-----Original Message-----
From: Amanda Knox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 10:50 AM
Subject: Re: [issues] Depression & geeks
>You know what's strange? (but maybe it's not so strange, really) I find the
>ratio of depressed to non-depressed people is _much_ higher in the geek
>community. Almost everyone I know who's seriously into computers has some
kind
>of depression or bi-polar disorder. I wonder why that is? I don't think
being
>'into' the computer culture causes depression (although many jobs are
indeed
>stressful and could be the cause of some mental duress) but rather the
computer
>culture seems to attract people with depression/bi-polar/other mental
disorders.
>Discuss!
I hope I don't get too philosophical here but this is my perspective on it.
I
have never been diagnosed as depressed nor taken drugs for the purpose of
altering my mood, but I have been seriously depressed at times and seen
it in others. My opinion is that people who tend to get depressed are
people
who tend to seek the 'why' of things and often come up with a good answer.
This trait is a hallmark of intelligent people and geeks in particular.
People
who can simply live life without questioning it or looking at it too deeply
seem
to have an easier time of it. These people need not face truths that deeper
thinkers cannot avoid, and sometimes those truths can be really tough to
take.
Thats just my 2 cents.
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
