He's just like me FOR REAL!
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I get the metaphor this is making, but I can't help but view this as everyone being passive aggressive because the character refuses to actually see a doctor about their hand lol.
Finding a doctor, making an appointment, keeping that appointment, trying who knows how many medications until you find one that helps, etc. is not the easiest thing in the world when you have trouble just getting out of bed in the morning.
What about affording any of that? OR a home... or getting time off work for the 100th time this year.
Life is often unkind to those who need a bit of kindness the most.
Yea, I was just thinking this morning how fucked up it is that there's nothing you can do if you're in this situation to catch up. The world won't stop moving while you try to figure your shit out and you're just fucked if you fall behind while trying to deal with it.
Should be a broken foot and everyone tells him to just walk to the doctor
this, big time. The amount of times where I had migraine with the vision impairment on the day of an appointment, unable to drive and farther away than I could safely get to on my own by any means if I could manage to fumble through any to begin with, and nobody able to bring me.
then just remembering which meds go to my elderly birds, elderly grandparents, and which go to me
Like I said, I fully get the metaphor and the point being made. It's just a funny interpretation.
But you still have to take steps to do it or your hand will never get better. Granted it’s easier if people give you support but depending on where you are at in life that can’t necessarily be something you can count on. So you have to break it down into a manageable step and attack it at that point. If you’re having trouble getting out bed, focus on just getting out of bed. Or don’t, just call a doctor from bed and do telemedicine there if possible. Whatever works.
It sounds callous to someone that’s deep in it but the reality of the situation is that excuses won’t alleviate your situation. You have to find what you can do, if you can’t do something then it is what it is but you also have to accept that the world does not exist without consequence and you will probably have to accept the consequences of that action (people being frustrated with you for flaking, trouble at work, etc). Pursue accommodations when possible to alleviate the burden but also recognize that depression is a mix of neurochemical and behavioral components. You have a degree of control over severity of the behavioral part and it is about the choices you make with what how you spend your time
The point is you shouldn't be telling the depressed person how to deal with their illness.
The author of this comic is trying to say that the problem is not the depressed person, the problem is everyone else telling him how to treat his illness.
You've got some good advice but you seem to fundamentally misunderstand the point this artist is trying to make.
Visually misread the middle panel guy as a doctor and not some douche in a white jacket at first which almost felt like a different type of joke.
It took almost 2 fucking years after my first initial appointment to get properly medicated.
I'd literally kill myself if I was forced to do it all again.
You "just go see a doctor"–folk have no idea how fucking difficult it is to 1). actually be seen by a competent doctor, 2). be taken seriously, 3). and actually receive treatment for mental health stuff.
That's not even including the whole "getting out of a shit enough headspace to actually do all that stuff in the first place."
Unmedicated me felt like wading through hell.
Be kind to those with different chemistry. Shit sucks.
I want medication for my ADHD and instead the doctors I would see kept trying different antidepressants. None of them helped. In fact most just added more problems, like not being able to get an erection, weight gain, and fatigue. I would tell them and they would either switch to a different antidepressant or up the dosage.
I know the cause of my depression and I want to treat that; not the fucking symptoms of depression itself. But I also have shitty insurance that's only accepted by 2 different networks of health care where I am, and they are so understaffed for the mental health shit that making an appointment anywhere is always 6 to 8 months away, and even if you show up the doctor might not.
And that's not even taking into account the miseries of:
1: Fighting with insurance to let you have what you desperately need at a price that wouldn't bankrupt you.
2: Fighting with your pharmacy over prescription issues.
3: Dealing with sudden nationwide shortages.
Fuck...
Even once I had a great doctor who knew what I had, it still took nearly two years to find a medication that worked for me with side-effects that I could tolerate. It's a long frustrating journey.
And ADHD just means "you're too lazy, and just need to focus."
Things that make me want to hurt people.
It really sucks being a parent with ADHD having a kid with ADHD understanding the struggles while also having to say "You need to figure out what will work for you to focus on this stuff. Also, just try some of these suggestions to see if they work instead of refusing to try at all."
Like I understand the struggle and still end up sounding like that just because figuring out something to improve the situation is necessary although it isn't quite the same thing as 'try harder'. Just keep trying until you figure out something that improves the situation.
ADHD sucks. It's a pain in the ass to get my meds, the meds help, but I still have good days and bad days. I don't think it's nearly as debilitating as a crushed hand, I don't even put it on the same level as depression. That said everyone has a different toolbox for their issues, and some people are better equipped than others.
Oh hey, I have something for this.
From experience, 'making it somebody else's problem' by asking for help, rarely ends well or gets you the help you need. It just makes you an annoyance and look bad, and eventually people (healthcare workers included) decide you're malingering and/or attention seeking and start treating you even worse.
Isn't life fun.
I wish so many comments on this post didn't support what you're saying. And the guy in the comic isn't even asking for help, just showing that he's suffering.
Goddamn, way to make me flashback.
There was a point in my life where I was facing homelessness, was constantly job searching but hearing nothing back, and had to count coins to make sure I could afford to eat each day. Not only that, but the closest family member, who had invited me to stay with them if things went tits up, had just died two days before in a sudden and tragic way.
And my then-bf dragged me to a bar, where he and all his friends told me to “just let it go” and “loosen up” as if the basement rock of my world hadn’t just eroded out from under me. I sure as shit couldn’t afford bar prices, and not a single one of the group offered to get me anything, leaving me stone sober while they all got shitfaced. I ended up crying alone in the bathroom for an hour, and when I came back out, “bf” was getting a fucking lap dance from his friend’s fiancee.
That wasn’t even the worst part of the night. It definitely got darker before the light returned.
I’m okay now, over a decade later, in an infinitely-better place with supportive friends and partners. But man, what a journey.
This comic hits the nail on the head for me. When speaking with doctors and therapists, I would describe the depression as non-physical mental pain. Like I don’t feel sad and I don’t feel like I am a bad person, but it’s like my mind hurts and I still feel like shit.
Feel this one in my bones.
Well at least you have bones amiright?
Fucking bones. Inside my body. Everywhere. And my brain is trapped inside one of them. Fuck. 😖
The worst part is when people call somebody lazy or make other assumptions about them cause of their lack of wealth or expensive things or tidy hair. Some people never grow out of that schoolyard shit.
"I can't, because of my hand. My hand hurts so much. Life sucks because of this hand."
"You should go to a doctor to show your hand"
"No! It won't help anything! And it costs money. And I don't know how to or want to anyway."
I've seen that too, where the person doesn't want to actually even try to help themselves.
Which of course is a symptom.
“My leg is broken” “Then walk to the hospital, duh” “I can’t, my leg is broken” “Why are you choosing to live in pain?!”
Dude should maybe consider seeing a doctor about his "hand".
This is about others not taking depression seriously. The difficulty in getting treatment is another matter.
I'm injured.
Have you tried not being injured?
I think must of us are missing the fact that the second to last panel his 'smile' is a grimace because he has severed the afflicted hand.
I'll let you discuss what is meant by this.
I actually never interpreted it that way - I though it was just showing it getting worse - but that's a good point and you may be right. It could be showing that he "fixed" the problem by pretending it doesn't exist as much as he can around others, since none of them take it seriously anyway. Of course, that won't help anything and will likely make it worse.
I have ADHD and my SO desperately needs to see this.
What if we stage an intervention and have one of your childhood friends beat you while screaming about how your every single action is a sign you're trying to kill yourself? -reasons why there's a whole half of my family I don't talk to anymore.
Ah, an artist who graduated from the Bruce Timm and John K school of horny Archie fanart.
(I actually love it)
With friends like these, you don't need enemies