You have to choose one for the next 365 days:
need to edit
I’d choose prison if, when I get out, there’s no lasting affects - no permanent record, no social stigma, etc. Basically, if the year in prison was in a different universe, and didn’t affect my original life. If it’s more realistic, then it would be a harder choice. But I’ve experienced a small taste of “can’t take a shower” depression and I’m not sure if I could take a full year of it.
Prison for me for sure. With all my mental health issues, I consider myself extremely fortunate that I’ve never suffered from depression. Everything I’ve read and heard about it makes it sound like a prison much worse than than the physical ones.
Prison. Hands down.
A year of prison likely will lead to a year worth of interesting stories to tell. Maybe I can even write a book and have my experiences turned in a highly acclaimed series. I can use the time for self-improvement and introspection.
Plus, people know that prison sucks. They may not be able to fully appreciate how hard it is, but they understand enough.
Depression is like the opposite of all of these things. It’s like you’re locked in solitary confinement, but you’re expected to carry on like a normal person.
I’ll take the year in prison. I’ve experienced clinical depression and I don’t think I would survive another solid year of it.
You have to choose one for the next 365 days:
Depression:
You are so depressed you can barely get out of bed or shower. You are quite literally miserable to the fullest extent possible. Even watching TV or checking your email is hard to do, very hard. You are just basically as unhappy as a person can be.
Prison:
You are in a white collar minimum security prison. No violence. They have a tennis court and a two lane bowling alley. They show movies on the weekend. The food is good. You have one hour a day for phone/internet. They have a huge well stocked library and all kinds of classes to take. But, you can’t leave the facility and have to obey all of their rules for one year.
mods, can you “fix” my mistake here with the other thread, i tired to make it a poll but forgot to include the poll, can the threads be merged?
I voted for prison, but that’s assuming I’ll still be able to step back into my job when I get out. If not, it would be a much more difficult choice. (Granted, a year of barely-able-to-get-out-of-bed depression would also massively screw up my career, but since I’m a tenured professor, I’d probably be able to take medical leave; a criminal conviction would most likely be a firing offense.)
I’ve been enjoying the depression for a while now, I think I’d like to try prison for a bit of a change.
Hell, country club prison? I’d take that…city jail and a Supermax over a year of depression. I’d probably take depression over a state prison though.
At the request of the OP, the two threads have been merged.
<removes mod baseball cap>
And I’d most assuredly take Club Fed over the severe depression.
ETA: I just saw that there was a bowling alley in this facility. Where do I sign up?
Prison sounds better. But again, do I get my job back? Is there social ostracization? Etc.
Prison, there isn’t even an option. The few times I’ve had even mild depression it sucked so bad. I hated not wanting to do anything and that awful feeling of nothing feeling worthwhile.
That was exactly my response to the question. I know someone who went to “white collar” prison, and he said the boredom and the, well, stupidity of most of the guards were the biggest issues.
I’ll start working on my shank now.
100% of votes in the poll are in favor of jail at the moment.
I could be free of clinical depression at the cost of a year in a nonviolent prison? Where do I sign up?
I would focus on the type of jail, though. In a way, the question is asking “Would you rather be locked up in this fun place full of cool things to do, or be locked up inside your own head with nothing?”
I also answered jail based on the phrasing of the question, but it wouldn’t take much for me to prefer depression. If I had to get convicted of something to go to jail, for example, my career would be ruined for life.
Yeah. Without a crime and conviction, this nice jail would essentially be no different than going to live at a pleasant rehab center or nice mental institution. Good facilities.
I’ve tried depression.
Lock me the fuck up.