Aa, ha ha (he sounded softly) RebelFalcon, having read the posts so far, inspiring, lyrical in nature, as if this might be a music Forum. ( one more jest at the posts end, meaning no harm, similar to sunlight on a battlefield, it is what you make of it). Welcome. Breakdown, without a cause, what to make of losing your best friend, Mom, who insisted your Dad take you with him and older Brothers and Uncles to whatever they were building and teach you to use your abilities knowing when you were old enough he would want your help. Dad, who urged you to remember your Mom and Sisters with cards and flowers, that it would make them happy. And of course it did. Or losing any loved one or thing close to your heart, and it makes you feel as if you were breaking down, you know now that we mostly have felt or feel just that way too. When you wrote that "it happened" and that you "felt really down and sad" did it mean sad like afore-mentioned loss sadness, or the you can't find an appropriate nutrition supplement to keep the Mastiffs coat shiny, sadness. I'm guessing whatever it was, you've come through OK. Couple that with discovering the blues and you'll be much too busy from now on. Again welcome to the Forum RebelFalcon.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Great post....stoked you found your niche and have your life back.Depression can be and is very serious.I can tell you first hand that depression is not fun .I went through some heavy duty crap and was diagnosed with major depression disorder.It is very serious and something that happened to me and I had no control over,I just knew that I was not myself and my friends and family noticed too.They demanded I be seen by a professional which is the best thing that happened to me ,cause I almost did the unthinkable at the time .I soon started to carry my harmonica in my pocket with me everywhere I went.... cause it was easier than carrying my guitar everywhere.Shortly after that ,the notes and chords were just flowing outta that thing .It was my release at the time.I never knew how to play harmonica before that and it just came to me like I was trained to do it.I am now currently doing very well and grateful that I had family and friends to steer me straight ,otherwise I might not of been here now.I can happily say because of all that crap I went through that I can pretty much improvise harp and guitar with anybody playing the blues.If there is anyone on this board that has depression or thinks they do....seek help cause it can be serious.You can even PM me if you just need someone to talk too.Long live the blues
Eric

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

Amazed and saddened to see so many people have had bad experiences with mental health. I'm pretty sure I did have real depression. Everyday I was thinking about myself and wondering what was wrong with me and panicking over seemingly nothing. At the end of the day I was actually exhausted mentally just from thinking over things so much. Never once did I cry but many, many times I had a hard lump in my throat for what felt like no reason.
The breakdown was the worst experience, I don't even know if it was a breakdown, I just mentally collapsed. It was late at night and I was lying on my bed thinking over things as usual. I don't know what it was that I was thinking about but something made me panic and my vision seemed to distort and swirl and my mind just went into a swirling torrent of chaos and panic. I think I was thinking something a long the lines of "What if this never ends?" Also it was mid winter and where I live there is almost no daylight in mid winter.
But it did end. I beat it. I started eating more fruit, started doing exercise even just in the house, I changed my outlook on things, always thinking there was someone worse off than me. But best of all, I discovered the blues.

Hi RebelFalcon: real clinical depression is a very different thing to just feeling rather low for a time. Clinical depression flatly stops you doing things, it doesn't enable you.

Kay Redfield Jameson (clinical psychologist and full-on manic depressive) wrote an interesting book called Touched By Fire. In it she examined the link between mental illness and creativity and found that very many highly creative people over the centuries have suffered depressive illness to a marked degree. Though of course there are also many, many creative people who don't have troubles of this sort too.

But even when creativity was linked to depression it was only when people were largely recovered that they were able to tap those soul-deepening experiences. During the illness itself creativity dries up, and it is hardly ever a route out of depression. That's not the way they are linked.

And even people who are highly creative and suffer badly from depression mostly say they'd readily do without the illness, and engage in non-depression-lead creativity instead. True depression is sheer pain and horror with nothing to recommend it.


You are extremely young to have experienced genuine clinical depression. Not impossible, but unlikely. This sounds much more like simply a low period - which to be sure is quite bad enough.

It may or may not signal more serious things to come later in life. Be on the lookout for worse symptoms and seek proper medical advice quickly. Perhaps you have a propensity for depressive illness and perhaps not. If so, there are good things that can be done to alleviate it and you may well be able to learn to self-regulate. But you have to get expert help with that first.

Take care, and best of luck to you - C

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Don't know if depression lead you to be a blues player....but what I do know is that playing the blues will help you overcome that depression

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

the more styles of guitar playing you know, the more well rounded you'll become, and less of a 1 trick pony you'll be.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

i've had 2 breakdowns like the one you've described...one of them i was just thinking and it just hit me, i realised that my life was just really screwed cause of what happened in my past and i just sat in my closet, shivering of fear, crying and i heard someone saying things to me in my head. that lasted the whole night. next day (i didn't wanna, but i got myself to do it anyway) i played my guitar for 5 hours straight, the longest i've played it, and wrote 7 songs, 3 of which i still play.

oh, and you say the place you live has no daylight in winter? thats bloody awesome

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riley

well you might be right then. my g.friend was just reading me a thing in her medical journal where a recent study has been going on about the sleeping disorders and mental depression are at an alarming rate of people that live in places like that where is day light most of the yr or night time most of the yr.
the basic study was about sleeping and how light robs you of your sleep, any kind of light. it stops your brain from making N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (sp).
i sleep about 4 hrs a night and always fall asleep with the TV on. so she was showing me this and when you mentioned the above i remembered what the journal said.
so yes, you could very well be right about the depression part.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

There's a lot I could add to this thread regarding life's ups and downs,depression and it's causes and effects,but fastly approaching my 6th decade on this third stone from the sun,I can tell you one thing...when you think you're at the end of your rope,tie a knot in it and hang on for dear life.

sometimes its dear life that got ya out on that rope in the first place.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Well,"dear" life is what you hang on for...the rest of the crap in life is what put you there.
And as you get older is seems you can see the crap for what it is,if you have learned your lessons well.....if you don't,it will put you under.

i think as we get older, we can actually see the crap coming and can better be prepared for it when it arrives. the crap will always come its how we deal with it that keeps us off the rope.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

dang! is there a real doctor in the house?

lol there are a couple of them.
do realize rebel and i arent disagreeing in no way, we are just adding a bit where the other left off is the way i would put it.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Why?...do you need one?