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Deep Has a book ever managed to actually make you depressed (like, induce a depressive episode, not just sad while reading it)??

ChemicallyEnhanced

ChemicallyEnhanced

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I do have depression anyway (Major Depressive Disorder, Severe, w/ Psychosis) but I remember reading Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel (by far the best book on depression ever IMO...I very highly recommend it for anyone with depression, or anyone wishing to understand it) and it actually managed to induce a depressive episode in me.

Last Summer I read the novel A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and it made me suicidal. In a very literal sense. FOr the next 2-3 months I was very seriously considering taking my own life.
 
Not depression per se, but attempting to read It Can't Happen Here (1935) by Sinclair Lewis caused me so much existential angst that I had to put the book down less than halfway through. The parallels to American politics today are astonishing.

I probably won't be able to finish that book until and unless Trumpism dies.

en.m.wikipedia.org

It Can't Happen Here - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
jasperkent said:
Not depression per se, but attempting to read It Can't Happen Here (1935) by Sinclair Lewis caused me so much existential angst that I had to put the book down less than halfway through. The parallels to American politics today are astonishing.

I probably won't be able to finish that book until and unless Trumpism dies.

en.m.wikipedia.org

It Can't Happen Here - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
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Trump is both elderly and obese so fingers crossed he dies soon and eventually the MAGAts will STFU

I'll definitely check that book out, though, thanks
 
Read Ishmael some 20 years ago and it depressed me for a few months. Good to know I almost completely forgot about it. It is a good book, just something depressed me.
 
jasperkent said:
I hope you are correct. A lot of his supporters are young and healthy (well, physically healthy).

The worst part? I had tried to read it back during his first administration. Things are much worse now.
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I tend to hope it's like a vampire thing. Ya know, kill the head vampire and the rest just kind wither away?

EDIT: FOR LEGALITIES SAKE (lol): that is a METAPHOR. "kill" the vampire means Trump DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES (hopefully in great discomfort)
 
Every book we did in school made me homicidal, romeo an cuntin juliet absolute pure gibberish, the teacher had to patch the book an make us watch the film (the modern one) cause nobody could read the fucking ye old english. Still absolute pish, was actually glad they done themselves in.
Another GCSE English topic (thats like highscool ) not a book but a poem. Charge of the Light Brigade......we had to read this 3 times a week an talk about it the whole class for months this culminated with the teacher being assaulted with a chair (same thing happened in history, and i got banned from maths for battering the cunt in front of me with a chair, i had to sit in a supply cupboard during maths haha). As far as i can tell its about a bunch of soldiers with special needs and the tactical skills of a herd of brain damaged cattle who intentionally ride into a kill box and get slaughtered by the enemy.

One book that thoroughly depressed me but that i highly recommend you read is Gomorrah. It is about how entrenched the Italian Mafia clans are in every aspect of life in Italy and all over the world and the devastating effect of these organisations on society both in the underworld and legit business. The author primarily focuses on the clans and affiliates of the Camorra (from Napoli) but he touches on clans from all over italy and beyond. Fantastic book but so heart breaking to realise just how much damage these fucking people are doing. The author has been in hiding since the books release because he has several open contracts on his life.
 
Various holocaust memoirs induced a depression and even trauma response for me. I read a lot of them when I was too young to know how these books would haunt me. Memories of certain portions still resurface daily. It’s a constant reminder of how frail is the moral compass of civilization/mankind.
 
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aftershocknrock said:
Every book we did in school made me homicidal, romeo an cuntin juliet absolute pure gibberish, the teacher had to patch the book an make us watch the film (the modern one) cause nobody could read the fucking ye old english. Still absolute pish, was actually glad they done themselves in.
Another GCSE English topic (thats like highscool ) not a book but a poem. Charge of the Light Brigade......we had to read this 3 times a week an talk about it the whole class for months this culminated with the teacher being assaulted with a chair (same thing happened in history, and i got banned from maths for battering the cunt in front of me with a chair, i had to sit in a supply cupboard during maths haha). As far as i can tell its about a bunch of soldiers with special needs and the tactical skills of a herd of brain damaged cattle who intentionally ride into a kill box and get slaughtered by the enemy.

One book that thoroughly depressed me but that i highly recommend you read is Gomorrah. It is about how entrenched the Italian Mafia clans are in every aspect of life in Italy and all over the world and the devastating effect of these organisations on society both in the underworld and legit business. The author primarily focuses on the clans and affiliates of the Camorra (from Napoli) but he touches on clans from all over italy and beyond. Fantastic book but so heart breaking to realise just how much damage these fucking people are doing. The author has been in hiding since the books release because he has several open contracts on his life.
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I just found Romeo and Juliet creepy AF after learning that Romeo is in his early 30s and Juliet is 13. Like, that's not "star-crossed love" it's called "grooming" and it is a sex crime.
 
It didn't put me in a depressive episode, but I have had a couple of sessions recently where I had to set the book down because I felt it actively souring my mood. The first book was "Better than Sex" by Hunter S. Thompson and the 2nd book was "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72".

They are both great books and I highly recommend both. "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" is one of my all time favorite books. They were making me sad for 2 reasons. The first was that it made me really wish that Hunter S. Thompson were here today so that we could hear in his words what he thinks of the politics of today. That's selfish of me though because it would all be horribly depressing to him. The second reason that I had to put the book down is because I was becoming full of existential dread due to the fact that politics haven't changed at all since the late 60's and early 70's. In fact they may have even gotten worse. Americans never learn from their mistakes
 
ChemicallyEnhanced said:
I just found Romeo and Juliet creepy AF after learning that Romeo is in his early 30s and Juliet is 13. Like, that's not "star-crossed love" it's called "grooming" and it is a sex crime.
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Fuck i didnt know that but i thought they were related somehow. aye if you think about it, if the same thing happened today there would be a netflix documentary an crime podcasts
 
This Romeo and Juliette thing is dumb. I think they were both young teenagers.

If you are traumatized because of potential age difference between two characters in an Elizabethan play, don’t read any accounts of life in North Korea or any actually depressing/tragic literature.
 
jasperkent said:
My understanding is that they were both about 14.
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Probably because it usually portrayed that way, but based on societal norms at the time, that wouldn't have been what Shake-a-spear* intended.


*Can't say his name any other way after seeing Scary Movie lol
 
SeekingOblivion said:
This Romeo and Juliette thing is dumb. I think they were both young teenagers.

If you are traumatized because of potential age difference between two characters in an Elizabethan play, don’t read any accounts of life in North Korea or any actually depressing/tragic literature.
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Just what my teacher taught us. IDGAF about age gaps, especially in FICTION. I just said it's less romantic with a 30-something dude and a 13 year old girl.
 
jasperkent said:
His father lived to 93 and kids usually live a little longer than their parents. Donald's only 78, so he's got another 15 years and probably longer.
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Was his father unhealthy like he is, though, or in decent shape? Obesity takes like 10-15 years off your life.
 
ChemicallyEnhanced said:
Was his father unhealthy like he is, though, or in decent shape? Obesity takes like 10-15 years off your life.
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I dunno.

I do know that psychology is nearly as important as physiology in a person's life expectancy. Megalomania, narcissism, and fear of death might be powerful tonics.

I'm more concerned about Shady Vance. He's younger, healthier, and a lot smarter.
Very dangerous.
 
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