Living with depression is like dancing with a goat

Posted by: Amara on: March 12, 2013

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I stumbled upon this quote by Andrew Solomon:

Living with depression is like trying to keep your balance while you dance with a goat — it is perfectly sane to prefer a partner with a better sense of balance.

and went all “Aaaah! Ooooh! YES! It IS like that! Genius!” but then paused. Hang on – what?! I hardly know any living being that has a better sense of balance than a goat, so what’s the deal with it? Rhythm? I think there used to be dancing goats at fairs? Or at least that goats would dance if they eat coffee seeds? Not to mention that this seems to imply that a depressed person is an unbalanced person, that is, one that will strip naked in a church and proceed to do the moonwalk, but backwards.

Or perhaps: the author does acknowledge that goats have a superior sense of balance, so the depressed person, who has preferred a partner with a better sense of balance than his/herself, is actually perfectly sane? The author is perhaps advocating a depression lifestyle?

I guess this might make sense if I read the book it is taken from, The Noonday Demon (Aaaah! Ooooh! What a GREAT title! Depression is the Noonday Demon, indeed! – hang on – what?! Demon yes, but Noonday? Because it sounds like Doomsday? Or because generally demons are nocturnal? But most depressed people have their worst time at dawn, not at noon. Author, if you happen to read me, I think you are a genius – but a misunderstood genius. At any rate, misunderstood by me), but isn’t it more fun to try and guess in the dark?

Anyway this quote is everywhere, but never with an explanation, as it often is with quotes, and I suspect that most of the people who put it up don’t understand it either; but clearly the world needs more such pearls of wisdom, so I thought I would contribute a few of my own. Feel free to have an epiphany, open your window and scream them at the top of your lungs.  No need to thank me. Also no need to implicate me when the kind people in white coats come to take you to a nice place.

Living with depression is like cycling in a koi pond ~ Amara Smile

Living with depression is like standing on a two-legged stool with a goose around your neck ~ Amara Smile

Living with depression is like watching a sunset while wearing a watermelon ~ Amara Smile

Depression is like having your heart stabbed with a piece of cake. Possum cake. ~ Amara Smile

Living with depression is like looking at your reflection in the pillow and seeing a heartbroken puppy ~ Amara Smile

(This has potential – anything with puppies has. I might make a meme pic out of it and flood the internet. Actually, I should make pics of ALL of them.)

Talking about reflections, broken mirrors are always a hit. And stars.

Living with depression is like looking at the stars through a broken mirror ~ Amara Smile

(This is even better than the puppy. Indeed, I think this is just PERFECT)

Oh by the way, in case you were wondering: YES, goats can get depressed, too.

Update: especially if some animal-tormenting therapist uses them as scapegoats!! See this blog post by Jake Christie: http://jakechristieblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/i-have-placed-my-sickness-upon-you-by-karin-tidbeck-strange-horizons/

 

Tags: book, broken mirror, Depression, goats, heart, puppies, quote, stars