Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#211

Post by buckminster » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:16 PM UTC

jrs235 wrote: post #187

rtkaratekid wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Piercing the veil... what an appropriate turn of phrase. I resonate a lot with your third paragraph. I also think it can be rude and unnecessary to expose people to this paradigm if they're not ready. It's a bad analogy, but it's almost like poison. If you're used to some types of poison, they wont cause injury, but if you're not... it could kill you. Trouble is, in my mind life is filled with these poisons and peopl…

I recommend the following book under a few caveats the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it. The Underachiever's Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great (Funny Self-Help Book, Guide to Lowering Stress and Dealing with Perfectionism) https://amzn.to/2pvYI6b It will surely pierce a lot of people's beliefs.

On Amazon UK the book has three ratings, a four star, a three star and a one star. Which are labelled 28%, 45% and 27% respectively. Wtf?

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#212

Post by ghostbrainalpha » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:16 PM UTC

rtkaratekid wrote: post #165

cryoshon wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

keeping my realist comments to myself took me more than two decades to become competent at. it'll take me another two decades to master. the trick is to understand that all people live in a marginal headspace where engagement with the nature of the world is heavily filtered and limited so that their psychology can continue to mostly function on a day to day basis. this is true whether you are a "realist" or "pessimis…

Piercing the veil... what an appropriate turn of phrase. I resonate a lot with your third paragraph. I also think it can be rude and unnecessary to expose people to this paradigm if they're not ready. It's a bad analogy, but it's almost like poison. If you're used to some types of poison, they wont cause injury, but if you're not... it could kill you. Trouble is, in my mind life is filled with these poisons and peopl…

Be really careful with the poison analogy.

As another depressive person, I have lost most of my social circle because I consider my thoughts dangerous for others, don't lose touch with people around you because you try to hard to insulate them from your thoughts that might damage them.

If you work hard to make your gallows humor actually funny, you can turn things around. No one really knows the person who is too quiet, no one really likes the bitter person who always complains about everything, but the depressed dark humor guy can be the life of the party.

Robbin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Jim Carrey, and Allan Watts all operate in the "realist" branch of thought. But the way you share those thoughts really matters.

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#213

Post by notsogreat » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:20 PM UTC

kypro wrote: post #82

I don't think it's the case that all depressed people are realists, but that realists in general may be more predisposed to depression or being depressed. It seems likely some people suffering from depression have real mental illness, and a much much smaller number of people are ultra realists and get depressed over real negative events and facts. I know there have been times in my life where I have suffered from dep…

Everything does happen for a reason but we don't always know it or like it. Your cat died so other things will start to exist from its atomes/molecules.

Anyway, sorry for that...

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#214

Post by jrs235 » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:20 PM UTC

buckminster wrote: post #211

jrs235 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend the following book under a few caveats the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it. The Underachiever's Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great (Funny Self-Help Book, Guide to Lowering Stress and Dealing with Perfectionism) https://amzn.to/2pvYI6b It will surely pierce a lot of people's beliefs.

On Amazon UK the book has three ratings, a four star, a three star and a one star. Which are labelled 28%, 45% and 27% respectively. Wtf?

Interesting and WTF for sure. Must have rubbed some people the wrong way...

Reading it can be frightening for overachievers and people whose world view and beliefs (the upper class who need servants) requires we have people working for them otherwise their materialist and GDP/economy driven world views might cease to exist...

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#215

Post by blotter_paper » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:40 PM UTC

rtkaratekid wrote: post #102

I'm not so depressed these days (thankfully) but this "realism" does tend to manifest is different ways. I'm very self-conscious about not dragging people down because some thoughts that I think daily that are normal for me, seem to be absolutely psychologically crippling for people who previously hadn't, or didn't want to think such things. Usually when I do express these thoughts they're in the form of semi-dark hu…

Oh man, I can totally relate to that. I was working as a line-cook, and my direct manager was talking to me in private about how proud he was of progressing to management in a short period of time. I said something like, "yeah, but at the end of the day you're a manager at a shitty taco place." I meant it in a dark, lighthearted, joking-not-joking sort of way. He brought that interaction up for months, saying that I gave him an existential crisis. He actually thanked me for the "wake up call" and started saving some money as a result of it, but I still felt bad.

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#216

Post by kharak » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:41 PM UTC

wolfgke wrote: post #71

kharak wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you give an example? What's depressing about the current world of software?

> What's depressing about the current world of software? For example the insanity that it is impossible to understand what actually happens below the surface. The ideal that I have in the back of my mind is that a highly gifted person who can afford to spend a few years of intensive study can really understand each individual line/byte of code that gets executed on the computer (i.e. all of the software that runs on…

I had this sentiment quit often in the beginning of my career. Now, I simply realize that my lack of understanding crosses every single piece of technology there is. Fridge? No idea. Cars? Well, I can drive it almost as well as I can open a fridge, everything else is magic. How about bicycle? That's easy, right? Well, I challenge you to just now sit down and write a detailed schematic, describing everything that is needed to make a bicycle what it is. Extra points if you can explain why driving on two wheels actually works out.

I know nothing about anything and almost don´t care anymore. The last bit of wanting to understand is bathed the absurdity of it all.

Thanks for the links, sounds interesting.

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#217

Post by ummwhat » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:42 PM UTC

rtkaratekid wrote: post #102

I'm not so depressed these days (thankfully) but this "realism" does tend to manifest is different ways. I'm very self-conscious about not dragging people down because some thoughts that I think daily that are normal for me, seem to be absolutely psychologically crippling for people who previously hadn't, or didn't want to think such things. Usually when I do express these thoughts they're in the form of semi-dark hu…

I personally end every meeting I can with "time is a construct and we're all going to die".

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#218

Post by blotter_paper » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:44 PM UTC

jrs235 wrote: post #187

rtkaratekid wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Piercing the veil... what an appropriate turn of phrase. I resonate a lot with your third paragraph. I also think it can be rude and unnecessary to expose people to this paradigm if they're not ready. It's a bad analogy, but it's almost like poison. If you're used to some types of poison, they wont cause injury, but if you're not... it could kill you. Trouble is, in my mind life is filled with these poisons and peopl…

I recommend the following book under a few caveats the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it. The Underachiever's Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great (Funny Self-Help Book, Guide to Lowering Stress and Dealing with Perfectionism) https://amzn.to/2pvYI6b It will surely pierce a lot of people's beliefs.

> the first one being no one without their highschool diploma or G.E.D. (General Education Diploma) should read it.

Could you unpack this for me?

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#219

Post by 4b11b4 » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:44 PM UTC

Had a realization the other day that: "almost everyone around me is actually very sick".

This world we have created tends to encourage people to eventually become sick: whether it be diet, emotional, spiritual, physical, etc.

When we look around, we to have a positive outlook.

It's easy to see that a plant is not doing very well. We aren't very good at seeing this in humans.

Re: Depressed People See the World More Realistically (2017)

#220

Post by mepiethree » Wed, Oct 16, 2019, 4:45 PM UTC

cryoshon wrote: post #152

rtkaratekid wrote: post #102

I'm not so depressed these days (thankfully) but this "realism" does tend to manifest is different ways. I'm very self-conscious about not dragging people down because some thoughts that I think daily that are normal for me, seem to be absolutely psychologically crippling for people who previously hadn't, or didn't want to think such things. Usually when I do express these thoughts they're in the form of semi-dark hu…

keeping my realist comments to myself took me more than two decades to become competent at. it'll take me another two decades to master. the trick is to understand that all people live in a marginal headspace where engagement with the nature of the world is heavily filtered and limited so that their psychology can continue to mostly function on a day to day basis. this is true whether you are a "realist" or "pessimis…

> some people don't see the humor in dark humor because they are unfamiliar with darkness

Other people (like me) don't see the humor in dark humor because we live in a form of darkness all the time. My partner is bipolar, and I spend a several weeks a year literally talking her off the ledge. So if some edgy cynic makes a "joke" about suicide at work, I've probably already heard the punchline. And it dredges up a reminder of the biggest ongoing challenge in my life. Not finding that funny doesn't make me naive.