Don't let life stress u out!! I wish i could explain it better but I can't. I see people stressing out around me all the time about money problems, image problems and all that and it always just seemed strange to me. I've always been able to be relatively stress-free regardless of what's going on with me. I guess the way i look at problems is basically.. ok things are bad now.. what can I do to fix this? Is this permanent? Think positive and take the steps u need to take to improve your situation.
I'm not talking about Eric right now, I'm just gonna say something more like in general. For you, crittaz, and everybody else out there who might one day find themselves in a position where someone is complaining about a depression.
That's the worst advice you can give. "Think positive". The problem with depressions is that your body produces intoxicants that pour into your blood stream, affecting the processes in your mind, leading you right into negative thought cycles and keeping you there. Most depressions are irrational - like anxiety, panic or phobias. If a family member dies, that's one thing, but does anyone have mental health statistical numbers in their hand? I don't right now, but am I taking it way too far saying one in four people are depressed in the states? Either way, when I did see them I actually said out loud, "wow". Since the world's population just keeps growing I can't imagine it's a bunch of people dying, so I am making the assumption that most depressions are irrational.
The problem with irrational emotions is that regardless of your awareness of the irrationality, the feeling still is very real. To a person suffering from depressions or anxiety or indecisiveness or what have you, condescendingly throwing out a "just think positively" out there does more harm than good. Really. If it were that simple, no one would suffer from depressions.
The idea is to do what makes the person realize for him or herself what their actual problems are thinking it was their idea. Some times, that happens by dumb luck. Some times, people do not see straight and need guidance. Patronizing achieves the opposite as it can spawn a multiple of negative associations for the receiver. Feeling inferior, feeling rage based on an assumption that you feel superior, failure to understand, confusion. Furthermore, it helps nothing, because like I said, if that's all everybody who's depressed needs to hear, the problem would be non-existent.
By the way, it's not like I'm saying you (crittaz) implied anything and I know you just spoke your mind from your point of view. These are just some thoughts I thought was proper to air here.