--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What are the things that make adults…" description: "\"“What are the things that make adults depressed? The master list is too comprehensive to quantify (plane crashes, unemployment, killer bees, impotence,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg" --- # What are the things that make adults depressed? The master… ![“What are the things that make adults depressed? The master list is too comprehensive to quantify (plane crashes, unemployment, killer bees, impotence, Stringer Bell's murder, gambling addictions, crib death, the music of Bon Iver, et al.) But whenever people talk about their personal bouts of…” quote by Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg) > ““What are the things that make adults depressed? The master list is too comprehensive to quantify (plane crashes, unemployment, killer bees, impotence, Stringer Bell's murder, gambling addictions, crib death, the music of Bon Iver, et al.) But whenever people talk about their personal bouts of depression in the abstract, there are two obstructions I hear more than any other. The possibility that one's life is not important, and the mundane predictability of day-to-day existence. Talk to a depressed person (particularly one who's nearing midlife), and one (or both) of these problems will inevitably be described. Since the end of World War II, every generation of American children has been endlessly conditioned to believe that their lives are supposed to be great -- a meaningful life is not just possible, but required. Part of the reason forward-thinking media networks like Twitter succeed is because people want to believe that every immaterial thing they do is pertinent by default; it's interesting because it happened to them, which translates as interesting to all. At the same time, we concede that a compelling life is supposed to be spontaneous and unpredictable-- any artistic depiction of someone who does the same thing every day portrays that character as tragically imprisoned (January Jones on Mad Men, Ron Livingston in Office Space, the lyrics to "Eleanor Rigby," all novels set in affluent suburbs, pretty much every project Sam Mendes has ever conceived, etc.) If you know exactly what's going to happen tomorrow, the voltage of that experience is immediately mitigated. Yet most lives are the same, 95 percent of the time. And most lives aren't extrinsically meaningful, unless you're delusionally self-absorbed or authentically Born Again. So here's where we find the creeping melancholy of modernity: The one thing all people are supposed to inherently deserve- a daily subsistence that's both meaningful and unpredictable-- tends to be an incredibly rare commodity. If it's not already there, we cannot manufacture it.”” [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that modern depression stems from feeling life lacks importance and from the monotony of predictable daily routines, intensified by cultural expectations of a meaningful, unpredictable existence. **In simple terms:** Depression linked to meaninglessness and routine. Key Takeaway Seek purpose and embrace uncertainty. Themes meaninglessness routine modernity expectations mental health Mood reflective somber analytical Type observational critical philosophical When to use this quote - career counseling - therapy - creative projects - mindfulness practices - community engagement Key Concepts existentialism psychology social conditioning Questions to Reflect On - How can you create meaning in everyday tasks? - What small changes can break predictability? 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Now...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/old-dirty-bastard/for-you-to-even-touch-my-skill-you-gotta-have-the-one-killer-bee-and/) [Old Dirty Bastard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/old-dirty-bastard/) > [“In the vast majority of cases, however, getting into trouble has nothing to do with one's self-esteem. 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And if you do that convincingly enough, others will love you too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/first-you-must-love-yourself-and-if-you-do-that-convincingly-enough/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Anyone who claims to be good at lying is obviously bad at lying. Thus - as a writer myself - I cannot comment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/anyone-who-claims-to-be-good-at-lying-is-obviously-bad-at-lying-thus/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“I care about strangers when they're abstractions but feel almost nothing when they are literally in front of me. 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They can be the most upset, angry, and depressed person you have ever seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-smile-simply-does-not-mean-the-person-is-happy-they-can-be-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 48 Depressed person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What are the things that make adults depressed? The master list is too comprehensive to quantify (plane crashes, unemployment, killer bees, impotence, Stringer Bell's murder, gambling addictions, crib death, the music of Bon Iver, et al.) But whenever people talk about their personal bouts of depression in the abstract, there are two obstructions I hear more than any other. The possibility that one's life is not important, and the mundane predictability of day-to-day existence. Talk to a depressed person (particularly one who's nearing midlife), and one (or both) of these problems will inevitably be described. Since the end of World War II, every generation of American children has been endlessly conditioned to believe that their lives are supposed to be great -- a meaningful life is not just possible, but required. Part of the reason forward-thinking media networks like Twitter succeed is because people want to believe that every immaterial thing they do is pertinent by default; it's interesting because it happened to them, which translates as interesting to all. At the same time, we concede that a compelling life is supposed to be spontaneous and unpredictable-- any artistic depiction of someone who does the same thing every day portrays that character as tragically imprisoned (January Jones on Mad Men, Ron Livingston in Office Space, the lyrics to \"Eleanor Rigby,\" all novels set in affluent suburbs, pretty much every project Sam Mendes has ever conceived, etc.) If you know exactly what's going to happen tomorrow, the voltage of that experience is immediately mitigated. Yet most lives are the same, 95 percent of the time. And most lives aren't extrinsically meaningful, unless you're delusionally self-absorbed or authentically Born Again. So here's where we find the creeping melancholy of modernity: The one thing all people are supposed to inherently deserve- a daily subsistence that's both meaningful and unpredictable-- tends to be an incredibly rare commodity. If it's not already there, we cannot manufacture it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Klosterman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-depressed-the-master-list-is-too/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depressed person" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-depressed-the-master-list-is-too/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea7/chuck-klosterman-804_depressed-person_what-are-the-things-that-make-adults-dep_2390922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What are the things that make adults depressed? 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