The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > Other Discussions > Open Mic

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #31  
Old 08-12-2014, 11:52 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The Isle of Albion
Posts: 22,067
Default

I am a depressive with a tendency toward bipolarity.

I heard an "expert" psychologist being interviewed about a test he did on a large number of professional comedians. He found that a very significant number exhibited manic depressive tendencies.

RW was a very definite case in point.

I am sorry he is gone and sorry for those who remain suffering his loss.
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old 08-12-2014, 11:55 AM
Bill Lowther Bill Lowther is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: The Ozarks
Posts: 163
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bld522 View Post
Thanks, Bill. The only thing I would add is that there's a difference between situational depression and clinical depression. We all suffer from situational depression at some point in our lives. Few of us seriously consider suicide as a solution when those instances occur. But clinical depression is something so terrible, so dark and so painful that only those who suffer from it can truly understand what's it like from the inside. And for those poor souls, suicide can seem like the only way out.
Yes. Thank you sir.
My oldest sister committed suicide by gun 15 years ago. For years I wondered if there were anything I could have done to prevent it. She was an alcoholic and was fighting other demons that I was not aware of.
What I posted in my previous post has helped me deal with her loss greatly.
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old 08-12-2014, 11:56 AM
k.crabbe k.crabbe is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,200
Default

Another depression sufferer here. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. After some trial and error, medication has worked wonders for me. I remember all too well the feeling of having no way out. Feeling utterly hopeless. I also remember thoughts of suicide creeping into my head. It's a terrible and scary place to be. I found my way out, but not everybody does.
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old 08-12-2014, 11:58 AM
Larry Pattis's Avatar
Larry Pattis Larry Pattis is offline
Humanist
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Oregon
Posts: 11,947
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andromeda View Post
I am very saddened by the passing of Robin Williams. He was one of my favorite actors. I also want to take a moment and hopefully find something positive to come out of his death. Maybe now we can look truthfully at Mental Illness. Clinical Depression is not sadness it is a disorder of the brain. Our liver can malfunction and our hearts can attacks us and our brains, as a human fleshy organ, can also malfunction. The stigma over mental health issues needs to be thrown out. It is time we look at those who suffer from Mental Illness with the eyes of compassion and non-judgment. Mental Illness is not a flaw in character it is a function of biology.
Boy howdy.

Despite this, and amidst some good support here, I still see significant ignorance on this thread.

So many ills in this world, and so little *true* understanding...
__________________
Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora
LarryPattis.com
American Guitar Masters
100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists

Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay
Classical guitars by Anders Sterner
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:12 PM
bld522 bld522 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: City of the Fallen Angel
Posts: 196
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Lowther View Post
Yes. Thank you sir.
My oldest sister committed suicide by gun 15 years ago. For years I wondered if there were anything I could have done to prevent it. She was an alcoholic and was fighting other demons that I was not aware of.
What I posted in my previous post has helped me deal with her loss greatly.
My first wife was schizophrenic. She ended up taking her life by gun at the age of 33. And no, there wasn't anything anyone could have done about it. She tried every medication available at the time and nothing worked for her. Suicide was her only option.

As I said before, mental illness cannot be bargained with. All a mentally-ill person can do is ameliorate their symptoms using medications that have terrible side effects of their own. Progress is being made, however. Perhaps the day will come when the magic bullet appears and ends mental illness once and for all. When it does, lots of hospitals and prisons will close and homelessness will be a thing of the past. But it's not here yet.
__________________
Bruce

2014 Martin DCPA4 Rosewood
1998 Sigma DM-1ST
Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp

Last edited by bld522; 08-12-2014 at 12:23 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:27 PM
kayakman kayakman is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 756
Default

Yes David Webb,there is no cure for "mental ilness" I passed through a major depression when I was 41 years old,came out of it but still have to keep thing`s in check so to speak,it runs in the family (paternal side),It`s NOT a joke,and anyone who say`s snap out of it need`s some hard evidence.When every day is gray and you feel like you have an anvil on your back that will not come off it`s horiffic!I hope my 32 year daughter does not encounter this dreadful problem...Brian...
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:33 PM
DesolationAngel DesolationAngel is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: A small island off the coast of a bigger island off the coast of a giant continent
Posts: 1,716
Default

I have written elsewhere about Mr Williams' death... suffice it to say that I shall only add here, for the benefit of those blinkered individuals that still see suicide as a 'selfish' act; look at all he gave to us. Look at all that he left behind for us to enjoy in the years to come. Look at the exceptional way that he gave of himself every single time he performed. He performed naked and exposed to the world to take it's plaudits or it's ridicule. That kind of bravery comes from another level of human being. Then, of course, there is the other ways he gave of himself; to meaningful causes, the people he supported, his support for the armed services out in their theatres of operation. And the way so many people have spoken of his friendship and warmth to friends, family and neighbours.

Clinical depression doesn't care about success, popularity or wealth. You can't set money on fire and use it as a torch to light the way but you can use it as a smokescreen, as a masking agent, as a mollifying soother.

Again, before considering the 'selfish' angle, I ask you, watch some clips, listen to some tape and really watch this man who gave us his everything in all that he did... naked and exposed is how he lived in public, we will never know how he lived inside of his own mind.
__________________
Martin
BC, Canada
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:40 PM
ewalling ewalling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 20,772
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by DesolationAngel View Post
Again, before considering the 'selfish' angle, I ask you, watch some clips, listen to some tape and really watch this man who gave us his everything in all that he did...
I think the 'selfish' angle is religion-based, which, of course, we can take no further.
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:42 PM
DesolationAngel DesolationAngel is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: A small island off the coast of a bigger island off the coast of a giant continent
Posts: 1,716
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ewalling View Post
I think the 'selfish' angle is religion-based, which, of course, we can take no further.
I think a lot of is wrapped up in 'think of those you're leaving behind'... which, of course, is not how the clinically depressed will actually see those they are leaving behind.
__________________
Martin
BC, Canada
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:46 PM
Wadcutter Wadcutter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 6,145
Default

I just hope his "example" doesn't encourage others with depression to do the same. There is such a thing as the "copycat effect."
__________________
HD-28
Hog GS Mini
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old 08-12-2014, 12:48 PM
bld522 bld522 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: City of the Fallen Angel
Posts: 196
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ewalling View Post
I think the 'selfish' angle is religion-based, which, of course, we can take no further.
Possibly. But it doesn't take a person of faith to carry a stigma against those who are mentally ill. It simply takes someone who hasn't educated themselves sufficiently regarding the reality of the condition. The science is out there. There's even a National Institute devoted to mental illness: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml. And the Internet makes the information readily available to anyone willing to partake of it. Those who don't have no one to blame for their ignorance but themselves.
__________________
Bruce

2014 Martin DCPA4 Rosewood
1998 Sigma DM-1ST
Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp

Last edited by bld522; 08-12-2014 at 01:02 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old 08-12-2014, 01:49 PM
sfden1 sfden1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 4,009
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kroggy View Post
Excuse me, I do know what mental illness is, and I do know there is a cure.
Some mental illness can be treated. Sometimes. In some people. Not everyone. But there is no cure. Whoever told you that was sadly mistaken.

And it's sad to me that people can be so judgmental of something about which they apparently have so little understanding.
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 08-12-2014, 02:40 PM
Bill Lowther Bill Lowther is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: The Ozarks
Posts: 163
Default

I know some snicker at the mere mention of The Guardian, but I think this is an excellent article.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/b...fish?CMP=fb_gu
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 08-12-2014, 02:42 PM
Chicago Sandy's Avatar
Chicago Sandy Chicago Sandy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: SW Coast of Lake Michigan
Posts: 14,782
Default

Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters and George Carlin walk into a bar...in heaven...
__________________
Sandy

http://www.sandyandina.com

-------------------------
Gramann Rapahannock, 7 Taylors, 4 Martins, 2 Gibsons, 2 V-A, Larrivee Parlour, Gretsch Way Out West, Fender P-J Bass & Mustang, Danelectro U2, Peavey fretless bass, 8 dulcimers, 2 autoharps, 2 banjos, 2 mandolins, 3 ukes

I cried because I had no shoes.....but then I realized I won’t get blisters.
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 08-12-2014, 02:46 PM
Chicago Sandy's Avatar
Chicago Sandy Chicago Sandy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: SW Coast of Lake Michigan
Posts: 14,782
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wadcutter View Post
I just hope his "example" doesn't encourage others with depression to do the same. There is such a thing as the "copycat effect."
Depressives don’t need “examples.” The disease, if not treated well (and sometimes despite treatment), provides its own powerful motivator for suicide. Suicides that occur after the suicides of prominent depressives are due less to a desire to emulate than to grief as the trigger.
__________________
Sandy

http://www.sandyandina.com

-------------------------
Gramann Rapahannock, 7 Taylors, 4 Martins, 2 Gibsons, 2 V-A, Larrivee Parlour, Gretsch Way Out West, Fender P-J Bass & Mustang, Danelectro U2, Peavey fretless bass, 8 dulcimers, 2 autoharps, 2 banjos, 2 mandolins, 3 ukes

I cried because I had no shoes.....but then I realized I won’t get blisters.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > Other Discussions > Open Mic

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=