The ’60s Magazine

Awarded to DJ Futrell for work submitted in Fall 2023 to Nich Krause in ENGL 2020: Themes in Literature and Culture

Smiling Depression

Awarded to Melissa Brown for work submitted in Spring 2023 to Honey Denson in ENGL 1020: Research and Argumentative Writing

A battle starts as soon as some people wake up, but a battle against what exactly? One between their mind and the racing, overwhelming depressive thoughts and emotions. They attend school and work every day like normal; however, they still fight the inevitable suicidal and depressive thoughts. This illness has many names, for example, the medical term is called Dysthymia, but it’s more commonly referred to as “High- functioning depression” or “Smiling depression”. Smiling depression is a very serious mental illness; people need to be aware of the symptoms, actions, treatment, and overall information about the illness to preserve people’s lives.

What is smiling depression?

Smiling depression or Dysthymia, according to Harvard Health, is a “depressed mood most of the time for at least two years, along with at least two of the following symptoms…” (Harvard Health). It is a long-term illness that usually emerges early in life. Technically, smiling depression or high-functioning depression isn’t a clinical diagnosis, but that doesn’t mean people don’t struggle with it. It is very common in most people and is just as prominent as major depression. (Harvard Health) With all the people who struggle with it, “more than half of people with dysthymia eventually have an episode of major depression…” (Harvard Health). The diagnoses are much more distinguished in women than men; however, it can be misdiagnosed as major depression because of how many get help when they are acting in an episode. Dealing with this illness can be exhausting for most people since it feels like it’s a constant state of hopelessness. It causes one to struggle with emptiness, thoughts of hurting themselves, and even suicide. They struggle with this on a day-to-day basis, but it might not be apparent to the people closest to them. Their loved ones might notice slight changes in behaviors such as lost interest in fun activities, difficulty in getting daily tasks done, heightened insecurities, etc., (Mayo Clinic Staff). Just because people may know others with steady jobs and expensive assets doesn’t mean they don’t struggle every day with getting out of bed, brushing their teeth, or eating good meals. Understanding this illness is key to realizing and understanding people’s pain.

Symptoms and Signs

Everyone expresses their emotions differently, so not everyone expresses the signs and symptoms the same. Everyone does however suffer from a depressed mood and an overall gloomy “personality”. They have these classic symptoms of clinical depression but aren’t as severe as major depressive disorder (Ashley Addiction). The most common indicators that

people must have at least two for one to be diagnosed with are decreased or increased appetite, sleep troubles, declined energy, more insecurities, hopelessness, and wandering thoughts (Harvard Health). Also, an extreme increase in guilt and shame. This causes people to be more agitated and irritable with the people around them. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide are prominent, but most likely are not acted upon. Some symptoms can be more prominent than others, but all contribute to the actions of feeling with someone who struggles with the illness.

These are more of the symptoms and what one might feel; however, there are some noticeable signs that others may notice. Chronic headaches and stomach aches due to the stress of holding emotions in. Not hanging out with friends and close ones as much or not talking and inserting oneself into the conversation when in a group setting. Noticing no interest or “bleak thoughts about the future,” (Chui). Self-deprecating ideas about oneself. Becoming more closed off and isolated or going out more than usual. Self-medicating with tobacco, nicotine, marijuana, alcohol, and other substances. These are subtle signs that might not be noticed right away but noticing them can save a life.

Causes and Risks

Not everyone has the same reason to be happy, sad, scared, excited, etc. It’s the same with smiling depression; it can arise from many different causes and reasons. It can be a mix of “genetic, biological, or life experiences” that can cause someone to develop high-functioning depression (Morin). It can range from trauma, stress, chemical imbalances in the brain, grief, or abuse – either with substances or not. Stress can come from difficulties with relationships, school, work, or illness. Trauma can stem from these stressful events if they are very impactful on the person. All of these can cause someone to have moderate symptoms that will still let one function every day.

Whatever causes one to develop the illness or not also makes them a risk. Many are at risk for this illness because the symptoms are so mild that one may not even realize they struggle. The ones at the largest risk of developing the illness are those who have relatives that struggle with depression or other mental disorders and those who’ve experienced traumatic events. As I mentioned before, some may not know that they have functional depression or don’t want to admit it. The ones who hide it away or convince themselves their feelings aren’t valid are the ones at a huge risk because they usually don’t get the help they need.

Treatments and Therapy

No matter if one is at risk or isn’t at risk, they can have functional depression and needs to be treated to make sure their life isn’t jeopardized. Many kinds of treatments can be incorporated into one’s life. Medicine and therapy or a combination of these treatments are amazing that can be accessible to most. If these aren’t readily available to a person, then they can develop coping skills to help with their functional depression. Coping skills can be listening to music, reading, exercising, counting backward from 100, cleaning, or journaling. Whatever helps one person might not help another, but everyone can and should have coping skills. There are many lists online that have many coping skills for someone to try out and add to their lives. Just like the many kinds of coping skills, there are also many kinds of medications. The ones that are used the most are “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline (Zoloft), or one of the dual-action antidepressants such as venlafaxine (Effexor),” (Harvard Health). These can help make the overwhelming emotions a little more bearable and make daily tasks just a little easier. One shouldn’t only rely on medications because they can only do so much, but therapy is a good reliable treatment. Therapy can focus on overcoming trauma one has endured, talking about the stressful things in their life and trying to find ways to handle stress, or learning more about coping skills. There are different approaches to help everyone.

Conclusion

Everything about this illness is subtle well almost everything. The signs and the symptoms may be subtle but that doesn’t mean the emotions and feelings are. Just because the symptoms are moderate compared to major depressive disorder doesn’t mean people’s lives aren’t at risk. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide are still very prominent as well as thoughts of life having no meaning. Even if someone’s life does have meaning like a doctor, father, mother, teacher, or student doesn’t necessarily mean they believe it. Everyone needs to realize that anyone can struggle with hiding their depression behind a mask. Those who have this illness will have genuine good days, but they will also have terrible days and won’t let anyone see their struggle. Letting those know that they have a support system will reassure them. Being there for loved ones and lending a listening ear can save a person’s life. This illness doesn’t need to be concealed but understood. Understanding is the key to preventing the increase in deaths by suicide. The national suicide prevention hotline is 988. The Tennessee hotline is 855-274-7471

Spock

Awarded to Levi Dandridge for work submitted in Fall 2023 to Nich Krause in ENGL 2020: Themes in Literature and Culture

Given the constraints of the project, I thought Spock to be the perfect muse for the twisted creation I was about to behold. His stoic nature made it seem ironic that he would even consider a dating profile. I also figured that while others may choose to create a dating profile for Spock, no one else would think to write a song about him, which makes for a more interesting project overall.

Because this is a swinging sixties course, it only made sense to record the song in a garage, being that the era gave rise to garage rock. I requested the help of my fellow bandmates in The Feetles, a comedy grunge group, to which they all provided, except for our lovely bassist Milton, forcing us to make do with our own subpar bass skills. The present members of The Feetles were essential in the creation of the musical structure and soundscape of the beloved track. I wanted to make sure that the song had plenty of ‘spacey’ elements, which we ensured by creating very weird noises with guitar effects pedals and production wizardry. On top of this, I made sure that the music itself was tied to Star Trek by placing it in the key of B flat major which is the same key of the theme song to the series. Furthermore, the chorus borrows chords from the melody of the theme song, those being the B flat to the F sharp major chord. The music also ramps up in intensity to better showcase Spock’s emotional state.

In order to better grasp Spock’s perspective the lyrics are primarily written from his point of view. I took a lot of influence from the episode Plato’s Stepchildren which we watched in class, as one of the main themes of that episode was losing control of oneself, I tried to represent that with the song. In the first verse everything is calm, and Spock is more like himself, with a reference to the opening of the show in the first line. With the chorus emerges the influence of the Platonians who are attempting to use their psychic powers to give Spock a mate, reflected by the chanting chorus line. This influence disturbs Spock, as can be seen in the second verse where he describes himself. He mistakenly calls the ship the USSR Enterprise which shows his deteriorating state of mind, as well as references the statements of the Platonians with “Silent and cerebral” and “Ever-active brow.” With the final chorus Spock has utterly lost it, the psychic powers of the Platonians have driven him mad. The anger awakened inside of him has led him to a violent search for love, reflected in the finale where you can hear his muffled screams, ending ultimately with the demise of Spock at the hands of the Platonians.

From the in-class episode, there was one scene in particular that influenced my profile of Mister Spock. It was the one in which Spock was discussing controlling his temper. In it he asks if the Captain and Dr. McCoy feel anger towards Parmen, then he says this, “Then you must release it, gentlemen, as I must master mine. I might have seriously injured you, Captain, even killed you. They have evoked such great… hatred in me. I cannot allow it to go further.” This scene and episode in particular show Spock coming dangerously close to showing extreme levels of anger, which can be very dangerous for Vulcans. This gave me the idea of Spock losing control of his anger in the song. While certainly less than most humans, Spock shows that even Vulcans can lose control of their emotions sometimes, but knowing how to control them is very important. He also encourages the ideas of stoicism and utilitarian philosophy. Spock’s portrayal shows that even in the sixties, complex ideas were being explored on television that would go on to influence countless generations, as well as crappy garage rock bands called The Feetles.

Lyrics:

Space the final frontier

A lonely place for a Vulcan

And yet I search, for the perfect mate

I Spock

Of the USS Enterprise

Would you like to date me

Spock, give him some love

I am 6 feet tall, 170 pounds

The science officer on the USSR Enterprise

Silent and cerebral you may call me

Music soothes my ever-active brow

It’ll be very gratifying to leave here, with me

It’s only logical. Date me! Spock.