YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Isn't it a pity
Isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity --George Harrison "Isn't It A Pity"

Now I've been crying lately,
Thinkin' about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
Why can't we live in bliss?

"Peace Train" - Cat Stevens

If you've got one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow, you are pissing on today. --Unknown

Just came across this one today... trying to stay upright....great last line!

The Floor by Russell Edson

The floor is something we must fight against.
Whilst seemingly mere platform for the human
stance, it is that place that men fall to.
I am not dizzy. I stand as a tower, a lighthouse;
the pale ray of my sentiency flowing from my face.

But should I go dizzy I crash down into the floor;
my face into the floor, my attention bleeding into
the cracks of the floor.

Dear horizontal place, I do not wish to be a rug.
Do not pull at the difficult head, this teetering
bulb of dread and dream . . .

So, Blaise Pascal. (This one's a little dark, sorry)

When I was a depressed 20-year-old, walking around NYC, I carried a Penguin Classics paperback with me - Pascal Pensees ("Thoughts"). It has a picture of his Death Mask on the front, which was a commo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_mask

So much in this little book. Here was a genius from centuries ago, pondering and being tormented by thoughts that were so familar to me....

Quotes are readily found online, here are a few edifying ones -
https://www.brainyquote.com/lists/autho ... cal-quotes.

And here's one that spoke to me, and still does, especially now.

"Let us imagine a number of men in chains and all condemed to death, where some are killed each day in the sight of others, and those who remain see their own fate in that of their fellows and wait their turn, looking at each other sorrowfully and without hope. It is an image of the condition of men".

My God... yes!

And yet, and yet, in the meantime.... all is not lost, right? We can look away from the abyss and try to enjoy small moments and reach out and try to relieve a bit of suffering...



Here's one

When I was young I read Rimbaud's "A Season In Hell" The one line that always stuck with me was "I think I am in Hell, therefore I am in Hell"

“Let go, or be dragged.”

Zen proverb

I have posted elsewhere on these here boards about how important the albums "Pitfalls" by Leprous is because the entire record is about facing and recovery from depression/anxiety. I highly encourage everyone to listen to that record, but here are a few snippets:

From "Below"

All of my stories are below (Below)
Beneath the surface cannot grow (Grow, grow, grow)
Curled and naked I defer (I defer)
To shaky thoughts all in a blur

Every single fear I'm hiding
Every little childhood memory
I bury
Every single fear I'm hiding
Every little childhood memory (Bury)

And I will Lie
Keep it all together

Sitting on top of the façade (Don't hold the façade)
Built a tower to surpass (Surpass)
I can't remember why I'm here
Only why I need to disappear

Every single fear I'm hiding
Every little childhood memory
I bury
Every single fear I'm hiding
Every little childhood memory (Memory)

From "Observe the Train"

Quieting the inner voice
Do not reject
But keep on breathing
Observe the train
Then see it leaving

Breathe in
Breathe out
Release
Let it all out

Simplicity of being here
Without attachment
The senses are freewheeling
Allow the body to receive it
Acceptance is the treatment

Breathe in
Breathe out
Release
Let it all out

Don't force it
The goal is not to feel electrical
Angelical
Let it flow
The change won't be radical
It's gradual

Never let it get to you
Just start again
And keep on breathing
Inhale, exhale
Breathing
Go where it's leading

From "Foreigner"

My congregation is in flames
I can't seem to find my aim
Complete lack of logic sense
Still strapped within my own fence

Feel just like a knucklehead
Just can't realize what's left
I've had enough of this façade
Time to surpass once and for all

It's a fight to stay alive
For my light has gone missing
It's a fight to stay alive
It's a fight against myself

It's a fight to stay alive
It's a fight against my imaginary harm
It's a fight to stay alive
It's a fight against myself

Became a foreigner in my own head
My sword is double-edged
Might have to put away my sledge

Can I recommend ‘Stop Making Sense’ the Talking Heads concert film from 1984 as an antidote to this current moment that’s stopped making sense?

It’s helped me.

David Byrne has talked about possibly not being neurotypical, particularly as a young man and of having a passion for playing music from a young age which his parents fostered.

The film is an exercise in catharsis. It’s also touted as still standing as one of the best examples of the concert film genre.

I wanted to see that one many years ago, but never got around to it...

Thanks for the reminder, I'll look for it!

SD