Ignorance is bliss and total ignorance is total bliss. Ask any tortoise who on an average spends 200 years on terra firma doing absolutely nothing to make itself or its surroundings a better place. But why pick on tortoises alone? Any creature that does not think too much can never be a fit candidate for depression(that in effect would remove most human beings too and that’s the point).
Being a victim of this illness, I think I have sufficient authority to write on this topic before God forbid, I go through it once again. The reasons why I went into depression is not very important but what I felt and how I overcame it might help someone out here.
For the blessed people who have never been through this malady and for people who have overcome it, the whole episode may look a trife funny. After all, why would any person in all his sanity want get depressed? But in the state oneself, the question is exactly the reverse. Why would anyone despite seeing everything around him, continue to remain in a state of unabandoned bliss? Despite knowing that he might not live tomorrow, get abused by his office and family, continue to do mediocre work, worse, live in mediocrity all his life.
The mind of any living creature is designed to survive. No animal leads half an interesting life or contributes to the place it belongs than the human mind. Despite their varying life spans, each animal dies either of age or disease or being devoured by another. Very few animals actually contemplate suicide(there are a few species which commit mass suicide but depression as a factor was definitely ruled out as it is not considered a communal phenomenon). So, why are human beings especially targetted? That is because of an organ that is designed not only to analyze its surroundings but also, itself. A remarkable feature which cuts both ways.
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When in depression, the first thing that strikes is low self-esteem.’What I have done’ you ask yourself’that can be considered praiseworthy?’. The one thing I was happy to realise was that I was not the only person who asked myself this question. I belong to the select group of individuals whose names read Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Schumann, Ludwig von Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Vincent van Gogh, Georgia O’Keefe, Agatha Christie. I hope a depressed soul will one day add my name to this list too.That apart, the song which immediately comes to my mind which sums up how a depressed mind feels like is the’Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai?’ from pyaasa.
It is in the depressed state that you actually start seeing the practicality of things when the brain removes, at least temporarily, the cloud of deceit that masks it from looking at the darker things in life. There is nothing remotely exciting about doing the same kind of thing everyday, eating similar food and going through the rote. Yet a vast majority of human beings do not go into depression doing such unexciting things throughout their life because the brain has been programmed to the routine and this is a great survival instinct. For, if everyone was trying to seek answers about the reason for their existence, more than half the world would be in depression for reasons other than finance. For me, the state of depression offers a more realistic view of the world than the supposedly’normal’ state of the brain which turns to temporary amnesia or escapism to continue in its state of ignorant bliss.
I do not recommend depression but what is it they say about’every cloud having a silver lining?’. You learn from everything.
As Karana correctly says depression is a much abused word. So, how does one know that they are headed that way?
Symptoms of depression
depressed mood
loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities
changes in appetite or weight
disturbed sleep
slowed or restless movements
fatigue, loss of energy
feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
trouble in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Fortunately apart from medicines, there are a lot of things you could do yourself to come out of this state:
Do not sit in one place: Keep moving. Take in lots of fresh air. Keep working, reading. Anything except sit or sleep.
Take care of your day to day activities yourself: Start doing the cooking, cleaning, washing.all those uninteresting things yourself and the lesser time you will have to devote to your thoughts. Doing housework to perfection is one of the best depression-busters.
Avoid sad music, similar books and newspapers
Watch funny movies, read cartoons
Talk to friends and keep yourself surrounded by people. If you stay alone, visit a coffee parlor or such and soak in the crowd.
Visit a doctor if you feel things are going out of hand. He might put you on medication and believe me medicines do help.
Do not take to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes as an alternative. You will go from being sad to being dead.
Try your hand at any of the fine arts, theatre or join a social service organisation.
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I once told my nephew that scientists are on their way to making human beings immortal. And to date, he keeps pestering me as to whether they have succeeded. I am amazed by his wanting to live forever. At no point in my life have I ever wanted to live more than whatever is my designated time. Most of the time, it is an attempt to savour the moment, leaving the future in the hands of the one who knows what to do with it best.
The old order has to replace the new and it is best to leave the stage when the audience is in applause. And as long as you are on stage, try to make the best of the part that was given to you. All of us were not born to be heroes. Life might not give you the best one-liners or want you to exit prematurely like ekta-kapoor’s men but as long as you are there, try to see how you can make a difference. And that will mark a sea change in the way you look at yourself and the world.