Couldn't agree more, ju-dude... all around.

In fact I think that our society is "broken" due to grades 6-12 being the hellmouth/gauntlet that it is. It's a part, although not a majority part, of the reason why Ms. UT and I don't have kids.

And I think that, to a great degree, you create your own mental situation. Like Ciara a few months ago who was down on herself because she felt like things were aligned against her. Once she started to think differently her mood improved. It happened so fast...

It seems obvious though, that some folks do need the boost of medication and that's fine too.

Anti-social school enviroments are a big part of the problem. If anything, Jr-High kids are coarser and meaner to one another than I remember. Age grouped education is still a relatively new concept, I think there are a certain percentage of us who will not thrive under this kind of oppression.


It turns out we're brothers.

junior high was hellish. in my experience, junior high was much worse than high school. i got involved in theatre and forensics in high school and found that while i still dealt with asshole jocks (sorry, jocks, but most of you *were* assholes in highschool) it wasnt nearly as bad.

i understand that for some people, extracurricular activities in highschool seem to be lacking something, and thats fine. i agree with jujus wife that hs can be a very important social experience, but i can also see how it can be a waking nightmare.

homeschooling isnt really an option for my kid(s?), partly because we both work and partly because the social aspect of school is important to me. in my entire time at school, my best experience, both socially and educationally, was in a private school, and i think thats where ill be sending my kids when they start school.

hang in there deep. theres a lot of good to experience in this world, you just have to look for it.

~james

My own depression and suicidal thoughts are for the most part brought on by situations. Once in a rare while I will get depressed for no reason at all, but after a little bit I tend to ask myself "Why do I feel this way?" I have no answer, and it tends to go away after that.

As for Jr. High and High School - my high school class was small, something like 100 people, and my jr. high school class even smaller - no more than 20. There were the occasional fights, but nothing real bad.

Yeah, y'know, I was the same way. In my late teens/early twenties, I would get depressed for no reason at all. I guess I can't really blame that on anyone.

Speaking of suicide ... a French chef got a bad review in a food guide (actually not a bad review per se, but he lost two points off his rating) and shot himself.

Tough times hit everyone. And they hit differently. There isnt always an obvious trigger, its a cycle of thinking. I had a bad patch of circumstances in elementary school, moved through it with support, sense of humor (As a kid, moving helps, I was helped by a fresh start) and then spiraled a bit in my 20s. So far, my early 20s was the hardest bit. As for suicide,the closest Ive been is careless, wreckless behavior. In retrospect, I've been lucky. I have been the worried friend, try to help, but know that its really a battle you cant fight. I've watched some friends/loved ones self-destruct, others pull out. And I know meds can help.

I'm glad were talking about it. And Wolf, its nice to have you around!

Thank you. :blush:

I've thought of suicide at one time or another, but I've never been serious about it. I would think of ways to die, and would be like, "I can't do that!" Which made me realize that I really didn't want to die.

I went through a rather nasty funk about 5 years ago, took Paxil for 3 months, and cleared my head. Since then, I have made a steady climb upward...and am probably at the highest point I've ever been.

And that's amazing to me, considering that the last 2 years have been rather abysmal. There have been times recently where I have just felt incredibly worthless, as if I'm not giving much of a contribution to society. But these moments are temporary, and optimism quickly takes the reins back.

I'm not going to go into a big spiel here about how crappy my childhood was...it sucked a lot, but I got past it b/c of an optimistic outlook, faith in God, and people that care. And that's what carries me to this day.

"She laughs too easily and cries too hard...shouldn't drink alone" - The Whitlams, Cries too hard

For some reason that came to mind.

Sometimes ya just gotta laugh though, it's impossible to get angry while laughing.

No, it's not. It's just impossible for other people to TELL.

Although I'm not the person who started this thread, I wanted make a point of thanking everyone for their honesty and ability to share their experiences in this forum. You're good folk, all.

Oh boy. What a subject to pick to speak about, seems to be right up my alley. Although I don't think I am capable of killing myself, I have thought about it obssessively. I am doing much better now since seeking help, but I do have my days. The last 2 weeks have been especially hard for me. One night I layed on my bathroom floor for about 2 hours, just crying my eyes out, it was not a pretty sight. I have lost it in work, screaming and crying, of course I got sent home that day. The other day I slept for 21 hours straight, only getting up to go to the bathroom, I used the 3 hours I had left to do whatever, and went back to sleep. Although, I am doing better, I still can't find a reason to live. But I still try everyday.

Patience... it's like physical healing, it takes time.

Meanwhile, everywhere you look find a reason for joy.

The terror alert is going back down!

Somebody's selling a giant Chee-to on Ebay!

They are going to build a huge great open tower in the WTC location and it will be the new highest structure in the world!

I am going to buy candles today and they smell good!

KFC for dinner, cool!

It seems all too simple, and maybe patronizing, but our world really is a wondrous place and every day is a gift. Even if things go sucky, you still got to experience them and they didn't kill you.

It's already out of my price range. DARN.

As of 12:18 EST top bid was $95,000,400.00

Betcha somebody's praying ebay cancels the auction again ...

ok it depends how you're laughing i guess