Is Louis CK depressed?  (+How Louis CK handles it)

This article will discuss how the comedian Louis CK has handled depression. For that, it will do a brief history of his life, enlightening when he was diagnosed with depression, and how it has been a part of his work and life.

Who is Louis CK? 

Louis CK is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker. He started his career in the 1990s writing for many talk show hosts, such as David Letterman, and the show Saturday Night Live.

Once he became known for those works, he dedicated himself to movies. He directed some movies. But after an HBO special of him performing a stand-up called One Night Stand, his career changed. He began working on a sitcom called Lucky Louie, which he wrote and starred in.

Later on, after some other movies participation, and many other hit shows, in 2017 he was cussed of much sexual misconduct. Many women, including other comedians that worked with him, have come forth saying that he would masturbate in front of them without their consent. 

As a consequence of those allegations, Louis CK and his career were both affected. He lost a huge amount of money, around 35 million dollars, in income. And became an outcast, with which people he worked with didn’t want to be associated. 

But by August 2018 he resumed his stand-up career in New York, which was a very controversial move. Some of his peers believed he shouldn’t be allowed to do stand-up again, or that people should avoid going to see him. While others supported his decision of going back. 

And since then, he has been putting new material out. He even had a stand-up schedule, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he had to find another way to do it, which he did.

Louis CK is a controversial person, one that has had his ghosts, and has dealt with many situations in life, including depression. Let’s discuss a little more about what the comedian has said of his mental health, and how he makes a point of dealing with his emotions. 

Is Louis CK depressed? 

Yes, Louis CK is depressed. He has made it clear during interviews, and even in his shows how he has been living with depression for a while. He says he has felt depression ever since he was 6 years old. And although it often shocks people how comedians can be depressed, it is a known fact that many of them battle depression.

An example of a comedian that is depressed is Drew Carey. He has talked about, in his biography about his struggle with depression, and even some suicide attempts. Not only him, but Ellen Degeneres has also stated that while going through assuming her sexuality publicly, she was depressed for 3 years. 

As for Louis CK, along with starting to feel depressed at a very young age, in the 1990s, he was in a serious motorcycle accident, which only made his emotional state worse. 

His depression was never a secret, in many of his appearances, even before the abuse accusations, he has said that there is a sense of emptiness and loneliness in him, and that this is also something common to humankind, but that people have been filling it up with things.

He says that people try to avoid getting in touch with their feelings by focusing on their phones, texting or being on social media. When he says that, he usually mentions how he is accompanied by intense sadness, something that is extremely common in people with depression. 

Along with that, he refers to a feeling of persistent misery, and that life was bad. All of those are also important signs of depression. It can lead you to have a more negative outlook on life, taking away all of your hope, interest, and joy, making it hard to understand why you should still be alive. 

But in his interviews, he doesn’t only talk about his symptoms of depression. He often discusses how he has learned with time to let those feelings out, not distract himself from them, but rather find a way to externalize them. It can be by crying, or even putting those feelings out through humor. 

For example, in one interview he gave to Conan O’Brian he said that one day a Bruce Springsteen song triggered an intense sadness in him. And differently from other people that might just turn to their phones to distract from the pain and sadness, he allowed himself to feel.

He was in his car, driving, but he pulled the car out and permitted himself to cry. And although that can seem like a strange situation, it is by allowing oneself to get in touch with their true emotions that you might be able to get a hold on depression or learn how to navigate it better. 

And this is the ultimate first rule for people battling depression. That they should let their emotions out, be it by crying, or talking to people. This will help them get a better notion of how they feel, and with that, they can regain some control over it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Is Louis CK depressed? 

What is depression? 

Depression is a mental health condition that can happen to anyone. It uses the person to experience intense sadness, along with many negative thoughts about themselves, and the world around them. Along with that, depression can make the person feel a lot less energetic, fatigued, irritable, and empty.

Aside from that, depression makes you lose interest in everything, even things you used to love. It can make you lose your ability to focus, and feel less energetic. Not only that, it changes the pattern of your eating and sleeping. Some people may overeat and oversleep, while others may find it hard to do both.

Depression can make the person feel guilty, isolate themselves from social contact, and cause them to have low self-esteem. It can also make a person consider harming themselves, and in some cases, when the suffering is too intense, they may even consider suicide.

Does depression have a cure? 

No, depression doesn’t have a cure. Because it can be related to genetics, and that is impossible to change, you can’t say a person will ever develop depression again. But what can be said is that the person is in remission.

And in that, they will most likely regain control of their emotions, and be able to return to their life, but without losing focus on their mental health and their well-being.

Why are so many comedians depressed? 

Many comedians have depression or mental health concerns, but what may seem like a strange matter, is mostly related to how open they are about their mental health condition, and how people perceive them to be based on their work.

Comedians are thought to be people that are always smiling and happy, so when it becomes public that this loved person, that always seems to have a positive outlook on life is depressed, or even attempted suicide it can seem extremely strange. 

But what is important to keep in mind is that the same way as other people, comedians are also capable of experiencing negative emotions, feeling pain, and suffering due to life experiences they go through.

And even though it can be hard for people to understand it, when comedians come forward talking about their mental health state, they are helping decrease the stigma of mental illness. By saying they have depression, they break that notion that every one that is depressed is crying all the time. 

People can be depressed and still have good moments, they can be depressed and still make others laugh which can be a powerful coping mechanism. But it shouldn’t imprison them and makes it impossible for them to show their vulnerable side.

What are the forms of depression? 

There are some forms of depression in which the intensity of the symptoms and the duration of them can vary. In mild depression, the symptoms are usually not intense, and only go on for a brief amount of time, and because of that is the hardest one to diagnose. It is usually treated by making some lifestyle changes.

There is moderate depression, in which the symptoms are somewhat more intense, and it can start to affect the person’s quality of life. It can go on for a few months, and to treat people may benefit from therapy, and some might even use medication. 

And there is a major depression, in which the symptoms are so intense that they can make it hard for the person to maintain their life as it was.

In major depression sometimes even getting out of bed can seem impossible. And along with the known symptoms of depression, it can lead to hallucinations, delusional thoughts, and even psychotic episodes. To treat it people usually go through therapy and medication. 

And finally, there is the persistent depressive episode, that can go on for around two years, and the person will experience moments of mild depression and some major depression.

What are suicidal thoughts?

Suicidal thoughts, also known as suicidal ideations, are thoughts a person has around the idea of ending their own life. It can be a fleeting thought, in which you can think about how it would be to end it all. In those cases, it can be a way to consider your mortality, but in which you are not planning on acting on it.

This is mostly a desire to escape what you are going through. But in some cases, people are in such intense suffering that it can lead them to plan on how to end their own life. At this moment, they can start to think about how, where, and when they would do it.

This is not a simple matter, and people going through it should be looked at in a caring and supportive way. It is possible to notice that someone is contemplating suicide because their behavior will change. They can become more agitated, their sleeping patterns will change, and they may start to say their goodbyes.

Along with that, when a person is considering suicide, they can start to give away their belongings, and develop an intense curiosity for all things related to death, violence, and suicide. If someone you know is going through this, you may want to talk to them about looking for treatment.

Conclusion

This article discussed if Louis CK, the known comedian, is depressed. For that, the article made a recap on his life and discussed how early he experienced depression. Along with that, it showed how he experiences depression, and how common it is to see comedians going through it. 

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write them in the section below. 

References

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/01/04/i-feel-sorry-louis-ck/

https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/video-louis-ck-beautifully-explains-why-sadness-is-better-than-smartphones

https://theoutline.com/post/1367/louis-ck-netflix-special

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