I think I experienced similar feelings which usually appear when I was comparatively “better” than during the times that counted as major depressive episodes, according to the professionals I dealt with.

But honestly the way our psyche deals with depression is highly individual and good, responsible therapists/psychiatrists/neurologists/… consider a variety of symptoms before making a final diagnosis. With the exception of a high risk of suicide which will immediately place the sufferer in the “major depressive disorder” category, because of the immediate danger to their lives.

What I want to say: Probably only an expert will be able to tell you exactly what kind of depression you have/had. And I cannot claim to be one. I am simply someone who suffers from it too and I read up about it.

I am sorry for being the bearer of sad news. Suicidal thoughts are the most easily recognizable of the symptoms. And even if they are less persistent between major depressive episodes, a lot of us are still stuck with depression in one form or another for the rest of our lives.

And that’s the difference between minor depressive disorder and major depressive disorder. Thank you for attending Depression 101.

I moments of crisis, I will just start crying, but I can do that very fast.

They don’t want to save Hollywood, they want to control it. They can’t control it if the studios shoot their films outside of the US.

When “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was shot, Harrison Ford was 47. Sean Connery was 59 and played the father of Ford’s character.

I pity the guy. He tried really damn hard (without much success) and then I had to murder him.

It all may sound like a great big bucket of bad news for the car company, but the stock market has a different take. “If this is the worst it gets for Tesla, then certainly there must be some upside for the stock once tailwinds, such as the highly-awaited cheaper model and the Robotaxi, finally hit the market later this year,” wrote Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at investing .com.

Quote from this article by Ars Technica

I am not posting this because I think it makes any sense. It only makes sense if you are a rich person with way too much money to be bothered by Elon Musk’s track record of just making shit up.

Yes, unconscionable opponents will always resort to violence, but people seriously underestimate the power of strikes. If an entire society comes to a halt because people refuse to keep it going, the power of authoritarians dwindles away. No dictatorship can control a complicated, modern society of millions of people through violence alone. That’s why they have always been worried by an organized workers’ movement and unions.

Fun fact: The mouse was already invented in the 60s and was part of the famous “Mother of all Demos” which shaped modern computing like no other single event since then.

Underground tunnels are not part of the US’ jurisdiction and thus the US government has no obligation to save them.

Yes, I think we are both in agreement that there is a distinction between intelligence and education. And - while these two points often get thrown together - it matters in political contexts, particularly because the Trumpists attempt to destroy the education system which they see as an obstacle to their rule. Critical thinking and language skills matter.

AFAIK that depends really: Sure, those who are not really part of the “cult” will likely drop out, but the “ever faithful” will double down, because they will consider such hardship to be a test of their faith.

That effect can be seen here:

The problem is that it’s not a question of intelligence.

Trumpists and their ilk are living in echo chambers of “alternative facts”, perpetuated by Fox News, Murdoch newspapers and an nearly endless amount of rightwing influencers (starting with Rogan at the top). They are not looking at what’s happening, because they are surrounded in a very comforting bubble of disinfo and propaganda that confirms everything they wanted to hear: The illegals get deported, the queers get finally put in their place, the liberals are frothing with anger, finally men are back in charge who tell women where they belong and America is going to be “great” again any moment now.

It’s fascism and fascism has always been a “cult”: The early pioneers of fascism (particularly D’Annunzio and later Mussolini) explicitly said their aim was to create a “secular religion” around the nation, the people and the leader. And you can only be a member of that religion if you accept its “truth” and reject everything that contradicts it.

Very smart people can adhere to a religion for a variety of reasons and the most obvious one is (and always has been) because it promises them power over others.

The first version of the treaty was signed in 2018, a revised version was signed in 2019. The second one is probably where the photo is from.

Look! It’s… Ooh, snacks!

Chanel No.5 suffers from the problem that it was originally made over 100 years ago. While the scent of No.5 did not change much, lots and lots and lots of products that came later imitated the scent of the (at the time) prestigious No.5. So it’s not necessarily a case of “No.5 smells like soap”, rather than “soaps smell like No.5”. And No.5 can’t escape the position it founds itself in without becoming something else entirely.

And that’s the difference between classical conditioning (the dogs being trained to sensory input by Pavlov) and operant conditioning (Pavlov training himself through his own behavior).

“I’ll kill you… after I eat all these donuts and get off the couch.”