lighten up ? not a good idea to tell people who have depression that,,,,you might as tell them to snap out o it ,, make them worse

What is this school of Phil & Econ Sc?

Hi P,

The School of Philosophy and Economic Science is a registered charity where volunteer teachers deliver classes to more than 1000 students around the country.

andy, sorry if that’s what you felt the title was saying. We know how unhelpful attitudes and phrases like that can be so we’d never run a lecture telling people to simply lighten up.

So apologies for any confusion but the talk will focus on trying to give people a better understanding of their condition and trying to find ways to cope (the “practical philosophy” part). I’m not sure if you can make the lecture or not but if so, I hope you find it useful.

I have gone to many of Shane Mulhalls lectures and have always come away with a sense of calm and well being.

I have nothing but the highest praise for all of your work, help and efforts, It is therefore my feeling that no one in Aware came up with the phrase “lighten up”. I couldn’t imagine ever being told that by anyone who works there, so I don’t believe the blame for such a sentence lies with Aware. But I have to agree with Andy, it is such a horrible thing to be told. It actually makes you worse instead of better. How and ever, I will attend the meeting to see what is being said and if it can help me in any way. If the “advice” given was a BIG mistake by a person that is now surely getting their knuckles rapped, that might mean there’s more helpful advice that it would be a shame to miss out on. The Winter is going to be long so we need all the help we can get.

Thanks Angela - hope you can make it tonight.

Thanks Martina as well. It’s always good to hear people’s thoughts on things like this as these are some of the most sensitive issues we have to watch out for. I’m particularly glad that you’ll be able to go to the lecture tonight and hear the full talk in context. It’s a slightly different topic for us compared to our normal subjects and I hope you find it helpful.