The Tenth Circle


Articles Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine Other Authors Contact Us! Letter to the Editor Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine	The Tenth Circle Dante Alighieri Ever had the worst day of your life? Of course you have -- everyone has. You know... that day where Murphy's Law is in full swing, and every wrong, painful, fucked-up thing that could happen does. It's excruciating, and the worst part is that there is absolutely nothing you can do; you just have to ride it out. After a while, you're sure that you've hit the lowest possible low, the ninth circle of hell...but then a gate opens beneath you, and you plunge even lower. And here you thought there were only nine circles... Try feeling like every day is the worst day of your life, that everything's gone to shit, and you can discern no light at the end of the tunnel. Depression will take anyone, regardless of age and gender, but there are some who are forced to live with that hopelessness for weeks, months, even years on end. Those of us fortunate enough to escape this affliction should be trying desperately to help others escape it, too. Yet we don't. We are cruel to those most in need of our help. Why? If everyone goes through it and anyone can fall victim to it, why are we so unsympathetic towards those who are depressed? Oh sure, we can be the shoulder to cry on for a friend who just got dumped, but that doesn't stop us from making snide comments about the "cutter" in the corner who's wearing long sleeves again… and we all know what that means. Maybe I'm naive, but I was under the impression that being self-righteous and judgmental was wrong. It seems, however, that these qualities are completely accepted. We place a stigma on depression. In my years at Terra Nova, I have heard far too many people speak of suicide attempts as "cop-outs," of cutting being done by "freaks," and of "people who just act that way to get attention." It's enough to make you scream, "Get off your fucking pedestal!" Who the hell are we to judge why people act the way they do? Who the hell are we to cheapen someone's emotions by accusing them of trying to get attention or looking for an easy way out? Would we act this way toward someone with a broken leg? No! We'd offer help. Key word: help. People who are depressed need help, and as long as there's a cloud of disdain around them, it's damn near impossible to get it. Once you fall into depression's dark abyss, it is a vicious cycle; you feel bad and are ostracized for the depression, which makes you feel worse, causing you to act out more, leading to more contempt, on and on. Anyone who has ever been down that path can tell you just how slippery the slope is. People who suffer from depression need support, not contempt; nobody suffers from depression because it's just so much fun. People don’t just wake up one day and say, "Wow, I hate the world, my life and myself." Sometimes chemicals in the brain are out of whack and need to be corrected. But God forbid anyone be on medication! What a heinous Catch-22: don’t take your meds and feel like shit, or take your meds and be forever branded "that freak on Prozac." What's so shameful about doing something that makes it possible to get through another day? Of course, biochemicals aren’t the only cause of the parasitic beast. Much of it has to do with environment. Usually, if someone feels like the world is against them and life's not worth living, it's because their life sucks at the moment, and they've run out of ways to deal with it. The last thing they need is for their peers to add to it by giving them shit. Do you think they asked for things to fall apart? A lot of people suffering from depression have incredibly difficult lives, and they are just trying to survive, and the worst part is that they feel alone. Mostly, they suffer in silence—not because they're stoic and aloof or surly and antisocial, but because to come forward and say, "I can’t help that I feel bad all the time! I can't control this! Someone, help me!" would be to open themselves to contempt and ridicule. Once you've withdrawn from others, you find ways to assuage the pain on your own. Drinking, smoking, self-mutilation. . .they're not done for attention, nor because these people are being rebellious and saying, "Fuck you, world!" There are three main reasons depressed people engage in these risky behaviors, reasons often overlooked by judgmental morons. First, the plea for help: they can't bring themselves to ask for it, but some part of their brain sees that if they fuck themselves up badly enough, someone will notice and make things better. Second, taking back the power: everything else is out of control, but they still have control over this bottle, this blunt, this blade. Third, the punishment: they genuinely feel that they deserve the self-inflicted pain. No matter the reason for the behavior, judging these people helps no one. We have no right to hurt people with our stares and unkind comments. If you've ever felt like shit (which we all have), you know that the last thing you need is to see scorn and disgust painted on the faces of everyone around you. So why do we insist on ostracizing those who need us most? What everyone needs is a goddamn hug or at least a friendly face. Let's drop this bullshit and help each other out; life's hard enough as it is.	Archive Back Issues Why? Cartoons Poetry Random Rants Disclaimers Losers and Kudos of the Week Letters to the Editor Editor's Notes Picture of the Week
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Dante Alighieri

Ever had the worst day of your life? Of course you have -- everyone has. You know... that day where Murphy's Law is in full swing, and every wrong, painful, fucked-up thing that could happen does. It's excruciating, and the worst part is that there is absolutely nothing you can do; you just have to ride it out. After a while, you're sure that you've hit the lowest possible low, the ninth circle of hell...but then a gate opens beneath you, and you plunge even lower. And here you thought there were only nine circles...

Try feeling like every day is the worst day of your life, that everything's gone to shit, and you can discern no light at the end of the tunnel. Depression will take anyone, regardless of age and gender, but there are some who are forced to live with that hopelessness for weeks, months, even years on end. Those of us fortunate enough to escape this affliction should be trying desperately to help others escape it, too. Yet we don't. We are cruel to those most in need of our help.

Why? If everyone goes through it and anyone can fall victim to it, why are we so unsympathetic towards those who are depressed? Oh sure, we can be the shoulder to cry on for a friend who just got dumped, but that doesn't stop us from making snide comments about the "cutter" in the corner who's wearing long sleeves again… and we all know what that means. Maybe I'm naive, but I was under the impression that being self-righteous and judgmental was wrong. It seems, however, that these qualities are completely accepted. We place a stigma on depression.

In my years at Terra Nova, I have heard far too many people speak of suicide attempts as "cop-outs," of cutting being done by "freaks," and of "people who just act that way to get attention." It's enough to make you scream, "Get off your fucking pedestal!" Salt is not the only thing that stings Who the hell are we to judge why people act the way they do? Who the hell are we to cheapen someone's emotions by accusing them of trying to get attention or looking for an easy way out?

Would we act this way toward someone with a broken leg? No! We'd offer help. Key word: help. People who are depressed need help, and as long as there's a cloud of disdain around them, it's damn near impossible to get it. Once you fall into depression's dark abyss, it is a vicious cycle; you feel bad and are ostracized for the depression, which makes you feel worse, causing you to act out more, leading to more contempt, on and on. Anyone who has ever been down that path can tell you just how slippery the slope is. People who suffer from depression need support, not contempt; nobody suffers from depression because it's just so much fun.

People don’t just wake up one day and say, "Wow, I hate the world, my life and myself." Sometimes chemicals in the brain are out of whack and need to be corrected. But God forbid anyone be on medication! What a heinous Catch-22: don’t take your meds and feel like shit, or take your meds and be forever branded "that freak on Prozac." What's so shameful about doing something that makes it possible to get through another day?

Of course, biochemicals aren’t the only cause of the parasitic beast. Much of it has to do with environment. Usually, if someone feels like the world is against them and life's not worth living, it's because their life sucks at the moment, and they've run out of ways to deal with it. The last thing they need is for their peers to add to it by giving them shit. Do you think they asked for things to fall apart? A lot of people suffering from depression have incredibly difficult lives, and they are just trying to survive, and the worst part is that they feel alone. Mostly, they suffer in silence—not because they're stoic and aloof or surly and antisocial, but because to come forward and say, "I can’t help that I feel bad all the time! I can't control this! Someone, help me!" would be to open themselves to contempt and ridicule.

Once you've withdrawn from others, you find ways to assuage the pain on your own. Drinking, smoking, self-mutilation. . .they're not done for attention, nor because these people are being rebellious and saying, "Fuck you, world!" There are three main reasons depressed people engage in these risky behaviors, reasons often overlooked by judgmental morons. First, the plea for help: they can't bring themselves to ask for it, but some part of their brain sees that if they fuck themselves up badly enough, someone will notice and make things better. Second, taking back the power: everything else is out of control, but they still have control over this bottle, this blunt, this blade. Third, the punishment: they genuinely feel that they deserve the self-inflicted pain. No matter the reason for the behavior, judging these people helps no one.

We have no right to hurt people with our stares and unkind comments. If you've ever felt like shit (which we all have), you know that the last thing you need is to see scorn and disgust painted on the faces of everyone around you. So why do we insist on ostracizing those who need us most? What everyone needs is a goddamn hug or at least a friendly face. Let's drop this bullshit and help each other out; life's hard enough as it is.