So, Are You Depressed?

Source: Decline of the Empire

The Downward Spiral blog recently ran a story called Antidepressant Use Skyrockets 400% In Past 20 Years. The blog’s owner and recent DOTE guest columnist Bill Hicks (a pseudonym) pointed out that life in America can’t suck enough, and depression is a natural response.

When you take all of this into account, the surprise is not that more than one in ten American adults are popping pills in a desperate effort to keep their shit together, but that the percentage isn’t actually much higher.

More to the point, a greatly powered down, simplified lifestyle would do many of these people a world of good from a mental health standpoint—maybe even to the point where they could actually kick the habit. Too bad they have been so brainwashed…

I would also add that in the view of the pharmaceutical companies, they’ve got you right where they want you. But I want to go in different direction today.

Bill also included this clip from comedian Marc Maron (video below). I’ve transcribed it starting at the 1:45 mark. This is good stuff, so pay close attention to what Maron has to say here.

I think the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment.

[A few people laugh]

See, some people who really laugh at that understand exactly what I’m saying. The rest you think either think you’re clinically depressed, or wow, this guy’s fucked up… And I don’t mind when one person laughs in a room full of 60. Cause that person is right, you understand? And the interesting thing about when one person laughs in a room full of 60 is that 59 people look at that person and say “what the fuck?”

And oddly, that’s how religions start.

When somebody comes up to you and says “I think you might be depressed, clinically,” you should say “thank you, thank you very much” because that means you’re awake.

Is there any reason we shouldn’t be depressed? Question: are you living on the same fucking planet as me, asshole? Did you ever think that depression might be the reasonable, human response to the bullshit we’re going through as a species? And it’s meant to propel us into the next evolutionary step? Or at least to the next step of social change? Did you ever think that, fuckhead? Did you ever think that maybe it’s the people who are happy all the time that are really fucked up in the head? Did you ever think that, asshole? Maybe they’re the ones who need pills. You know, these guys:

Hey, how’s it going?
I don’t know, I feel great, again!

Well, that’s creepy and weird, man. Maybe you should be on medication, clearly you’re self-centered, narcissistic, borderline, I don’t fucking know, but you should move along, you’re draining me with your happiness. I’m doing the Big Work, move along.

So, are you depressed? I should make it clear what I’m not talking about. Simplifying, there are basically three types of monopolar depression. There’s paralyzed, literally-can’t-move-your-feet-forward total darkness, in which case you should seek help immediately. I’m not talking about that kind. Did you know that—

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the act of suicide took more than 34,000 American lives in 2007. In comparison, more than 18,000 homicides were committed that year…

Yet this devastating problem extends further. For every life lost, as many as 25 individuals attempt suicide. Imagine this: In the moments taken to read this article, two Americans could well have attempted to take their lives.

And 2007 was supposedly a good year. And there’s also the natural depression that follows from the loss of a family member or other loved one. I’m not talking about that kind, either.

Marc Maron asserts that Being Depressed = Being Awake, and it’s hard to argue with that proposition in contemporary America. If you’re not depressed, even a little bit, there’s something seriously wrong with you. Just turn on the TV. Watch it for 15 minutes with no breaks, any commercial channel, any time. After 15 minutes, if you’re not ready to make yourself senseless, for example, by taking some serious drugs (not Prozac) or pounding your head against the wall, you should seek immediate help as Maron suggests.

Depression can be very hard to sort out. I’ve had a lot of experience with all of the types of depression mentioned here, and it often boils down to one thing: being depressed is usually directly related to something being missing in your life.

If you are depressed, try to figure out which part stems from your own personal life and background, and which part stems from the privations of living in American society. In the latter case, this will be obvious if there’s not enough money to make ends meet, or you’ve lost your house, or you can’t afford proper medical treatment, and so on. If you can figure out which part is personal and which part is not, you’re ahead of the game.

If you can separate the two, the personal and the societal, you are likely to see with increasing clarity what a god-awful, heart-breaking, soul-crushing experience living in contemporary America truly is. What is missing in America? We might better ask what isn’t missing? For most working Americans, just about every damn thing a human naturally values is absent—sufficient resources to live on, meaningful and interesting work, large, loving extended families, a sense of community, you name it. See my recent post America — A Swindler’s Paradise.

Speaking from personal experience, in the end there is the depression you feel when it finally sinks in that everyday reality in America truly is as fucked up as you think it is. There’s a big difference between knowing something in an intellectual sense and knowing something in a visceral sense, really feeling it.

Use your depression as a weapon. Wear it as a badge of honor. In a narrow but important sense, your depression is your friend and ally in the struggle with everyday American reality.

Read more at Decline of the Empire