Someone Says “Depression Is A Choice”, And Andy Richter’s Response Is Brilliant
Ligitas Nefas BoredPanda staff
Earlier this year we lost several beloved figures to suicide such as Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, and Avicii to name a few, re-starting a worldwide conversation on mental illness. However, despite the far from new dialogue surrounding depression many people still seem woefully uninformed on how it works and how it is treated. One of the most common uneducated ideas about depression is that it is something that can be willed away if you just try hard enough, and thanks to the internet those who have actually struggled with the disease have a platform to dispell this myth.
Comedian Andy Richter might be known for his hilarious one-liners on Conan O’Brien’s show, but behind the scenes, the entertainer struggles with depression
Image credits: Andy Richter
One Twitter user tweeted out a common misconception about the illness which set off the comic
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And prompted him to share personal details from his battle with depression
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Image credits: AndyRichter
Others who have struggled with their mental health applauded his explanation
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And some even added their own explanations
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What do you think ?
It's nice when celebrities who are afflicted speak out and add words to the dialogue that the rest of us who suffer haven't yet considered. And it's so spot one when he says that those who consider depression a choice are merely trying to sweep it under the rug. It's a clear sign that they lack the wisdom and empathy necessary to be decent human beings. Best to avoid those with such toxic mindsets.
Very well put, J. Thank you.
Sadly, it comes from years of experience dealing with the very same people in my own family.
Thanks J for saying this "speak out and add words to the dialogue." My parents and friends and psychiatrist all say I "wallow" too much on BPD and depression, when I'm only trying to develop self-awareness and understanding. Thanks for that.
BPD is tough, treatable and tough to treat. Keep working your DBT skills. They can be hard but when one "clicks" it's an awesome feeling and makes life a little less tough.
Self-awareness is key to a successful recovery, as far as I understand things. Know thyself and share the fruits of your insight. :-)
The problem is too many people thinking that their own thoughts and beliefs are better than fact, better than scientific studies, and above taking the time to educate themselves. They think real knowledge and facts are beneath their “brilliant” minds and bullshit theories. Reminds of Kanye West saying slavery was a choice. Education is a beautiful thing my fellow Americans. Anyone who says otherwise or that it’s cool to be undereducated (Ehem, trump) is just trying to keep u down and powerless.
Totally agree with you (though not American!). I know someone proud to be ignorant - won't look things up and educate herself. She's a flipping idiot. Told me how I should handle my depression because she was depressed for six months after a break-up and so now is an 'expert'. Ignorance can be a choice.
I never had respect for Kanye, and I developed even less respect for him after he came out as a proud 'non-reader' because, and I quote, 'books be so wordy and shit...' I have no respect for people who willfully choose to remain ignorant.
@ J Kanye should be f@&ing ashamed to call himself a proud non reader. Didn’t know that. During slavery times in the US it was illegal for slaves to learn how to read, & illegal to teach them. They would get whipped or worse if caught with books....Why because knowledge is power, always has been. If Malcolm X were alive today he would probably spit at the name of a Kanye West.
A mental illness isn't a choice anyone would want to make. But being ignorant, rude and acting like an asshole is a choice.
@ Anthony (Asshole) Talak - Yes vegan as a choice, I've made that choice and I can tell you that. But let me ask you this: when did you choose to be straight? Because as a queer person, I sure as hell wouldn't 'choose' getting yelled at, beaten up, or threatened with rape just to be 'special.'
@ Lisa Dee - I wasn't saying that people 'choose' to be gay or straight or anything else. It's a rhetorical question aimed at people who think that you can 'choose' to be gay. I wasn't trying to offend straight people. Also, I (and many other LGBT folk) use the term queer simply to mean 'not straight'. Yes, it has been used as a slur in the past, but we have reclaimed it and are proud to call ourselves that.
Oh Sage Jay....... I didn't choose to be straight. That's the way it just sort of happened for me, as it did for you to be 'queer' (BTW I don't like that term... it also means weird. I don't teach that word to my kids). I'm so very sorry you got so abused just for being your real self. I mean, this is 2018, REALLY? I am very Christian, and mostly conservative I guess. I am teaching my kids that some boys like boys and some girls like girls and some like both. It's all ok, cuz God doesn't make junk. What's most important is to live your life truly, how you feel inside and how you wish to look outside. I hope I'm doing right, but I think I am.
Oh Sage Jay and Lisa Dee, I just love you both.
I think (as Lady Gaga said) some ignorant, rude assholes ARE born that way.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
People choose to be gay or vegan... so yeah there are people out there that would make it.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
qed.
Depression and Anxiety can hit anyone, anywhere, at any time. For multiple reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. A chemical imbalance in the brain, not a "choice". Those who have never experienced the extremes of this illness have no right to judge and give half-assed "advice". Leave it to the Professionals who know what they are talking about.
Hear Hear!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I can't reply directly to your comment below - but youre only partly right. There are many different kinds of depression and many different causes. There are some very serious causes that are unrelated to 'choice' - such as clinical and manic depression (which is what you are referring to). There is also 'situational' depression and atypical depression which relate to the things you do and the world around you - things that you can control and change ... the first two are caused by a chemical imbalance (which is out of your control) the latter two cause a similar chemical imbalance BUT through things you can change and control. Your brain is something you can train and adjust the thoughts - hence therapists are often used...medication can be used to help with the chemical imbalance but they act as blockers ... it's not as straightforward as "people choose to be depressed" OR "people don't choose to be depressed" -- it depends on their kind of depression.
They're part of life. Trying to live like they don't exist, it's simply no sense.
I like how Andy used the expression 'emotional limp' to describe his condition. It goes a long way toward putting a more tangible spin on the disorder.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
But for some they are told the depression is caused by excessive drinking but then choose to get drunk...some are already depressed with 2 kids but then choose to have another 2 and end up more depressed... some are depressed because they don't have much money, so they choose to quit there job and stay home and get more depressed because they end up with no money. There are cases where people 'choose' a path. There are cases where people are offered help but they want a quick fix or they want you to give them money to solve their problems. There are plenty of people who have mild depression caused by their actions and their surrounds and they 'could' change things if they wanted to - these people have a choice. But then there are people where stuff happened and it's out of their control. There are some who have chemical imbalance caused by medical reasons. These people don't have a choice.
Unfortunately, you're mistaking the symptoms for the cause, so to speak. It's now being shown that depression is a result of structural defects in the brain. In areas like the amygdala and hippocampus , the brain is smaller in people with depression, which literally means that their brains don't function the same as yours. Your comment is indicative of the same kind of magical thinking that suggests our thoughts shape reality, when the fact of the matter is that depression is the result of a biological organ in the human body not functioning correctly. Please do the world a favor and educate yourself on the matter before you speak.
Paul, causes of depression aren't as cut and dried as you describe. My causes seem to feed into each other, they have a habitual component and a situational and chemical component. For example, I've been socially awkward since my 30s, because my treatment wasn't appropriate. That caused me to react uncontrollably and my work and reputation have suffered. I have not flourished and that makes me feel more hopeless. Untreated depression and BPD are rampant on both sides of the family so I developed dysfunctional coping habits that at middle-age are difficult to change. Anemia takes away my energy, etc, TMI, right? All the symptoms feed the cause like an endless circle. Unfortunately, your comments sound quite judgmental.
It's nice when celebrities who are afflicted speak out and add words to the dialogue that the rest of us who suffer haven't yet considered. And it's so spot one when he says that those who consider depression a choice are merely trying to sweep it under the rug. It's a clear sign that they lack the wisdom and empathy necessary to be decent human beings. Best to avoid those with such toxic mindsets.
Very well put, J. Thank you.
Sadly, it comes from years of experience dealing with the very same people in my own family.
Thanks J for saying this "speak out and add words to the dialogue." My parents and friends and psychiatrist all say I "wallow" too much on BPD and depression, when I'm only trying to develop self-awareness and understanding. Thanks for that.
BPD is tough, treatable and tough to treat. Keep working your DBT skills. They can be hard but when one "clicks" it's an awesome feeling and makes life a little less tough.
Self-awareness is key to a successful recovery, as far as I understand things. Know thyself and share the fruits of your insight. :-)
The problem is too many people thinking that their own thoughts and beliefs are better than fact, better than scientific studies, and above taking the time to educate themselves. They think real knowledge and facts are beneath their “brilliant” minds and bullshit theories. Reminds of Kanye West saying slavery was a choice. Education is a beautiful thing my fellow Americans. Anyone who says otherwise or that it’s cool to be undereducated (Ehem, trump) is just trying to keep u down and powerless.
Totally agree with you (though not American!). I know someone proud to be ignorant - won't look things up and educate herself. She's a flipping idiot. Told me how I should handle my depression because she was depressed for six months after a break-up and so now is an 'expert'. Ignorance can be a choice.
I never had respect for Kanye, and I developed even less respect for him after he came out as a proud 'non-reader' because, and I quote, 'books be so wordy and shit...' I have no respect for people who willfully choose to remain ignorant.
@ J Kanye should be f@&ing ashamed to call himself a proud non reader. Didn’t know that. During slavery times in the US it was illegal for slaves to learn how to read, & illegal to teach them. They would get whipped or worse if caught with books....Why because knowledge is power, always has been. If Malcolm X were alive today he would probably spit at the name of a Kanye West.
A mental illness isn't a choice anyone would want to make. But being ignorant, rude and acting like an asshole is a choice.
@ Anthony (Asshole) Talak - Yes vegan as a choice, I've made that choice and I can tell you that. But let me ask you this: when did you choose to be straight? Because as a queer person, I sure as hell wouldn't 'choose' getting yelled at, beaten up, or threatened with rape just to be 'special.'
@ Lisa Dee - I wasn't saying that people 'choose' to be gay or straight or anything else. It's a rhetorical question aimed at people who think that you can 'choose' to be gay. I wasn't trying to offend straight people. Also, I (and many other LGBT folk) use the term queer simply to mean 'not straight'. Yes, it has been used as a slur in the past, but we have reclaimed it and are proud to call ourselves that.
Oh Sage Jay....... I didn't choose to be straight. That's the way it just sort of happened for me, as it did for you to be 'queer' (BTW I don't like that term... it also means weird. I don't teach that word to my kids). I'm so very sorry you got so abused just for being your real self. I mean, this is 2018, REALLY? I am very Christian, and mostly conservative I guess. I am teaching my kids that some boys like boys and some girls like girls and some like both. It's all ok, cuz God doesn't make junk. What's most important is to live your life truly, how you feel inside and how you wish to look outside. I hope I'm doing right, but I think I am.
Oh Sage Jay and Lisa Dee, I just love you both.
I think (as Lady Gaga said) some ignorant, rude assholes ARE born that way.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
People choose to be gay or vegan... so yeah there are people out there that would make it.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
qed.
Depression and Anxiety can hit anyone, anywhere, at any time. For multiple reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. A chemical imbalance in the brain, not a "choice". Those who have never experienced the extremes of this illness have no right to judge and give half-assed "advice". Leave it to the Professionals who know what they are talking about.
Hear Hear!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I can't reply directly to your comment below - but youre only partly right. There are many different kinds of depression and many different causes. There are some very serious causes that are unrelated to 'choice' - such as clinical and manic depression (which is what you are referring to). There is also 'situational' depression and atypical depression which relate to the things you do and the world around you - things that you can control and change ... the first two are caused by a chemical imbalance (which is out of your control) the latter two cause a similar chemical imbalance BUT through things you can change and control. Your brain is something you can train and adjust the thoughts - hence therapists are often used...medication can be used to help with the chemical imbalance but they act as blockers ... it's not as straightforward as "people choose to be depressed" OR "people don't choose to be depressed" -- it depends on their kind of depression.
They're part of life. Trying to live like they don't exist, it's simply no sense.
I like how Andy used the expression 'emotional limp' to describe his condition. It goes a long way toward putting a more tangible spin on the disorder.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
But for some they are told the depression is caused by excessive drinking but then choose to get drunk...some are already depressed with 2 kids but then choose to have another 2 and end up more depressed... some are depressed because they don't have much money, so they choose to quit there job and stay home and get more depressed because they end up with no money. There are cases where people 'choose' a path. There are cases where people are offered help but they want a quick fix or they want you to give them money to solve their problems. There are plenty of people who have mild depression caused by their actions and their surrounds and they 'could' change things if they wanted to - these people have a choice. But then there are people where stuff happened and it's out of their control. There are some who have chemical imbalance caused by medical reasons. These people don't have a choice.
Unfortunately, you're mistaking the symptoms for the cause, so to speak. It's now being shown that depression is a result of structural defects in the brain. In areas like the amygdala and hippocampus , the brain is smaller in people with depression, which literally means that their brains don't function the same as yours. Your comment is indicative of the same kind of magical thinking that suggests our thoughts shape reality, when the fact of the matter is that depression is the result of a biological organ in the human body not functioning correctly. Please do the world a favor and educate yourself on the matter before you speak.
Paul, causes of depression aren't as cut and dried as you describe. My causes seem to feed into each other, they have a habitual component and a situational and chemical component. For example, I've been socially awkward since my 30s, because my treatment wasn't appropriate. That caused me to react uncontrollably and my work and reputation have suffered. I have not flourished and that makes me feel more hopeless. Untreated depression and BPD are rampant on both sides of the family so I developed dysfunctional coping habits that at middle-age are difficult to change. Anemia takes away my energy, etc, TMI, right? All the symptoms feed the cause like an endless circle. Unfortunately, your comments sound quite judgmental.