depression

The philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti puts it this way: “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Perhaps it can also be said that it’s a sign of health (or not a sign of illness) to be maladjusted to a profoundly sick society?

Depression is often described as a chemical imbalance in the brain. Burnout and anxiety are symptoms of an overloaded autonomic nervous system. Eisenstein is suggesting that these responses are a feature rather than a bug. They are mechanisms for withdrawing our full participation in a way of life that is out of alignment with our natural instincts

Like the tiger, we dream of the savannah, the rainforest and the mangrove swamp. We want to hunt and fuck and bask in the sun. We want to climb trees and drink from freshwater streams. We want to pursue our true calling and live to our full potential. I believe this desire is in every one of us. And when it’s suppressed long enough, we rebel. Somet

This re-frame doesn’t change the fact that depression and related conditions can be deeply unsettling experiences, often described as dark nights of the soul. But viewing these experiences as an intelligent rebellion from within offers a new way of moving through them – an invitation to a new story.

You don’t immediately think, “This tiger needs to go to tiger therapy and get a prescription for tiger anti-depressants so it can feel better about living in a zoo and stop feeling sad about having to suppress its wild instincts”. You don’t think the tiger needs to “get over it” and make the most of its situation. You don’t consider showing the tig