depression from being smart

[Mixcoatl]

On 3/30/2026 at 4:04 AM, YIDIRYIDIR said:

i need help with some insights on this topic.

i believe "the more smart and aware the more depressed" is true until a certain point. and that certain point is what I'm trying to articulate.

here are my guesses so far: 

• the early version of smart is deconstructing everything, every illusion, every meaning system. that leads to suffering, but that suffering ends or gets better once you start conscious construction
• the more smart and aware you are, the more you move from Orange stage to Green stage, and the moment you jump to tier 2 in spiral dynamics, the construction journey starts
• before, everything was external to you, value system, motivation, meaning. awareness strips you of all that, you end up thinking "nothing is real, nothing matters, so what's the point?" thus leading to depression. you get over that once you develop internal systems of motivation, meaning and values

what are your takes?

I used to think that way until I realized there are many different kinds of intelligence. One of them is emotional intelligence. The people you mention is actually very intelligent but the source of their depression is their inability to fit in a regular world. 

[UnbornTao]

On 3/31/2026 at 3:44 AM, CARDOZZO said:

This is the problem. I don't think I can create depression out of nowhere because it is not just a feeling or a mental state, it is much more profund than that. It is a reservatoire of feelings, thoughts, ideas, POVs, inner voice on a period of time. Open yourself to the possibility that what you think is depression is not what you think it is. 

I don't know if I really agree on that description of depression. It can be effective to treat depression as something silly or even that depression does not exist (Tate Vibes ) - I don't know. I will contemplate on that. 

Real depression is not something that comes and goes. It is something more deep than a mental state. I would say it is like language. It is a mental virus so powerful that it hijacks your conscious awareness.

Maybe it is a spectrum, we can't say for sure what it is until you are inside it.

 

This conversation started because you said you've never experienced depression, if I recall. We can ask, then, what is it really?

We might sometimes hear things like depression or suffering as special things that we only occasionally experience. Maybe they're rather commonplace and easily accessible - just as joy, enthusiasm, frustration, love, etc. might be. And this isn't saying anything about degree or intensity.

When you say 'come,' it's actually generated. We're just ignorant of how that comes about. And you do create it. How else would it exist?

Wealthy and famous people living their dream life get depressed, and the circumstances of their lives are great. They might have achieved everything they want. And they're massively successful at their jobs. But how come they might get depressed, or bored, or whatever?

It definitely seems to me like you're seeing depression as something more profound, special, and inaccessible than it really is. That's essentially a fantasy you've got going on.

Think about it: How come you aren't feeling X or Y now?

The main assertion to reflect on is: Because you aren't currently 'generating' it.

What we experience is not a function of circumstances, even though, as a culture, we believe it is. This is a challenging point to grapple with. I'm still struggling with it.

Anyway - Can depression exist if you don't create or imagine a future, for example?

Can it exist when that future is positive, or positively-held?

What is hope, for example?

Edited 11 hours ago by UnbornTao