Here are a few things that are on my mind right now. First of all, there can hardly be no greater pleasure than driving home from class during the fall. The leaves are turning into brilliant shades, your radio is blaring Josh Groban, and a huge assignment has just been turned in. There's a slight crisp in the air that makes you just feel glad to be alive. Happiness. Not to mention the fact that I just finished teaching my last creative writing class, PRAISE YE THE LORD, HALLELUJAH! In a class full of young boys, there isn't much creativity. That class was the bane of my existence. However, it's over, it paid for six months of car insurance, and now my Tuesday afternoons are free. Next, I keep thinking about something my social psychology professor, Dr. Browning said. She stated that depression was anger turned inward. How perilously true, and how sad. Imagine the paralyzing, lonely, and overall helpless anger that that must be. And how weak people feel, to imagine that they can do nothing about that anger. Finally, I've discovered that I absolutely love the writings of my distant relative, Helen Keller. Here's a gem of hers for you to enjoy: Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller
5 years ago
1 comments:
Hey Katie.
I know that there is a lot more to your post than what I am going to address here. I am not ignoring your post, but I felt a need to concentrate on one aspect of it, if you would excuse me.
I would disagree with Dr.Browning, in a way. Sure, depression may be anger turned inward. But there are those who are not raging against the world, but just lose hope. Anger does not have to be there. Sometimes it is the relentless pounding of disappointment that drives one to hopelessness, which then gives birth to depression.
But I concur with Helen Keller. And I will give my opinion, with much less grace than she, of course. (What would you expect from me, Katie?).
OK, here it goes. Lessons from boxing, and life. When life kicks your butt, (and it will), you either run and die in the corner and throw in the towel, like a coward, or you develop the victor's quality; you learn, you grow, and you gut it out, and even though knocked down and bloody, you stand up again, before the 8 count, even against your own will. Ready to fight again. It's called 'character'.
So what I'm saying is this:
You don't have to get mad at me to become depressed. But if you allow me to hammer you and take your hope away, with nothing to look forward to, you will become depressed whether you are angry or not. So I don't believe that it is the anger you feel towards me that is then directed within that causes the depression, but rather the hopelessness you feel because of your belief that I am right in that you have no hope of winning the fight;
there is no reward for the effort that you make towards the fight, and there is nothing to look forward to but a savage beating. That is depression.
Maybe just another way to look at it from someone who has been there.
Sorry for the depressing post, but sometimes psychology doesn't answer all questions. Depression, may I say, is more complex even than just emotion. May I suggest that it is a condition of the soul. No, that won't go over well in most psych classes. But consider that 'psychology' comes from the greek 'psyche' or 'psuche' which translates 'soul'.
Maybe just more stuff to think about.
Just sayin'.
oc.
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