Morrissey and "Social Phobia"

[herbert]

I just have a question for all you very intelligent people(and I'm not being facetious or sarcastic here). Why doesnt/hasnt M appeared to have benifited from some sort of social phobia treatment program or therapy or meds ? It seems to me he clearly has "Social Phobia";"Social Anxiety Disorder"; or whatever you want to call it. I mean Youcould go on and on with all the symptoms he has exibited in his life and lyrics etc. I also wonder why he apparently hasnever even spoken on this subject , yet it has been in the media and studied for quite some time. His desperately low self esteem is the most obvious symptom , and its the hallmark symptom of social phobia,among others, fear of rejection, feelings of being unloveabe, etc. Just curious as to wht you guys think of this topic , and how it relates to M, and possibly even your own lives. BTW, I do have "S.P." and have gotten some treatment for it and have improved greatly. Thanks in advance, your freind herbert

[nhon]

Dont really know if morrissey has ever come upon helping himself with his depression but he currently do seem to be more happier than his Smiths-Viva Hate years. I once heard something about prozac helping him pull through his depression, or it could just be the Los Angeles sunshine warming up his soul. There is probably a gradual turning point in his life, a new sort of intrepretation or a different outlook on his life that brings more of a smile to his face. Or perhaps it could just be stages and phases that humans go through in their life without knowing why they are the way they are. I think the best way to understand his character is to compare it to ourselves, becuase we really dont know him personally. Only through his lyrics and interviews. I do remember reading interviews of him claiming that he is very depressed and sees no point in living.

Social phobia, anxiety disorder, low self esteem, shyness like you said, I think is somewhat connected to eachother.. This leads to a feeling of no self worth and depression. I think it then becomes a part of him and part of his behaviours. It shapes his character and he lives each day not understanding why he feels this way. He is aware of his unhappiness but he doesn't seem to know how to resolve it or pinpoint the problems that caused it. These feelings of no self worth, and anger disconnect himself from his associates, making it very difficult for people to associate with him. There is something of a negative side to him.. and could this probably be the reason for the Marr and Street split up?:) I dont know. This is just my little crazy intrepretation of Morrissey's strange character. I'm currently experiencing something similar to this and I think that there are certain behavioral patterns that can define their character.

[half a shoplifter]

> I just have a question for all you very intelligent people(and
> I'm not being facetious or sarcastic here). Why doesnt/hasnt M
> appeared to have benifited from some sort of social phobia
> treatment program or therapy or meds ? It seems to me he clearly
> has "Social Phobia";"Social Anxiety
> Disorder"; or whatever you want to call it. I mean Youcould
> go on and on with all the symptoms he has exibited in his life
> and lyrics etc. I also wonder why he apparently hasnever even
> spoken on this subject , yet it has been in the media and
> studied for quite some time. His desperately low self esteem is
> the most obvious symptom , and its the hallmark symptom of
> social phobia,among others, fear of rejection, feelings of being
> unloveabe, etc. Just curious as to wht you guys think of this
> topic , and how it relates to M, and possibly even your own
> lives. BTW, I do have "S.P." and have gotten some
> treatment for it and have improved greatly. Thanks in advance,
> your freind herbert

unfortunately meds don't work for everyone. the biochemistry of the person has to be matched to the right med, so maybe our moz hasn't found the right one for him. it's hard to find good treatment even for a simple belly ache, treating an emotional problem can be even more difficult.

i'm pretty much anti-med. i know meds help with chemical imbalances, but i've seen them used too often as a bandaid to cover up what's really wrong. in my case, i was unhappy because my life was foul, so i couldn't understand why my therapist was telling me to take meds--so i could feel better about having a foul life? it really pissed me off.

p.s. when i was really depressed and first listening to the smiths, their songs always made me laugh at how foul life can be. but how things have changed. when i hear radiohead it feels like a new level of self-hatred.

[suzanne]

> unfortunately meds don't work for everyone. the biochemistry of
> the person has to be matched to the right med, so maybe our moz
> hasn't found the right one for him. it's hard to find good
> treatment even for a simple belly ache, treating an emotional
> problem can be even more difficult.

> i'm pretty much anti-med. i know meds help with chemical
> imbalances, but i've seen them used too often as a bandaid to
> cover up what's really wrong. in my case, i was unhappy because
> my life was foul, so i couldn't understand why my therapist was
> telling me to take meds--so i could feel better about having a
> foul life? it really pissed me off.

it is fascinating, isn't it? They tell us drugs and alcohol are not the solution to life's problems, and then you turn around and the first thing they give you when your life is screwed up for a good reason, and you need someone to sit and help you sort things out and give you emotional support, are some pills.

> p.s. when i was really depressed and first listening to the
> smiths, their songs always made me laugh at how foul life can
> be. but how things have changed. when i hear radiohead it feels
> like a new level of self-hatred.

[hnia]

> Dont really know if morrissey has ever come upon helping himself
> with his depression but he currently do seem to be more happier
> than his Smiths-Viva Hate years. I once heard something about
> prozac helping him pull through his depression, or it could just
> be the Los Angeles sunshine warming up his soul. There is
> probably a gradual turning point in his life, a new sort of
> intrepretation or a different outlook on his life that brings
> more of a smile to his face. Or perhaps it could just be stages
> and phases that humans go through in their life without knowing
> why they are the way they are. I think the best way to
> understand his character is to compare it to ourselves, becuase
> we really dont know him personally. Only through his lyrics and
> interviews. I do remember reading interviews of him claiming
> that he is very depressed and sees no point in living.

Honestly, I believe that criticism of his music and persona are part of it too. Like, he can dish it out, but he can't take it?

> Social phobia, anxiety disorder, low self esteem, shyness like
> you said, I think is somewhat connected to eachother.. This
> leads to a feeling of no self worth and depression. I think it
> then becomes a part of him and part of his behaviours. It shapes
> his character and he lives each day not understanding why he
> feels this way. He is aware of his unhappiness but he doesn't
> seem to know how to resolve it or pinpoint the problems that
> caused it. These feelings of no self worth, and anger disconnect
> himself from his associates, making it very difficult for people
> to associate with him. There is something of a negative side to
> him.. and could this probably be the reason for the Marr and
> Street split up?:) I dont know. This is just my little crazy
> intrepretation of Morrissey's strange character. I'm currently
> experiencing something similar to this and I think that there
> are certain behavioral patterns that can define their character.

Could be, but if one happens to believe that, then wouldn't someone have pointed that out to him after all these years.

ejw

[The GlamGod]

> Honestly, I believe that criticism of his music and persona are
> part of it too. Like, he can dish it out, but he can't take it?

> Could be, but if one happens to believe that, then wouldn't
> someone have pointed that out to him after all these years.

> ejw

And to top it all, if he couldn't handle it, he'd have emigrated to Norway or Fremantle in 1983.

But let's not forget ol' Mozzarina is capable of painting very effective character portraits with both his songs and his interviews. Real clever existentialist he is.

The GlamGod

[half a shoplifter]

> it is fascinating, isn't it? They tell us drugs and alcohol are
> not the solution to life's problems, and then you turn around
> and the first thing they give you when your life is screwed up
> for a good reason, and you need someone to sit and help you sort
> things out and give you emotional support, are some pills.

"take these pills and get well very soon, so we don't have to discuss your problems and wrack our brains for a drug-free solution." well, i'm through paying for that sh*t.

paxil put me to sleep but i awoke with more anxiety. alcohol puts me to sleep but i awake feeling cotton-mouthed and crochety.

[hnia]

> And to top it all, if he couldn't handle it, he'd have emigrated
> to Norway or Fremantle in 1983.

> But let's not forget ol' Mozzarina is capable of painting very
> effective character portraits with both his songs and his
> interviews. Real clever existentialist he is.

> The GlamGod

Really? please direct me in the right direction mon friar.

hnia

[An Klestar]

Is there any problem?
Morrissey quite heavily bears the "Gemini split" (for those into astrology), but that seems to be all there is to say about it.
For those not into astrostuff, it seems that Morrissey will always be asking questions while never being completely satisfied with an answer.

I personally don't find that a disorder at all. Quite the contrary.

Cheers,
AK