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Stephen Hawking on Depression

It’s estimated that more than 350 million people around the world suffer from depression.

Depression sufferers experience a variety of symptoms but one seems common — a feeling that they’re unable to escape their diagnosis. When asked, some people describe the feeling, likening the experience to being in a black hole.

In a world of so much light, these patients feel as though they are swimming in a never-ending realm of darkness. There’s no escape.

While speaking to a crowd of 400 scientists at a recent lecture, renowned scientist and esteemed professor Stephen Hawking discussed the technical nature of black holes. But it was how he connected them to experiencing depression that truly moved the audience Hawking was first diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1963. At the time of his diagnosis, doctors gave him just two years to live. Now, more than 53 years lHawking celebrated his 74th birthday and shows no signs of slowing down.

Many people have tried to describe the deep and intense feelings of depression throughout the years, usually through creative outlets like poetry, music, art and, film.

It was none other than Stephen Hawking who made this powerful speech to the Royal Institute in London, England, as he compared the mental illness to black holes:

“The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up; there’s a way out.”

 

With a little bit more research on black holes, this analogy is very accurate and, potentially, helpful to anyone currently suffering from mental illness.Nasa’s website further describes and explains the science surrounding Black Holes.

“A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible.”

With stigma still surrounding mental health issues, people often feel invisible in their struggle. Hawking’s, however, described how that no matter how invisible or trapped you feel, there is always a way out of the darkness.

On Disability And Mental Health

Also part of the 2016 Reith Lectures program, Hawking was asked a series of questions, one of which directly asked him about his personal struggle with Motor Neurone Disease.

A 17-year-old asked him, “What inspired you to keep on going despite all the rough times in your life?”.

“I think my work and a sense of humor have kept me going. When I turned 21 my expectations were reduced to zero. You probably know this already because there’s been a movie about it. In this situation, it was important that I came to appreciate what I did have. Although I was unfortunate to get motor neurone disease, I have been very fortunate in almost everything else. I have been lucky to work in theoretical physics at a fascinating time, and it’s one of the few areas in which my disability was not a serious handicap. It’s also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life may seem, because you can lose all hope if you can’t laugh at yourself and life in general.”

You do not have to be good

 You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, & I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun & the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies & the deep trees,

the mountains & the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh & exciting–

over & over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Mary Oliver 

Prisoner

Madonna on the bus out of Ukraine 

There are those who are innocently incarcerated in prison for years & years.  They study the law & methodically, day by day, work to prove their innocence. One step forward, two steps back. They sue the system for monetary restitution, but even without it, bravely find a way to move forward successfully on the outside. 

There are those who are innocently incarcerated in a physiological prison for years & years. They study the mind & body & methodically, day by day, work to reclaim their innocence. One step forward, two steps back. They may seek restitution, but even without it, they bravely find a way to move forward successfully from the inside out. 

Suicide Dont’s

I opened our local Leader newspaper online today & read that a body had been found hanging from a tree by our hospital. This happens quite a bit it seems, especially around Halloween. Mistaken for a scary ornamental piece, until it’s not. So many stories…. During Ponzi scheme Madoff times, his son Mark hung himself from the rafters while his baby took a nap. Robin Williams hung himself from the doorknob of his bathroom, etc, etc, etc.

Suicide DON'TS:  

By plane, by one's own hand, by cop. Sometimes holding on is not an option for whatever reason. Illness of mind or body. I GET depression. Swimming in MUD. Wanting the agony to just STOP. Been There. 

NO ONE WHO LOVES YOU WILL EVER GET OVER: 

* Not leaving a note

* Doing it in such a way that loved ones find you

*Taking others with you. Flying a plane into a building, taking your wife

  girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or God Forbid, your kids with you. 

*Shooting up a school of other peoples kids, or work places, or clubs, or..

* THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOU & no one else, so keep it that way.

MANY times as a teenager & older, I contemplated my own demise. It was always as a way to STOP the, (perceived), agony of being alive, or during premenstrual hell, hanging off the toilet while I puked, cramped & bled until I was anemic. Somehow I managed to hang on, knowing it would end in exactly 168 hours. 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ... in just 1 more day, then 24, 23, 22 hours....  I thank God now that I hung on. Frankly, it still happens, BUT, from somewhere deep inside… ‘Did I forget my meds? Hang on for 5 more minutes. Ok another 5 minutes. Call your therapist…. 

For some, the agony will not end. It may be because of a terminal illness or an untreated mental illness. Somewhere in that internal muck however, there IS the absolute knowledge that this is NOT someone else's wish or fault & if you believe it IS, THAT person or THOSE people should get to decide whether or not they are going down YOUR path of their own emotional destruction. 

It's the ultimate personal choice, even though in the moment it doesn’t FEEL like a choice. Making that choice for someone else is MURDER & far more destructive for those left behind, even more than the taking of YOUR own life. 

When I was in high school, there was a sexy, angst ridden, self destructive teen boy who was over 18, drove an orange GTO & dated young impressionable girls. A 16 year old classmate fell in love with him & just like Jack & Diane, they made a lovelorn suicide pact. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned. When he rammed his GTO into a school wall at 60 miles per hour, he died. She, however, came away paralyzed from the waist down.

On a personal note, my grandfather, who was clinically depressed prior to most knowing what clinical depression was, committed suicide @ 50 while my mother was away serving in the RAF. My grandmother found him when she went to prepare his breakfast. There was no note, leaving them to speculate with their own story. They never got over it, which consequently affected generations of my family. The good news was that it led to a greater understanding of our familial genetic predisposition to mood disorders, including my own. The bad news was when he didn't leave a note, he literally took his own agony, along with those who loved him, to his own grave.

Suicide is illegal on most states, except when a Dr. sanctioned subscriber assists a patient to die. Or, your family is part of your personal decision & finds their own way to assist you. Insurance policies often have a caviot that if the policy holder commits suicide, the beneficiaries cannot collect for a non-accident or non-medical reason. Not only will your family mourn your death, they may well become destitute as well. 

Your suicide will ultimately be horrendous & heartbreaking for everyone. The difficult thing to do is to pick up the phone & call the crisis line, where experienced intervention specialists have heard it ALL before & will spend as much time as you need talking over your decision & other options with you. What’s another half an hour in the larger scheme of things? Call 999

Finally, this IS a pre-decision guilt trip, which may or may not affect your decision, but PLEASE, if you have any compassion at all for your loved ones, refer back to the ‘Suicide Don’ts’ as above all else, this is ultimately YOUR decision. Write a note. Say Goodbye. Tell us you love us. And for God’s Sake, call 911 & tell them where to find you before anyone else does. 

Modern Love

Modern Love

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/469516571/modern-love

Take Me As I Am, Whoever I Am With Rebecca Hall 

Modern Love

Rebecca Hall who stars in the upcoming movie "The Night House," reads a story about dating -- while manic. 
In her 2008 essay, “Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am,” Terri Cheney writes about her lifelong battle with bipolar disorder, a debilitating mental illness which she had struggled to keep secret from her lovers and co-workers.

Ms. Cheney’s witty and moving essay inspired one of the episodes in the Modern Love Amazon Prime Video series. 

Modern Love

is brought to you by COUPLES THERAPY, a new Showtime docu-series following four couples during their weekly sessions with a world-class therapist.

It’s a raw and intimate peek into the hidden world of other people’s relationships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbWAWnWuio

Serious About Your Art?

There is an interesting juxtaposition between this 63M Cezanne & the Ukrainian police guarding it with assault weapons. It had been stolen & recovered from the ceiling lining of a car, while Cezanne was belittled, ostracized & belittled in his lifetime. 

Message: Keep doing your art & remember that the ultimate support comes through YOU.