Writing Motivational Advice

October 22, 2014

Recently I was informed by my roommate that my old cross-country coach wanted us to write motivational letters for the team before they went to State, which is on Saturday. I, of course, pushed this to the back of my mind like the expert procrastinator I am and completely forgot about it until tonight, when my roommate brought it up again. 

I fear that this is a hopeless endeavor. Someone as narcissistic and cynical as I am  right now should not be writing letters to motivate high school girls. This is what I have so far...

"Greeting- Yet- To- Be- Determined:

Insert introduction here, preferably one that inspires comradery and a deep and abiding respect for my obvious wisdom and omniscience. Follow up with necessary humble phrases such as, “I was once like you,” “I remember the good ole days,” and “These were some of my favorite moments of high school.” Do not mention current narcissism and disenchantment with the concept of motivation and goal setting. Would be counterproductive. Also do not mention embarrassing stories about Mackenzie and Nicole [my sisters] or the fact that Rumsey [my ex-coach] strong-armed me into this. Would also be counterproductive and probably inappropriate. And don’t attempt any puns. You suck at them.

Insert personal history here, not mentioning the fact that your life pretty much sucks right now. This will not encourage them to go to college. Also do not mention that you no longer run. Or that “things were better in my day.” Lay back on the humor, you are the only one who thinks it’s funny. "

Yes. As you can see, this is not going to end well. 

On Depression And Its Many Nuances

October 15, 2014

Have any of you ever used Google as your own personal dictionary? I do frequently. I am actually a bigger fan of Google than I am of Messieurs Merriam and Webster. Why do you ask? Let me count the ways...

1. All I have to do is open a new tab in my Google Chrome browser and type, "define: [insert word here]" and I have the definition. Just like that.
2. There are no distracting adverts in the margins of my web browser that slow down my computer. I cannot describe what pure bliss can be found in the lack of Charter TV, audible.com, or AutoTrader.com adverts. Also, my tab doesn't have the continuous loading circle of death (which, while understandably annoying, is a step up from its Mac counterpart, the infamous pinwheel of death).   
3. All the possible definitions can be found in a condensed, easy-to-read format.
4. There are awesome graphics that track the usage of the word in various media formats. I am not going to lie. This is my favorite feature. Check out my awesome graphic below.

This graphic shows the use of the word "depression" over time. According to Google, depression is a word that originated in late Middle English, taken from the Latin word "deprimere," which means "to press down." 

I find that to be an interesting association. "To press down." How very true. Very much pressing. Very much down. Yes. I like it. 

I had originally started this post with the intention of looking up the definition of "depression" and then using that as a launching pad for chronicling my own experiences with depression and the way it is shaping my life at the moment. 

But, like many things in my life nowadays, I find such a task too difficult. Like I mentioned before, a very much "pressing down" sensation. So I suppose that I shall mention some snippets and hope that I will have the emotional and mental strength to chronicle this experience at a later date. 

Some Facets Of My Depression

1. My sleeping schedule is almost completely opposite a normal person's. I go to bed anywhere from 6 am to 11 am and sleep until 4 pm to 7pm. If I was to take the 12 hour inverse of this schedule, I would either be an elderly person or a very productive person indeed.
2. I haven't been to class in quite a long while. And I'm not sure I want to go back.
3. I eat one meal a day. Usually dinner. And I can never clean my plate. 
4. I have started seeing a therapist and am unsure how I feel about that fact. And all the character failings that I have always thought to be associated with such a need. 
5. I feel the need to recharge after social interaction. I am very much not the Energizer bunny in this situation. There is no "going and going and going" going on here. 
6. I tentatively ventured into the realm of reddit.com and, more specifically, the depression forum on reddit.com. It was not helpful at all. It was, in fact, quite frightening. Reaching out to strangers on the Internet did not make this better. I did make an attempt to try, via answering someone else's post, and I shall copy it down below, as a record for posterity. 

Re-reading it I find that it is probably more about me than it is about the original post. Which was not well done of me, I admit. However, I think that there must be something here, otherwise I would not have felt compelled to write quite so much. So below is my response to a post on reddit.com entitled, "What do you do when you're bored, but you don't want to do anything, not even sleep..."

"I wish I had the answers to your questions. Partly because you sound like you are in a lot of pain. Partly because I have some of the same questions and problems.

I'm searching for something to say, but all I can think of are a whole bunch of cheesy one-liners from Disney movies and cliches from self-help books. Neither of which provide any comfort whatsoever.

I keep thinking that if I talk about this enough, if I can accept enough, or analyze enough, or problem-solve enough, I'll be able to find some magical switch that will snap me out of this pervasive apathy that has enveloped my life. Well, maybe "magical switch" isn't quite the right phrase here. I think "magical pill" is the more pervasive myth in our society. But either way, I keep thinking if I somehow tweak something in my life just so, I'll managed to drag myself out of this dark, dank pit I have fashioned for myself. And it keeps... failing.

Which is frustrating. I hate failing. It smacks of inadequacy and a distinct lack of intelligence. Which is the whole problem, right? The dissonance between my supposed intelligence and the reality of where my life is right now. I totally get what you were saying, about being unable to imagine your life beyond some small apartment where you watch T.V. all day and watch the rest of your life pass you by through a haze of apathy and loneliness. Which you know, deep down, is at least partially self-inflicted. And this is what really gets you, because you feel that if you are smart enough to be able to see what is going to wrong with your life you should be able to stop it somehow. If Choice A results in Outcome B [Outcome B being crippling depression and general feelings of suckiness], then don't make Choice A you stupid, self-absorbed, depressed ninny. And yet... Choice A it is.

And then, if you extend this thought process further, it lends itself to an almost martyr-esque mentality, where you believe that because you are the one who made all these decisions that lead to all of these outcomes, it's not right of you to dump it all in someone else's lap and go, "Here, fix me!" Who are they to have to fix your problems? Especially when half of them feel self-inflicted. And even when you convince yourself to overcome your own inhibitions and pull a kindergarten-share-circle moment, most of the time it doesn't turn out the way you expected. Maybe it's because they are unable to see past themselves and their own problems. Maybe it's because they have their own stressors in life that make them unable to help anyone beyond themselves. Maybe it's a communication problem, or a simple lack of understanding of the depths of your depression. Maybe they want to help but are afraid of making the problem worse. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The end result is, you took a risk, and still you find yourself in the same place, with the same problem, and still no way to fix this crippling inability to actually live your life like a semi-normal person.

I don't know how you fix that. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't seem to feel the need to write an extensive monologue about it. I don't know how to combat the pervasive boredom, the unending apathy.

I guess the point of this whole thing is that I wanted you to know... I don't know. Everything I can think of to say goes back to the aforementioned "Disney and self-help book" sentiment. I guess I saw your post and felt compelled to say... something. Anything. It reminded me of myself in a lot of ways (if not already evident by the extensive use of the word "I" in this comment), and I was struck by the fact that there was actually someone out there who seemed to "get it" in a way that is so similar to myself. Someone who was as self-aware of their depression and all that it entailed. And the various ways it was screwing with your world view.

I'm usually not a big fan of posting these kinds of things on the Internet, but I figured that if you were someone who could write something that brutally honest and post it online, then I could write you an equally honest reply in return. I don't know if this has helped or not, but I guess I just wanted you to know that there was someone out there, in the vast environs of the Internet, who kind of, sort of, got it. And who hopes that somehow, someday, you will find a way to see beyond the apartment and the television and the potential alcoholism and the potential drug habit and the Youtube and the twitch feeds (or whatever you called it; I'm kind of lost on what exactly that is...), to find something that makes life worth living. Because that's the ultimate problem, don't you think? Finding something that conquers that boredom and apathy? Something that pulls you out of yourself? Well... At least, that's my current theory.

Anyways, the point is, I wish you luck."

So yes. The current struggle. Wish me luck, dear audience. I think I shall need quite a lot of it.