Metafilter comes through.

November 24, 2008 5:38 PM

Thank you Metafilter for all the encouraging words.

I dropped a brief comment yesterday in the recent thread about the unfortunate passing of Soulbee regarding my own depression and the way her passing made me feel. Immediately after I posted it, I kind of worried that I'd derail the thread & considered asking for my comment to be edited or removed. Luckily, it didn't. Instead, I've received literally dozens of kind, beautiful, and hope-filled messages and emails, mostly from strangers, some even from Mefites I've had minor tiffs with in the past. I'm posting this right now just in case I've missed thanking anyone personally - I will eventually, but I don't want anyone to think that I wasn't grateful for their words.

I can't begin to tell you all how this has made me feel. It hasn't cured me of my woes, of course, but it has given me a little bit of a push that I needed greatly. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I haven't been very active here lately, mostly because of my mood, but the events of the last 24 hours have once again reminded me what a damn fine pool of people Metafilter is made up of.

As an aside, if anyone in the Dallas area isn't doing anything for the holiday, drop me a line. I'm trying to throw something together and would be honored to have Mefites in attendance.

posted by item to MetaFilter-Related at 5:38 PM (36 comments total)

We love you Item:) I've enjoyed and admired your wit and charm on metafilter for years. No shit.
posted by vronsky at 5:47 PM on November 24, 2008

Item: me and you are about as different as two humans can be, but I missed you, ya bum. we still have a radio show to do, dammit.
posted by jonmc at 5:54 PM on November 24, 2008

I saw that comment and almost wrote you myself, but I didn't. I'm sorry I didn't; depression is a hell of a thing. Thank you for letting me, and everyone else, know that none of us are alone here. That makes me feel better as well.
posted by yhbc at 6:14 PM on November 24, 2008 [3 favorites]

Hugs, Item. Thanks for being brave enough to speak up, I'm glad you got the push you needed.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:25 PM on November 24, 2008

Who loves ya?! *hugs, hugs, hugs*

You better metafilter your pants off, Mister. I don't want this whole Wintertime Texas Blues business to get you any worse off than it has to.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 6:47 PM on November 24, 2008

i wonder when the grey's E will wear off & we'll go back to snarking again...?
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:51 PM on November 24, 2008

(i think i must have peaked hours ago...)
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:53 PM on November 24, 2008

Depressed MeFites unite!
posted by Eideteker at 6:57 PM on November 24, 2008

Fuckin' A, Item, this is a good place, innit?
posted by tristeza at 7:05 PM on November 24, 2008

Solidarity Item, solidarity.
posted by nola at 7:09 PM on November 24, 2008

I'm sorry you're having such a rough time, Item. Hang in there. It's so kind and lovely how others reached out to you. Snarky bunch of gentle softies underneath. I'm so glad to hear that helped a little bit. I love metafilter.
posted by dog food sugar at 8:29 PM on November 24, 2008

((((Item))))

((((Everybody))))
posted by schyler523 at 8:37 PM on November 24, 2008

I know how fucking hard depression can be. You have to look to the bright -- because the dark is so obvious to see.

We're here. That's all that I can offer -- that's all any of us can offer.

But we're brighter than the dark.
posted by eriko at 8:38 PM on November 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

i wonder when the grey's E will wear off

Mate, you ought to know better than to drop E with aliens. They can manipulate time/space.

Here's a keel evener.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:55 PM on November 24, 2008

Chemical Effluence
posted by Burhanistan at 9:01 PM on November 24, 2008

You're all going to want to punch me for this.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:02 PM on November 24, 2008 [22 favorites]

We're here. That's all that I can offer -- that's all any of us can offer.

It's enough.
posted by Chuckles at 9:03 PM on November 24, 2008

Okay, I've been trying to stay out of this thread, but Mark E Smith & marmosets have dragged me in from the cold...

thanks, guys.
posted by item at 9:13 PM on November 24, 2008

Oh man, Ambrosia Voyeur, that is brilliant.

Hope it makes you smile, Item.
posted by aclevername at 9:44 PM on November 24, 2008

Mate, you ought to know better than to drop E with aliens. They can manipulate time/space.

hang on, it was just a soft toy all along!...but i could feel our minds melding...as though it was...you know...my alien twin from another dimension! ....maybe it used its space-time powers to shift dimensions... and inhabit this toy i won at the carnival last summer...?
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:51 PM on November 24, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is for you, Item. It's one of my pick-me-ups for when life's dragging me down. Keep your head up!
posted by jtron at 9:59 PM on November 24, 2008

Be good to yourself, Item. Be as good to yourself as the absolute kindest notes and the very best wishes you've received! Be that good to yourself every day. We want you here.
posted by scody at 11:29 PM on November 24, 2008

Here's one of my favorite threads when I'm feeling down.
posted by Caduceus at 11:58 PM on November 24, 2008

Okay, so this is probably a silly question for a lovely thread, but: is that a new captial letter you're wearing, Item?!
posted by jack_mo at 2:56 AM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

A person close to me is suffering from depression and I've been quite affected by all the talk of depression here for the last few days. Threads like this one helps me remember that, yes, there is hope. Thanks, Item.
posted by sveskemus at 5:10 AM on November 25, 2008

(hugs for everyone!)
posted by sveskemus at 5:10 AM on November 25, 2008

hugs drugs for everyone!

ftfy
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:30 AM on November 25, 2008

Well if it's anti-depression drugs I'm all for it. :)
posted by sveskemus at 5:35 AM on November 25, 2008

In pretty much any discussion where people talk about suicide, I post this. Before the Web, I used to photocopy the article and send it. No other piece of writing has affected me as much as this. How Not to Commit Suicide. Item, you don't say you're suicidal, but I'm very sad that I didn't see how very much her boyfriend's suicide affected Soulbee. Life can be really, really hard. It's very heartening to see so many hands outstretched.
posted by theora55 at 7:56 AM on November 25, 2008 [2 favorites]

I've mentioned this sentiment in a few threads in the past, but I'll try to articulate it more fully here;

The relationship we share here with one another quite frankly astonishes me. We are, for all intents and purposes, strangers who only really exchange few words here and there, and yet time and again, I've watched the community rally around a member who is down on their luck or suffering some hardship. And while it's amazing to me that we share this unusual bond over something so seemingly trivial as a communal conversation, I have to admit that it's undeniably real.

When I hear that a mefite is injured (say in a motorcycle accident) or discovers they have a disease, or even has a sick pet, I find myself reacting as if this was occurring to an old friend, even when it's someone I may have only communicated with once or twice.

I think that is the genius of this place; it elicits a sense of trust in one another, more so than any other internet community I've been a part of. (hell, more even than some non virtual groups I've been involved with.) I'm not sure why any of this is, but it's the thing that keeps me coming back here, even when I have far more "important" things to do... like "work".

So feel better, Item. Know that, as weird as it may seem, you have an entire army of well-wishers here. Don't try to understand it, just appreciate that you are part of a very strange and interesting place where snark and cynicism float on the top of a deep pool of caring and faith in one another.
posted by quin at 8:29 AM on November 25, 2008 [14 favorites]

Aw gee whiz.

Metafilter: a deep pool of caring and faith in one another.

Now who wants to drink apple cider and watch Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas with me?!
posted by otolith at 8:35 AM on November 25, 2008

Got ya covered, otolith.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:21 AM on November 25, 2008

All this positivity is pissing me off.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:52 AM on November 25, 2008

Hope you find peace of mind, Item. Best wishes from another MeFi friend you've never met.
posted by Quietgal at 11:42 AM on November 25, 2008

You rock, Item.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:20 PM on November 25, 2008

I'm not kidding, alright?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:20 PM on November 25, 2008