would have been more realistic if he had any reason at all to be depressed. yeah i know it's a chemical thing, i have it, and more.. i can usually find at least ONE thing to sympathize with when it comes to someone being depressed and having fewer problems than myself but he was just a normal kid seriously. it was a waste of the hospital's time to deal with this kid. he was whiny and i couldn't stop saying "pansy" everytime he came on screen.
shareagreed. boo hoo, he is in a school for some of the smartest kids and he might just kill himself. what a rough life. he was just there to see that people have it worse than him and they could tell him how awesome he is. guy is weak
sharethese guys here are precisely the reason why so many youngsters are maladjusted and/or depressed.
did you not see him throw up all the time? well i guess that's him being "weak" huh. having vivid dreams of committing suicide while all he can see are his parents blaming him? dang it. pansy. maybe he should suck up some of that puke and grow a pair eh?
or maybe only those with an A+ sob story are qualified to be depressed. let's see now... hey! maybe NONE of us are depressed! we just need a wake up call from these know-it-alls; therapy is nothing more than a scam for weaklings!
you bullies are truly the weakest. i hope you see a therapist yourself soon, before you ruin other lives.
Yea. That is kind of what we are saying, that he is weak.
shareClearly you think your life is harder than his since you show no sympathy for him and seem to be so offended by his condition. People who boast that anyone else has nothing to be upset about are usually either idiots, or guilty of self pity themselves. So who is the pansy? Because regardless of which of these reasons is yours, lack of empathy makes a person TRULY pathetic.
shareI think that the movie was trying to address the very topic you are raising. That depression doesn't have to arise from trauma or "good reasons". And, that people fear being judged and that holds them back from seeking help and treatment.
Craig had a Father who was absent a lot and was choosing work as a priority. Look at how Craig was lapping up the attention and social lessons that Bobby was giving him in the scene where they played basketball. Those are the things a Father can impart to a son, but it seems the Father was too busy and was pressuring the son without knowing his son's dreams, needs or concerns.
The son's going to a good school only increased the pressure and expectations upon him as he felt that he couldn't measure up. The movie showed how he could feel but not express it to anyone making him feel friendless, anxious and isolated.
One of the points of the movie was that someone does not have to be a sex abuse survivor or have a dramatic story to be worthy of compassion for suffering depression. Depression is and it hurts in itself.
Agreed, cloudshoveller.
I think many have, unfortunately, completely missed the point of this film.
Remember, always be yourself.
Unless you suck.
-- Joss Whedon
I too agree with cloudshoveller and elizabethgiesen. The fact that some people think people can't be depressed just because they've never had anything bad happen to them just makes the stigma surrounding depression worse. It's like you're saying they don't have justification for what they're feeling, thus they can't possibly be experiencing depression. That kind of thinking is dangerous because you're not acknowledging that this can affect anyone at anytime.
I only do it with superheroes.
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I see your point, as well as the the OP. It can be easy to become depressed under immense pressure and stress, but that's just it. Craig is depressed, he does not have clinical depression. He is stressed and overwhelmed which created depression and anxiety--but he is NOT mentally ill. The lesson of the movie is just that, that Craig realizes how lucky, healthy and normal he really is. But at the same time, his character throughout most of the film can be very annoying for someone who is or is very close to someone mentally ill.
shareI disagree. My mother was very mentally ill, and seeing him in a mental hospital does not bother me in the least. But that is because I have seen multiple friends put in mental hospitals on suicide watch. It's a preventative feature to ensure that the patient isn't a threat to himself. They never tried to claim that Craig was mentally ill. They simply put him under observance to ensure that he would not do anything to himself. So it really shouldn't be claimed that he isn't "ill" enough to be treated. Everyone should be given that opportunity if they want it.
shareDepression is a mental illness, so yes he had mental health problems- depression and anxiety.
His depression was bad enough that he got to the point of standing on a bridge contemplating killing himself; his anxiety was so bad that he couldn't eat without puking; and he had no one to turn to hence he rang the Samaritans!
There are degrees of mental illness, as there are of physical. But he had some degree of mental illness.
I don't think it is that you can't be depressed, but rather that you don't "deserve" to be depressed. Which is a very common position of course.
Sure, it may potentially affect anyone, but that doesn't mean we should necessarily be cool with those who have it. Some people are just harsh and not tolerant of weakness.
Fear of failure, enormous psychological stress, and a sense of social isolation or alienation have been causing mental breakdowns ever the late Industrial Age. Don't forget that fin-de-siecle Vienna had one of the highest rates of suicide and "neurasthenia" in the world. Freud developed his theories about hysteria there. Who do you think his patients were? They were intelligent, upper-middle-class, "coddled" patients just like Craig.
Make no mistake about it. Both genes and environment were needed to push Craig to the brink of suicide.
Really well said, cloudshoveller.
shareWow jackstraw20, you nearly made me blush :D Sometimes I am saddened by how misunderstood mental illness remains. Your comment is therefore heart-grabbingly encouraging and I thank you for it.
shareIt was deserved, you clearly have a very good understanding of depression and I applaud anyone willing to try to enlighten those who don't. Personally I have a hard time blaming people for their ignorance because the stigma(s) attached to depression and other mental illnesses are so widespread and accepted, and anyone who hasn't gone through it themselves or had someone close to them who has probably has little reason to look into the causes.
I think the feeling of not "deserving" to be depressed is one of the biggest problems, especially amongst young people, and I thought this movie would shed some light on that. Unfortunatley the blissfully ignorant will remain that way despite having seen a pretty accurate representation of that exact situation.
I certainly hope that people are not turning to IMDB for psychological help, but based on this thread and others I'd say there's a good chance that there are some, and a person who really feels ashamed of their depression could genuinely feel emboldened to seek real help from reading a post like yours (and others in this thread, like Screen Queen and Hughie the Graeme).
"not deserving" is an opinion, not a factual matter. How exactly do you feel that it is wrong when it is a personal opinion? Some people are just harsh and not tolerant of weakness.
shareCompletely agree. As someone who suffered from depression for most of my teen years, I had a number of people attempt to "guilt me out of" my depression. I had a great family, I made good grades at school, I was popular, I had everything I could have ever wanted, but I still hated my life. Which unfortunately for me spiraled into a pretty bad life in my late teens/early 20s.
I think there are 2 epidemics we are suffering from in this country when it comes to depression. One is that people have a few bad days, or maybe some sadness derived from an actual "reason"(i.e. death of someone you love, etc.) and someone automatically puts a label on it. And those who genuinely suffer without a "reason" and are wrote off as cowards.
Majority of the time TRUE Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, so it really doesn't matter what is going on in your life, if you can't get your brain synced up, you won't be able to find your happy...
But that's just MY take on it.
~*Ash*~
Men speak conveniently of love when it serves their purpose.share
I guess it's hard to convey unless you go through it yourself. I didn't have a single "thing" happen to me- had a "normal" childhood, no parental issues, no nothing. Yet I have severe clinical depression. It IS chemical. My breakdowns come out of nowhere, they aren't caused by anything happening...
shareEarlier this week, a girl in the same grade as my son (11th) committed suicide. My son wasn't especially close to her, but they had had some classes together and were on friendly terms. The high school is a private high school that attracts some of the wealthiest, most privileged kids in the city. One of the parents is famous worldwide. The school's students, faculty and staff are incredibly nurturing. To give you an idea of how supportive it is - my son, who transferred there in the 5th grade after attending another private school for the gifted, has never been bullied a day in his life. Not even verbally. Despite a long commute every morning, and a demanding curriculum, he wouldn't dream of missing a day of school.
I have no idea what set the girl off, and neither does my son, but he noticed that she started dressing with less care a few months ago. Not shabbily, but much less stylishly than she used to. Otherwise, no one in school seems to have noticed anything amiss. For all these reasons, she reminds me very much of Craig.
I'm sure if she had opened up to you, you would have called her whiny as well. If only she had done what Craig did and sought psychiatric help in a secure setting. Perhaps she'd still be alive today.
.
Trust me, I grew up in a relatively normal environment and I have had major depression.
It's Kind of a Funny Story - 9/10
Good Hair - 6/10
OT
I don't have depression personally, but from what I understand, and what I see, it has little to do with external factors. Hence why it is called a disease and not people reacting to a bad situation. People with this disease should seek immediate treatment (through meds and/or talking therapy) and not to continually tell themselves that things will turn around. As humans, no matter how much we accomplish or achieve, we'll always want more. It's just a matter of how much you're ultimately able to accept that. This movie seemed to say that accepting that things will always be challenging was the way to improve rather than continuous help and improvement.
shareDon't bit*h about my poor english.
I didn't read any of the other replies in this thread, but to the girl (I'm guessing you're a girl) that startet this thing.. You do not have to have a huge reason for depression to originate. I'm pretty depressed, and my life is kinda ok. Good job, girlfriend, enough monny, great family. But.. I dosen't take more than a hug, or a sad look etc. on any kind of tv-show (Just an example.. could be anything involving feelings) and my eyes start to bleed.
Depression is complicated. Thats all I'm sayin'. I don't remember a day since I past the age of 11 that I haven't shed tears. Got picked on at school and all, but my problems run deeper. Even tho, as I said, I don't have any big worries right now.
Anyway... GREAT movie. Loved it.
Greetings from Norway =)
Eh, I guess I can emphasize with him. There is no reason for me to be depressed. Great family, smart, whatever. I've been suicidal for.... .... 10 years I guess. But, like... not actively suicidal. I don't know if this is a thing or not. Actively suicidal vs passively suicidal, is how I think of it. I'm not going to kill myself, because it's far too much of a commitment and it's rude. However, if I died in a car crash tomorrow, or in my sleep tonight, that would ... awesome....
Insist on yourself. Never imitate.
The OP sounds like he just didn't get it...
His problems aren't that bad but that's the point. EVERYONE gets depressed but once we're able to confront our problems that are causing depression we realize we want to live. Maybe not everyone has had suicidal thoughts, but we've all been depressed to the point we wish we could just disappear or experience self-loathing where we hate ourselves. Some people who watch this movie may feel sorry for the kid, but really you're just meant to understand him. Understand him because depression is something we all face in life. It has no social class, it has no race, age or gender restrictions, it is a universal feeling that we all experience.
people insist that theres some link between "getting" depression, and liking this film - like if you didnt like it, you mustnt have understood it or the subject of depression. The topic aside, i found it a tedious, rambling story with annoying characters.
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