Oh yes. This all makes sense. A rational, practical approach to improving your lifestyle is totally useful. I meant, it doesn’t do much good to focus on a goal- like “I’ll be happy just as soon as I meet this investment goal and can quit my job!” Or “I’ll be happy just as soon as I find a good relationship!” Etc.…

Yeah, I agree with you about that. Maybe people your age should be in your own group since you had a unique experience of living through all of that as teenagers; maybe you should be In-Betweeners. But I’m just saying that the tech divide is wide between you and me too, as wide in my pov as what you see between you…

Ha ha. Yes I psychoanalyze myself too, and it’s half my problem! I know all about CBT. It’s basically watered-down (or psychiatrically redefined) Buddhist mindfulness practice. Which I also know a lot about, and yes, it does help me a bit, in addition to several other things.

I’m not denying that therapy/medication don’t help some people. But the fact remains that it doesn’t help nearly as many people as we (as a society) seem to think it does. Best case scenario, it helps REDUCE (not cure) depression in just over half the people who take anti-depressants. So OK, what about the other…

It might be that I’m wrong about how the technology affected YOUR family in particular. We all have individual variations. What you are saying makes sense in some ways since you probably had a childhood without cell phones on the Internet which is something even people slightly younger than you can’t say (hence one…

Well no, not really. Therapy and medication do not always help anyone. It makes even less sense for a person who is not suffering from depression to take anti-depressants. Appropriate professional assistance is different than going to a therapist and taking meds, which is what I read. The thing I might have…

Don’t apologize. I think the more people who share what works for them, the better. And absolutely I agree that therapy and medication work for a lot of people. Depending on what studies you read, it reduces depression a bit in just over half- (those stats are a little controversial but I think that’s the current…

Yeah, in some ways I have definitely taken the coward’s way out. It was reason #4 that we did not have children.

It’s a false analogy. Mental illness is not rational which is why it’s so frustrating to deal with people who suffer. If she were dying of cancer, I’d support her until the end. There is no end of this, so it’s not a fair analogy. Would I support her if she were dying of cancer for years and years and did nothing but…

It’s always like that for people on the cusps. My mom is just barely a baby boomer. I’m just barely a Gen Xer.

I didn’t know millenials didn’t use Clinique. I don’t wear much makeup, but Clinique face powder is what I have always used and I love it. I buy a compact about once every two years (that’s how long it lasts me) and I love it so much that I literally drive to another city to buy it when I need it. I had no idea that…

No need to apologize. Sorry- I didn’t mean to sound that I thought you were simplifying. I was partially responding to the bigger theme of this thread- that is the argument that we have a government doing things like surveillance of citizens because the citizens are too apathetic to get involved with democratic…

Thanks for your concern! The suicide hotline is a wonderful thing, and I’m thankful for the people who work there! I’m nowhere near suicide so please don’t worry about me. I’m not even particularly struggling with depression right now. Where I’m at right now is that middle period where I can tell that if I don’t get…

Yup. I have heard that if you find a good therapist, it can be really helpful. I’ve been through three (all just a handful of times) and I was not pleased with any of them.

I’m sorry that happened to you. I have a bad taste in my mouth regarding therapists too because my mother forced my brother and me to go to her therapist for a while. This woman helped my mother (who is now a lovely, healthy person) but she was very damaging to my brother and me. In retrospect, I think she was…

I don’t think it is helpful to look at what can make you happy. That just sends you into a cycle that will continue to lead to depression. Though if that worked in your case, then I’m glad! It might work for someone else too.

Thanks for your story. It’s real and empowering.

Therapy and medication do not help everyone. People always say that mentally ill people “need to seek help” but when you look at it statistically, treatment isn’t that easy to get- especially with depression. People come out of it just as often without help. I definitely agree that it helps a lot of people and that it…

I’m really sorry that happened, for you and everyone involved. There is nothing OK about it.

Yes this is the problem I have had too. It’s a huge burden on friends and family members. I’ve done it to others when my depression was bad. I’ve had it done to me with close friends who are depressed. I’m struggling with it right now. A close friend has gotten so deeply into her depression that it is literally the…