How do you deal with depression when you're out of touch with your emotions?

[Porcupine]

Being very poor indeed can make you very miserable. Being categorized as 'poor' compared to the rich or middle class is far less likely to make you miserable ... unless you crave for more money than is needed.

I was over simplifying things, indeed, when I said that perhaps when poorer people are happier than richer people it's basically because what the richer people are spending their money on isn't making them happy (and I don't think hoarding wealth is a path to happiness either).

My simplistic point was, ultimately, to elude to a deeper point.

I think that Epicurus got it right:

Epicurus distinguishes between three types of desires: natural and necessary desires, natural but non-necessary desires, and “vain and empty” desires. Examples of natural and necessary desires include the desires for food, shelter, and the like. Epicurus thinks that these desires are easy to satisfy, difficult to eliminate (they are ‘hard-wired’ into human beings naturally), and bring great pleasure when satisfied. Furthermore, they are necessary for life, and they are naturally limited: that is, if one is hungry, it only takes a limited amount of food to fill the stomach, after which the desire is satisfied. Epicurus says that one should try to fulfill these desires.

Vain desires include desires for power, wealth, fame, and the like. They are difficult to satisfy, in part because they have no natural limit. If one desires wealth or power, no matter how much one gets, it is always possible to get more, and the more one gets, the more one wants. These desires are not natural to human beings, but inculcated by society and by false beliefs about what we need; e.g., believing that having power will bring us security from others. Epicurus thinks that these desires should be eliminated.

An example of a natural but non-necessary desire is the desire for luxury food. Although food is needed for survival, one does not need a particular type of food to survive. Thus, despite his hedonism, Epicurus advocates a surprisingly ascetic way of life. Although one shouldn’t spurn extravagant foods if they happen to be available, becoming dependent on such goods ultimately leads to unhappiness. As Epicurus puts it, “If you wish to make Pythocles wealthy, don’t give him more money; rather, reduce his desires.” By eliminating the pain caused by unfulfilled desires, and the anxiety that occurs because of the fear that one’s desires will not be fulfilled in the future, the wise Epicurean attains tranquility, and thus happiness.

[Sal]

Have you checked out stoicism?

[Duty]

I've never suffered from clinical depression, but whenever I feel down I try to remember to count my blessings. I live in one of the richest countries in the world and am bathed in material luxuries (laptops, internet, double bed with cushions, central heating, microwaves, luxury food by the kilogram - I ain't going hungry, put it that way, free healthcare should I fall ill, and related, I'm not in agony through physical illness or injury, I'm not in prison so am free...etc etc etc etc etc virtually ad infinitum). The idea that I should be depressed, when 100s of millions of people on the planet are living in penury/destitution/war zones/physical agony/incarceration etc...me? Depressed? Don't be absurd.

[Porcupine]

Have you checked out stoicism?

For sure. But I prefer Epicureanism to Stoicism.

I've never suffered from clinical depression, but whenever I feel down I try to remember to count my blessings. I live in one of the richest countries in the world and am bathed in material luxuries (laptops, internet, double bed with cushions, central heating, microwaves, luxury food by the kilogram - I ain't going hungry, put it that way, free healthcare should I fall ill, and related, I'm not in agony through physical illness or injury, I'm not in prison so am free...etc etc etc etc etc virtually ad infinitum). The idea that I should be depressed, when 100s of millions of people on the planet are living in penury/destitution/war zones/physical agony/incarceration etc...me? Depressed? Don't be absurd.

Even the most privileged people can be depressed. Such is the nature of depression.

[Little lunch]

I've never suffered from clinical depression, but whenever I feel down I try to remember to count my blessings. I live in one of the richest countries in the world and am bathed in material luxuries (laptops, internet, double bed with cushions, central heating, microwaves, luxury food by the kilogram - I ain't going hungry, put it that way, free healthcare should I fall ill, and related, I'm not in agony through physical illness or injury, I'm not in prison so am free...etc etc etc etc etc virtually ad infinitum). The idea that I should be depressed, when 100s of millions of people on the planet are living in penury/destitution/war zones/physical agony/incarceration etc...me? Depressed? Don't be absurd.

Ok, that might work for you...now.
We have been dealing with depression this way for a long time.
We generally think this way about the depressed person.
'What's wrong with them, they have everything they need.'
But still, these people we know and love keep killing themselves, no matter how much we tell them how lucky they are.
But there's these little drugs in your body that make you happy.
It's the only way you can be happy.
For some people these little drugs don't come out any more.
So, quite often it's got absolutely nothing to do with the outside world.
Or how smart you are.
Or what country you're in.
It is a mental pain that is so severe that the victim ends their life to escape it.
Or it is such a lack of emotion that there's nothing left to motivate the sufferer to go on.

[Porcupine]

If this thread indirectly helps others get in touch with their own depression and relieve their own suffering somewhat then I'm glad I made it. Being related to doesn't just help oneself. Relation is a two-way process.