Chris and Depression

[pickleniggo]

Don't know if Chris thinks that getting a PS4 with games in it will make him happy. From the sounds of this, even with all the vidya out there, they'll never be enough to make him happy.

I'm sure he wants a PS4, and that it would cheer him up for a while. But we all know that it's not a viable long-term solution. At its best, it's a momentary distraction. At its worst, it increases his isolation and makes him even more antisocial.

Would a shiny new PS4 even cheer him up? I can see him buying it, taking it home, plugging it in, and then staring at it emotionless as he idly plays his vidya. At this point, I don't think gamin makes him happy in the slightest - it's just an escape that he'll forever turn to because there's literally nothing else he's willing to do. (You know, besides play with Lego in McDonald's for hours at a time.)

 

[Da Pickle Monsta]

Don't know if Chris thinks that getting a PS4 with games in it will make him happy. From the sounds of this, even with all the vidya out there, they'll never be enough to make him happy.

I'm sure he wants a PS4, and that it would cheer him up for a while. But we all know that it's not a viable long-term solution. At its best, it's a momentary distraction. At its worst, it increases his isolation and makes him even more antisocial.

Would a shiny new PS4 even cheer him up? I can see him buying it, taking it home, plugging it in, and then staring at it emotionless as he idly plays his vidya. At this point, I don't think gamin makes him happy in the slightest - it's just an escape that he'll forever turn to because there's literally nothing else he's willing to do. (You know, besides play with Lego in McDonald's for hours at a time.)

I'm sure that he would convince himself that he was happy with a PS4, even if its not true.

 

[CatParty]

Most of his public whining is him being a big drama queen.

 

[An Ounce of Vagina]

Most of his public whining is him being a big drama queen.

More or less. Chris grew up getting everything he wanted because people pitied him. He sees no reason it shouldn't work that way still. In his mind if he can just look pitiful enough a billionaire supermodel will come and serve him/solve all of his problems/be his new mommy.

And that is why Chris openly portrays himself as unconfident, helpless, emotionally unstable, and with absolutely no control over his life. He really has no idea the impression this gives other people, especially women.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

And that is why Chris openly portrays himself as unconfident, helpless, emotionally unstable, and with absolutely no control over his life. He really has no idea the impression this gives other people, especially women.

Yeah, he really doesn't get that the things people are generally most attracted to are personal strength and positivity.

 

[Zim]

Most of his public whining is him being a big drama queen.

More or less. Chris grew up getting everything he wanted because people pitied him. He sees no reason it shouldn't work that way still. In his mind if he can just look pitiful enough a billionaire supermodel will come and serve him/solve all of his problems/be his new mommy.

And that is why Chris openly portrays himself as unconfident, helpless, emotionally unstable, and with absolutely no control over his life. He really has no idea the impression this gives other people, especially women.

It's a lot to do with him just being really stupid too. He has no ability to see why people pitied and were overly nice to him (and handing life to him on silver platter) as a kid and why it's not so much as an adult. With a ten year old mentally challenged kid people say "Aww poor thing. Let me help!" where now that he's a creepy looking childish man in his 30's people won't put up with him in the same way. The reason people don't look at him the same way eludes him.

Anyway, I agree he's depressed because of his environment and having no friends. In fact I think it's mostly because he has no friends. I can't imagine how shitty it would be to have no one to talk to except for Barb. Even if, for example, you only talk to the other people on this forum and no one else in real life you still have it better then he does. The worst part is that his chances of ever having friends is extremely low since he sees himself above socializing in groups for the mentally challenged and (this ones the big one) that he's a thirty year old creepy looking man who's only interested in stuff a 12 year old would like.

 

[MayMay]

It still feels like most of this could be solved if he had just done one thing:

Accept his own flaws.

This is someone who is still under the impression he's a handsome, strong STRRRAIGHT, man who's a pure beacon of morality and is always right all the time.
So when things go bad, it just HAS to be outside influence he doesn't control, it's not like maybe HE could be the problem. He just refuses to take any action at all. I know there's times where depression and the causes weren't avoidable and often can't even be amended... but really this can be. I've had depression (for entirely different and kinda awkward reasons) and maybe I'm not the best for doling out advice but the worst Chris could possibly be doing is nothing and, frankly, unless we see some shocking personal change in him, he'll probably be like this for the rest of his life.

 

[pickleniggo]

It still feels like most of this could be solved if he had just done one thing:

Accept his own flaws.

This is someone who is still under the impression he's a handsome, strong STRRRAIGHT, man who's a pure beacon of morality and is always right all the time.

Oh absolutely. There are times where he's accepted that he's a bit slow-in-da-mind, and there was that one time he couldn't do a pull-up (still hilarious), but other than that he thinks he's the ultimate hero trapped in his prison of garbage and trolls.
If years of being told the same thing over and over again from outside influences (Kacey calls, Alec calls, etc) hasn't humbled him, the I'm not sure anything ever will. I'm even under the impression that professional help wouldn't do any good for him, that's how far gone he is in his own delusions.

 

[MayMay]

It still feels like most of this could be solved if he had just done one thing:

Accept his own flaws.

This is someone who is still under the impression he's a handsome, strong STRRRAIGHT, man who's a pure beacon of morality and is always right all the time.

Oh absolutely. There are times where he's accepted that he's a bit slow-in-da-mind, and there was that one time he couldn't do a pull-up (still hilarious), but other than that he thinks he's the ultimate hero trapped in his prison of garbage and trolls.
If years of being told the same thing over and over again from outside influences (Kacey calls, Alec calls, etc) hasn't humbled him, the I'm not sure anything ever will. I'm even under the impression that professional help wouldn't do any good for him, that's how far gone he is in his own delusions.

Well, I think deliberate bids for pity don't really count...

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

It's a lot to do with him just being really stupid too. He has no ability to see why people pitied and were overly nice to him (and handing life to him on silver platter) as a kid and why it's not so much as an adult.

He also doesn't get that pity and attraction are basically mutually exclusive. He wants one, he can't have the other. But he always wants pity even when he says he doesn't.

 

[Marvin]

It still feels like most of this could be solved if he had just done one thing:

Accept his own flaws.

This is someone who is still under the impression he's a handsome, strong STRRRAIGHT, man who's a pure beacon of morality and is always right all the time.

Oh absolutely. There are times where he's accepted that he's a bit slow-in-da-mind, and there was that one time he couldn't do a pull-up (still hilarious), but other than that he thinks he's the ultimate hero trapped in his prison of garbage and trolls.
If years of being told the same thing over and over again from outside influences (Kacey calls, Alec calls, etc) hasn't humbled him, the I'm not sure anything ever will. I'm even under the impression that professional help wouldn't do any good for him, that's how far gone he is in his own delusions.

Well, I think deliberate bids for pity don't really count...

Heh, I really wouldn't describe either the Kacey calls nor the Alec calls as pity. They were really both trying to break him with the truth.

But yeah, professional help probably wouldn't help, because he'd spend the whole time trying to sate the shrink so he could get the fuck out of that room. He needs professional control. Someone who can tell Chris to do something, and if he doesn't do it, he has jail (or something else) as a consequence. So they could rearrange his life, forcefully. Authoritarian control is all that can help Chris at this point.

 

[MayMay]

Probably should have been more specific. I meant the "There are times where he's accepted that he's a bit slow-in-da-mind" part. My bad!

 

[butt in trouble]

Chris is depressed because he honestly thought that by this point in his life he'd be married to a super-model, have a daughter named Crystal, Sonichu would be a successful franchise and he'd have that fabled office job. He viewed these events as inevitable.

That's it, that's it right there. Chris never, ever put effort into getting the life that he wants, he just spent years and years assuming it would happen on its own at some point. And reality eventually began slapping him in the face. That takes a toll when it happens for years on end.

Reality didn't slap Chris. It rabbit punched him.

 

[GFYS]

Authoritarian control is all that can help Chris at this point.

This sums up most of what I believe about Chris.

The problem for Chris is that there's nobody who can AND will assume that responsibility, aside from the penal system. Barb, as his mom and landlord, can... but won't, because . Some bleeding heart white might may want to... but can't legally control Chris to the extent necessary to make meaningful change. Only a law enforcement officer, judge, detention staff, or parole officer would have the legal power, and responsibility (assuming they do their jobs) to enforce a rule upon Chris. Because he's a big fat pussy, he'll accept the orders of people who can make him miserable, but he won't learn a damn thing from it other than "mm, yeah, I don't like that." So, Chris might be helped by keeping him from having to make decisions for himself - someone tells him when to sleep, when to wake, when to eat, when to get exercise, what he can / can't do, but there'll be no lasting lesson learned.

At this point in his life, Chris is a wild animal that cannot be tamed, only contained.

 

[Fuzzy Wuzzy]

At this point in his life, Chris is a wild animal that cannot be tamed, only contained.

I'm guessing that may refer to Barb's coddling and spoiling of Chris then when it comes to making sure he stays out of trouble in public as well as "protecting" him since she has no one to talk to but Chris. She probably thinks that by doing this, she's making sure her son does not get into anymore trouble than he already is.

 

[milkshark]

Chris' depression is a direct result of his upbringing. He was emotionally manipulated by his parents to be as low maintenance as he possibly could be. A lot of kids are raised this way, it's sort of the norm of an entire generation: plop the kid in front of the TV box, and keep the bright, colorful images coming. At a certain age, normal kids tire of the afternoon cartoon routine and branch out. Chris is developmentally stunted and wasn't pushed to do anything but speak, and it appears he is quite comfortable in the daily activity routine of an 8 year old child. Weirdly enough Chris has cherry-picked concepts of maturity that appeal to him like sex, dating, friendships and imbibing alcohol, making him a sexually aware grown man with almost nothing but childish tendencies. Chris is mostly depressed because he's not getting what he asked Santa for year after year, despite knowing full well that Santa is not a real concept or individual. He has somewhat of an understanding of the real world, but he's usually railing against how it doesn't cater to him specifically. Chris is so unconditioned to the slightest bit of conflict or struggle in his life that he's just grown into a large and smelly child with the libido of an adult. Also for the first time in his life, he's experiencing consequences for refusing to grow up: He's unable to make friends, attract a mate, afford his preferred luxuries or realize the adult fantasies he prayed and wished for most of his life. Every day is a shitty Christmas morning to him now, just another present to unopen that will surely disappoint just like the last time.

 

[Marvin]

Authoritarian control is all that can help Chris at this point.

This sums up most of what I believe about Chris.

The problem for Chris is that there's nobody who can AND will assume that responsibility, aside from the penal system. Barb, as his mom and landlord, can... but won't, because . Some bleeding heart white might may want to... but can't legally control Chris to the extent necessary to make meaningful change. Only a law enforcement officer, judge, detention staff, or parole officer would have the legal power, and responsibility (assuming they do their jobs) to enforce a rule upon Chris. Because he's a big fat pussy, he'll accept the orders of people who can make him miserable, but he won't learn a damn thing from it other than "mm, yeah, I don't like that." So, Chris might be helped by keeping him from having to make decisions for himself - someone tells him when to sleep, when to wake, when to eat, when to get exercise, what he can / can't do, but there'll be no lasting lesson learned.

At this point in his life, Chris is a wild animal that cannot be tamed, only contained.

I think you're mostly on target about this. Although I don't know about someone making decisions for him. I mean, I guess it's a very vague, hypothetical situation to consider, but I think an ideal Barb could help him, even at this state in his life.

The big reasons I think this is because Chris is definitely aware that his life is shit. While it seems he mostly blames it on trolls, it's not impossible to discuss the genuine reasons about his shitty life with him. And he will talk about it, interestingly in direct contradiction to his public, stated explanation (trolls) for why his life is a shithole. People have done it before, via email and other routes. Also, Chris will not block or get rid of friends who exceed the hurtful truth level on this topic. I guarantee it. People are really wrong about that theory.

Now, I think that if you explain the situation to Chris in the right way, as well as being able to force him to make the right choices in his life, he will notice his life slowly becoming less of a shithole. But yeah, this is a pipe dream because it'd require an ideal Barb. Barb hasn't even been close to "functional" in years, let alone "good" or anything like that.

 

[CatParty]

It's been all downhill since winning mother of the year

 

[Marvin]

Well, really, Chris could work a part time job. If I remember correctly, you'd lose your tugboat if you exceeded a certain level of income. So, Chris could work a part time job, make a little extra cash and be able to live very comfortably in some little apartment in Charlottesville with his income plus his tugboat. He'd also get a social outlet that would make his life very less depressing. If someone was controlling his life who wasn't a jackass, his life could definitely get better, step by step.

And nah, he doesn't stop listening. You can make points and he'll respond. I mean, at first with whines and shitty troll counterpoints, but those are trivial to shut down. And then he can try to give some better retorts, and you can react to those at well. I mean, ultimately, it's a genuine conversation and you can actually tell Chris what to do. He converses and it goes back and forth.

Vivian (also known as Clyde's "cousin") isn't really a great example to rely on. "She" would fold quickly, mostly because she holds Chris to normal person standards. Maybe that was not really known to be a huge mistake back then? But there's always the option that Vivian (Clyde's "cousin") folded quickly, which was kinda my experience with "her."