Are Brits naturally depressed ?

Here is a story to illustrate the point.

Depressed Man Diagnosed as "British"

George Farthing, an ex-patriot British man living in America, was
recently diagnosed as clinically depressed, tanked up on anti-depressants and scheduled for controversial Shock Therapy when doctors realised he wasn't depressed at all - only British.

Mr Farthing, a British man whose characteristic pessimism and gloomy perspective were interpreted as serious clinical depression, was led on a nightmare journey through the American psychiatric system. Doctors described Farthing as suffering with Pervasive Negative Anticipation - a belief that everything will turn out for the worst, whether it's trains arriving
late, England's chances at winning any international sports event or even his own prospects to get ahead in life and achieve his dreams."The satisfaction Mr Farthing seemed to get from his pessimism seemed particularly pathological," reported the doctors.

"They put me on everything - Lithium, Prozac, St John's Wort," said Mr Farthing. "They even told me to sit in front of a big light for an hour a day or I'd become suicidal. I kept telling them this was all pointless and they said that it was exactly that sort of attitude that got me here in the first place."

Running out of ideas, his doctors finally resorted to a course of
"weapons grade MDMA", the only noticeable effect of which was six hours of speedy repetitions of the phrases "mustn't grumble" and "not too bad,really".

It was then that Mr Farthing was referred to a psychotherapist.
Dr Isaac Horney explored Mr Farthing's family history and couldn't
believe his ears. "His story of a childhood growing up in a gray little town where it rained every day, treeless streets of identical houses and passionately backing a football team who never won seemed to be typical depressive ideation or false memory. Mr Farthing had six months of therapy but seemed to mainly want to talk about the weather - how miserable and cold it was in winter and later how difficult and hot it was in summer. I felt he wasn't responding to therapy at all and so I recommended drastic
action - namely ECT or shock treatment".

"I was all strapped down on the table and they were about to put the rubber bit in my mouth when the psychiatric nurse picked up on my accent," said Mr Farthing. "I remember her saying 'Oh my God, I think we're making a terrible mistake'."

Nurse Alice Sheen was a big fan of British comedy giving her an
understanding of the English psyche. "Classic comedy characters like Tony Hancock, Albert Steptoe and Frank Spencer are all hopeless cases with no chance of ever doing well or escaping their circumstances," she explained to the baffled US medics. "That's funny in England and is not seen as pathological at all."

Identifying Mr Farthing as English changed his diagnosis from 'clinical depression' to 'rather quaint and charming' and he was immediately discharged from hospital, with a selection of brightly coloured leaflets and an "I love New York" T- Shirt -

Are Brits naturally depressed ?

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I was going to contribute to this but I am too depressed to do so.


Paul

Pat494 said:

Here is a story to illustrate the point.

Depressed Man Diagnosed as "British"

George Farthing, an ex-patriot British man living in America, was
recently diagnosed as clinically depressed, tanked up on anti-depressants and scheduled for controversial Shock Therapy when doctors realised he wasn't depressed at all - only British.

Mr Farthing, a British man whose characteristic pessimism and gloomy perspective were interpreted as serious clinical depression, was led on a nightmare journey through the American psychiatric system. Doctors described Farthing as suffering with Pervasive Negative Anticipation - a belief that everything will turn out for the worst, whether it's trains arriving
late, England's chances at winning any international sports event or even his own prospects to get ahead in life and achieve his dreams."The satisfaction Mr Farthing seemed to get from his pessimism seemed particularly pathological," reported the doctors.

"They put me on everything - Lithium, Prozac, St John's Wort," said Mr Farthing. "They even told me to sit in front of a big light for an hour a day or I'd become suicidal. I kept telling them this was all pointless and they said that it was exactly that sort of attitude that got me here in the first place."

Running out of ideas, his doctors finally resorted to a course of
"weapons grade MDMA", the only noticeable effect of which was six hours of speedy repetitions of the phrases "mustn't grumble" and "not too bad,really".

It was then that Mr Farthing was referred to a psychotherapist.
Dr Isaac Horney explored Mr Farthing's family history and couldn't
believe his ears. "His story of a childhood growing up in a gray little town where it rained every day, treeless streets of identical houses and passionately backing a football team who never won seemed to be typical depressive ideation or false memory. Mr Farthing had six months of therapy but seemed to mainly want to talk about the weather - how miserable and cold it was in winter and later how difficult and hot it was in summer. I felt he wasn't responding to therapy at all and so I recommended drastic
action - namely ECT or shock treatment".

"I was all strapped down on the table and they were about to put the rubber bit in my mouth when the psychiatric nurse picked up on my accent," said Mr Farthing. "I remember her saying 'Oh my God, I think we're making a terrible mistake'."

Nurse Alice Sheen was a big fan of British comedy giving her an
understanding of the English psyche. "Classic comedy characters like Tony Hancock, Albert Steptoe and Frank Spencer are all hopeless cases with no chance of ever doing well or escaping their circumstances," she explained to the baffled US medics. "That's funny in England and is not seen as pathological at all."

Identifying Mr Farthing as English changed his diagnosis from 'clinical depression' to 'rather quaint and charming' and he was immediately discharged from hospital, with a selection of brightly coloured leaflets and an "I love New York" T- Shirt -

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This reminds me of my BIL's brother. After one get together, he got up to go to the washroom and BIL blew out, heavily, and said " Isn't my brother a bloody misery!"

A good article, i am both a Brit and my partner is a shrink. We both saw the funny side of this article and now she is more understanding of my "mood" swings lol

williadb said:

A good article, i am both a Brit and my partner is a shrink. We both saw the funny side of this article and now she is more understanding of my "mood" swings lol

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That's, probably, why she loves you. You are a permanent challenge!

i am unpredictable.

This is a journey into pills, stereophonic pills. !

What should be of more concern is the fact that there is NO objective test to scientifically validate any mental state what-so-ever!

Now it gets worse, because medicine is unable to verify bio chemicals levels in a persons brain, then in fact the anti depressants given are acting as TOXINS.

Think about it, would you take anything if you were told, we don't know your bio chemical levels but these drugs,take them anyhow, will likely alter whatever they are FOREVER , but not to worry we may record how you actually react to them after the fact!

Assessing mental states is all based on the "opinion" of the assessor only, as again there are NO objective tests to verify any diagnosis of ANY mental condition.

So what is the solution Hip Hop ?

Well I think a lot of depressive states are a result of exposure to life experience that is reinforced as a negative and holds a negative charge with the psyche of the individual.

If one could get the individual to go back in spiral of their time, backwards around the spiral working back, as that is how time actually unfolds in a spiral fashion , and not just a straight line as is conventionally taught /depicted etc.. then one can get them to shift their view of focus 180 degree's and be the element of experience that created the negative experience within them in the first place, what will happen is they will empathise, and see both parts of the whole experience .

Seeing and being this part of the whole will neutralise or cancel out the negative, and enable a better existence with no negative charge held as it has been neutralised, thereby releasing the person form its hold as negative experience creating depressive mood states and enabling the person to function in a more agreeable fashion to them.

Hip Hop !

"If one could get the individual to go back in spiral of their time, backwards around the spiral working back, as that is how time actually unfolds in a spiral fashion , and not just a straight line as is conventionally taught /depicted etc.. then one can get them to shift their view of focus 180 degree's and be the element of experience that created the negative experience within them in the first place, what will happen is they will empathise, and see both parts of the whole experience "

Ok - so we just need a Delorian right?

williadb said:

Ok - so we just need a Delorian right?

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No, you just need to realise ,and rewind back to your point on that spiral, that time is 3 dimensional spiral and not a 2D straight, left to right line, or a circle as portrayed with planets rotating around each other. What you have not be taught in school , is that those planets are traveling and high speeds , possibly contracting ? or expanding? within their own black hole, which creates a vortex of which the planets spin around.

As we travel we leave a footprint of experience around the spiral we have traveled as we move through space rotating around the sun BUT also traveling 200km per second contracting or expanding. I think its expanding directionally, the journey we are on at the moment and not collapsing or contracting within our own black hole .

Hip Hop said:

What should be of more concern is the fact that there is NO objective test to scientifically validate any mental state what-so-ever!

Now it gets worse, because medicine is unable to verify bio chemicals levels in a persons brain, then in fact the anti depressants given are acting as TOXINS.

Think about it, would you take anything if you were told, we don't know your bio chemical levels but these drugs,take them anyhow, will likely alter whatever they are FOREVER , but not to worry we may record how you actually react to them after the fact!

Assessing mental states is all based on the "opinion" of the assessor only, as again there are NO objective tests to verify any diagnosis of ANY mental condition.

So what is the solution Hip Hop ?

Well I think a lot of depressive states are a result of exposure to life experience that is reinforced as a negative and holds a negative charge with the psyche of the individual.

If one could get the individual to go back in spiral of their time, backwards around the spiral working back, as that is how time actually unfolds in a spiral fashion , and not just a straight line as is conventionally taught /depicted etc.. then one can get them to shift their view of focus 180 degree's and be the element of experience that created the negative experience within them in the first place, what will happen is they will empathise, and see both parts of the whole experience .

Seeing and being this part of the whole will neutralise or cancel out the negative, and enable a better existence with no negative charge held as it has been neutralised, thereby releasing the person form its hold as negative experience creating depressive mood states and enabling the person to function in a more agreeable fashion to them.

Hip Hop !

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To get back to my BIL and his brother. I have known them both since we were twelve.

I knew their parents and we went in and out of each others houses. They are as different as chalk and cheese. "Misery got married and I knew his wife who was a fantastic woman. BIL went to Canada , came back and started a business.

How can these two be so different in outlook?

I, myself, have three kids. They are all different. I think the differences between these examples do not have a basis on childhood backgrounds.

My friends and I grew up playing on Hampstead Heath, a wonderful place for kids. We were all evacuated during the war which, I admit, was not a great experience and your folks will, probably be able to tell you about postwar UK, ration cards and general grimness. Maybe that is why so many are depressed?

When I originally read this story (it's been doing the rounds), I assumed it was just a satire on British versus American attitudes.

I think the classic British "attitude" is not so much pessimistic, as "stoic", combined with reluctance to make a fuss or complain (which makes us pushovers when those in charge of us want to push us around).

However, it is not of course unique to the British, and can be found, for example, in the Germanic and Nordic countries, perhaps more so than in the UK.

Also, the Steptoe/Hancock/Garnett style of comedy is not unique. Think back to Laurel and Hardy. Apart from the slapstick, there was... "that's another fine mess you've gotten me into", i.e. you always knew it was going to turn out wrong, and Olly just had to resign himself to it. Stan never looked all that cheerful either; mind you, he was a Brit.

yes deffinatly, have you seen the weather? and the general amount of scum in our society

Splitlink said:

To get back to my BIL and his brother. I have known them both since we were twelve.

I knew their parents and we went in and out of each others houses. They are as different as chalk and cheese. "Misery got married and I knew his wife who was a fantastic woman. BIL went to Canada , came back and started a business.

How can these two be so different in outlook?

I, myself, have three kids. They are all different. I think the differences between these examples do not have a basis on childhood backgrounds.

My friends and I grew up playing on Hampstead Heath, a wonderful place for kids. We were all evacuated during the war which, I admit, was not a great experience and your folks will, probably be able to tell you about postwar UK, ration cards and general grimness. Maybe that is why so many are depressed?

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Hello Splitlink, it can be perplexing trying to rationalise life experiences of others when we glance at the life pictures of others and how they lived it at the time.

I feel that although similar surroundings and environments may be experienced by different people , what they, being completely unique individuals, internalise of their own exposure and experience within that environment ,may result in completely different feelings ,experiences and memories formed and felt from it.

Which is why, we sometimes think , we both had the same upbringing , but he or she turned out different , how come ? Well, that's where I feel we should focus at that point and ask each individual how they as individuals felt about things.

Whilst what may be noisy fun for one ,could be annoying to the other, they though might suppress their own needs in order to ensure the noisy fun lover remained in a state of apparent happiness, if only for that brief time.

Now ditto that with every single moment they both are exposed to, and there may well be thousands of these ok and no so ok experiences building up. And often with the rush of modern day life and living, people perhaps do not spend as much time stopping to consider others ,perhaps as much as they should, this might be because we rely on assumption that everything is ok, unless someone screams "this is not ok ! "

Again often many will not want to scream because they want to really have a peaceful time and I think they hope or rely on others to take a greater interest in them, to the point which their friends will ask them , "hey, you seem a little off, everything ok, what would you like to do, how are you feeling with this ?" To those who feel neglect, to them, this would feel like they are being considered by others who would be "showing" care in their actions and questions. They would likely feel more valued within themselves as a person because of this consideration and it offers the opportunity for new or alternate experiences to be shared which both will find enjoyable as a positive charged memory experience in the making.

If we consider others we are likely to break the cycle of negative charge experiences ,which after many of these experiences felt, may lead to a depressive mind state, as the negativity levels are full to the brim so much so, that no matter where a person looks, negative thoughts quickly arrive on the scene again, so much so, that even looking ahead, they know what they will likely encounter again, another negative experience .. so they already live the future as if its result is already known, a future of negative, or the fear of negative...

Of course, and again because of the uniqueness of all individuals, and all the millions of experiences we encounter, it can be difficult to know how someone actually feels unless we talk with them about it. So we have not even established if they feel like they are under pressure to perform, from parents, friends, peers, do they feel jealous, insecure, afraid of failing, have they been victimised in any way, by whom ? any one of these situations may hold to key to identifying the negative charge(s) in a persons life.

Amongst good friends we often self counsel, sharing our thoughts and problems and swapping solutions, or getting things off our chests can help. Within family it sometimes is even more difficult to know people, because of the family peer pressure comparisons and expectancies communicated ,knowingly or not, implied or demanded of others within the family unit , all of which may contribute to some people feeling not good enough, or undervaluing their own felt sense of self worth. People can be complex but often this is a result of simple values being neglected or dispensed with or bumped down the priority list.

Modern living, does not help with time constraints imposed on most family units unfortunately , as all are rushing about to work, juggling jobs, and although some families may be as a unit in surviving in actuality, in reality ,they are still fragmented from relating to and within themselves as a family unit. Which is sad.

The United Nations decalaration with The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, recognises the value of the family unit and promotes this intent across all nations, however, it is not even present in our schools today, so what hope for our children in heeding to its principles in future?

I am active in encouraging this document to have more prominence,creating awareness, so our children can begin to learn from an early age regarding basic principles such as Art. 1

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Imaging our 6 year olds having 10/12 years of education on these principles ,what world will it be then for the adults ? I think it will help lower depression rates, as people become aware of equal status amongst all, and are not terrified by that fact,resulting in less felt need for others to want to control others, because of their own sense of "grandeur of status" has been diminished and they may find peace and comfort within and of themselves, more quickly and easily, which will facilitate forming more harmonious relationships with all who surround them.

I'm not sure if we haven't all lost our way a little with asking others as much as we should. I think this is not helped in the way that we as communities and societies, nations even , are actively encouraged to "Live the dream, in pursuit of happiness- all at very reasonable rates of interest "

All the best,

Hip Hop

yes
the english are generally miserable *****

if you want to scare an english person don't try and mug them, threaten them etc
just smile at them as you walk past, say hello
or if you feel really reckless, start a conversation on the tube
they will **** themselves

How Depressed Is Your Country? - Forbes.com

Apparently the US is the MOST depressed....

megamuel said:

How Depressed Is Your Country? - Forbes.com

Apparently the US is the MOST depressed....

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The U.S. tops the list, with 9.6% of the population experiencing bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder or chronic minor depression over the course of a year

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of course it is

the psych doctors all get comission and "gifts" from the pharma companies to diagnose people, who get the prozac and whatever.

the worst is "ADHD", an excuse to feed speed to kids.

Human beings are not logical and rational, although we try.

Why is it that rich families generally have few children and poor families have many children. Darwin's theory proposes just the opposite.

To maximise success of evolution one would think that a positive attitude would win out, so why not in the UK too ? Perhaps we are being self indulgent and are really happyist wallowing in our supposed misery ?

time is 3 dimensional spiral and not a 2D straight, left to right line, or a circle as portrayed with planets rotating around each other

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In what way is time three dimensional ? What are the three parameters that make this up ?


Paul

Pat494 said:

Why is it that rich families generally have few children and poor families have many children. Darwin's theory proposes just the opposite.

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Child benefit, tax credits, free feckin house, etc etc etc.........


dd

Hip Hop said:

No, you just need to realise ,and rewind back to your point on that spiral, that time is 3 dimensional spiral and not a 2D straight, left to right line, or a circle as portrayed with planets rotating around each other. What you have not be taught in school , is that those planets are traveling and high speeds , possibly contracting ? or expanding? within their own black hole, which creates a vortex of which the planets spin around.

Click to expand...

are you him from timecube.com?

Time Cube