FMD there is a bunch of keyboard heroes on here.
What does Depression feel like? Ever had something really bad happen; a bad breakup, lost a great job, a friend betray you or a death in the family?
That's how you feel every morning when you wake up with clinical depression. It's not feeling down in the dumps or a bit blue. That's vanilla life, your baseline.
You can be having a good time with mates, laughing at sh*t, but it's still there. Eating away at you. And if you have been having a good time, the crash after the laughs go away is comparable to a comedown from coke.
Until I got off my arse and went to see a doctor, I just thought I was a sub standard human; I thought I wasn't worthy of any friendship, affection or basic human rights. I didn't realise something was f**ked up in my brain physically and chemically. People telling me to harden up or get over it, any of the offhand bullsh*t people say when they don't have a clue, made me want to either kill them, kill myself, or both.
The only thing that kept me getting up everyday was my children; if I wasn't a father with responsibilities, I'm not sure where I'd be today.
Sticks and Stones and all that? Depends who you are talking to. What Slater said wouldn't affect me personally, but I'd belt the turd (even if he'd kick my arse) for being a total wanker.
This is just my personal experience, and I fully expect morons to pay me out; good luck motherf**kers, I've taken back control of my life and the black dog is whimpering in the corner of my mind. I've learned to control a potentially fatal mental disease, through two divorces, the death of my best friend and only seeing my kids once a fortnight.
Could be worse though, I could be making excuses for an ex-jockey coward that stomps on a prone man's face and then hides behind his mates, or belts a guy being held by several other players.