I agree whole heartedly and have been to some of the places you have. One thing I have noticed in some friends and acquaintances who've worked out of depression is that they can attain this loftiness to themselves. They feel superior to those who are where they once were. Once I saw that in real life, I began to extrapolate it to a lot of the comments on the internet that tear down the depressed. Somehow they lose their empathy along the way.
> They feel superior to those who are where they once were.
This is the thing I don't understand about these people. Once you've experienced depression but somehow you did manage to "leave it behind" you still have the feeling that's there, somewhere, hidden, and only the greatest fool would make fun of it or of people still suffering from it.
It is very simple - depression is like cancer in a sense that it expands and captures/modifies more and more reflexes, thought patterns, habits and other aspects of personality. The single most important thing is to stop trying to be accommodating and understanding to its effects (feeling sorry for yourself), which is needed in order to increase locus of control[1]. Another key part (which comes later) is to absolutely believe and be determined that you're not depressed and that mistakes are just mistakes.
So, take lack of compassion and self-identification and you've got it. Still, being a bitter cunt is zillion times better than getting hit by a tram, because you don't care. Also, a lot of chicks just dig guys who are short on empathy, which is a nice reward. And when need be, empathy is extremely easily faked, because people are not very suspicious when they need it.
I saw the same thing happening with people who lost a lot of weight. I am pretty sure it's a combination of fear to get back to a previous unwanted state and a frame of mind that can't stand the idea of remembering how we once were when looking at someone depressed or overweight.
This is ire inducing, as is all the comments agreeing anecdoatly. As someone who has came through the other side I would <emphasis>strongly</emphasis> argue that the level of empathy I feel towards friends in a similar predicatment is limitless.
"A man falls down a hole..."
It speaks to the character of the person if they then think of themselves superior to a friend who is fighting a fight they have been through previously.
