OT: Is chronic depression more prevalent among musicians?

[keyClicker]

Now, being serious... Keyboardwzrd, I know the feel bro.

I've been to those dark places. I got better, but I still feel that the ghost is close and ready to haunt me.

[RABid]

If you break an arm you don't just use the pain as creative motivation, you go to the doctor and get it fixed.

 

If a child is born with a treatable physical birth defect you don't let it go un-treated and suggest the child learn to deal with it.

 

We are finally reaching an age with people realize that a mental illness should be treated with the same vigor as a physical illness. Still, most people don't understand the need for treatment. They think that a chemical imbalance in the brain can be overcome by talking to a preacher or drawing pretty pictures. Maybe some day ..

[I-missRichardTee]

Don't argue with this old grouchy guy. Go out and BUY cognitive therapy the new mood therapy. By David D burns at your book strore read it. Read about the black magic that IS depression.

If you are suicidal. That is a scary situation that takes intensive immediate intervention

But back to topic - look at nihilism on your mind and on the culture esp media. Nihilism is something I despise because it is a liar. So to speak

Be back. On this annoyingly small iPhone !!

[timwat]

Thanks for all the helpful comments, both on this thread and my friends here who took the time to message me privately.

 

This thread has sort of taken on its own life, which is cool.

 

For the sake of a little clarity, I've not seen any professionals, I haven't been diagnosed, I have no idea if this is typical or abnormal which is why I asked the question.

 

Also, I should acknowledge there are a lot of things in my life I'm deeply grateful for - I'm well liked and appreciated at work (currently the highest rated professor in my department), money has never really been an issue, gig life is busy, my health is good, my sons are doing well, I am having an impact on my students in positive ways, I'm growing as a player, etc.

 

Anyway, thanks so much for all your contributions and insight in this thread.

 

Tim

 

 

[I-missRichardTee]

This will be a very general statement about depression for anyone to read and ponder ( hardly a quick fix ) , re: The growing presence of nihilism ( nothing matters ) in our Western culture and its direct connection to mental health. It is my belief that nihilism is alive and thriving in the USA.. and presumably in Europe. And media ( and by extension, nihilism in your mind, placed there by brilliant cunning advertisers and program directors ) is the place where it proliferates with unobstructed ease. What that means is "huge" in terms of mental health. Media has far more influence over our minds than we realize.. my hunch anyway. The longer I live the more clearly I see the power of the nihilistic media to influence our tastes, our thinking, our ideals, or lack of etc. The influence is colossal, and even larger because media which is nihilistic, says or implies "nothing truly matters", and if nothing matters than the media message does not matter.. But media does not want its massive viewership to become aware of media's influence over them.. no no. ... Sorry, but this is media hypocrisy or deception.. they will in effect "say", " "nothing matters". except that you BUY their advertisers product.. THAT Matters, and you WILL watch their poisonous addictive programs ( note the word P R O G R A M ) like "Breaking Bad".. "hey, it's just some fun stuff, right?, it's just entertainment?.. besides.. nothing matters, right!!.. and "this breaking bad program won't influence anyone to be bad, will it?" and that is true,, but again, a half truth it WILL subtly influence some, to some degree. Another application of corrupted nihilistic "logic": there really IS no bad. it is all personal point of view.. just different peoples choices and reactions to the environment.

"average joe" thinks he has free will to think and choose freely.. Guess what.. no, we don't have nearly as much free will as we fancifully imagine we do. What we HAVE is our minds being subconsciously conned by the power of 24/7 media whose message is profit driven and nihilistic. I am not a conspiracy guy either nor anti capitalism- I am pro American capitalism.

Just take T shirts, ok? T shirts USED to just be T shirts.. somehow we got tricked into thinking we would put advertisers ads on a T shirt. It's a sacred cow in the western world.. T Shirts, so I am so sorry if upset any Ad filled T Shirt devotees. But really. Why would you want to advertise someones product?

 

The next thing I can say about this nihilism and mental health is from Victor Hugo." All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come" .

I believe nihilism is such a force, just such a dark "idea" today, as Hugo mentioned.

The ramifications of this belief that nothing matters, lead one to depression, in my opinion.

I ran into another Hugo quote that I never saw before a few minutes ago.. From Victor Hugo .. " A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing.". Now the word faith is a dirty word to use here, how did THAT happen? I wonder why.. how did that happen?

One of the reasons I despise this nihilism, is it FOOLS one. "It" is sly, it tricks one, into a kind of all-pervasive invisibility, not unlike Advertisers, TV and movies do . Like a cult fools its members, nihilism tells you things that are wholly untrue or half true.. but difficult to easily identify the inherent lies of nihilism. For instance.. As you read this.. your mind might say, "how does Tee know.. is he on acid.. senile maybe?".. or maybe this.. "truth is 100% personal, subjective, so what ever Tee believes is 100% his thing, his trip, his belief, and has zero relevance to "me" the reader".

Or this one.. "who made you judge?" " who are you to say"? I clearly recall the new arrival of these ideas during the hippie cultures advent. The Sixties were a time I do not have the skill to speak about very intelligently.. but I can pick on just this one idea.. an idea that is presently enjoying great sway in the minds of many many people. nihilism aka nothing really matters, "there is no truth but subjective truth, it is SOLELY personal, no such thing as objective truth.. and so on. "

 

I grew up in a slightly less nihilistic world with musical and moral values that were later aggressively challenged by what I feel are manifestations of growing nihilism.. belief in nothing.

Take a little time and think about nihilism in "your world".

nihilism is fueled partly by the innate paradox of life itself.. it IS true in ONE sense, nothing DOES matter.. so in that sense, nihilism seems to be true and this half truth aka relative truth lends nihilism its attraction and credibility. But that sense does not take into account the OTHER side of paradox.. that what we do, and think, DOES very much matter!!

My statements here lack concrete examples; all very general without specifics.. my apology, but, I am afraid I have to leave it to you, the reader to ask questions, and think about this.

 

Leo Tolstoy was an extremely healthy, powerful physically and mentally successful and rich writer with loving wife and family who had to fight very hard to avoid killing himself for many months. Read the writer of War and Peace his Confessions here http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/Lev_Tolstoy_etiraflarim-eng.pdf

[wd8dky]

Lifelong sufferer here (two suicide attempts, at ages 8 and 15). I finally ended up in the hospital at 33 and was treated for the first time. It can make a huge difference if the personal commitment is there. I'm 51 now, and very functional.

[I-missRichardTee]

In my world.. we are not all equal... in today's world you are told some nonsense about we are all equal. The ONLY way we are equal is in a way that I am compelled to not say!! But we are not equal artistically physically health wise, by birth, IQ, and the more important EQ, where we are born; endlessly... I say, we are not at all equal. If you believe the lie that we are all equal.. you will not be able to help make unflattering comparisons between you and Keith Richards, or Bill Gates, Oprah, Fred Flintstone! Trust me, there are people who are eg so physically attractive, it is just ridiculous. People who are so smart in a given field, AND can speak 7 languages. People who have charm and diplomacy down. People who are so friendly ( WIll Rogers said I never met a man I didn't like what a gift THAT is ! ) People who can play so well, more than one instrument. And let me not forget.. people who are naturally happy, seldom if ever depressed. People who are fun to be with who attract people like a magnet.. aka magnetic personality.

People who are never sick regardless of their behavior. on and on.

Are you hearing me? We are not equal. BUT

We are 100% equal in only one true ( truest ) way. but that is a mystery to be discovered by "you" and you alone.