Awesome stuff. Reminds me of the basic principle of Stoicism. There are two kinds of things in the world, what you can control and what you can't. With the stuff you can't, you can only control your emotional response to it. In other words, there's no logic in getting mad at the rain.
I think my brain is addicted to a feeling I got a decade ago when I first read an article by some guy named David Wong, after which the entire way I viewed the world changed.
"I'm fairly certain that the marginalized peoples of the world want safety, freedom, food, housing and relationships. What they do not want is our loud, endless, wheel-spinning neurosis."
A lot of the time I know I'm doing better mental health wise when I find myself reaching for thoughtful writing like this instead of scouring reddit for the most vile ideas I can find people claiming to think. When you write stuff like this it makes it's easier to get into a less terrible equilibrium.
I hate to admit this, but when Cracked, well, cracked and pretty much got rid of, well, everyone, I was supremely ticked off. I started writing nasty stuff on Cracked's Facebook page. I was never an employee, per se, but I did some freelance stuff on occasion. I was more active in their photoplasty contests than anything else.
Anyway, this all happened around the time the pandemic hit. And although it did not affect me financially (I think I made a whopping $300 or $400 a year from them), it DID hit many of my fellow plasticians more substantially, especially since many of them were located in nations where the U.S. dollar goes much further than here in the States.
Point is, we were "assured" that the contests would be coming back, but it became apparently that that was not going to happen. It made many of us angry (irrationally or not), and I took to trolling the official Facebook page for a couple of weeks.
Anyway, I feel really bad about that in retrospect, but I still think that the admins at Cracked could have been a bit more diplomatic about this.
And no--I am NOT blaming Jason in any way, shape, or form about this. I'm under the impression that he got the shaft, as they say, way worse than anyone else.
In the meantime, although I got the Ban Hammer at Cracked, I'm apparently able to post again. I've been civil ever since, but I still feel like a total dick for the way I acted.
Almost daily, I have arguments in my head with people I don't know about things that never happened. Thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one. 🤘😜
Thank you for this article. I'm on the road to recovery with my anxiety and depression and resorted to basically consuming a tiny fraction of the news than I used to. Things still trigger me but I'm learning to deal with the emotional outbursts. You have a way of reaching the calming center of my brain. Not sure how you do it but keep it up.
Great article. I'm a big fan of your writing. Today I was thinking about how years ago my wife and I didn't have much money and we're paycheck-to-paycheck, how I would get panic attacks at the gas station or check out line because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to afford to fuel my car or feed my family. Today we're much more financially stable, and I've done a lot to learn to cope with my own anxiety, but even at my healthiest I still get a twinge of uncertainty when I'm grocery shopping. Your article helped me understand why that is. Thank you.
I hade a similar revelation about my clinical depression. I had a breakthrough about 5 years ago when my depression flared up during a stable time in my life. I realized that I was feeling sad first and then coming up with reasons to be sad afterwards, which made me sadder. In fact, my life has always been stable, I'm downright #blessed; my life just seemed tragic because of my depression.
That's not to say I don't have actual problems (I have bills to pay, deadlines to meet, friends to backstab), but my emotional response has always been more extreme than the problems warrant. I still have depression, but it's much easier to deal with, because I know it's something I just have to ride out. Like, I know my mind will go to a hopeless place the moment I experience any turbulence, and it's weirdly reassuring to have awareness of that.
Took a while to find you here, but I am glad I spent that time, to be rewarded with articles like this - which is what made me visit cracked often then and not anymore now.
Awesome stuff. Reminds me of the basic principle of Stoicism. There are two kinds of things in the world, what you can control and what you can't. With the stuff you can't, you can only control your emotional response to it. In other words, there's no logic in getting mad at the rain.
Really enjoyed this! Also I hope Jason comes out with some stuff that allows us to give him money for it because he’s good.
I started taking long walks about six years ago to help my mental state, and it has improved my life immensely.
I think my brain is addicted to a feeling I got a decade ago when I first read an article by some guy named David Wong, after which the entire way I viewed the world changed.
"I'm fairly certain that the marginalized peoples of the world want safety, freedom, food, housing and relationships. What they do not want is our loud, endless, wheel-spinning neurosis."
Well, that's harder to do :(
A lot of the time I know I'm doing better mental health wise when I find myself reaching for thoughtful writing like this instead of scouring reddit for the most vile ideas I can find people claiming to think. When you write stuff like this it makes it's easier to get into a less terrible equilibrium.
5. This Can Turn You Into An Asshole
I hate to admit this, but when Cracked, well, cracked and pretty much got rid of, well, everyone, I was supremely ticked off. I started writing nasty stuff on Cracked's Facebook page. I was never an employee, per se, but I did some freelance stuff on occasion. I was more active in their photoplasty contests than anything else.
Anyway, this all happened around the time the pandemic hit. And although it did not affect me financially (I think I made a whopping $300 or $400 a year from them), it DID hit many of my fellow plasticians more substantially, especially since many of them were located in nations where the U.S. dollar goes much further than here in the States.
Point is, we were "assured" that the contests would be coming back, but it became apparently that that was not going to happen. It made many of us angry (irrationally or not), and I took to trolling the official Facebook page for a couple of weeks.
Anyway, I feel really bad about that in retrospect, but I still think that the admins at Cracked could have been a bit more diplomatic about this.
And no--I am NOT blaming Jason in any way, shape, or form about this. I'm under the impression that he got the shaft, as they say, way worse than anyone else.
In the meantime, although I got the Ban Hammer at Cracked, I'm apparently able to post again. I've been civil ever since, but I still feel like a total dick for the way I acted.
I've missed articles like this! Words to hold me over until the next book comes out!
Great article. Keep em' coming!
Almost daily, I have arguments in my head with people I don't know about things that never happened. Thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one. 🤘😜
Thank you for this article. I'm on the road to recovery with my anxiety and depression and resorted to basically consuming a tiny fraction of the news than I used to. Things still trigger me but I'm learning to deal with the emotional outbursts. You have a way of reaching the calming center of my brain. Not sure how you do it but keep it up.
Great article. I'm a big fan of your writing. Today I was thinking about how years ago my wife and I didn't have much money and we're paycheck-to-paycheck, how I would get panic attacks at the gas station or check out line because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to afford to fuel my car or feed my family. Today we're much more financially stable, and I've done a lot to learn to cope with my own anxiety, but even at my healthiest I still get a twinge of uncertainty when I'm grocery shopping. Your article helped me understand why that is. Thank you.
I hade a similar revelation about my clinical depression. I had a breakthrough about 5 years ago when my depression flared up during a stable time in my life. I realized that I was feeling sad first and then coming up with reasons to be sad afterwards, which made me sadder. In fact, my life has always been stable, I'm downright #blessed; my life just seemed tragic because of my depression.
That's not to say I don't have actual problems (I have bills to pay, deadlines to meet, friends to backstab), but my emotional response has always been more extreme than the problems warrant. I still have depression, but it's much easier to deal with, because I know it's something I just have to ride out. Like, I know my mind will go to a hopeless place the moment I experience any turbulence, and it's weirdly reassuring to have awareness of that.
Took a while to find you here, but I am glad I spent that time, to be rewarded with articles like this - which is what made me visit cracked often then and not anymore now.
I am so glad that you've continued to write articles like this.
Classic Pargin column. Reminds me of the good old days.