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"Is depression a gift?"

I understand how utterly moronic this may seem at first glance, but it's something I've been thinking about recently.

Why are so many intelligent and gifted people so unhappy with life and the way they live? What on earth makes them so utterly deprived of their ability to enjoy themselves?

Or then, is depression something that comes with intelligence... or does it actually cause intelligence? Making us smarter and wiser, causing us to think more. Hundreds of artists, musicians, most talent in the world can be linked with a depressed childhood, and traumatic experiences. Can we link those to our gifts and talents, or is it only a compensation for something that we are born with?

I refuse to believe that a man is born an artist. Perhaps you have stronger muscles which have been genetically inherited... but we are not born with the ability to use a pen. We are not born with the ability to run, and we are not born with the ability to speak. We are basic humans, waiting for the template of the world to be set apon us.

So then, if our lives are not set, then would something like a traumatic experience make that much difference to our lives? Can it change us that much to give us skills and talents that we only ever dreamed of before?

I say yes. For trauma brings emotion, and emotion must be controlled. Once that is learned, then it can be filtered, and through practise of translating this emotion, creativity lives.

Assuming that this is correct... it does bring a huge discussion point, something that I can't decide, for confusion of humanity.

Is it right to traumatize a child, in the hope that the emotion caused by this will make the child stronger? Can something so utterly bad end up making something so perfectly good?

Surely there is another way that emotion can be carried? Surely depression isn't the only way to spark creativity...?

I'd certainly like to hope not... but depression and fear are very strong emotions, and it's hard to equal them with emotions of the other side...

On a last note, creativity and depression I feel are heavily linked. For depression causes so many thoughts to cross you, and creativity is the only real way of expressing those thoughts. Without creativity, we would all probably kill ourselves.

Heafty rant over : )

I don't know if it's just hypocondriact's bitching, of if there is more to it.
In the last couple of weeks i've turned down a road that seems to follow what some of you guys have been saying here.
I've just been questioning the point of it all, my life. None of it seems significant any more. I'm at uni, trying to keep on top of my course (law), my sport (basketball), my social life, my girlfriend...
But it just doesn't seem to amount to anything any more. The course is taking up so much of my time. In my first year it was like VB says, but now there is no time. One of my group of friends (well, someone with whom i have many mutual friends) has been showing his predjudiced, borderline racist views recently. I tried reasoning with him and failed, the only option i see now is to step away from him, i won't be around people like that. Thus i don't see so much of a lot of my better friends any more. My girlfriend - she's just stubborn and unreliable, we don't seem to be going anywhere. Basketball - in my last year at primary school i was a substitute on the football team behind people from the year below, to give you some idea of my natural ability. I have to work so hard to keep up with the other guys, but just today, for example, we were playing away, left at 7.15am, got back at 11.15pm - the whole day wasted, mostly squashed into a tiny minibus with stereotypically big basketballers (who i resent from 5'10"!). And the game - i played about 2 minutes at the end when we already had sealed the win. Last year it seemed to be enough just to be in the uni team, but now with all the effort, just to be making up the numbers - again, there really doesn't seem to be any reason to do it.

So every day i do my work, my basketball, see my ever decreasing circle of mates, spend time with my girlfriend, more out of obligation. Then i get bask to my room in the evening. By the time i've finished everything, it's pretty late. I try to go to sleep. I lay in bed feeling sorry for myself, wondering why i bother with all this empty stuff. I can't sleep. Sometimes i come here (why i always write late in the evenings). Then i wake late. I've started sleeping through my alarm clock, even a fire drill recently. When i do wake up i just don't see any reason to get out of bed, at least until i have a lecture. And it begins again.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to live like this, but i can't convince myself that there's anything else worth doing.

Maybe you guys can help me? You guys that have had depression, does this sound like it? What can i do about it?

huh? - no offence guys, but you are old! i am still 16!
thanks for the advice though.

A couple of points. (Three is an excessive couple, I'll admit...)

Firstly, it's NOT easy to find a cheaper way to drink yourself stupid than going to university. At £1 a pint, how do you beat that?

Secondly, don't always think of it as 'following the crowd'. By the time you're at university, most (almost all) people have matured and developed a personality of their own. It's no longer about being 'cool', it's about finding people with similar interests to your own. They are your crowd.

Also, university courses (oxbridge notwithstanding) are designed to give you plenty of free time to persue other goals, be they developing your social skills for the future, joining sporting clubs, or whatever takes our fancy. You are expected to do this. Employers expect well rounded people, not bookworms. University is about getting an education, as well as getting a degree.

I've been clinically depressed throughout my teens and a cutter for the last couple of years -this doesn't make me an expert but I do have some experience! For me, the thing that has constantly caused my depression is my perfectionism. The world I have to live in seems so far away from the idealistic world that I carry around inside my head, that I find it hard just to take part in normal society.
I think it is this inability to feel satisfied with just living and communicating with people that has made me want to write. I have no other way of expressing myself so writing seems like the best way to make myself heard. The only problem is that my perfectionism stops me from being creative -I avoid writing a lot of the time because I am scared of making mistakes.
So, for me, depression is a double edged sword in relation to creativity. It makes me want to be creative whilst at the same time preventing me.

VenomByte wrote:
Ever considered the
> idea that not socialising as frequently as some might leave you with too much
> time to think?

:) Maybe socialising doesn't give you enough time to think ? Seriously though, when I was in sixth form some of the things people talked about were soooooo petty. Who really cares about who is going out with who ? Does anyone want to know how much someone drank/ how drunk they were ?

Its the same at University, for some its become more of a world drinking contest than anything. If I wanted to drink myself stupid then there are a lot cheaper ways of doing it than going to Uni ! Maybe the reson so many talented people get depressed, go all shy and quiet, is because they take things more seriously than those around them - they don't just follow the crowd but do what THEY want to do. By seriously I don't mean they're all doom and gloom but just because someone doesn't smoke, or drink, or go clubbing doesnt mean they are some sort of failure.

Okay so they don't talk to everyone that comes along but is that so bad ? Many a time it is better to stay silent than to speak, it says a lot more. Because people don't socialise they have more time to pursue what they enjoy doing, even if it seems strange to others. Going to the Library instead of the Union ? Well obviously you didnt want to come to University right ? Wrong, I think. As the first post pointed out these people go on to great things quite often later in life, because when you leave sixthform/school/uni your employer doesnt care about your alcohol drinking talents, professional companies want people with ideas and talent.

My rants over, anyone seen Wonder Boys ? Its kinda on this topic and its ace as well :)

When I'm depressed, I think much more. Lets put it that way.

I guess that's why when I'm happy I act like a complete twonk then. :D

You write the book, and I'll buy it, kid. :0)

Seriously though, good luck. Never too late to do what you want.

When I was at sixth form I had a complete change of attitude. I stopped planning things and let my life just 'go with the flow'. And it did.

I went to Canada for 7 months because it seemed like a good idea, I went to the first University that would have me, but that only lasted a few months.

I just didn't worry about what was around the corner, and let it happen.

I think the problem is that we're thrown into making all of these stupid decisions way too early in our lives.

At age 14 you're lead to believe that you are about to make the most important decision of your life - deciding which subjects to take at GCSE. You're lead to believe that you then have to stick by these decisions you made years ago, and if you wanted to do something at age 14, you'd better stick to that, because there's no going back.

Well that's absolute trash!

I hate my secondary school now for making me feel that way back then. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do back when I was 14. How the heck was I supposed to make a life decision based on that?

So I went through my GCSE's then moved on to Sixth Form, and again was told that picking my subjects would be the most important decision I'd ever have to make.

Still I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do, so picked English, Maths and Business Studies - keeping my options open there!

Anyway, after 18 months of Sixth Form they tell you that you now have to choose a University course, and it's the most important decision you've ever had to make.

By now I couldn't care less. I still didn't have a clue what I wanted to do, applied for a bunch of random courses (varying from International Business to Film Studies) and went away for a while.

I came home still not knowing what I wanted to do.

I went to University, and still didn't know what I wanted to do.

I quit University and still didn't know what I wanted to do.

I did a Programming course, because clever marketing tricked me into thinking I'd walk into a highly paid job.

I spent a couple of years being unemployed, still not knowing what I really wanted to do.

Now I work for BT, and just achieved a major qualification.

But is it really what I want to do for the rest of my life?

I still don't know!

I do know that I love writing, and I'm going to go for it. Try to actually write a book, rather than give up after forming the ideas.

Now if I'd have been given the opportunity to make all of these "most important decisions in my life" now, I think it would make a whole lot more sense.

But hey, that's life, a bunch of stuff happens, enjoy the good and hope to survive the bad.

Ever considered the fact that... no I'll start that again.
Ever considered the idea that not socialising as frequently as some might leave you with too much time to think? Too much time to focus on your life and what is or isn't good about it? Enough to amplify things out of proportion, especially if your mind is active enough to do that.

Depression comes from thinking about a bad situation, not just being in one. There are always people worse off than yourself. I can't claim ever to have suffered from depression, so perhaps I don't know what I'm talking about, but still, I'm entitled to my opinion...