A Shawn64 Retrospective

Blimey that’s sad. To be obviously so respected, yet still feel the need… rest in peace.

Dang. Sad.
Guy had nice eyes, too.

2006? What the damn, this is just hitting news? Wow.

Really dunno what to say. He was much too humble.

Poor guy! Make sure to watch out for your personal mental health everyone. It’s a rough world we live in and I speak from experience in saying that it’s easy to get dangerously depressed regardless of your situation if you don’t know the signs to watch out for.

If you start having any thoughts where you are seriously considering the best way to kill yourself, when to do it, etc, you need to go get help of some kind. You can’t wait when this happens because its probably going to be at least a few weeks after seeing counselors or starting on medications that you start to feel any better at all, and when you want to kill yourself all it takes is an unexpected impulse or mood swing to actually try it. With help you can make your way out of depression though and when you do life is 1000x better than it is during the best moments when you are depressed. And that’s the truth. Good luck and stay safe. ;-)

What the f– He died?
Dang, I actually knew that guy.

Sad. I randomly stumbled across Jetz Fusion or whatever that Jetpack game was called a year or two ago and thought it was fun. Sad indeed.

“Other people often don’t care about an individual until something like this happens.”

I don’t think people quickly would assume that people like this guy have major social or mental problems. It probably has little to do with ‘not caring’. Ask yourself this, is it really possible to help these people? A friend of mine committed suicide too years ago and we all knew it wasn’t going good with him for some time, however we couldn’t convince him of anything… not even our friendly advice of seeking professional help. If anything, that probably was a mistake on our side to even suggest to him. There’s no simple way of confronting these people with their problems, even professionals can’t always stop people from taking their own lives.

The people like this guy lock themselves up in their maze of thoughts of extreme loneliness and sadness about whatever is truly bothering them.

@Viper:
AKA: The Hemingway Effect.

Guys, take care of yourselves. I don’t want to see what happened to Shawn happen to any of you.

If you are feeling low on a regular basis, feeling hopeless about things and distrustful of those close to you, or contemplating suicide, seek help. At the very least, find out if you are at risk of having clinical depression.

Realize that:

1. Depression is a chemical imbalance, and it is totally treatable.

2. The best way to deal with depression is a combination of counseling and taking medication. A good psychologist can recommend medication for you and will help you work out your feelings.

3. Medication will NOT change your personality, it will only improve your mood.

4. If left untreated, you could ruin your relationships and possibly your life. If treated, you could be happy, and really enjoy stuff. As Anonymous said, life could be a thousand times better for you. Why not try?

Realize that depression is a downward spiral. Your negative feelings (sadness, anger) and hopeless attitude toward life will inevitably drive away those close to you, and make you feel more hopeless and alone, further driving the depression.

Ultimately, your friends/family can help you, but they can’t treat you.

Here’s a page with more information about counseling and anti-depressants:

http://www.utexas.edu/student/cmhc/booklets/meds/meds.html

Yeah, great. While we’re at it, let’s stop treating all those burns victims. I mean, they’re already on fire, right? What can we do? They’re just on a different path from us.

*Yeah, great. While we’re at it, let’s stop treating all those burns victims. I mean, they’re already on fire, right? What can we do? They’re just on a different path from us.*

Sorry for the somewhat sick analogy, but actually it’s a lot like someone that’s indeed on fire, but there’s no blanket or bucket of water nearby. Instead you have to convince the burning victim to go downstairs, because that’s where the water is at. It’s not impossible at all to treat these persons and literally save them. However a lot of them genuinely believe there’s no stair or elevator to downstairs. It’s like sometimes they simply have a deep fear for water and ultimately getting better.

Anyways, I totally agree with Derek on all points he made. By all means these people should always seek help. The people themselves must realize that they are in need of help too and that there are good professionals and treatments.

Err… I’ts better not to overdo with anti-depresseants. I mean, I used to take them along with neuroleptics (yeah, in a hospital… met lots of nice people there and I don’t mean the staff). Side effects from anything that adjusts the way brain works may be quite disturbing. The worst being that in the end I stopped drawing, although the best sketch was done a week before I went to the doctor. Annoying to say the least.

*Every time someone says something slightly off topic the comments become riddled with sarcastic analogies.*

I apologize, but I was very serious about the analogy.

Basically, this chap, “Or…” is being an extremist dick about it and having completely illogical views. Don’t help the depressed, man! Don’t let the Man steal our identities and medicate us into a oblivion, maaan!

Obviously, yes, there is no “normal” human being. There is no status quo in the ever-changing human mind. Et cetera. To suggest that this subjectivity might render depression a positive experience or state of mind for some people, however, is nonsensical. Yes, everyone has different likes and dislikes. That means that they react positively to some things, and negatively to others. Depression is a negative feeling, a negative reaction. It is the effect, not the cause, and, ultimately, it is only the cause that is subjective in the finite range of human emotions. Hopefully you follow me.

Obviously, there are many, many downsides to medication. Over-medication, especially in America, from what I hear, is a growing problem and cause of concern, but it also has positive aspects. Nothing is black and white, and to think otherwise is naive.

ANYWAY. I hadn’t heard of this guy until now, but it’s a real shame that he felt the need to take his own life, especially when he so obviously brought enjoyment to, and was respected and liked by, so many other people. I’ll have to take his games for a spin. Several spins, as the case may be.

The notion that even if someone feels their life is ruined, that they can just take a pill and feel better about it, seems more harmful than helpful. If they’re friends, why not help them improve their life?

EarMeNow: “I would suggest first looking at your diet, allergies, lifestyle, medication side-effects. I guess the problem is if you are already deeply depressed or medicated this might be difficult for you.”

The reality is, few people really care enough to truly help their friends that are depressed. Rather than engage them in a meaningful discussion, they just either:

a) ignore them
b) insult them
c) gang up on them with a group of friends to try to force them to act like the rest of the group
d) ship them off to “professional help” so that they’re out of way

Drugs and psychobabble are a poor substitute for real, meaningful friendships and relationships.

Controlled tests show that no anti-depressant is actually any more effective at treating depression than a placebo. Pfizer’s own testing has indicated this for years, and they are perfectly aware of the fact, but they continue to push useless drugs as a cure for social or personal phenomena like alienation or hopelessness. Of course, they also murdered a whole bunch of African children and refused to stand trial, so what do you expect?

The “serotonin imbalance” theory of depression is not backed by a single shred of medical evidence, and at this point I think it is unrealistic to consider it a valid model of depression.

Regarding suicide, I think it is a choice that everyone should have the freedom to make. I don’t believe anyone should be ‘forced’ to live if they don’t want to. Particularly, in cases where there is terminal illness or incurable suffering, I think suicide is a valid escape. I don’t know that it should be actively encouraged, but I don’t think it should be prohibited.

However, in the case of a young person who is severely depressed, I think that suicide is definitely not the best solution. When you’re depressed, it’s difficult to see the possibility of any change in the events which effect your condition, but the fact remains that many of the traits which seem to induce depression — precocity, a propensity for thoughtfulness — can lead one to become a more well-rounded individual as an adult. Personally, I can’t say I’m perpetually gleeful, but despite growing up with serious depression problems, I am at worst moody, and certainly not suicidal.

I think it’s one thing to allow an elderly person the choice to die peacefully rather than suffer greatly before dying, but another entirely to encourage a young person to give up years of potentially happy and fulfilling life because they have problems, however intractable they might seem.

Really sad to hear this.

I have suffered (still suffer, as afaik depression as such is not healable) from massive bouts of depression myself, with lots of bad things happening. I went to a psychologist as well as a psychiatrist and I took meds for some time.

I had no strong bout of depression for over 3 years now, without taking any medication. Tho the counceling has helped me to realise when a new bout could come and thus counteract it to some extent.

Yes, Meds can help, but I do not think they are ultimately needed. Much more important is to have a good environment, to realise what you need and to work out mental troubles and not let stuff stir inside you. Talking about stuff with friends and family helped me a lot and I think I would not be alone here.

R.I.P.

The difference comes down to whether or not the person in question has an “illness” or if they’re just feeling bad because of problems in their life.

I think its an open question whether depression is a ‘disease’ (the source of the troubles) or whether its a symptom brought up by other problems. Its probably different for each person and situation.

But ultimately, I think its dangerous to assume that everyone wants to look at life the same way, or that everyone needs to be happy on the same ‘level’. Everyone is different, everyone has problems that are hard to explain and understand.

I would assume that most people don’t want to be labeled as being sufferers of certain conditions. Most people just want to be understood. Some people are harder to understand than others.

I think that its a very delicate issue, and its almost as dangerous to try to simplify/generalize the solutions, as it is to ignore the problem completely.

I Like Cake, I’d like to see the studies you’re referring to here, because this is news to me. Could you provide a URL?

I guess maybe I should drop in my two cents, and try to be as nice as possible about it considering the circumstances. For the most part, I agree with I Like Cake’s stance, that the right to control our own life and death should belong to everyone, but I think people who are suicidal are generally no longer in a fit state to make their own decisions. For the same reason we don’t let people drive home after surgery, with all the drugs in their system, we shouldn’t let people who are in a suicidal state go ahead and off themselves. Whether it’s specifically a ‘seratonin imbalance’ or not, there’s certainly a chemical basis to depression, because there’s a chemical basis to basically every brain activity. Because of this, I would certainly not discount the possibility of a pharmaceutical solution out of hand even IF the common solutions turn out to be on average no better than placebos.

Anyway, I’ve rambled a bit, but to sum up my position… Internal chemicals can be every bit as harmful as external chemicals, and saying that we should let people make life-and-death decisions when they’re being influenced by either is irresponsible and… well, I said I’d try to be nice.

you all say the faily can help but in a lot of cases the family is the problem, if I were ever depressed it would most likely be from my family, whom I hate.

Yes, that would be the logical extreme :)

This is one of those unsolvable conundrums. We’re simultaneously 100% responsible for everything we do but still completely subject to the caprice of chemicals.

In the end, we just have to play it by instinct, however unreliable that may be. Just do your best to help guide your friends, and hope that they can keep it together enough to think clearly despite whatever imbalances are in their system, whether introduced externally or produced internally.

In the end, though, I’m just plain selfish, and I’m not interested in giving any of my friends that choice. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s external or internal, but I’ll break their fingers before I let them pull the trigger. I’m alright with being selfish.

My link and spiel got moderated, but they will presumably be up there once someone gets to them.

If you’re going to try meds, some may work for you, some may not. But, if possible, effexor should be avoided. It can have horrible withdrawal symptoms.

As far as meds being mere placebos? Well… the same studies showed that sugary drinks had no direct contribution to kids acting crazy hyperactive, so I have to take that with a pinch of salt.

For sure, we don’t know enough about the human mind to control it, but the idea that these meds have *no* effect on brain chemistry (even if it’s not the intended one – my withdrawal symptoms from effexor were very real) I find that hard to swallow. Probably a bit of scientologist propoganda.

But regardless of your opinion on meds, talk therapy is always good – just having someone to talk stuff out with who is not otherwise connected to your life is so helpful.

Actually, I want to withdraw that comment, having read the rest of the thread properly.

Whether or not anti-depressants are a good or bad thing, I still maintain that talk therapy/counseling is a good idea for depression.

I can’t claim to always provide the answers, I just try to ask the right questions.

Consider the statement “He wasn’t acting like himself.” This statement is obviously absurd: The way someone acts is, by definition, like themselves. However, it’s unlike the personality you’ve come to associate with this person. The point being, basically the only criteria you can judge someone’s actions by are by the personality you’ve come to associate with them. If enough people believe that their personality has changed, and this change puts this person in danger, perhaps that’s the point at which they should intervene? Who can say?

The fact of the matter is, even where most facets of life can’t be divided into black and white issues, mental illness is particularly defiant of categorization. It strikes at the very heart of the personality, the essence of who someone is, and it comes from within. It’s like a cancer in the mind, where something produced within eats away and warps the growth of the person. Except it’s even more difficult to understand in physical terms: At least with cancer, we can differentiate between natural and unnatural growths. Perhaps it’s merely because our understanding of the brain is so poor, and as we learn more such conversations can be less terrifyingly imprecise. Or, perhaps, the brain simply isn’t capable of fully comprehending its own functioning, and we’ll be forever trying to erect artificial divisions between sanity and insanity to try to make sense of a difference which we know to be there but which never can be pinpointed, because its center and outer bounds all lie within us.

Sorry to meander. I find it an interesting, if sad, thing to talk about. As I said before, I believe this to be one of the most irresolvable conundrums I’ve encountered. Any thought begun on the subject will inevitably eat its own tail.