http://www.2-progress.com/anthony-robbins-episodes/
When you are depressed, is it normal to irrational/illogical? (Penn/Teller reference)?
I am depressed. I start to believe in many obscene stuff people of authority says. For example, I truly believe in the theory of evolution over any other creation myths. This was debunked in one of their episodes in the show (penn/teller bullshit!). But i watched another episode on self help. Well, i know that self help works and why it doesnt work for people is that many people never take action. However, in their episode they say that all self help is bull%$#@ including anthony robbins! Now my mind is, either believe that the creation myths are true and evolution false and the self help concepts work OR evolution true, self help doesnt work. Because i think they are always right. My mind is at a very malleable state right now. Is it because i am depressed? what medications can i take?
I *love* Penn and Teller, and I love that show. (And I spend most of my time online defending evolution from Creationists.)
But Penn & Teller *despise* authority! That’s the whole point!
So they would be the first ones to say “Are you kidding me?! We’re comedians/magicians. We’re not ‘authorities’ on anything! The entire point of our show is that you should never let *ANYONE* tell you what to think!”
Now about your question about depression, one effect of depression might be a desire not to have to think about anything. So latching onto someone as an ‘authority’ on one thing (because they persuasively express something you already agree with), and then seeing them as an authority on *everything* is an attractive alternative because now you don’t have to think anymore.
However, depression is a serious thing. It takes professional diagnosis. So asking strangers on the internet if you are depressed or “what medications should I take?” is a really, really bad idea.
As for self-help books and programs, I tend to disagree with Penn & Teller. (See, I can think for myself, even though I’m a big fan.) This is where the ability to latch onto an Authority can be used to your advantage. If Anthony Robbins, or L. Ron Hubbard, or the Dalai Lama, or Jesus of Nazareth, tells you something that resonates with you, that inspires you, then that’s all that matters at first. That can be a kick in the pants to put in the effort to *change*.
The danger comes when (as I mention), that Authority gets to be more than an inspiration for change, and instead replaces your own ability to find an answer to *anything* without that Authority. That is when you are in danger of being manipulated, or worse, sinking into a complete inability to recover if your Authority fails you, or simply doesn’t have an answer to a certain question.
Keep talking to people you trust. And get help if you really think you might be depressed. This is serious stuff … not something to be self-diagnosed on Yahoo.
