[iouiyyut]

i swear the duality of this world will rip me in two bloody halves one day. one paradox is that when we are depressed is when we really need to be around other people. but when we are most depressed is when we don't want to show our tired, sad faces. like that song, "nobody knows you when you're down and out", written by jimmy cox. but i truly feel that other people are the best remedy for the blues.

i find it ironic and funny that some of the happiest times of my life was when i was living in a halfway house. for those who don't know what a halfway house is, it is this:

a rehabilitation center where people who have left an institution, such as a hospital or prison, are helped to readjust to the outside world.

http://www.answers.com/topic/halfway-house sure, it was filthy and we were all hooligans but it was great to live with a bunch of guys. and we all played cards or dominoes all night and talked about all sorts of stuff. i remember it fondly.

another of my happiest times of my life was summer camp for the same reason. because i lived with a whole bunch of people, like a tribe, for a week or so and it was great.

when i was a kid i had a large family and i was a happy kid. but i was the youngest by eight years and around the time my mom left my dad, all my siblings moved out as well and i found myself alone for the first time, which is when things started going down the crapper. thus began my tour through the dark side of life.

also, they have proven that when prisoners are locked up in solitary confinement for a period of time they begin to get manic depressive and go crazy. i think a huge chunk of the depression we all experience in this world is due to isolation. we are all isolated in our cars, ipods, computers, televisions, and apartments.

so i believe that human contact is as much an essential viamin as sunlight or green vegetables. and my advice to you, bluseyboy, would be go out and hang out with people. even if it means volunteering somewhere or something. i know it is hard to do because you don't feel sociable when you are depressed but it warms you up and makes you feel better. it did for me.

well good luck and cheers.