Why do depression and despair paralyze us? Okay, not “why,” as in, “can I have YET ANOTHER more or less useless scientific explanation of clinical depression?” But rather, what is it about depression in the moment, in this very moment, experientially, that makes it so much better to do nothing, than to do something? And, how can I recognize when my despair is an illusion, versus when it is justified by the facts of my life? And what is to be done about the inaction resulting from despair? Like the subject of the classic drawing “Melancholia” featured here, we are surrounded by wonder and yet often choose to do nothing, wallowing in despair.
Recently I wrote about “Bullshit Psychology”, and in connection with that post, I looked around online and found this interesting post by someone with much to say about having difficulty, ah, finding anything useful about psychologists. The author writes at length, with much truth, about how “awful” and “shitty” life is, the world is, civilization is. And the sad truth is, he’s right. Everything IS awful and terrible, from our perspective. AND also miraculous, wondrous, precious and divine. And we don’t handle that contradictory situation very well; our logical minds take over and fail us, leading us to despair and inaction, when what’s required in order to live life in a meaningful, satisfying way, is action.
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