I went to my doctor yesterday, and told him how crummy I’ve been feeling. We talked about a lot of different things, and ultimately decided that it was probably a good idea to change up my brain pills. This morning, I started something new, and I really feel a lot better. I honestly don’t care if it’s a placebo effect at this point, but the end result is the same: I don’t feel despondent, depressed, and shitty about myself.
“You are very hard on yourself,” he told me yesterday.
“I know,” I said, “I just have really high expectations that I want to meet, and with all these incredibly successful friends …” I trailed off because I felt like I was starting to feel sorry for myself.
“Being judgmental about what you make or don’t make doesn’t help you at all,” he said, “you have to do your best every day, even if your best isn’t what you want it to be.”
I knew he was right, and I knew that it was my depression getting in between me knowing that was right, and accepting that it was right. That’s one of the incredibly frustrating things about depression: I can know that the way I feel is just my brain chemicals being messed up, but whether I accept it or not, the end result is the same: I feel awful. It’s a little unfair that it doesn’t work in both directions, but after living with it for my whole life, I can tell you that depression doesn’t care about being fair; it’s really a dick that way.
My doctor said that I was very clear-eyed about my mental illness (psychologists call people like me “the identified patient”), and because I could be rational even when I was feeling irrational, he wanted me to try some cognitive therapy. “When you feel bad, when you are thinking and feeling that you’re worthless or anything like that, I want you to recognize it, and then make an effort to replace those bad feelings with good ones.
“When you are feeling bad about a job you didn’t get, think about a job that you did get, that you feel good about. When you feel bad about not finishing a story, recognize that feeling, and remember how you felt when you published something you’re proud of.”
“That sounds like something I can do,” I said, “and it sounds like it may help me break out of the cycle of depression telling me a suck, then making me feel terrible because I believe that I suck, which makes me depressed, which lets depression tell me that I suck.” I imagined a particularly ugly ouroboros wrapping itself around me.
I don’t think this means that I don’t allow myself to feel disappointment, or frustration, or any of the other emotions that I think we all need to feel to be a fully-functional human. I think this means that I don’t let my mental illness take something like feeling unsure about where a story goes next and turning it into the Very Certain And Unshakable Belief That I Am A Worthless And Stupid And Idiotic Loser Who Everyone Knows Really Sucks. Not, um, that I’ve felt like that a whole lot lately, or anything like that. Um. Right.
So.
Let’s get started, shall we? This weekend, Anne and I went to the mall to pick up some fancy pants I had tailored. While we were there, we noticed that the big old men’s clothing sale was happening, yadda yadda yadda I got three awesome suits for less than the cost of one, if they weren’t on sale.
Guys: it turns out that your beautiful wife telling you, “WOW, you look great in that suit,” is a powerful motivator for buying that suit. And two others. Because reasons.
After we were finished getting them tailored, Anne had to get on the phone to handle a bunch of #VandalEyes business, so I went into the bookstore until she was done. On my way to the Science Fiction section, I stopped to take this picture of their Tabletop game section:
While I was taking this picture, a young man cautiously approached me. “Mister … Mister Wheaton?” He said.
“That’s me!” I said.
“I love your show Tabletop! You are the reason my friends and I play games, and I’m actually here today to find something for one of them.”
I put my phone into my pocket. “That is really awesome,” I said. “The main reason I make Tabletop is to inspire other people to play games.”
He swallowed, nodded, and said, “um, would you, uh … would you help me pick out a game for my friend?”
My heart grew three sizes. “I would love to do that!”
I asked him a bunch of questions about the games they like to play together, his friend’s level of experience, and how much he wanted to spend. Ultimately, he settled on Ticket To Ride. He shook my hand, thanked me several times, and walked away, happily.
“I’m so sorry to bother you,” a voice said behind me. I turned and saw a young woman with a nametag that indicated she worked in the store.
“Yes?” I said.
“This is my section,” she said, pointing to the games, “and it’s here because of your show, Tabletop.”
My heart grew another three sizes.
“We order all the games you play on your show, and we usually sell out of whatever you’ve just played right away.”
“That’s really cool!” I said.
We talked about the games that she had in the section, and I recommended a few new ones for her, including Hive, Love Letter, and Coup.
“I’ll see if I can convince my manager to let me order those,” she said. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I just wanted to thank you for your show, and for everything you do.”
“It’s my pleasure,” I said, “and it really means a lot to me that you took the time to tell me that.” I started to walk back to the Sci-Fi Books, and stopped. I turned back. “If your distributor doesn’t know what’s coming up on Tabletop — and they should, but if they don’t — please e-mail me and I’ll give you the release schedule, so you can know what to order.”
“That would be great,” she said.
“Awesome.” We shook hands, and I walked back to the Sci-Fi books. Before I could really figure out if I was going to get anything, my phone chirped in my pocket. It was Anne. She was off the phone, and didn’t want to go on a quest to find me in the store. “I’ll be right out,” I replied.
I walked past that Tabletop game section, which was absolutely huge — even bigger than the entire Sci-Fi and Fantasy book section, combined, and a little voice in my head said, “it’s okay to feel a little proud about this.” I listened to it.
…
I’m still frustrated and disappointed when I see a character on a TV show or in a film that I clearly could have played, but didn’t even get to audition for (a casting director recently told my agent that they would not even see me for a role, because “Wil Wheaton can’t play someone in his late 30s,” even though I’m 41, with two children in their 20s, and just letting me spend thirty fucking seconds in their goddamn office to see how I look now and how I interpret the role may change their mind). I’m still frustrated and disappointed that I haven’t produced any original work of fiction of any consequence in a year, and that I haven’t finished Memories of the Future Volume 2.
BUT — and it’s a big but* — instead of focusing on those things, and feeling like I’m being crushed into a singularity by a black hole of depression, I can look at the show I created and brought to life with some very talented people, that is having a very real and lasting impact on a lot of people, in a very positive way.
When I look at the writing I haven’t finished, I can look at the calendar and see all the times I was working on a video game or an audiobook or an animated show, and was on the road to promote Tabletop, and honestly accept that there just wasn’t that much time to write the things I wanted to write, because I was busy working on other things.
I can stop being so hard on myself, and I can stop judging myself, and I can stop holding myself up to standards that are so high, even the people I’m comparing myself to every day would have a hard time reaching them.
Or, at least, I can try, and I can do my best, because that’s all I can do.
*hurr hurr hurr
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Thank you for sharing this. I think your best is pretty dang awesome!!
I know how those people in the store felt – I had one of the best New Year’s Eves ever this past year, because I got to hang out with friends, eat delicious junk food, and play a whole bunch of games they found out about through Tabletop. It was AWESOME.
Speaking as your editor…
You are doing, right now, what you are meant to be doing, right now. You are more at peace, more centered in your work with TableTop and G&S and all the other fantastic outreach that you do, than I’ve seen you in quite a while. You will always be a writer, and maybe you’ll get back to these projects in the future … or maybe you’ll find something that calls to you more strongly. Don’t get in your own way and don’t let what you THINK you should be doing prevent you from doing what you KNOW you should be doing.
In Just A Geek, a book I know pretty well, you talk about your mom telling you to listen to the Universe when it’s trying to tell you something. Listen to the Universe, Wil. You are the right man, in the right place, at the right time. (I just ripped off JMS — sorry.)
As always … PLAY MORE GAMES!
You should consider directing or writing. You are a great actor, but if they aren’t picking you up on that offer you sure as hell have proven yourself as more-than-capable writer and just in general nerd icon. I’d love to see movies with you in other things than on screen (even if the small cameo would be awesome as well)
You help people who have issues with depression and anxiety by sharing your problems with them. You introduce people to tabletop gaming which brings people together and you do it in a vastly entertaining manner. And when you are on the screen on the various shows you do or have done, more people watch those shows just because you are on them. You have love in your life from your family and you are held in high esteem by many. You walk a golden path Wil and you show other people how to walk that path. You are an example of a good human being. Try that sombrero of thought on the next time you feel the dark fingers of brain chemistry and self-doubt starting to clutch at you.
.
Even before you mentioned it I. This post, I was going to suggest cognitive therapy. I’ve been on antidepressants more than half my life, but have been only really doing cognitive therapy for about 6 years. It’s been a really valuable addition to my arsenal, & with the right therapist I can see it really helping you, too. I mean, from my vast knowledge of who you are as a person based on reading your blog for 6 months. And many ST:tng episodes. And two Big Bang theories…
I’ve watched you grow up and become a wonderful man. My brother told you about how my grown kids and their friends have a game night every Saturday, and now my cupboards are full of games to play. He told you that the last time you were at BBT. My son even talks about learning how to brew beer, something I’m a little leery of, because I lived next to a home brewer in the 50’s and we’d sit in the living room and hear the corks pop off the bottles that weren’t sealed properly. That basement never stopped smelling like beer.
Like you, I fight with depression. I’m in my 60’s, and it’s taken 25 years to find the right combo of meds to make me click. I still have a touch of agoraphobia, and that’s one thing I’d like to beat. I didn’t have it when I was younger and out in the public. There are days I don’t venture further than the walk to the mailbox.
Work with your doc and the magic combo will come up.
Peace.
because of you, Santa brought us Ticket to Ride and Takenoko this past Christmas. we love them (and our two kiddos do too!). thank you for sharing your experiences & encouraging others to not give up.
Wil,
Thank you for writing about your depression and anxiety. My wife and I both have depression and reading your experiences helps me feel better.
Late last year I realized that comparing myself to other people was a big component of my depression. So my New Year’s resolution was to stop comparing my accomplishments (or lack thereof) to those of other people. Darned if it doesn’t help.
Wil, a while back, you made a post about your mood and taking medication, and how you were so much happier. You and I are about the same age, and your post and my wife’s encouragement lead me to finally go to my doctor and try medication to help control my anxiety. I do other things too, but since starting the medication, things have been much better. I had an amazing day today. I am so happy and alive today. It is not a part in a show with a check, but truly, thank you. I do not fawn over celebrities, but you mean a lot to me even though we have never met. All I can say is thanks, I hope it means something.
Don’t feel too badly about not writing more. You have had a huge number of other things going on in your life.
Yes, writing is a discipline that you have to make time for, but it’s also an activity you can’t become too old for (unlike, something like professional sports).
You are awesome! 🙂
I think Jenny Lawson says it best with the line “depression lies”, I have spent plenty of time beating myself up over things that are out of my control or that I should not be upset about. It sucks and it’s hard but all you can keep doing is pushing through.
Customer compliments, knowing you did well in your job, whether your customer is a gamer fan of your show or one of my campers in Yosemite, do shitloads to relieve depression! Even if just for the moment, but it’s all moment-by-moment, eh?
I’m not discounting what you’re going through, Wil, by any stretch but I see similarities in how I tend to focus on the negative possibilities and outcomes of things I care about that I have little control over. I tend to lower my expectations because more often than not things don’t go the way I want them to go. It’s easier to come out the other end saying “well, that was what I expected so I’ll just move on!” than being utterly disappointed. I realize it’s a defense mechanism to compensate for the fact that my expectations might have been higher than they should be or rather that things in life just don’t go the way I’d want them to go. And, I’m not talking about huge life-changing expectations either.
Still, I’ve come to see that behavior as a defense mechanism to deal with what might just be a bit too much optimism which is constantly meeting reality head on every day. It doesn’t eliminate it but it does make it more manageable. Maybe your doctor’s on to something. I don’t want this to sound like I’m making light of what you’re dealing with or the fact that depression is a very real part of your life. I’m not trying to say that. I think if anything, I’m just hoping your doctor really IS on to something.
As you’ve touched on in your recent post about your career, I think you’re a victim of a really fubar industry. If you were in another industry, you might be in a better situation overall.
Still, whether or not you realize it fully yet (I know you’re starting to), you’ve got a great amount of influence in a great area (games!!!) and while it isn’t acting I suspect you’re impacting more people in more of a meaningful way than some role in some (mainstream) film or show. Personally, I prefer you as the Master of TableTop (tm!!). Anything that furthers gaming as something more than a childish pursuit or a haven for mass murderers is a big win in my book. Having lived through the years when gaming was for kids or maladjusted adults rather than the broad spectrum of fun and social experiences it is today, I love hearing about adults who never were into games finding a love for games that enables them to share that love with their kids. It isn’t that thing you do because your seven-year-old is bored and wants you to play with him. It’s that thing that brings your family or friends together, cell phones stashed, for hours of fun.
Obviously, you’ve got your own interests and driving forces but I’m hoping you’ll finally find that port o’call that finds you sitting there, looking around and seeing yourself surrounded by what you want and love with no eye wandering to that horizon wondering “what if?”
That, ‘Being hard on yourself for being hard on yourself for being hard on yourself,” cycle is addressed in a book I’m currently reading called “How to Wake Up,” by Toni Bernhard. It is really approachable and has lots of helpful things to try to deal with the ways we make ourselves unhappy. I would recommend it to anyone who would occasionally (or always) like to just step out of their own head for a while to get a rest from all the crap it comes up with. Yes it is so hard when chemicals are involved as well, but it also helps a lot to have a toolbox for those times.
Also, if you’ve never come across it before, have a read on a condition known as Pyroluria. It runs in my family and we all feel better when on the supps that help. Looking back down my bloodline on one side, I can see its influence going back for generations. Depression and anxiety figure high in folks with it, along with a mixed bag of other fun stuff. Maybe not it for you, Wil, but always worth mentioning in case it helps you or someone else who might be reading this and suffering too.
Wil,
I’ve been depressed for my entire adult life and struggle with it every day just like you do. I also tend to beat myself up over the smallest of things and my wife has to remind me sometimes that it’s just a bad day and it will get better.
I’m also one that can identify with being what my disease is and for bring a male there is still that stigma of “just shake it off or grow a pair”. It’s never that easy but we still get through it.
Having you admit it to the world really has helped me personally as I didn’t feel all alone with this.
Thanks for everything you do.
Ken
You’re awesome, and you make a difference. Believe it every once in a while, eh. Love from Holland,Jo
I was diagnosed with ADD, anxiety and mild depression last year, and I just wanted to say that I appreciate your posting things like this. It’s nice to sometimes be reminded that I’m not the only person in the world whose brain sometimes decides to hijack itself. My husband and friends and behavioral therapist tell me very similar things to what your doctor said to you, but there’s always a little voice that says, “They’re just saying that because they pity you for being worthless and they’re trying to spare your feelings.” Hearing that someone who doesn’t know me faces similar ‘voices’ helps me think, “These thoughts ARE just lies from an obnoxious disease, and it IS worth it to tell them to shut the fuck up, and I CAN and WILL accomplish things in the future.” Thank you.
This would have to be one of your best blog posts.
Nice one, Wil.
Great post. Your show made a big difference for my Mom. She has a tough time grasping the rules for some games. When you announced Carcassonne was coming up, I knew it would be good for her. So, she watched her first episode ever of Tabletop. Afterwards, we played a great game of Carcassonne. She was even giving me a few suggestions on my turn, some really good ones!
It made her feel like she can game with other people. The next day, she picked out Qwirkle at a book store.
She’s had a rough few years. Knowing she’s playing what other’s are playing, she’s part of a group, and that makes her feel really good.
Thanks!
I almost didn’t read this post today, but I’m so glad I did. I also have been feeling really cruddy lately. I know I have depression but have been in denial I needed help for it. After reading this today I’m going to talk to my doctor about getting some help with it. So thank you for sharing your struggles with us and letting us know we are not alone and there is no shame in needing help.
Great post, I can identify with so much of what you say and it’s so refreshing that you’re so open about it. Thank you!
Traditionally for me, a small thing will go wrong and then all I can think about are ALL of the things that have gone wrong in my life and my brain tells me I’m useless and I hate my life. I’ve learnt to basically have an argument with my brain when this happens and I consciously start listing things that are good in my life. The more I’ve practiced this trick, the less time it takes to convince myself I’m OK and feel stable again. I hope it works for you too 🙂
This is one of the bravest posts I’ve ever read. As a person learning to live with bipolar disease and not drive my husband batty, this is solid doable advice. You have always been one of my heroes, and I look forward to seeing you at conventions even though I’m not a gamer. You are always funny, and your enthusiasm about life in infectious. Keep doing what you love my friend. You never know when that perfect role will come your way. You deserve a life of peace and happiness. You just never know (as you illustrated), whose life you made a little better.
Dear Mr Wheaton,
I had no idea you suffered from depression, your public (or “on”) persona is so bubbly, humorous and positive it doesn’t even hint at the black dog, barking inside. Speaking as somebody who was bllied to the point of self harm and is often plagued by doubts, I see you as an inspiration. I had the pleasure of seeing your show at Phoenix comic con last year and follow you on twitter. As an unreconstructed geek I have zero interest in sports but even so, your LA Kings tweets are still amusing (go horseface). For years IW as one of the wesley haters, then I heard an interview you did on a podcast, you came across as genuine and a really lovely guy and I felt sorry that I wasted years confusing the actor with the character he played.
On the Phoenix comicon thing, I hope the organisers deision to not allow you fill the auditorium (even if ti did mean selling tickets on the door) didn’t impact on you too much.
One final Q, with the kids out of the house now and just you Anne and the menagerie (so tempting to type manage a something else there) in the home, woudl you consider maybe taking your stage show to Europe? I live in Finland and would love to see you play my own small city (Turku) or perhaps Helsinki. It is wonderfully cold here (currently zero in the cray american temperature system) and you might enjoy some non Californian weather.
All the best,
Alan
A fantastic post, Wil. That “replacing depressing thoughts with positive”… I’m going to work on that myself, though I’m not diagnosed with any condition. I just know that sometimes I get in a funk about what I’m NOT doing.
Tabletop has inspired SO many people I know to not only break out the old games from the cupboard but buy new ones (myself included!). In fact several local board game clubs have sprung up directly because of this trend you’ve started. I just want to say I love Tabletop and love what you’re doing for boardgames. Keep up the fantastic work.
You are personally responsible for helping me to flourish as a geek. You inspired me to accept myself for who I am, who I wanted to be, and knowing that even someone as awesome as you has days as bad as my own – you help me to fight my own depression. You make me smile. You deserve to be proud of what you’ve accomplished.
Thank you for being you.
Wil, I don’t know if you have ever done any cognitive behaviour therapy before, but I can recommend it. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety about eighteen months ago, and rather than putting me straight on meds, my doctor suggested CBT. It took about three months to get onto a group CBT course (one of the consequences of having a publicly funded health service in the UK is waiting lists), but it was worth it. I finished the course about 9 months ago, and since then I’ve been much better. I still get bad days now and then, but I find I am only feeling bad for a couple of days at most before the tools and techniques I learned help bring me out of it. Give it a try, it worked for me
I’ve been there before its horrible. When I started to get out of depression. I was watching ‘The First Contact’ Picard says “we live to better ourselves” i remembered that and took everyday as a challenge to get the best out of myself. Not comparing myself to anyone but pushing myself to my limit. I feel a lot better. I pride myself not on the goal but on the journey that has the meaning and makes life worth living!
I’m jealous of your ability to just go to the doctor.
Thank you.
Hey Wil, I’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression for years, and only recently got started on a course of cognitive behavioural therapy – I feel it is working 🙂
Reading your experiences really resonates with me, I understand exactly how you feel. Always allow yourself those proud moments – you deserve them 🙂
Thanks for writing this blog. It’s helped me put things in perspective.
Without getting all fanboi-ish……
– I never watched original Star Trek, but TNG came out in my early teens, so I totally identified with Wesley. Not everybody hated him 😉
– Then I came across your blog a number of years ago, and subsequently bought a couple of your books, which I loved
– Then you started appearing in Big Bang Theory, which I love
– Then you brought out TableTop, which has totally inspired me to get into games (bought Forbidden Island last year, got Dixit, Gloom and Catan for Christmas, plus printed some CheapAss games and supported some Kickstarter projects, so maybe my bank manager might hate you a little)
– Then, to top it all, I watched a hangout session you did where you talked about tabletop gaming as a way to connect with your kids, and I realised that this was something I could share with my kids that didn’t involve some sort of electronic screen. They’re 4 & 6, and I know that introducing them to games has made a big difference to us.
So, other than feeling a bit like you’re stalking me, I’m very thankful for all that you have done and are doing.
thank you
Wil, thanks for this post, some beautiful writing. You should be immensely proud of Tabletop. My local Friday night gaming club usually has between 50 – 70 people playing various games. A growing number of them are playing boardgames, maybe 20 or so in some recent weeks. I have no doubt this increase is due to Tabletop
I wish my German game store was as helpful to their customers! I had to go all the way to London to get the Pandemic extension (ok, ok, I could have bought it online but London was great).
Also, I want to second the commenter from Finland about taking your stage show to Europe (Southern Germany, preferably for me :)). It would be such a privilege to attend one of your shows! You really are a great inspiration.
I got into board gaming because of you too, Wil. I’ve now watched every episode of Tabletop, eagerly await new ones, set up a board gaming group at work for lunch times, introduced my wife and family to gaming, and can’t wait for my son to be old enough to roll dice. My wife and I spend more time actually engaging with each other because we switch the TV off and play Carcassonne or Ticket To Ride or something. This is all thanks to you and your show. I would say that if you stopped everything you were doing and retired right now, you could look back on everything you’ve done and call your life a great success. Everything you do from here on out are bonus victory points. x
On Sunday afternoon, my son and I will be playing some board- and cardgames at Geeks Go Gaming, a monthly gamers’ meet in Dublin, Ireland. A get-together that started – not entirely coincidentally, I think – shortly after Tabletop. Some of the games we’ll be bringing were bought in Gamers’ World – a shop whose traffic has greatly increased since it started highlighting games featured on Tabletop. So – thanks hugely!
(Incidentally, the GGG event takes place in The Black Sheep, an awesome craft beer pub! I get to combine two of my favourite interests!)
Also from Europe, I have the unique experience of getting help from both American and German therapists, and can see the cultural and practical differences between them. The German one is very practical and logical, with is an instant anathema to depression.
The reason I mention this is I also got the same very cool advice from my American therapists about balance, and remembering the good things to help counter the depression dick-move.
I wanted to share this part of equally cool advice from my practical German one:
To handle something or put it away, you have to come in contact with it, even embrace and care for it. Example: there is a action figure on the table that you don’t want there, you want it in your display case, out of sight, because it’s I dunno, Halle Berry’s Catwoman or something (won’t ask, won’t judge). What’s the first thing you have to do? PICK IT UP. You HAVE to come in contact with it. Depression is just like that, you have to pick that ugly sucker up and figure out how to treat it appropriately.
In this case, depression is attacking your self-worth. It plays a big role in the lying thing, it constantly is pushing you to tell you that “you’re worhtless”, which is amazingly, the biggest lie, but the most convincing at the same time, because it is totally tied in with the human essential drive to push forward and “improve”.
So, here’s the TRUTH. Your therapist had it right, you’re too hard on yourself. That’s a sign of intelligence and motivation. These are good qualities to have, but also a burden, as you well know, because depression uses them to lie to you.
So basically, you can hit depression right back with that BS about “you don’t do enough” and “you never finish your projects” with the unfiltered facts: Yes, dick, I am a motivated and driven individual. I am a creator, I make things. I don’t end my day handling my miseries by getting plastered until the only thing my brain can manage is “yeeeeeHaaaaah”.
I FEEL THE URGE TO BE A CREATIVE AND INTELLIGENT PERSON (and yes, sometimes it knocks my dick in the dirt), but you know what, depression? Those are cool damned things to be.
Now get in that display case.
PS: Tour southern Germany. Please?
I was laid off from my job and haven’t gotten an interview in three months of looking. I’m reading this in a fit of worry-induced insomnia. I tried to write a list of accomplishments and came up with less than twenty. Thank whatever you deem appropriate for my medication or I wouldn’t be able to keep going.
It helps me to know that other folks struggle, and the fact that someone I admire is willing to post about it helps even more.Thank you for doing this.
And if anyone is reading this who struggles with depression and/or social anxiety. For the love all things geeky, try to get some help.
thinks the entire gaming community should pool their resources to make an epic film staring Will Wheaton!
Aside from that though I really think this is the first step in something amazing in 2006 I had a nervous breakdown at the age of 16, I had had depression for years but something just broke and in came the panic attacks, it was awful and I went to all sorts of therapists for years nothing helped. From day one I knew what my “root” cause was so talking respectively through my past did not help finally I found CBT the first therapist was awful! it was like a scene from clock work orange as he made me sit at watch youtube vids of things that set my panic attacks off!! I left I got my self a CBT self help book and a new therapist and it was amazing, it was little things in even smaller steps, for example I was scared of travelling by train so to start off I walked to the station, the week after I stood on the platform, the week after I got on and off the train ect ect.. until now I can travel any where on them. The point was the little change in my head that went from “I can’t do this” to “I can do this look I just did!” CBT has changed my life and even though its no miracle cure and it is hard and some times you fall back, each time it gets easier to pick your self back up! Once you start to talk to yourself like someone you love rather than someone you hate amazing things happen!
Will dude we all love you, you are talented, funny, clever your awesome man and you do make a difference!
Tabletop is the reason I got my mom Ticket to Ride for Christmas this year. We all had a great time playing it and its a memory I will keep forever. Thank you for sharing your experience with depression. I know that can’t be an easy thing but it helps a lot of people. Helps them face their issues as well. Thank you Wil.
Me and my son sit down together to watch TableTop, where we discuss the game being demonstrated and decide together if it is something that we would like to buy and play.
To tear a 16 year old away from playing Skyrim and to spend time with his totally uncool Dad is priceless…..and I thank you Wil for making this possible.
I read your Blog most days…although the American to English translation is ofter a bit wired…..”fancy pants I had tailored”….how the people in America live, they can even afford tailored underpants!!!
Thanks Wil…take care.
Thanks for always being brave and sharing your struggles, wil. I had to admit to myself that I needed help a few months ago and was finally given medication for anxiety and depression. It helped me very much and I finally went back and finished school (college) and am finally starting to believe that I can do things on my own. Reading your blog and watching tabletop is inspiring. Thank you so, so much for being you. 🙂
Something to consider, Wil. My wife and I switched over to a plant based diet and the change in both of our moods has been huge. Not to mention a plethora of other benefits. Check it out http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fighting-the-blues-with-greens-mao-inhibitors-in-plants/
Hi Mr Wheaton, I just wanted to say thank you for talking so openly about your journey with depression and how you are working on it. I have really bad anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder) and depression. I have always put a lot of pressure on myself, academically and in everything else I pursue. I have seen a few doctors, and they’ve all been great. But I don’t think I can explain the impact that it has when someone that you admire and look up to faces many of the same issues, and can bravely talk about it. There’s still so much of a stigma on mental illness, and its incredible to see a celebrity bring attention to it in a shameless and dignified way. Thank you so much, and I wish you the best.