Does anyone ever feel sorry for legit millionaires suffering from depression? Like Shawn Andrews, all pro O-lineman from Philadelphia Eagles? Dude signed a contract for millions, has several homes, family is taken care of, drives bentleys, etc. He has been cleared to play by every doc he has seen, but as soon as its football season, he locks himself in a bathroom and threatens to kill himself. He claims no one understands what its like to be him. No one knows how he is feeling. The team places him on IR for the season with a "sore back". He has since put out several youtube videos of himself rapping and was seen getting a pedicure during the game on Sunday.

I don't mean to make him the lone example in this thread. I am sure there are many other examples of people who use depression as a shield. I for one, think that depression in and of itself is complete bullshit and am unsympathetic to anyone who claims to be "sad". No one else feels bad for you, son.

9/30/2009 12:25:58 PM

Whether you feel sympathetic for anyone is your own business, but depression is complete bullshit? lolwat

9/30/2009 12:27:18 PM

Depression is about a hell of a lot more than being "sad"

9/30/2009 12:27:38 PM

Has he had concussions?

Lots of NFL players who have multiple concussions suffer from depression later in life.

9/30/2009 12:27:46 PM

Quote :

"I for one, think that depression in and of itself is complete bullshit "

Then you're a fucking idiot. It's a proven chemical imbalance. It doesn't matter what your life is like, how rich you are or how great your family and friends are.

It's akin to saying you think Cancer is bullshit.

9/30/2009 12:28:33 PM

Yeah, cause depression is more than just feeling sad. It's an actual chemical imbalance in your brain.


Even if it just feeling sad, everyone has the right to feel sad no matter how rich they are. Remember, money doesn't buy happiness.

9/30/2009 12:28:37 PM

It may not buy happiness but it can rent it by the hour. I'd rather be unhappy and rich than unhappy and poor.

9/30/2009 12:30:49 PM

So basically, anyone can self diagnose themselves as being depressed and get some meds.


Its just an excuse. When life doesn't go your way, its because you're depressed.




Its like ADD. "My son has ADD so he's allowed to act like an asshole."

9/30/2009 12:31:28 PM

It has nothing to do with chemicals. Some people just have more thetans than others.

9/30/2009 12:31:44 PM

I do in the sense of his depression, but as far as his spending, he should have planned better and not wasted his money. I have no sympathy for him in that department.

9/30/2009 12:32:02 PM

(directed towards Pikey)

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 12:32 PM. Reason : .]

9/30/2009 12:32:25 PM

I dunno. I think the only people who say they are happy because they have tons of money aren't really happy at all.

If someone is happy with their life before they get super rich then they will probably be happy after they get super rich.

I just think being dependent on anything like money to be happy can be a deadly thing.

Quote :

"So basically, anyone can self diagnose themselves as being depressed and get some meds. Its just an excuse. When life doesn't go your way, its because you're depressed. Its like ADD. "My son has ADD so he's allowed to act like an asshole.""

No, a doctor has to diagnose it. There are actual symptoms to it. It's not as easy as "woe is me I need meds" a lot of times people don't even realize they are depressed, it's their family members who see it. When I found out I had bipolar disorder it wasn't because I just though "hey my personality has kinda changed to be crazy maybe I should see a doctor" it was my parents who told me they have seen me change and I wasn't the happy person I used to always be.

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 12:36 PM. Reason : ]

9/30/2009 12:33:02 PM

The symptoms are bullshit too.

Every single person on the planet exhibits symptoms of depression then. Symptoms of depression are 1) breathing
2) being awake

Just add prozac to the water.

Quote :

"it was my parents who told me they have seen me change "

Maybe its call "growing up".

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 12:40 PM. Reason : change]

9/30/2009 12:38:40 PM

Wow....

Okay, trolling, here we go.

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 12:39 PM. Reason : ]

9/30/2009 12:39:30 PM

Plenty of people who are depressed opt to avoid meds. It isn't always a claim of drug seekers.

9/30/2009 12:40:23 PM

Hey guys, I think the cold virus is fake.

Everyone sneezes sometimes.

9/30/2009 12:42:27 PM

Well the Swine flu is a conspiracy to sell more hand sanitizer

9/30/2009 12:43:23 PM

I really hope that you are just trolling and you are making a mockery out of people who do think depression is fake but if not....read this...

http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/lookforthesigns/clinicaldepression.shtml

9/30/2009 12:47:48 PM

Quote :

"It has nothing to do with chemicals. Some people just have more thetans than others."

bahaha... I seriously LOL'ed at this

9/30/2009 12:49:15 PM

It would be neat to retroactively examine people in the days before depression was a clinical illness. That is, we managed for decades in this country without the diagnosis. What did those people do with their lives? End them?

9/30/2009 12:50:49 PM

having lived with someone who suffered from depression and watching them self destruct trying to self medicate, i can say with 100% certainty that it is very real.

it should be noted that i used to share the belief that it was BS

9/30/2009 12:52:42 PM

Examiners dunked them underwater until they admitted that they weren't really sad and had just made it all up.

9/30/2009 12:53:21 PM

Actually, maybe we can look at suicide rates for a clue

http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html#death-rates

Hmmm, the rates for 15-44 year olds where I'd assume the drugs are more frequently administered, have gone UP since 1950.

From 45-84 they have dropped rather significantly.

What does this mean?

9/30/2009 12:53:27 PM

I'm depressed AND broke. Feel sorry for me...in the form of a cashier's check.

9/30/2009 12:56:20 PM

Quote :

"It would be neat to retroactively examine people in the days before depression was a clinical illness."

Yeah, its convenient now that depression has all of a sudden been discovered. People were just just not as big of pussies as we are today.

Quote :

"having lived with someone who suffered from depression and watching them self destruct trying to self medicate, i can say with 100% certainty that it is very real"

Maybe your roommate was just an asshole. Depression makes acting insufferable okay.



According to that berkeley link, I am depressed too.

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 12:58 PM. Reason : k]

9/30/2009 12:57:53 PM

no, she was no asshole.

just sad regardless of how well things really were around her.

9/30/2009 12:59:53 PM

Quote :

"Hmmm, the rates for 15-44 year olds where I'd assume the drugs are more frequently administered, have gone UP since 1950."

It looks like rates peaked between 1980-1990 and then dropped. Though antidepressants were prescribed since the 1950s, they became much more prevalent during the 1980s.

Either that or Black Sabbath subliminally made a lot of people off themselves circa 1980.

9/30/2009 1:02:31 PM

Quote :

"According to that berkeley link, I am depressed too."

If I were you, I'd be sad about my pathetic life, too

9/30/2009 1:04:18 PM

I NEED depression...i feel it would help my harmonica skills tremendously!

i still need a name

9/30/2009 1:06:50 PM

I, too, own a Hohner Special 20 (really, I do).

9/30/2009 1:16:15 PM

i was a victim of depression until i became a millionaire

9/30/2009 1:19:30 PM

atsa good one

9/30/2009 1:19:35 PM

Pikey: Congratulations, you've probably never had real depression. The kind of debilitating depression where your brain has you absolutely convinced that there's nothing you can do in your life and you're better off just slouching away and dying quietly.

The best way to describe depression, as it's happened to me, is as a manipulative betrayal from inside your own mind. Picture having Wormtongue from LOTR and Wormwood from The Screwtape Letters living in your head 24/7, and it's you doing it to yourself.

It doesn't matter how good your life is going, if you don't seek the appropriate treatment you're going to have a lot of problems, up to and including suicidal behavior.

You should feel very grateful that you've never experienced it, but before you go off saying anyone who complains of it just needs to grow up I strongly suggest that you spend some time with a few Psych texts and perhaps actually meet someone suffering from clinical depression.

Quote :

"From 45-84 they have dropped rather significantly."

It means either A: old people die before they can off themselves, B: they use their life experiences to appropriately make a suicide look accidental so their families can get the insurance, or C: The increase in life expectancy and past-middle-age lifestyle over the years has caused a lot of older people to have increased enjoyment of life.

If you want a comprehensive view, how about this. As life expectancy increases so does the average retirement age. With older people working longer they're going to report increased job satisfaction and increased life satisfaction. Conversely older people working longer creates fewer available jobs for younger generations. This causes a rift in life satisfaction between older generations and younger generations. And it's happening right now in America.

But that's just one rather silly explanation for a complex statistic that probably shouldn't be thrown around so haphazardly.

[Edited on September 30, 2009 at 1:31 PM. Reason : .]

9/30/2009 1:26:25 PM

i believe in the disease. just not in the medicine.

im a natural kind of guy. some kind of psych treatment seems ok to me but the pills just put off the reality.

9/30/2009 1:29:09 PM

http://timswar.livejournal.com/

9/30/2009 1:30:24 PM

see you had me, but you lost me with the lord of the rings shit, precious

9/30/2009 1:31:22 PM

pills are/ should be used to get someone to the point where they can address the underlying cause.

9/30/2009 1:31:36 PM

Grats, you found my LJ, you've mastered enough reading comprehension to find the "user info" link. Your mother must be very proud of you.

9/30/2009 1:32:45 PM

Timswar, do you and samwise date?

9/30/2009 1:35:43 PM

Where did that even come from?

9/30/2009 1:38:08 PM

OP might not understand depression from lack of personal experience but he certainly understands mental retardation

9/30/2009 1:38:57 PM

So i've mainly been in favor of 60 grit, but have been leaning towards something like Drowning Erik...not a good ring to that though

9/30/2009 1:46:37 PM