hotter indoors), electrical issues, bathroom mold and deteriorating cracks in the walls/stairs to name a few. Fighting this is futile or lengthy and costly, something my wallet and my mental state cannot afford. The alternative is either let it be or move to a different place, similar circumstances or slightly improved, but with a much higher cost associated.
I also exercise every other day and while it definitely has its merits, it’s also rough to convince myself to do it every time. I think I missed a total of 4 days of exercise so far this year. Discipline wise, I feel that’s alright.
I agree that the shrink is not a one-doc-fits-all and it’s important to find the one that resonates with you, I also feel bouncing off ideas from people outside of your comfort zone is important as it provides a wider perspective on things which you may not have considered otherwise.
While he did not do much, he did confirm the diagnosis of a severe depression and has helped enough for me to conclude that I’m not insane, and similar to millions of others, just a victim of circumstances and consequences of social and economic policies that push this burning bus downhill ever faster.
Most of the items I experience are not a matter of perspective, it’s a matter of fact, global warming, unaffordability of housing, stagnant wages, anti consumer practices just to name a few
Ultimately, my point is that I don’t want to mitigate the pain, I want to not have to deal with it in the first place.
Just because I can keep fighting and reassemble the pieces again and again, doesn’t mean I want to. Repairing the cracks doesn’t make you stronger no matter what people say, the glue only helps so much and there is always a toll paid when reassembling broken stuff. I understand when people want to compare it to the Japanese art of repairing stuff with gold but it’s never that nice, you don’t come out stronger in the end, you come out assembled in whatever configuration allows you to survive and with less energy for the next run, but with more disdain for having to do it again.
And again.
And again after that.
To summarize: I’m just tired.
I figured you were probably employed, just living in a space of paycheck to paycheck and feeling exhausted from drowning in a system that takes so much and never seems to give you what you need to ride the wave instead of fighting it. Rent is a brutal tunt, and it showed me how many people in positions of power are secretly conservative scum. Because people kept warning “Biden” that if he does x -> rents were going to soar. And rents have jumped up at an insane rate. Forcing a lot of people who were otherwise living independantly to move back in with their folks. But what happens when you don’t have that kind of safety net?
And yeah, I once talked about how rentals are a crapshoot because your land appreciates regardless. So you don’t do a damn thing to fix it. And most people who are renting can’t do a thing about it. Even with organizations formed to assist them. I also think all new housing has become an amorphous blob of greige. Where they justify the rent by the “luxury” facelift they did on a crumbling mold-infested apartment. It’s a frustrating state. But I really don’t know what I can do about it, other than hold an opinion that it’s bunk af.
I only said working out, because it helps with depression. But if you’re hitting it, you’re hitting it. I just was pulling stuff out of the aether because I know it’s stuff that has helped me. If it helps you at all - I just grabbed a bunch of resources and drew up a handful of workouts I can follow. So that I can do what I want to do. Idk if it’s the right thing, but it gets me to do them. So eh, it’s alright with me =)
I mean, I am a big talker and a big lover of people. And I agree with you. I stated here somewhere that I actually do have my own issues with people who would be considered “snowflakes” or “sjws” because some of them are just as angry and one-sided as the opposite side of the coin. And in general, while I can’t say I hate extremist (because I am one, as in - I am a very extreme person as a whole) I do hate people who seem either a) 2D or b) unwilling to communicate with others. But in a healing sense, I have spent my entire life being “the other,” “different,” and “weird” and it’s very nice to be able to communicate with someone who listens to the brain-soup I’ve got going on up there and commincates with me on what I’ve got to say while being very objective. Because it helps me see things in a different way and lets’ me smooth out some of the wrinkles. The reason why I love my therapist so much is because she knows how to communicate what I need to hear, while not making me feel awful for how I am feeling or what I’ve said. And I think that really helps when you’re speaking from a super vulnerable space. But maybe it’s not for everyone? It works for me. And to be honest, it’s why I suggested it for you. Because I have known a couple of people who have gone to therapist - get the “answer” they wanted to hear and then disappear. But I think it’s more of a contignous thing personally. Especially when you’re as hurt as you seem to be.
Also, if you keep going to shrinks you might be able to get on disability if you need it. Because I read depression is the main reason why people are on it. And it sounds like it’s something you keep coming back to. I mean, I’m not a doctor or anything. I just wanted to say you could validly, if you needed to, make steps towards leaving the rat race. But also there are like…other gigs you could consider. You might need a career change? I’m not saying go back to school, but maybe work for a cause that you believe in. These jobs are harder to find, but they are out there.
I hear you on repairing the cracks. I once talked about how a guy I heard on Rumblestrip Vermont described a broken heart as something that keeps getting smashed up until all you’ve got is fine powder. In general, it sounds like you had certain expectations from life and they didn’t line-up. Cause I found in my life, the biggest disappointments come from misaligned expectations vs reality. But yet again, I’m just talking from my end. And that ultimately it could be very different for you.
Kintsugi =)! Hahaha! I only smile because I am part-Japanese and I grew up looking at one of those vases during my childhood. I hear what you’re saying. My health took a huge spiral (I’ve actually got a doc appointment I’ve gotta leave for in 20) and it fucked me up. I was a really industrious person, and everything slowed to a trickle. And in that trickle, there was only pain. I really felt cheated, and angry. And hopless. I was so fucking mad, I was too young. That’s how I saw it. Too young to be hurting like this. But now I’m working together with my medical team, and the loving support of the people in my life and I am optimistic about things. But I don’t think I will ever go back to who I was. And that’s a falsehood, I don’t think it’s solid thinking in general. And I was feeding myself that and making myself sick with this pain that if I couldn’t go back to the way things were - why fight at all? And I totally have childhood trauma that has fucked certain ways that I get to experience/interact with the world. And I don’t think anything really will go through and fix that. And I think a part of accepting that helps me just be…me. And yeah, restarting takes a lot of energy and it sucks every time you’ve gotta muster it especially as you get older.
BUT! I still think that the whole it’s worth the venture. And I didn’t always think this way, but that’s yet again why I was talking about shrinks. Because I think finding the right shrink helps unravel all the rest. Because she got me to move forward in a way that I was unwilling to at the time because I couldn’t see outside of what I was feeling immediately. And it was exhaustion and pain.
If you wanna keep talking though, I am here. And I hope you find what you need ultimately to feel better. Even if it’s just a bunch of menial things.