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Do You Ever Feel Hopeless?

Do you ever feel hopeless? Like it’s all just too much to deal with? Like there’s nothing you can do to make it better? Like anything you try to do will turn out wrong in the end? Like you’re just a useless piece of meat with no purpose in life? Like maybe you just don’t feel that way, but maybe it actually is that way? The psychologist at school tells me that’s a sign of clinical depression, but I think that’s just the psychologist’s way of slapping a clinical diagnosis on the fact that I feel the way I do. Truth is, I look out on the stars at night and think they’re pretty, but then I feel really small. I have such big dreams, so why do I have to be so small and powerless in the face of them? I know, I’m just another piece of meat among billions, but I could really use a voice out there to tell me I’m not alone in feeling the way I do. I don’t need someone to tell me it’s going to be OK, because I’m not sure that’s true. But I do need to hear someone tell me they feel the same way, at least sometimes. That way I won’t feel like I’m going to burst from feeling so alone in this.

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Date: August 9, 2007

Author: freenut

Categories: activism

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(464 votes, average: 3.36 out of 5)

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  Iroquois

  in August 9th, 2007 @ 18:44

  Nope.

  The only other hopeless person here is old woe-is-me Tom. You know exactly what he’s going to say without even looking at his comments. The world is in the toilet, nobody cares, nobody is doing anything, etc, etc, except pissing and moaning. The fact is, he’s projecting. HE is the one not doing anything.

  He seems to think that because he doesn’t see marching in the streets that nothing is going on. How’s your clean water, he says. Why does no one protest.

  I’ve lived where there was a protest in the street every single Friday after mosque, and believe me, I had chronic diarrhea and massive weight loss from the water quality. The weekly protests did absolutely nothing for quality of life, except perhaps pay for more police overtime. The money could certainly have been used for better purposes.

  How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break down what you’re concerned about into little pieces then examine the pieces one by one. For a reality check, see what other people think about it. Or go to the bookstore and read self-help books in the aisle.

  The psychologist is nuts. You need to get laid.

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  Barley

  in August 9th, 2007 @ 18:55

  I often feel that things are without hope, not because I don’t care, but because I see other people not caring. I can understand how Tom got the way he did.

  But, I refuse to give in. I refuse. I refuse to stop trying.

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  RED DAVE

  in August 9th, 2007 @ 19:00

  From William Morris, the British poet and socialist leader:

  “I pondered all these things, and how men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name.”

  RED DAVE

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  Jim

  in August 10th, 2007 @ 06:38

  Sure, sometimes I feel hopeless. But sometimes tending to non-philosophical things helps. Sleep. Eat a well-balanced meal. Exercise. Walk to a park and lie down in the grass and watch the clouds for an hour. You might be surprised at how well your brain bounces back and helps you help yourself back to finding reasons for hopefulness.

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  Iroquois

  in August 10th, 2007 @ 08:50

  I read the above post as a political question, but in case someone out there is actually struggling with clinical depression, here is an overview from WebMD:

  http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-basics

  and here is the page with a collection of links:

  http://www.webmd.com/depression/

  If you are thinking about a pharmaceutical approach, a friend who once took medication for depression said it just deadens your emotional responses enough so you can think about your problems without being incapacitated by anxiety.

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  Iroquois

  in August 10th, 2007 @ 08:52

  Oh, dear, I used two links in the last post. I guess that’s a formula that triggers the spam filter.

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  Dan

  in August 10th, 2007 @ 23:03

  freenut, I feel exactly the same. I own my own business, have a family, yet I am always unhappy and stressed. I don’t know why. I have been to 6 psychiatrists in the last 5 years and I have been on anti-depressants for 3 or 4 years. It is true what Iroquois says… the meds slightly deaden the anxiety and almost make me apathetic. But, I loved Jim’s advice to do non-philosophical things. I am ALWAYS philosophical and it drives me crazy that others don’t seem to think things through – they just believe what they want to believe even when presented with the facts. They are happy and content in their delusional bubble. Ignorance is bliss.

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  Iroquois

  in August 11th, 2007 @ 09:17

  Thanks to whoever pulled my comment out of the spam filter.

  Dan, it seems to me that 3 or 4 years on anti-depressants is not very typical. I have heard 6 months is a reasonable treatment time. Without treatment most depression is supposed to resolve itself within two years. That’s for classic depression, not for something like bipolar. Why a psychiatrist? For some reason I don’t trust psychiatrists, aren’t they always looking for a way to milk the insurance money? Maybe it’s just me. There is another type of practitioner–I think it’s called “clinical psychologist”–that’s also qualified to prescribe medications. What will happen if you stop taking the meds? Do you still need them? Do you have to withdraw from them under medical guidance?

  If you are looking for the psychiatrist for “talking therapy”, what about an ordinary counselor with an MSW degree? What about your friends? Not to talk about your private stuff, of course, but just to talk. There are also twelve-step groups for just about everything that needs to be discussed confidentially. If your stress is coming from your business, maybe there are some free seminars through your library or inexpensive courses through your community college to help the business go more smoothly (or to network with people who have already figured out whatever you want to learn).

  There is also a physiological basis to Jim’s advice. The body needs exercise, nutrition, and sunlight to manufacture neurotransmitters and endorphins. My personal opinion is that most garden-variety depression can be solved by changing your environment and routine.

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  Jim

  in August 11th, 2007 @ 09:45

  Dan, I’m not saying don’t be philosophical. I’m saying, actually, that when you’re depressed your thinking may not be as straight as you think it is. Try exercise and those other things and notice how your thinking changes. I’ve often found solutions to problems I thought were intractable after getting my head out of my navel, doing something active and non-philosophical, then returning to the problem at hand (philosophical or other) refreshed and recharged.

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