Three essays to fix

OE, essay #3 comments.docx

1

Olga Egorova

Prof. Amarnick

ENG 24

05/13/2019

Dealing with Depression

Depression is fast becoming a global health concern. It is especially dangerous because the first signs are usually hard to detect for the affected individual as well as the people around them. The condition only becomes openly detectable when it is advanced and the affected individual has become adversely affected. There are various techniques that have been advanced for dealing with depression. These include taking medication, having some alone time to meditate, travelling, therapy from professionals and having open talk with family members and relatives or receiving emotional support from them. The selection of the treatment method depends of the affected individual and the severity of their depression as well as the circumstances surrounding the development of this condition. Bruce Springsteen and Kristin Newman in their respective books Born To Run and What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding present important elements of their life that can be equated to the manner in which they dealt with depression at various points of their personal and professional. Their selected method of dealing with the issue either compounded their depression or led to a therapeutic effect. Often taking more of a light hearted approach to issues one is facing in life can help them deal with the complications of depression as opposed to being over analytical of the issues surrounding the depression.

Born To Run is a lot more than the autobiography of a famous rock star. Bruce Springsteen delves into very personal aspects of his life in the book. Of special importance is his experience with depression and the manner in which he dealt with it. He describes his father as being an alcoholic and him being basically raised by his grandmother. However, the death of his grandmother was among the factors that led to his spiral into depression. He notes that among the methods he used to deal with his depression was music and basically being on the road.

Springsteen analyzes the effects of several remedies that he tried to overcome his depression. Among these was medication. He notes that “I’ve been on antidepressants for the last twelve to fifteen years of my life. They work. I return to earth, home and my family” (Springsteen 485). This is an open acknowledgement of the validity of medication as a means to overcoming depression. However, a downside of this method is that one might develop a sense of dependence on medication. The medication also deals with the issue on a superficial level but does not touch on the actual issue causing the depression. This makes it more of a temporary solution to the problem.

There is more of a serious outlook to depression that was taken by Springsteen. He always seemed to be more introspective and really thoughtful about his depression. An example of this was when his father died. He felt the need to be alone and did not want to interact with any person. However, he also notes the importance of friendship and having loved ones around when one is suffering from depression. He notes that “Patti coaxed me out of bed and tried to get me moving. She steadied me, gave me the confidence to feel I’d be all right and that this was something that was just passing. Without her strength and calm, I don’t know what I would have done” (Springsteen 500). This is an open acknowledgement of the fact that loved ones are invaluable when one is suffering from depression. They can help to distract an individual from the depression that they are going through. They are also a pillar of strength and help to remind people in depression that their situation is not permanent.

The rather serious approach to depression taken by Springsteen is in part due to his status as a famous musician. His status in society meant that there were people who looked up to him. He was expected to be a strong pillar to his fans as opposed to a weak individual who needed help. As a result of this level of societal expectation he often turned to himself as the main comforter when dealing with depression. He felt depressed about his desire for stability, a need to feel rooted and his lack of knowledge on how to achieve these desires. After confiding in his friend Jon Landou he decided to seek professional assistance.

Springsteen notes that he used antidepressants for a very long time. However, when he turned 60 they stopped being effective. His psychiatrist also died and he also had to see someone new. The adjustment period was hard for him since he had become accustomed to his original psychiatrist. He had developed a dependence on medication and his psychiatrist as primary means of dealing with depression. This method ultimately proved to be ineffective.

Newman’s depression

What I was Doing While You Were Breeding is a very interesting take on modern day life and how people can deal with emerging issues of life. Newman tells the story of how she chose to travel the world while other people her age were busy having children hence the title of the book. Of special importance is the manner in which her approach to life helped her deal with depression. She travelled the world alone, which is socially awkward for a woman, and discovered the many benefits of taking a rather casual and humorous approach to dealing with depression.

Among the reasons that Newman notes for her travelling is breaking up with a long term lover. She writes that “I handled the heartbreak like many twenty six year olds handled big break ups at the beginning of the third millennium: I pierced my belly button and went to Amsterdam” (Newman 5). This is a very casual way to deal with heartbreak which can lead to depression. However, it worked perfectly for Newman. During her travels she got involved with many of the locals in the places she visited. This was behavior that would be considered slutty back in her home. However, there was no one to judge her during her travels. This experience also taught her that there were many other people in the world and that getting depressed over one was irrational given the potential choices. To this effect travelling, seeing the world and meeting other peoples served its therapeutic purpose in helping her deal with potential depression from the break up.

Newman focuses on involvement in practices that would otherwise be frowned upon in the western world as ways of dealing with depression. Among the ways she personally experimented with is recreational drugs. She notes, in a rather sarcastic tone, that “…drugs make you a better person” (Newman 20). She is alluding to the social nature or environment in which recreational drugs are taken and how they help people connect with one another. She notes how taking ecstasy helped her to better connect with her friends and enhanced the level of communication between them. She is not necessarily advocating the use of recreational drugs as a means of dealing with depression. Rather she is poking humor at the stigma attached to these drugs by mainstream society even when they are taken in moderation. This is part of her greater idea of dealing with depression using humor and basically exploring new elements of life.

Throughout the book Newman emphasizes on being realistic and just experiencing life in the present. She does not necessarily focus on over-thinking life. She notes that people set their expectations too high for a particular version of perfect and then they get crazy sad when they fail to realize it. She is alluding to the tendency by modern day society to expect people to live up to a given standard. These expectations lead to a lot of anxiety among people. People are expected to have hit certain milestones by a certain age. Failure to do this leads to them being considered failures by the people around them. The result of this is people further plunging into depression. Newman is of the school of thought that people should not necessarily be obsessed with the high expectations that are placed on them. Rather they should be more focused on living their lives and doing what makes them happy. She chose to travel because it made her happy as opposed to doing what society expected her to do which was settle down and have children.

Springsteen and Newman present different approaches to dealing with depression. Springsteen chooses music and being on the road as shields to depression. However, on a more personal level he chooses to be introspective and analytical of the issues he was going through in his life and develops a relationship with his therapist as well as antidepressant medication. This, however, led to his depression compounding as opposed to alleviating it. He had to rely on his loved ones as pillars to help him overcome the depression. Newman, on the other hand, takes more of a casual outlook towards depressions he does not think of all the factors in her life that contribute to this problem such as her long term relationship coming to an end or the expectations placed on her by society. Instead she chooses to travel and experience different parts of the world and interact with different people. Her rather casual outlook on life helps her to better deal with depression she does not over analyze her life or fixate on issues that are causing the depression. The analysis of the experience of these two personalities reveals that taking more of a casual and humor based approach to depression is a better approach than overly fixating on the life issues that are causing the depression.

Works Cited

Newman, Kristin. What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir. Three Rivers Press, 2014.

Springsteen, Bruce. Born to Run. Simon&Schuster Paperbacks, 2017

Olga—

You’ve done strong work on this first version. You set up a thought-provoking thesis about two different approaches to depression, and then go on to offer well-chosen examples. Your writing is smooth and clear throughout. Now here are five things to think about as you work on the revision:

1) In your opening paragraph you tell us about different kinds of responses to depression. I assume you got this information from one or more particular sources. Even if you have paraphrased here, you still need to identify the source of your material.

2) As I said above, your thesis is very good. Just take it one step further: make it clear which side Springsteen represents and which side Newman represents.

3) You argue that Springsteen’s approach to depression is more “serious.” Yet some might argue that running around on stage for hours every night, singing and dancing and playing guitar, is not necessarily serious. Can you explain more fully why you indeed consider this behavior to be serious?

4) You also argue that Springsteen is “over-analytical.” Can you give more examples showing how that is so?

5) On page three, include a transitional sentence to show why it is now logical for you to move from a discussion of Springsteen to a discussion of Newman.

This is already a terrific essay. I now look forward to seeing it become even more terrific!