Post Potter depression (+What it is and how to cope?)
By
OptimistMinds
As a BetterHelp affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.
Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
This article will discuss what is post Potter depression. For that, the article will make a brief explanation about the Harry Potter books and movies, and what depression is. Aside from that, the article will discuss what are ways to cope with post-potter depression.
What is Harry Potter?
Harry Potter is a series of seven novels. All of them written by J. K. Rowling. It tells the tale of a young boy named Harry Potter. Who learns he is a wizard and goes to a wizard school, named Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he meets Hermione and Ron who became his friends.
The main plot arc of the books is the battle of Harry against Lord Voldemort. He is a dark wizard that is trying to become immortal, and through that overthrows the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of magic, and takes over all the wizards and non-wizards.
The books were released between 1997 and 2007. But the movies, which were 8, since the last book was divided into two movies, were released between 2001 and 2011.
Nowadays Harry Potter is part of popular culture, being also present in the form of games, amusement parks, fanfics, and discussion blogs. But as people go through the books and movies, they can experience Post-Potter depression. Let’s discuss what this is.
What is Post-Potter depression?
Post-Potter depression is the feeling of sadness and emptiness a person can experience after going through the whole saga. These are some signs you might be going through Post-Potter depression.
- You are still using your Harry Potter clothes to halloween
- And you still wear your Harry Potter robes in the house
- You are constantly angry because the saga ended
- You were the first in line for the Fantastic Beast movies
- When people tell you to move on, you just say that as long as people remember it, the saga will always be alive
- You organize your Harry Potter books and DVDs often
- You stop by bookstores and movies to see if they are holding any Potter special events
- And if they are, you are the first in line to get the tickets
- You have started a Harry Potter group with your friends, where you share your theories. But nowadays it is mostly a support group for people that miss it.
- You may try to find the cure for your Post-Potter depression going through multiple fanfics
- In fact, you might have taken on writing your own Fanfic
- You gladly send emails to networks asking them to make the saga into a tv show
- You get extremely excited when you learn someone is reading Harry Potter for the first time. You want to be their guru through it and offer all of your books for them. So you can have an in depth discussion about it.
- And finally, you reread or the books and rewatch all the movies as often as you can
But it is important to understand that Post-Potter depression is not a clinical condition. Although it can leave you feeling sad, and even like they lost their purpose, it doesn’t mean they are depressed. To clarify, here is a brief explanation of what depression is.
What is depression?
Depression is a mental health condition in which the person feels intense sadness. The person can also feel empty, loses their purpose, and interest even in things they love. A person with depression may feel low self-esteem, and decreased sense of self-worth.
Their eating and sleeping patterns change. They can be more irritable, guilty, ashamed, and fatigued. Along with that, a person with depression can have difficulty focusing, and can consider self-harm. Thoughts of death and suicidal thoughts can also happen.
For a person to be considered depressed they should have experienced its symptoms intensely for more than two weeks.
How can I cope with Post-Potter depression?
After going through the whole Harry Potter instalment you can find yourself feeling empty, without a purpose or perspective. Here are some ways you can cope with Post-Potter depression.
Get in touch with the fanfics
If you feel you haven’t had enough of Harry Potter, there are many Fanfics around the web. Find some that can get you in touch with the Harry Potter world. This will fuel your Potter energy, as well as your discussions about it with your friends.
And not only read them, you can put your creativity and Potter knowledge to use and write a Fanfic of your own. This will allow you to put all of your desires for the characters on paper, and discuss them with your friends.
Get your friends to play some Potter related games
Harry Potter is part of popular culture. There are many games around it, even drinking games. Plan a night with your friends so that you can play it. It will be fun, and take you guys back to the Potter world.
Move on to other fantasy shows
There are many other fantasy movies or shows around. You can choose Percy Jackson, or even a more grown up show such as Game of Thrones. Those will allow you to keep the fantasy in your life, but also give you a new source of it.
This won’t diminish the importance Harry Potter has to you. But it will allow you to see what else is out there.
Try to explain to your friends the allure of Harry Potter
If you have friends that haven’t read or seen Harry Potter yet, it can be exciting to see them going through it for the first time. So as you explain to them the allure of it, one of them can get hooked. If they do, you have the chance to discuss with them the saga as they go through it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): What is Post-Potter depression?
Is Harry Potter addictive?
Yes, Harry Potter can be as addictive as drugs. Many people can get so involved with the story that it can feel as if they are addicted. How it works is that you may start to watch the movies, or read the books, and identify with it so much that it gives you a rush.
You can experience an intense sense of happiness, sometimes even euphoria. But when it ends, your mood can go lower, you can feel like you don’t have a purpose. So you need another hit, so you turn to another book or movie. And little by little you may get addicted to the Harry Potter saga.
What are the personality traits of Harry Potter?
Harry Potter is a true Gryffindor, so he answers to difficult times with bravery, determination, and when it is needed, even self-sacrifice. He is not the most focused person, and when he loses focus is usually because of mental or emotional reasons.
Harry Potter can also doubt things, which can put him in bad situations. He is mostly an emotional person, that follows his heart the best way he knows how to.
Is Harry Potter Fandom toxic?
The matter of the Harry Potter Fandom becoming toxic is mostly related to how big it got. When the Harry Potter fever had just started, there were less people involved in it. It made it possible to connect to a lot of the people you were in touch with.
But as the community grows, it is impossible to keep track of who is a part of this community because they actually love the saga, from people that are part of the community just to attack others.
As with any other online community, in the Harry Potter Fandom you can observe people that are there just to be disrespectful or treat others badly. It would be important to have a way to block those people from such joyous communities, but since the internet has very little boundaries, it seems hard to do such a thing.
Because of that, it is important for people to take care of their own mental health when joining communities online.
What are the main flaws of Harry Potter’s characters?
All of the characters in Harry Potter have particular personality traits. Harry Potter is mostly hot-tempered, impulsive, and lacks intellectual curiosity. As for his best friend Ron, he has low self-esteem, is lazy, and gets angry easily.
As for Hermione, she is bossy, and trusts books too much. Lavender is mostly childish, and Cho Chang is melodramatic, that is open to making wrong friends. Colin Creevey is hero-worshipping.
Dumbledore doesn’t seem able to maneuver power, and usually blames himself. Crouch Sr. Is a workaholic, and a cruel person. Filch is often resentful, sadistic, and hates students for no reason.
Snape is a sadistic character that enjoys humiliating students. Lupin has low self-esteem, a lot of self-pity, and trust issues. James is spoiled, a bully, and impulsive. Sirius is a bully who is not concerned with his own safety. Peter is an opportunist. As for Voldemort, he is a sociopath, and manipulative.
Neville is shy. Luna is impractical, and dreamy. Ginny just tries too hard and is a bit rude. Draco is a sadist and relies too much on his family name.
Narcissa is arrogant mostly to people outside her family.
Hagrid is too straightforward. And McGonagall seems too distant. Lockhart is vain,and is always looking for attention. Molly Weasley is a rigid person that focuses too much on family.
As for Fred and George, they usually cause too much trouble by not following the rules. And Crabbe and Goyle are unable to think by themselves. Petunia is a nosy person that gets easily jealous.
Fleur is mostly arrogant, while Cornelius Fudge loves power too much, and is usually hot-tempered. And finally, Percy is an ambitious person, who strictly follows the rules.
Was Harry Potter a good friend?
Harry Potter is a complex character when it comes to being a good friend. There are some moments when he is a really good one such as the moment in which he scared the Dumbldore’s army away for everyone’s sake. In the same way, he was a good friend when he pretended to give Ron the Felix Felicis Potion.
Aside from that, he proved himself to be a good friend when he told Hermione how much he admired her, and when he showed respect for Luna, even when no one else did. And finally, he was a great friend when he choose Ron over Malfoy to be close to.
Conclusion
This article explained what Post-Potter depression is. For that, the article explained what is the Potter culture, and what depression is. Along with that, the article explained what are ways to cope with Post-Potter depression.
If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write it in the section below.
References
Overcome Depression and Find Joy in Life Again with BetterHelp
