I've never had a sustained period of medication for mental illness when I've not been on other drugs as well. It's just not something that I particularly feel I need. I know that I have dramatically changing moods, and I know sometimes I feel really depressed, but I think that's just life. I don't think of it as, "Ah, this is mental illness," more as, "Today, life makes me feel very sad." I know I also get unnaturally high levels of energy and quickness of thought, but I'm able to utilize that.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the author's acceptance of fluctuating emotions, viewing them as a normal part of life rather than a mental illness.
In this quote, Russell Brand discusses his experiences with mental health and the way he perceives his mood swings. Rather than labeling his emotional highs and lows as mental illness, he interprets them as natural changes that come with life. This perspective emphasizes acceptance and understanding of one's emotional state, suggesting that instead of seeking to categorize these feelings strictly within the confines of mental health conditions, it can be more beneficial to recognize them as part of the human experience.
In practice
In a discussion about coping strategies for managing emotions, one might say, 'As Russell Brand noted, it's important to view our fluctuating feelings as just part of life.'
Perhaps if we could popularise through the techniques of branding and consumerism, a different idea, a different narrative, perhaps the world can change. After all it changes constantly and incessantly, it's just the perceptions that we have are governed by people with self-interest and are not inalignment with the health and safety of us as individuals or as a planet.
Say I feel all sad and self-indulgent, then get stung by a wasp, my misery feels quite abstract and I long just to be in spiritual pain once more - 'damn you tiny assassin, clad in yellow and black, how I crave my former innocence where melancholy was my only trial'.
I know that's the sort of thing people say and I really hate it when people say the sort of things people say. I always think, 'You don't mean that, you just think it sounds good.
Im happy to be a part of the conversation, if more young people are talking about fracking instead of twerking were heading in the right direction. The people that govern us dont want an active population who are politically engaged, they want passive consumers distracted by the spectacle of which I accept I am a part.
When I was poor and I complained about inequality they said I was bitter. Now I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm starting to think they just don't want to talk about inequality.
It is 10 years since I used drugs or drank alcohol and my life has improved immeasurably. I have a job, a house, a cat, good friendships and generally a bright outlook.
Many politicians, celebrities, businessmen and women, and community leaders now are open about their struggles with mental illnesses, something almost unheard of when I began. Together, we are spreading the word that mental health affects all of us and deserves our support and attention.
Depression on my left, Loneliness on my right. They don't need to show me thier badges. I know these guys very well.
One of things so bad about depression and bipolar disorder is that if you don't have prior awareness, you don't have any idea what hit you.
I guess I realize that I don't want to die. I don't want to live either, but-there really isn't anything in-between. Depression is about as close as you get to somewhere between dead and alive, and it's the worst. But since the tendency toward inertia means that it's easier for me to stay alive than die, I guess that's how it's going to be, so I guess I should try to be happy.
There is an increasing market for mental hospital stuff. I am a fool if I don't relive it, recreate it.
Depression can seem worse than terminal cancer, because most cancer patients feel loved and they have hope and self-esteem.
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