Over the better part of my life I have had to deal with depression. The reasons for this are manifold and I do not intend to delve into that jungle here. I would like to talk about some of the activities, including collecting coins, that has helped me cope when a dark wave crashes in. I speak of a wave, and that is what depression really is. It is a vast ocean with undulating currents that wash in and carry one off in its undertow. The result is periods of disinterest in the world, literally everything. The mind becomes frozen into a very dark place. There really isn’t a cure to this. The reality is that one needs to have life long coping mechanisms that help lift the mind from a perpetual funk. In my case, a key element, along with listening to music and reading, has been collecting – minerals, Asian art, coins, ceramics and prints and other works of art. Collecting, ingrained since I a child, has been an extension of my interest in the world-at-large, and ancient and modern history in particular. How interesting to have, in hand, a coin produced during the height of Athens in the 5th century BC, or a denarius of Marc Anthony, or a follis of Justinian I! How wondrous minerals are, in all of their myriad shapes and crystal habits, manifesting themselves into fantastic colors and patterns! And, so it goes, as does life. The collection keeps growing, and I imagine it will eventually look like something between a museum and a warehouse, but the road has been fulfilling, with lots of detours, and while the future is always in doubt, at least there is always an owl to admire.
Well considered and well written. You've described the situation quite accurately, at least based on my own experience. Beautiful Athens tet
Hi JoJo, A REAL wonderful example of the Athenian 'Owl'. Hang in there youngster (I'm 75) & May the SADDEST DAY of your future be no worse than the HAPPIEST DAY of your past. J.T.
Thank you for sharing your personal story. And good for you that you discovered a way to cope with your depression, via coins. And that tetradrachme is beautiful!
Thank you all, for the kind comments of support. i really didn't intend to make this thread just about myself, bur rather as a comment of how we all have interests that help us deal with stress. Oliver Sacks, who passed away in 2015, was an avid collector. Here is what he had to say in an editorial that year, after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. "I have tended since early boyhood to deal with loss — losing people dear to me — by turning to the nonhuman. When I was sent away to a boarding school as a child of 6, at the outset of the Second World War, numbers became my friends; when I returned to London at 10, the elements and the periodic table became my companions. Times of stress throughout my life have led me to turn, or return, to the physical sciences, a world where there is no life, but also no death. And now, at this juncture, when death is no longer an abstract concept, but a presence — an all-too-close, not-to-be-denied presence — I am again surrounding myself, as I did when I was a boy, with metals and minerals, little emblems of eternity. At one end of my writing table, I have element 81 in a charming box, sent to me by element-friends in England: It says, “Happy Thallium Birthday,”a souvenir of my 81st birthday last July; then, a realm devoted to lead, element 82, for my just celebrated 82nd birthday earlier this month. Here, too, is a little lead casket, containing element 90, thorium, crystalline thorium, as beautiful as diamonds, and, of course, radioactive — hence the lead casket."
As someone who has periodically fought depression for over 40 years, I give you kudos @robinjojo for sharing and for finding a way to fight the Black Dog. Steve
I certainly concur especially these days. Well spoken all of you. Black Wave is an excellent description to a condition that is hard to describe to others including the ones we live with. I delve into coins, photograph both numismatic and the natural world. I also do historic modeling focusing on Civil War Ironclads to modern subjects. All get me very involved and concentrated. I believed I have fought the devil all my life medication helps but certainly is not a cure but a coping mechanism. Robinjojo, you are a brave person and I applaud your posting. Now, something numismatic that gives me great pleasure whenever I look and hold it in my hands; carefully of course.
Hey, Robinjojo! I have had that experience, too: for the most of my life. I commend you for sharing. For me, music has always been a very important tool to help with depression. And since I've had so much experience with depression, I've had a lot of experience with listening to music. (And hence, my two very long posts on the music thread here.) I also find that writing, taking a hot bath, and cycling (though I haven't been able to motivate myself to do that for some time now), and learning something new (nowadays: ancient coins) help, too--though when things are very bad, I've actually just laid on my bed all day without doing those things. In such times, I'm very grateful for the company of my lovely little cat. He's a tabby, and he is a source of comfort. I wish you luck in this long struggle, and I hope that your collection brings you much joy!
Amen to music, @Nathan B. I realized one summer when I had been leading tours in Scandinavia for a six-week period that I was feeling out-of-sorts. When I got home and turned on Minnesota Public Radio I realized what I’d been missing. Steve
@robinjojo Thank you for your post. I struggle with similar issues. When I started to collect ancients... I think it saved my life. It kept me out of trouble and gave me a passion that I could concentrate on by myself at home. I worry lately though... Although, I still love ancient history and coins, I've been losing interest. It's not the coins or the history getting stale but my depression is making things I love hard to enjoy. The world is hard lately. And as the world is hard, our personal lives are crazy too. (For me, A 3-year old, a one-year old, my spouse has similar struggles, my career is... etc.) I'm trying to keep my act together and soldier through everything but the dark wave is here for me too. So! I guess I'm just saying thank you again and you're not alone.
Mental health is widely overlooked in our society.. Covid-19 has amped up the stress and isolation many had already felt. I fear we may be heading towards a crisis that will leave much damage from this. Social interaction is the best cure .. reach out by phone or if allowed go see those who you think may be struggling. A text does nothing.. a human voice makes all the difference. When things aren't going great for me a good 10 second hug (I literally count to 10!) from one of my daughters or wife turns my day around! Be strong, be positive!
It is good to hear others talk about these matters, and I thank you all for sharing. And thanks to robinjojo for getting the thread started. I sometimes think the world is made up of two types of people - those who collect and those who do not collect. I am not saying this in a self-congratulatory way. There is, I think, based on my own experiences and feelings about it, a potential pathology of collecting - which is to say the Hoarders TV show makes me a bit uneasy sometimes. There but for the grace of God go me...and if you saw my desk you might think I'd succumbed! Although I've been a collector my whole life, I do not really understand why; and I am not sure I want to dig very deep to find out. "Here there be monsters," as they printed on the old maps. But as coping mechanisms go, collecting certainly beats a lot of the alternatives.
Hey, Orange Julius, I can identify with what you wrote. About your young family, though: that's tough. When your children are that age, you and your spouse will be quite sleep-deprived. Also, your whole life revolves around your kids. I think it's natural to have a harder time concentrating on your usual hobbies because of these changes. I recommend you and your wife try to get a bit of time away from your young children to either rest or do something enjoyable together, if there are kind grandparents or trustworthy people you know well who are willing to babysit). And whether you can do this, or not there is one more thing. As my mom wisely told me when I was a young parent: when your kids nap--then you nap. You need every bit of sleep that you can get. Eventually, your children will grow up, and then you will have more time for your historic hobbies (and maybe new ones). But enjoy the diaper-changing and bottle-feeding now while you can; those times will pass by quicker than you know. Finally, don't soldier on alone in the darkness. Reach out to others, when you need to vent, or when you need some support.
I have had the same problem, though I seem to be zeroing in on a couple of coins; a Heraclius follis, and a Justinian I half follis from Thessalonica. Keeps me busy.
