Be pro-social
This America’s Got Talent contestant told the judges she has anxiety disorder and depression. Howie Mandel, one of the judges, suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is a specific kind of anxiety disorder. The contestant and Mandel have been able to succeed because of the help of others. Humans are social animals: “Either we … Read more
On May 24, 2014, I posted a TED video about depression and some of my thoughts about it. It is a great video, and I highly recommend it. A few days later, my computer broke and I lost access to my encryption keys. Withing hours of my computer breaking, Justine sent me an email, and … Read more
Early reports of Robin Williams’s death say that everyone knew he was struggling with depression before he killed himself. A natural and common reaction in this situation is, “Someone should have done something.” Someone who knew that he was depressed should have helped him so that he did not kill himself. Especially because he was … Read more
The accidental climb down Petra Experiments have shown that people with depression tend to have a hyper-accurate perception of the world and other experiments have shown that people with a more realistic view of the world have higher rates of depression. Despite the general belief that a realistic view of the world is a good … Read more
When doctors give patients a medication for depression or anxiety, they tell them to wait two weeks before deciding the medication does not work. I have never understood that advice because I have always responded, or not responded, to medication within two days. Two days ago, I started two new medications because it was impossible … Read more
Two months ago, my laptop stopped working. I was finally able to get the motherboard replaced, and the computer will turn on now but the video is not working. I am still troubleshooting the video problem but my intuition tells me that I will need to replace some other part of the laptop to get … Read more
I am not sure why I need to explain this, but apparently it is necessary: for many months, my primary goal has been to heal. I need safety, security, and stability to heal, and that includes food and shelter. I have had to spend a lot of time trying to make sure I had food … Read more
If you shoot an arrow at a target, then after some amount of time, it will be half way to the target. After another amount of time, it will be half-way closer again. And again, and again, and again. It is always possible to find some amount of time that measures covering half the remaining … Read more
For a few weeks, I have been thinking about the fact that if my suffering benefited someone, then it would be much easier for me to cope. A couple of days ago, I stumbled across this TED talk and after watching it today, I am confident that I am right: if I feel that my … Read more
A personal, moving, and informative talk about how depression affects lives in profound ways.