1 Topic by Tenement Funster (edited by Tenement Funster 2016-09-28 10:32:03)

  • From: Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Registered: 2013-01-20
  • Posts: 4,083

Topic: WORN

Someone I know and love suffers with Dysphoric Bi-Polar Depression. In talking to him and reading about it so that I can understand him, this is what he feels like most of the time. Not all health issues are visible:

WORN

I'm so worn out.
My joints ache constantly.
All the years of heavy lifting and active living have taken their toll.
My feet, knees, and hips ache and burn all the time.
Any activity hurts like crazy; takes the wind out of my sails for just about everything.
My head aches with the weather … just want to hide from everything.

I'm so worn down.
I've been working hard since my late teens, and there's no end in sight.
Every gain offset with a setback; feels like I'm treading water in shark-infested seas.
It's just a matter of time.
Government takes half of what I earn; whiners want them to tax and spend even more.
I seem to be surrounded by people who can't stand on their own two feet.
They always have their hand out … in one way or another.

I'm so worn out.
The human race around me is overrun with short-sighted, self-absorbed idiots.
They fall for stupid marketing campaigns, and chase short-term pleasure and short-term gain as if they were the pinnacles of human achievement.
Buzz words to conceal their emptiness, without knowing what they even mean.
I can't stand being around them … almost all the time.

I'm so worn down.
Terrorism is spreading like a plague, and we open our doors and pay for their admission.
My mind sees only a small part, I'm sure … and it terrifies me.
We refuse to see it or deal with it; it won't let me sleep.
It won't let me enjoy things I used to enjoy.
Hobbies have become a very short term diversion.
I pretend they're more … but they aren't.

I'm so worn out.
Plans and ambitions; dreams I once had … none of it will likely ever happen now.
I feel so taken advantage of, so used … and so used up.
There's nothing left to give.
Going to my job each day is torture, but I can't escape my obligations.
I'm drowning in them … frustration is suffocating me.

  • From: Wellington New Zealand
  • Registered: 2010-03-24
  • Posts: 1,388

Re: WORN

Tf
wow this is really something.
I agree with much of it.Brilliantly written.
But as this is a music site,i have to say
since i got into music i`ve met an awful lot of the self absorbed types.
There`s  a number of people on here that are not like this at all.
But in my other hobbies i don`t seem to find it a problem at all. Go figure!
Please write more stuff.

The King Of Audio Torture

3 Reply by TIGLJK (edited by TIGLJK 2016-09-29 10:50:18)

  • TIGLJK
  • Honoured Member
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  • Registered: 2010-05-11
  • Posts: 3,221

Re: WORN

TF  that is well written.

I agree with what you included... certainly some or maybe all applies to many people.I know there have been plenty of days where I have been " worn" too.
Yet somewhere in our lives, there seems to be something that keeps us going.......  faith ?  another person's love ? a kind act by a stranger ? a child's smile ? or maybe it's just hope that another day will bring something better in some way.
People with conditions such as your friend, and those that encounter all the maladies of our cynical world,  should be so admired for their courage to fight another day, every day. Seems life gives us a cross to bear in some way.
Thanks for sharing your superb poem

JK

Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

4 Reply by Peatle Jville (edited by Peatle Jville 2016-09-30 22:54:37)

  • Registered: 2015-07-31
  • Posts: 2,793

Re: WORN

That would have to be one of best discriptions of depression I have read ever. You also have put into words how society fails the vulnerable. There seems  to be big big budgets for what doesnt matter and lots of effort and money  thrown at superficiality. So called reality shows that have no connection to most or the real world. The two planets on one Planet Earth are Planet Rich, Planet Poor.

  • From: The Land Of Song
  • Registered: 2007-12-10
  • Posts: 5,704

Re: WORN

That is so good and well written that it makes me want to take to the streets and start a revolution! governments and the people that run them posses all a countries money and there is only one place money comes from and that's the poor.

It's a shame that your friend has to work through all his difficulties but I suppose it's for his own self-respect.

Well observed and brilliantly written.

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Phill Williams's Website

  • From: Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Registered: 2013-01-20
  • Posts: 4,083

Re: WORN

My buddy's observations aren't really hallucinations, are they?

His condition makes him painfully sensitive to the things we all see around us, and he'll often share his frustration at being helpless to really do much about it. Some of us can "live in the moment" and shut these things out; he can't. We just spent a couple days in the back-country with a tent and our fly rods, and he was grateful to be able to get away from everything for a few days. He's a dear friend, with a big and kind heart ... perhaps why things seem to bother him so much.

  • From: West Georgia
  • Registered: 2006-10-14
  • Posts: 2,557

Re: WORN

Your friend is so fortunate to have you caring about him. I had never heard of Dysphoric Bipolar-Depression, TF, but being mentally handicapped (I won't use "challenged" anymore ---- blame George Carlin)  myself, I know how important it is to have friends who understand. I felt this poem, my friend. Thank you for caring.

Your Friend

Bill

Epiphone Les Paul Studio
Fender GDO300 Orchestral - a gift from Amy & Jim
Rogue Beatle Bass
Journal: www.wheretobud.blogspot. com

8 Reply by Tenement Funster (edited by Tenement Funster 2016-10-05 07:56:10)

  • From: Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Registered: 2013-01-20
  • Posts: 4,083

Re: WORN

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

This poem was born out of my own need to truly understand my buddy, in order to become the kind of friend I would like to have, if I were in his shoes.

Apparently the "Dysphoric" aspect involves some Schizophrenic symptoms. He'll sometimes tell me about things he imagines having such a powerful effect on him, that they're almost more intense than if they'd really happened. He's a great friend, and we enjoy music and fly fishing together. I suppose we're all broken in one way or another, and friendships enable us to carry one another's burdens when needed.

As far as "politically correct" terminology is concerned, Bill, it is indeed a challenge to keep up with. The latest descriptor I hear is "intellectual disability". We'll see how long this one endures, before someone takes offense and it goes through another metamorphosis.