Can Positive Posts Here Lead to Depression?

[Persephone]

There's a whole big news story (example at the bottom of this post) out there about people becoming depressed, even claiming that they are contemplating suicide, after seeing the movie Avatar and coveting life on Pandora so badly that their own lives lose meaning.

CNN's "psychotherapist" Stacey Kaiser said, "Here's my parallel. We see this phenomena all the time. We see somebody go to a romance movie and they walk away and they're not with Prince Charming and they don't have a person like that so they have a bit of depression."

It got me wondering. I always look at what we do here as encouragement and support. I love to read the positive posts, and try to post my own activities in the same spirit.

But, is there a "darkside"? Do some people find these posts depressing?

In discussing ways to deal with this, Kaiser went on to say that "any time you can bond with a community of people who feel like you feel, then you feel better."

So, instead, is being a member of our "community of people who feel like you feel" a positive experience?

Hugs,
Persephone.

Avatar-Induced Depression: Coping With The Intangibility Of Pandora
Tue Jan 12, 4:27 pm ET

The beautiful alien planet Pandora depicted in James Cameron's 'Avatar' is so captivating that some audience members are becoming depressed and even suicidal when they fail to find meaning in real life after the film is over.

Writes Jo Piazza for CNN.com:
On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.

Here are just a few of the ways people are coping on Avatar-Forums.com :

"I just watched avatar a few weeks ago and I'm feeling depressed and sad. It's like I want to reach out and be in Pandora. I'd do anything to be in Pandora. I've tried so hard to dream about me being on Pandora but it hasn't worked."

"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.'"

"Because, at this point, there isn't pretty much anything else that can be done. Until the release of DVD/BluRay. But even that won't take away all of the depression. Because you know you can never actually go to Pandora, as it exists only in our imagination... sigh... "

Whether or not these posts are for real there is reason to believe the affliction is rooted in legitimate despair.

For the CNN video (with audio) story, click here

[Karren H]

Guess its time to go back to doom and gloom stories that way everyone feels their live are better than the poor schmuk that admitted crossdressing to his wife and she divorced him and took all his money and the kids and told everyone she knew and he lost his job but looks really pretty in the pink frock down on skid row??

God I feel better already!!

Lucky I don't get depressed!!

[aggi123]

Hmmm Avatar didn't make me feel that way. Though reading about everyone's wonderful stories on this site has certainly pulled me out of depression and embracing who I truly am. Nothing depressing about that

[Brandi Wyne]

It's a balancing act, I'm sure. We do need support and I have joined a local support group. We all went out a week or so ago and had a great time. as ladies out and about Later I got depressed because my life is still divided and both areas bring about doubts and fears.

If I'd gone and had a perfectly sh*tty time of it, I don't think I'd have received any reverse encouragement from that experience. All I know is that we are who we are and finding support where ever we can is important. I have a lot of things to work out in my journey through this life and I appreciate a kind word now and then.

Remember, we are not in the main stream and will have to give more to find our way. So, I hope we can each be that source of encouragement for the others here and elsewhere.

Hugs to all of you

[Kathi Lake]

I came out of Avatar feeling very positive. I thought it was a cool bit of escapism. That may just be my personality, though. I happen to like my world very much, thank you!

I would say that someone who comes out of a movie depressed because they don't live in that fantasy world has other issues to begin with. For one, I'm sure they think their world sucks, and anyplace - especially a place where mountains float and you can ride magical unicorns, or their equivalent - would be better. That's just my opinion, I can't dispense advice anymore since I let my license lapse.

Kathi

[Phyliss]

Leave it to CNN to find talking heads full of psycho babble.
This is no more than a case of "The Grass Is ALWAYS Greener on the other side.
The entire long winded movie is about Evil Capatalistic Earthlings wanting to destroy the "peaceful" natives for wealth.

IT'S "make believe" , people, a fictional story. Get out of the movie theater and get a life.

Yeah I've read all sorts of accounts of the wonderful adventures of shopping , dinning out , flying , relationships, and a host of other things. Good for those people, just gives me a reason to look forward to doing those things also.

[Nicole Erin]

It is perspective.

My sister once asked if I ever watched "cribs", it was on and we were watching it, I asked her what it was and she goes "To show you how bad your life sucks"

When you see someone who has life better, you feel inferior. When you see someone who has it worse, you realise just how good you have it.

In the media, yeah it is based on fantasy. People who are perfectly beautiful and have perfect lives. Or even if they are piss poor like in that 70's show "Good times" they are still laughing and having fun, people might think "Why can't I have so much fun?"
So movies are fun to get into fantasy but they are just that. And yeah, it CAN be depressing to see even a depiction of perfection and then you compare to your own life and it is like "well mine sucks". MAny people feel that way.

NOW about positive posts here or any forum/chat line or even real life...

My opinion is when someone is always talking about how great they have it, they are probably still feeling insecure about something. It is like they have things as good as they say but still feel like they are lacking something.

I used to visit this one dance forum and we had this one lady who was always talking about how great her life was. The money she had, the promptions of her husband, friends they had, how her son was going to go to Yale or Harvard, about the fancy suit and tie parties they attended.. Dare I say God himself would have been envious.
Some people just love to toot their own horn and I think what they *really* want is people to tell them how great they are.

Even the beautiful people are more F'ed up than you think. They just hide it well.

And me, I am by no means perfect. I often feel "wishful" and I often feel "thankful". I wish I had more but am thankful for what I do have.
I wish I passed better en femme but am thankful I have the freedom to at least go out dressed as I want.

EDIT - Can someone maybe PM me with a summary of what avatar is about? I saw a preview on youtube and all I remember is a bunch of space aliens running around in a forest. Looks to me like a movie that I would walk out of feeling like "Well there is $7 I will never get back".

[Stephanie Miller]

I knew I shouldn't have watched M.A.S.H.! That darn Klinger. See what he/she did to me?
Next thing you know I'm going to go out and blow up a roadrunner!

[msniki48]

Guess its time to go back to doom and gloom stories that way everyone feels their live are better than the poor schmuk that admitted crossdressing to his wife and she divorced him and took all his money and the kids and told everyone she knew and he lost his job but looks really pretty in the pink frock down on skid row??

God I feel better already!!

Lucky I don't get depressed!!

It's funny the way you present this hypothetical event...lord knows weve all seen a few [go down the tubes]...but i believe you are right in that it does make you feel as though you've got it a little better than that person. I do love the positives that are shared, but it does also make you wish you had some of them....catch 22

i know a wonderful transexual .as she was going through transition...very positive...then she lost her job, couldn't get one, suffered from deep depression lost appartment, the car etc. it was an eye opener for me in real time... and made me think twice of how good i have it with half a loaf of bread...rather than go for it all and loose the whole loaf. it stopped my thoughts of transition in it's tracks till i could think about it more.

So in essence we need good threads....and we need plenty of Bad threads in order to keep us all Balanced!


hugs


msniki48

[Emma Leigh]

If I come out from watching a movie, I dont think anything other than whether the movie was good or bad, I never compare myself to the characters, because it isnt real.
With regard to this site, i have only become a member fairly recently, and it has changed my life in a number of ways, but mainly because before I joined, I felt unbelievably isolated. I thought I was unique!

[Nicole Erin]

I knew I shouldn't have watched M.A.S.H.! That darn Klinger. See what he/she did to me?
Next thing you know I'm going to go out and blow up a roadrunner!

Now Steph, don't go destroying the grand canyon now! You know that is where the show looks like it was filmed, right in your home state.
(hears the whistling of when Steph falls off some high cliff)

LAdies all this talk of passing, if you ever want to feel better about you femme looks, watch MASH, gyod Klingerr was the worst looking CD on the planet. Perspective.

[Joanne f]

First of all the main difference between here and a movie is that a movie has a visual effect and a audio effect and when you put the two together it can have a very powerful effect on your emotions and we know music can do this just by it`s self so when you add the visual effect it can work magic.
But on here you do have the visual effect plus a written account and some of the visual effects and written accounts are going to effect some people, they are going to inspire them to want or do more in the hope that they will also look like or do what others have done .
Now it is possible that if their expectations are not met then they could possibly fall back into some sort of depressed state, and is it even possible that this visual and written accounts could also have some sort of effect on wife`s /So who are looking and reading accounts of what others have done and get worried that their partners want the same which may again lead to some sort of depression.
So yes it is possible but hopefully it does not happen but if it did i hope we would hear about it .

[Kate Simmons]

The answer is to co-create one's own world and in turn create one's own positive experiences. I've been doing this since puberty when I identified with comic book super heroes. I just modified it when I started expressing my femme self. This way you can continue to function in the "real" world and still be happy being yourself. Simple really.

[minalost]

Leave it to CNN to find talking heads full of psycho babble.
This is no more than a case of "The Grass Is ALWAYS Greener on the other side.
The entire long winded movie is about Evil Capatalistic Earthlings wanting to destroy the "peaceful" natives for wealth.

IT'S "make believe" , people, a fictional story. Get out of the movie theater and get a life.

Yeah I've read all sorts of accounts of the wonderful adventures of shopping , dinning out , flying , relationships, and a host of other things. Good for those people, just gives me a reason to look forward to doing those things also.

I loved the movie, saw it twice. But the psychobabble is just that. I've got nothing but possitive feelings from reading the posts here, both good and sad.

[Loni]

i have not seen the movie avatar. will not till it is in the discount bin at walley wourld.

i have suffered depresion all my life, it takes will power to not get that way, but just a song, thought, can get me into a "funk" and i can bounce back and fro many times a day.

but not kill my self.

sure my life stinks, but it is my life and i am going to try to do the best i can with it. both parts

after almost getting killed this past june...i hurt (back and feet), very bad headon car accident.
but it is great to be alive and bitching about it

life can be a problem at times for any of us. but the sun will rise in the am...and somewere it is happy hour



.

[Tamara Croft]

IT'S "make believe" , people, a fictional story. Get out of the movie theater and get a life.

Bloody well said

[sterling12]

Yes, as I was growing up my parents constantly reminded me that movies were FICTIONAL, and they were portrayed by Actors who weren't anything like their characters.

If people suffer from depression from "Avatar," there is something very wrong with their heads! A smart four year old could tell you that most of it is ANIMATION, and that The Director probably had The Bad Guys portrayed by humans to give the "evilness" more credibility.

I know a lot of Gurl's who go out, including myself. Example? Joann definitely doesn't tell you about her adventures to depress people. She just doesn't have that kind of psyche, and anyone who has met her would agree. We tell all of you about going out to "inspire" others to do the same! We think it's great, we think it's fun.

Perhaps, if we could inspire some of the rest of you to go out as your femme selves, you wouldn't have to indulge in fantasies about make-believe worlds like "Avatar!"

Peace and Love, Joanie

[GaleWarning]

I tend to avoid the problem by NOT watching movies!

Haven't seen Avatar, don't plan to.

[Wen4cd]

I used to work with a dude who went apeshit and murdered his family after he saw Matrix.

[Kathi Lake]

I used to work with a dude who went apeshit and murdered his family after he saw Matrix.

Yikes! Or, as Keanu would say, "Whooooah!" Sounds like someone's grasp on reality was a bit tenuous.

Kathi

[danielle.cd]

the only thing i would get depressed about is that i dont have a butt or hips i look like a pencile with an uper body, but with enough money , wait thats it its the money thats what does it the money yeah if i had money im sure i would have a butt <cause then i could afford to transition > but seeing how i dont ill just have to live huh. not depressing just not fair thats all its not the movies its, its the money

[docrobbysherry]

There r MANY reasons for feeling depression. Depression is NOT something to joke about! U can't argue with someone about the way they FEEL! It's REAL to them!

Many people r bi-polar, to a greater or lesser degree.

Alcohol and drugs r a BIG factor, legal and otherwise.

Maybe MOST important, is the fact that we r CONSTANTLY bombarded from every media source, with pictures of all the THINGS we don't have, and the PERFECT people who have EVERYTHING!

Is it any wonder that young people r committing suicide at a record rate?

Lastly, is the difficulty SOME people have, in confusing fantasy with reality! Like 60 y/o men, that think they can mimic a young woman!

[Engendered]

I think movies in general are too short to immerse me fully into their world. It's 2 hours and then it's gone. Books however I get far more into. (Also longrunning tv shows) Recently, specifically, it was the Twilight series. By the time I'd finished the 4th book I felt like I knew these characters and I felt a little hollow afterwards that they were gone. Who wouldn't want to be friends with Alice? A crossdressers best friend.

I actually had a rare crossdressing dream last night where I had been turned into a vampire, and the idea of being forever young and pretty...amazing. Anyway, *that's* neither here nor there.

Back on topic, the real world is tough, and it's far from ideal. So I can somewhat relate to feelings of depression of people who want a fantasy that can't actually exist. But I'm generally cynical of real life. Love should be wonderful and ever-lasting. *sighs*

I went on a bit!

[Alicia Grey]

Yes I saw Avatar, I thought it was a wonderful movie. The scenes of Pandora were awe inspiring, and the evil corporate goons did their best to bring it down. It's the story of conquest for the minerals of a peaceful people in a beautiful setting, so that life where the corporate goons lived can maintain a status quo.

I felt that the story it's self was a downer. But the special effects on Pandora were magnitudes above where the corporate world existed. Also the choice of a corporate soldier being wheelchair bound, being transformed into a fully articulated avatar gave another positive feeling on the side of the Pandorians.

As for real moviegoers having a depression shows to me that either the depressed moviegoers have little going on in their lives. Or could it be a stunt from the Avatar Ad Agency.

[sherri52]

Karren I wish you'd stop telling everyone my life story.