hypothetically is it possible to hate life yet NOT BE classed as deppressed ?

Question

little thought i had at work today, couldnt decide at all wether someone like that could get an answer.

is it actually un-answerable even ?

and no its not me, just a thought that popped in my head whilst radio 2 was talking about depression , so dont get the wrong idea's about me

Answer 1

Our emotions relate to all of our other emotions. We cannot possibly function any either way. Attitude is that relationship that connects our emotions. It is a polar function of our emotional capacity to love and hate. Our thought process may be as follows:

I love to go to the movies => I hate the traffic going to movies => Outcome.

The outcome can be one of two things. I can either go to the movies- have a poor attitude while going there- and potentially put myself in a bad mood throughout the film. Or I can not go to the movies- avoiding the traffic- but potentially put myself in a bad mood because I didn’t get to see the film.

This example is a simple illustration of a topic that could fill libraries: our emotions are complex. How we feel about something is not independent of how we feel about something else. It is because of this that one small and seemingly benign event can “ruin your day”. It wasn’t the event that ruined your day; it is what you tell yourself about that event- and the ensuing attitude about it- that ruined your day.

So, attitude is a gateway between emotions. Picture your emotional spectrum as a busy office, with people bustling around doing there jobs. Attitude is the phone calls, emails, conversations, and text messages to all of those workers. It is the connection our emotions have to each other. It is how they communicate. Imagine in this office that a worker faces a challenge at work. With his communications, his challenge affects others, and pretty soon everyone knows and is involved. If he communicates the challenge poorly and makes a bad decision, everyone in the office could be affected. Then the next decision made could be based off the poor decision, and so on. One worker is not independent of the other. And neither are our emotions.

Attitude as an emotional gauge: Because all of our emotions are interconnected through our attitude, it can be a wonderful emotional gauge. As our emotions relate to each other and fluctuate, we give off verbal and non-verbal signs of that relationship. Our attitude. It is apparent in comments, gestures, tone, and appearance. And with those indicators, others notice and make their own judgments, which in turn affect their attitude. So truly, our emotions can be viewed, interpreted, and judged by those around us.

Action => reaction => judgment => attitude => action => reaction… you get the idea

Attitude as a tool: So, how do we break this cycle? How can we take control of our attitude? How can we use our attitude to improve our life?

The answers are easily stated, but take hard work and continuous improvement.

Empathy
Self-talk
Give it away
Practice

Empathy is my key to attitude. It is the ability to step outside of emotion, and view a situation, person, or behavior from another perspective. The key to this ability is delaying judgment until more information is known. Maybe your boss yelled at you, but their attitude is poor because of marriage problems. But without bothering to find out and just getting angry, you have let someone else control your attitude. Instead if you had stepped back and realized it wasn’t you, it was you boss’s personal life, you can judge differently and have a positive attitude.

I believe we all judge. Whether we mean to or not, we all make assumptions + judgments about things around us. And with those judgments come our attitude. So, because eliminating judgment isn’t possible, we can delay and soften the judgment through self-talk.

Self-talk is one of the most important abilities a person can posses. Self-talk is that little voice inside your head. THAT YOU CONTROL. Ultimately, your self talk determines your attitude. And you can control what you tell yourself. Not all the time, but try to- I’m sure you already do. You tell yourself positive things. And negative things. And with those thoughts, with that self-talk, you determine your attitude. So, instead of telling yourself that your boss hates you and you can’t do anything right, tell yourself “wow, my boss is having a rough day; I wonder what I can do to help?” Keep yourself and your attitude out of the picture. Separate yourself from your emotions.

The final part of this process is in what you give away- the “I wonder what I can do to help?” part. I believe firmly that in order to get something, you must give it away. If you’re down- go make someone laugh. If you want love- give someone else your love. I understand this doesn’t work in all cases (seek professional help when necessary), but for everyday problems, it does wonders.

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!!!- I think this is pretty self explanatory.

Attitude is something that is tied so closely to every other emotional capacity we posses, its hard to identify and explain. It is something that we can harness, and use as a tool in everyday life. Attitude is what we tell ourselves about our lives- so what do you say?

Answer 2

MAYBE, but probably rather unlikely.
Although they may be TWO separate conditions, I think they would naturally accompany eachother like wind and rain in a hurricane.
If someone is truly hating life, then logically they MUST be unhappy and if someone is depressed, he/she is definitely not LIKING life!

Certainly, a normally happy person can fall into circumstances where they hate life, but while they are in that situaltion, I would think that they are experiencing a significant degree of depression - at least untill they get back out of it again.
I know I have "been there - done that". I am not a normally unhappy or depressed person, but there have been times in my life (like the period following my husband's death) when I was hating life and I can easily recognize and admit to myself and anyone else that I was definitely depressed.

In a strong, healthy mind, though, neither of these conditions is permanent. When the problem causing it is solved (either through direct resolution or a lessening of severity over time) the person either bounces back or gradually returns to his/her natural emotional frequency.

SO that's my opinion in the proverbial nutshell - they ARE two separate concepts, but inevitable linked by simple, psycho/emotional logic.

Answer 3

I would think it was more being disappointed with life, with the things that go on in the world. yes I guess some people can be, depression drops in on people in different ways, shapes and forms, some attempt suicide, some get help, some just constantly live with the displeasure of life.
such a shame, because life can be so wonderful, its in our own hands and really the sky is the limit.

I love life X

Answer 4

I think it is feasible as it's also possible to love those same things. I'm not depressed, I've got a fantastic life and yet I hate it and many other things. Being conflicted over things is quite the norm

Answer 5

I think its possible to hate what life has to offer if u feel that the only point in life is to die. But also still be happy that you have had a chance to live and make the best of what u have.

Answer 6

Depends what you mean by depressed, there are many different degrees.

I hate getting up in the moning but I'm not depressed, I just go to work late, or have a nice glass of champagne -fea.

Answer 7

Everyone gets ups and downs. Its all down to perspective. What would depress one person, would spur another on if put in the same situation..

I suppose we all get moments where we can't stand the thought of going on at some point.. hate life as it is..

Answer 8

I think it's possible! some characters may just be real moaners & like to complain about life in general. They may not be very happy people but that doesn't make them depressed. I guess it's a thin line though.

Answer 9

Yeah it's called cynicism! Bill Maher is one of the great ones for that? He would be what we would call a guru of hating life with out being depressed.

Answer 10

Absolutely - there is a big difference between depression and cynicism....depressed people feel hopeless, sad, lost, and down...cynical people feel angry, pointless, and unimpressed with life...both can hate life but that doesn't make one the other...