Six Word Memoirs on Life Stories

HopeInPain says,

I don't knowing it's always true, but I've heard and witnessed similar things. It's ironic actually.

There are also different types of intelligence. Even if they are not "book smart" people who have fought through enough gain a whole new set of experiences and knowledge.

BecomingLogyn says,

I worded that weird and it means differently than I intended, kinda anyways.
What I've heard from different people is that the more you learn and know about this world and reality and the further you get from childhood the less you're happy with how everything is and the more you wish to change or fix it.

L2L3 says,

Neither nature nor nurture is an absolute. Depression lacks correlation but many a creative genius loses their edge when medicated for bipolar disorder, especially when their manic phases are subdued.

BecomingLogyn says,

That I agree with... Mood stabilizers tend to suck the creativity out of you or leave you numb... at least they did to me.

Wench says,

John Nash. My brother. I'm not a creative genius and although maybe I should be, I've never been medically treated for depression, so I don't know the affects of it, but I have heard from many people that it was more difficult for them to create the way they did before. Perhaps that's because so much of their art or brilliance was indirectly inspired by their depression. People who have become accustomed to being sad or apathetic sometimes need help to learn how to function as a happy person.

Wench says,

Sorry, incompletely read your comment. John Nash obviously suffered from more than depression and is a bad example but the point is the same. Not that I think that's a good reason to go off medication when it is needed. I can't imagine the frustration of feeling creatively blocked by medication, but some people really, really need to be taking something...

ba_miracle says,

Perhaps they were referring to the "emotional intelligence / quotient” you could compare it to I.Q. for the emotionally “aware”.

Raw life experience can be a teacher, but sometimes those lessons take a lifetime to unlearn (easier to do if you are not clinically depressed or suffering from a treatable chemical imbalance).

When my daughter began struggling in school we had her tested for everything. During that time, one of the advisors explained that public school teaches to the 98%. Anyone falling to one side (high or low) was likely to “fall into the cracks”…basically fail.
Her issue turned out to be at home (my home).


Tragedy in general is over-romanticized; depression is under recognized, underserved, stigmatized and downplayed. Now that pharmaceutical companies have more marketable drugs to treat the symptoms, more people may get help.

Some people may need to learn different behavior patterns.
I can tell you from experience that making bad choices came naturally for me. Getting into crazy circumstances came effortlessly and were not out of line with my life experiences.
Making good choices took some real effort (and relearning).

Some people have brain chemistry that require medication for a lifetime or a short time.
Some people self medicate in good ways …becoming health conscious (not saying it applies to every health conscious person), immersed in work or a cause.
Some people self medicate in unhealthy ways…drugs, alcohol, dangerous behavior.

BecomingLogyn says,

I didn't mean this as every depressed person is intelligent nor that every intelligent person is depressed. It was an observation made based on a quote I was studying for my psychology class and based on what I had heard from a couple of people that constantly work around a lot of people, many of which with depression.

I know that depression, bipolar disorder and pretty much every other mental illness is very "over-romanticized" and made to be a lot better or lighthearted than they actually are. There are a lot of people that have made a living in their depression and revolving their writing, art, music around it. (J.K. Rowling, Hemingway, VanGough, Isaac Newton, John Nash, Charles and Emily Dickens among many more) That being said, I never once said that I think it's better to go untreated for illnesses in order to make various other things happen.

writtenvoice says,

I think that creativity can be an outlet for depression in order to better cope with it, whether that be alongside or in place of medication, therapy, etc. Some of the most incredible and meaningful pieces of poetry and art have come from those who are really suffering with the burden of depression. A possible reason for that is that these people have found that their individual expression of creativity provides them with escapism.

I also think that education and dedication to work and study (not necessarily 'intelligence') can cause a build up of stress, which can potentially lead to depression. As a result, it can seem that hard-working individuals often put themselves under such strain that it catches up with them and potentially triggers depression or an anxiety/stress disorder.

Layne says,

I don't really know a lot about depression. I've thought a lot about whether I suffered from it or not due to the stress I'm put under daily and what its does to my physical and phsychological wellbeing, but I've always dismissed it because the way I see it, what you don't think about doesn't effect you. I get what calliandra is saying with a smart student being the most depressed.. That's me. I guess the price of intelligence and striving for the upmost also brings a high standard that is harsh when not lived up to. But this can lead to beautiful creativity. Pain, unlike other emotions, can't be easily ignored or stifled. We can learn, however, to take this pain and turn it into something good, like six word memoirs. Some of my best have come from my worst days and feelings. Because its such an intense emotion, we can draw the deepest connection to it. I'm not saying that all creative people are depressed, but because negative emotions can impact us so greatly, they have the ability for us to create something new and good out of it, and that can leave an impact on others as well as providing medicine for one's self.