I've not got depression but I just can't motivate myself or have real belief in my ideas. That's not depression - it's insecurity. Depression is a medically diagnosed condition. Many incredibly succesful and extremely funny people have had depression. I think it's a need as it's a balance to their funniness.
... or something.
I often speculate on the causes and treatments of various tropical diseases. Luckily no one with such an illness, however, has come to me for treatment or advice as yet. Mainly I would tell them to stop being an attention seeking malingerer, get out of bed, get on their bike and find an open night for amateur comedians. These so called experts think they know it all because they have dedicated their lives and worked long and hard for a very great number of years. Well anybody can do that! Don't even get me started on ME !
Notorious how did your holiday to Antartica to shag a 1000 penguins go?
Quote: Marc P @ 11th June 2014, 9:52 PM BSTI often speculate on the causes and treatments of various tropical diseases. Luckily no one with such an illness, however, has come to me for treatment or advice as yet. Don't even get me started on vd !
They're cut. You're making them extinct. Monster.
The eleventh commandment: A man should have a hobby.
No mention of women is there?
Notorious why is that small child crying>
Quote: Marc P @ 11th June 2014, 10:18 PM BSTThe eleventh commandment: A man should have a hobby horse.
No mention of women is there?
You're the Godzilla of depravity.
Large scale do you mean?
I often get bouts of depression that can last months. People often think it's all feeling down and being miserable. But the only way I can describe it is not feeling anything at all. Total lack of any emotional drive whatsoever and in those times I can't write anything at all. In fact during those times, I will literally speak to as few people as possible, even if it means not speaking to anyone properly for days. I can't create anything because there is just no drive to do it. In fact I did write something recently during a bout. It was a very lengthy novel chapter, chronicling my protagonists paranoid, hungover, drug addled, walk of shame through a sunny daytime highstreet and the eventual joy of being rescued by a blackcab driver. Other than that, I could def not write any jokes in that state, no way.
Quote: Chappers @ 11th June 2014, 8:27 PM BSTI've not got depression but I just can't motivate myself or have real belief in my ideas. That's not depression - it's insecurity. Depression is a medically diagnosed condition. Many incredibly succesful and extremely funny people have had depression. I think it's a need as it's a balance to their funniness.
... or something.
I wouldn't think of it as a balance, but certainly, the sense of "otherness" that leads one to making odd, unique (ideally funny) observations can make one rather isolated. As writers of any genre or format, we live in our own heads much of the time, and veer from blinding arrogance to utter self-doubt. All the while craving validation from others. You have to be a bit mental and deluded to decide to pursue it in the first place, and every success/failure from there just makes you more so.
Quote: BoomBoomBoom @ 12th June 2014, 6:24 AM BSTAll the while craving validation from others. You have to be a bit mental and deluded to decide to pursue it in the first place, and every success/failure from there just makes you more so.
Sorry BBB - but that is just fanciful bollocks.
Quote: Marc P @ 12th June 2014, 10:21 AM BSTSorry BBB - but you've got fanciable bollocks.
I didn't know you were that way inclined.
Quote: Chappers @ 12th June 2014, 8:51 PM BSTI didn't know you were that way inclined.
I've always dressed to the left yes!
Quote: BoomBoomBoom @ 11th June 2014, 7:03 PM BSTI suspect, but have no facts supporting this, that there is a higher percentage of depression amongst writers than in, say, bricklayers. We're prone to introspection.
And that's where your argument falls down.
There's a lot of misconceptions about mental illness and most of them are distributed by people with no medical background. They gain the status of conventional wisdom and mostly because their mate told them about it.
Usually it is Fat Barry down the pub.
I'll have you know, Barry is very sensitive about his midrift extension and has been working very hard to reduce his polyunsaturated misfortune and would henceforth wish to be known as 'subcutaneously triglyceridally gifted barry' as opposed to just 'fat barry' which he considers to be slightly '90's'. Which I'm sure we can all agree is something Barry is most certainly not.
Quote: Ben @ 13th June 2014, 10:26 PM BSTAnd that's where your argument falls down.
There's a lot of misconceptions about mental illness and most of them are distributed by people with no medical background. They gain the status of conventional wisdom and mostly because their mate told them about it.
Yeah, I was just quoting that conventional wisdom my mate told me. Sorry for touching a nerve, I knew he wasn't a doctor so I shouldn't have spread the misconception.