Depression: A Disease to be Eliminated or a Better Way to Get Attention Than Being Funny?

Why do we love that Cymbalta song so much?



Simply put, we do not want to get rid of depression. According to an article in the LA Times, depression is an evolutionary trait, not something to get rid of. (via Digg)

Thomson based his approach on the idea that depression is not simply a disease to be eliminated, but a way of eliciting support from family and friends.

So sleeping a lot and acting despondent seems to be an easier method for getting attention than telling jokes. Jokes require a set-up and a punchline. A suicide note or a sad poem doesn't. Indeed, your efforts would be futile and creepy if you took the time to use a set-up/punchline structure.

More women threaten suicide but more men actually do it. I commit suicide like a girl.

Here's my impression of William Howard Taft (lay dead).

(on top of the Golden Gate bridge) Wanna see my new dance for that Kriss Kross song "Jump, Jump?"