Tag Archives: depression

Strangers in a Strange Land

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The rules have been rewritten. The destination is hazy. The compass is hiding.

We are a people lost in the desert, on a search for solutions, seeking the meaning behind the motivation. But separation sits at the heart of the aimlessness, and a world that promised constant connection has failed to deliver.

With eyeballs perpetually fixed on blue light screens, we have chosen the velvety warm hug of cushioned insulation over the highly unpredictable and uncontrollable task of thorny socialization.

Even the most gregarious of today’s butterflies couldn’t come close to flapping wings with any of the prior pre-phone/pre-internet generations. Technology was supposed to shrink the isolation gap. Instead, it only widened the chasm. We falsely believe we’re all inseparable, but we couldn’t be more distant.

Rates of depression are skyrocketing, and a youth culture subjected to a daily barrage of hurtful slander and forced comparison is rotting our self-esteem at its core. Humans are bonding with machines and filling days, weeks, and months with passive entertainment. Get up and go simply sat down and stopped.

Apathy, avoidance, disengagement, laziness, rapidly deteriorating health, hopelessness, and general malaise can all be traced to a simple, obvious starting line. When we collectively plugged in, we all tuned out.

Looks like Timothy Leary was Nostradamus.

Adolescence Interrupted

Dropping a Rope Ladder into the Dark

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Sometimes the loudest cries don’t make a sound.

Sometimes a helping hand gets slapped away.

Sometimes the reluctance to engage should be ignored.

Sometimes people just need to feel heard.

Sometimes it gets dark…very dark.

These days I have found myself at the base of a conundrum. There are a few vitally important individuals in my life who appear to be struggling with weighted shoulders and bleak prospects, whether concrete or concocted, and I’m not exactly sure how to be of service.

Everyone possesses a unique web of mental wiring, and this is certainly not a “one-size-fits-all” situation. Whatever has caused the drop—situational/lifestyle circumstances, chemical shifts, etc.—is something specific to the individual and should be approached with care, concern, and respect.

It is difficult to see the light when you’re drowning in the dark, and no amount of positivity or forced perspective about future prospects does much to impact the present. There’s no value in describing the colors of a sunset to someone wearing a blindfold. The goal must be to meet them where they’re stuck, grab some shovels, and start digging. Eventually, a few rays of sunlight will penetrate the cracks.

It hurts my heart to know that my friends are suffering. We live in a world where it’s easy to feel bombarded by expectations or to sink in the mud of unrealized aspirations. We are shown a picture-perfect, Photoshopped world of flawless smiling faces and successful peers knocking one feat or adventure after another off their carefully curated bucket lists while we look at old photos and wonder where the last decade disappeared. But when feeling bummed becomes feeling lost, it’s time to intervene.

There is not a manual for this sort of thing, and it may take stubbing some toes into bedposts before we find the clearest path. But our loved ones who have drawn the curtains and pulled the shades are not being subtle…even if they think they’re wearing a good disguise. We see through the slits on the side of that molded mask and we know it’s not your face.

I’ll bring the shovels. Please let me help you dig.

Adolescence Interrupted