I think he said that too.
(These were manic breakdowns, not depression to be clear. They thought it was schizophrenia in his time.)
Well I have no idea what that is then. I shall embrace it when I see it.
In that case it would be more likely that the straightjacket embrace you.
Every journey is an experience.
Regarding Markâs short stint as a security guard at a mental hospitalâŚ
âMy job didnât involve working directly with the patients, but I thought about them a lot. I saw them as victims of our fucked-up, materialistic, impersonal, hectic, over mechanized, dehumanizing society. There wasnât much mystery about why these people were so screwed up. The mystery was why everyone else wasnât nuts too. But somehow I never figured it could ever happen to me, that I could some day be shuffling around in slippers and pajamas, bumming cigarettes and mumbling to myself.
âŚ
Another theory I had about the patients was that they had taken their very justified frustration and rage and turned it inward, thinking that it was they who were screwy instead of their society. My clear vision of what was wrong would keep me out of places like [the mental hospital].â
thatâs a nice excerpt. mostly agree.
Right, but just remember thatâs before he went nuts himself and changed his mind about all that.
Canât relate. Iâd have to go nuts first to see if the two are related.
I have done my share of psychedelics of course. I can say thatâs a different realm of psychology.
Did I mention he was also a dirty hippie at the time and living with a bunch of other dirty hippies on a farm in British Columbia while doing a bunch of drugs?
You say that one cannot describe (understand) the experience without having the experience themselves, but this dude does a pretty good job of it in his memoir.
how do you know itâs a good job if you havenât done it yourself?
Iâm not a good example to ask, I have pretty manic dreams as a bipolar person. (My point is I have experienced it on a smaller scale).
By it Iâm talking about the mania, not the drugs.
I assume theyâre pretty similar.
I guess I donât now what mania feels like. But I love dreaming.
My theory that psychedelics tend to help with depression is that it makes one realize that the world is not all there is, and that thereâs something beyond. (similar to religion I guess, except with psychedelics you actually can control this experience without take a leap of faith).
Whereas those with depression just get stuck seeing the world as it is.
I can tell you that both Mark and myself, as well as a lot of mental health professionals, have come to a different conclusion in that, clinical depression does not have a whole lot to do with the state of the world at all.
itâs not the state of the world. itâs the world itself, regardless of its state.
the sense of no purpose, no meaning, no desire to do anything because nothing motivates you. your relationships with others donât matter, etc.
I saw the world most clearly when I artificially drain myself of dopamine and serotonin 
. And usually I can feel my mood change, as my body slowly replenishes the chemicals I need, putting that veil over reality again, the veil that makes people love life. But I know underneath all that is an empty sack.
But, I play along. Life is pretty enjoyable when these chemicals are in your brain.
Lol me on a regular Tuesday.
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didnât dismal science have a lot of opinions on this that made threads go on for thousands of pages on the ao?
where is that guy? has he shown up here yet? Actually, he might have, but he wouldnât announce that heâs him and probably got banned for trolling already if he did.
This is interesting. Iâm sorry I missed it. I have a lot of thoughts. Most center around what @John.S.Mill stated but I come at it from a different angle. Most depressed people lead depressing lives. They overfocus on all the crap and then they talk about it to others so others donât want to hang out with them either. Itâs a vicious cycle.
Same with anxiety. Itâs an overfocus on the uncertainty.
We all control our own life. Far too many people are under the misconception that some force outside of themselves should do something to make their existence better. The simple truth is the only person who cares enough about you to make your life better and more interesting is you. If youâre not going to do it then neither is anyone else.
Um, youâre still a church leader of some sort?
Asking for a friend.
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i mean, i donât really want to hang out with people who blah blah blah about how amazing their life is either. they are annoying.
The question is why would you bother controlling your life? What does âdoing it for youâ even mean? Are you doing things so you can be happy justâŚbecause? Whatâs the point of being this self-induced happy? Just so you can live another secondâŚtoâŚcontinue to try being happy?
The people with depression probably constantly battle with these questions. Itâs no wonder some choose suicide.