Actor-writer Spalding Gray's body found

[MouseyMama]

God rest his soul....A brilliant man. Depression, can hit *any* one of us

[billorites]

This is terribly sad.

[RetiredArmy]

Sorry, never heard of the guy.

[anniegetyourgun]

depression can hit any one of us

Well, I for one, will refuse to participate.

[motzman]

Well, I for one, will refuse to participate.

Funny quip, but for many it's not a choice...

[billorites]

Very talented writer/monologist with a wry sense of humor.

[fishbabe]

winston churchill had it and he called it,the black dog....he started painting because it helped his depression....

[billorites]

[TheBattman]

Actually, it somewhat IS a choice. Yes there are chemical imbalances that can play into depression, but many of the chemical imbalances result from the body dealing with a state of mind.

It's all in how people deal with the world around them. IF they allow it to get to them, they set the ball rolling - and the chemicals getting goofy in the brain. Once the chemicals get goofy enough, it becomes quite difficult to pull yourself out of the downs - often requiring medication to turn the situation around.

Much like some people who are more inclined to become alcoholic or drug addicted, some people are more inclined to delve into a depressed state. And like the alcoholic - if you allow yourself to dwell in a depressed state, you are more likely to get stuck there.

Flame suit on.....

[GEC]

Dittos.

It's always good to remove doubt, but past suicide attempts suggested that he had done himself in when he had gone missing.

Condolences to his family, especially the child(ren).

[VaBthang4]

Dont know who he is.

[phugg]

I remember an appearance on David Letterman when he stated that he was applying morning urine to his head to treat baldness.

Dave asked, "Well how do you put it on?"

[MineralMan]

"Dont know who he is."

No? Then why comment at all? In any case, you can read the article and find out who he was.

I saw him doing "Swimming to Cambodia" live a couple of times. He's a pretty good monologist, in my opinion.

[dljordan]

A lot of depression is caused by stress. You get stressed out about job, family, etc. and pretty soon your health suffers, you get depressed, you get stressed about the depression and on an on.

[pt17]

Flame suit on.....

No flame from here. I've seen people work themselves out of deep clinical depression without drugs.

[motzman]

Flame suit on.....

No need. For many, they have problems dealing with the world around them. And for some, no amount of therapy, hard work, or training can help.

But many can beat depression without drugs or radical therapy.

[RetiredArmy]

Nope. Sorry. Still don't know the guy. But, after Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and all my cowboy favorites died, I kinda am out of the movie business. Mel Gibson and a couple of others, Bruce Willis. But I am sick of Hollyweird. My wife and I guy all the old movies on DVD and watch those. I am about to cancel my cable. I am sick of all the garbage on it. $49.95 a month for worthless B.S. crap.

[RetiredArmy]

Actually "guy" should be go. My bad.

[Hatteras]

"A lot of depression is caused by stress. You get stressed out about job, family, etc. and pretty soon your health suffers, you get depressed, you get stressed about the depression and on an on."

It's all about faith and attitude, in that order. If I used job stress, etc. as an excuse I would have done myself in years ago. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and to do something new. If you feel that you should not have to prove yourself in one way or another, to yourself or anyone else, than you might as well call it quits. Those that demand respect based on some self-centered ego seem to be the most stressed.

Me? I like to keep it humble. If things don't go my way... I downshift, figure out where the problem lies and do what I can to solve the situation. I can blame my problems on others, but in the end, that doesn't help me one bit. I just thank the good Lord every morning when I wake up and find myself still on this side of the grass.

In the meantime, my end goal of owning my quaint little seaside bar will happen one day. But heck, if that never happens, I'll at least spend my share of time on the patron's side of the bar.

[vikk]

You are simply talking about yourself. I think it's pointless and more than a little presumptuous to pass a judgement on someone else's brain chemistry, because you're not walking in their shoes. It's not within miles of an either/or thing, because we're talking about the most complex of organs. Some people never have to deal with depression. Others who get depressed and can pull themselves out are lucky. I've lost more than a few friends who had plenty to live for, but just couldn't pull themselves out of the spiral. From seeing it up close, I can tell you that it is not a rational decision.