Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Depression

Most of bipolar disorder is depression. The average person with untreated bipolar disorder spends 70% of their life clinically depressed. Even though this story is about a manic episode, did you see his lifelong struggle with depression through the cracks in the story?

I see several clues to his depression in the story. One is that his family hasn’t heard from him in years. Another is that his son hints that his mother found his father after a suicide attempt. Do you see any others?
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5 comments:

kc said...

The self-delusion and unrelenting self-regard is what stood out to me the most, though there were some signs of depression.

I thought his family not having heard from him in years was more a product of his self-centeredness and his disdain for others. He didn't like them very much. He says his son is the only one who mattered, and that's because his son was his creative muse (the interest in him is selfish). Also, they seemed to have withdrawn from him, too, because he was so impossible to be around. He was miffed that Ernie would only have lunch with him, not realizing that that was a big deal for Ernie, given the probability that the guy would completely humiliate him at a restaurant.

8:56 PM, August 15, 2007
Ben said...

He also seemed to be running out of steam toward the end of the story. Severe depression always follows a manic episode, and he was about to fall off that cliff at the end of the story.

9:02 PM, August 15, 2007
kc said...

Cliff?

9:06 PM, August 15, 2007
Ben said...

Metaphorically speaking.

9:15 PM, August 15, 2007
Erin said...

The son also says something about how he's on medication now and so he doesn't feel like killing himself at this moment, hinting at the son's previous depression.

9:54 PM, August 15, 2007

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