Sirius and the Great Black Dog (was:Debatable ethical issues...)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 142408

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nrenka" <nrenka at y...> wrote:
> ...edited...
> 
> Of course, if Sirius *had* taken off with Buckbeak and headed to
> a tropical isle, I am sure that any number of readers would be 
> commenting upon how cowardly and utterly self-centered he is for
> putting his own safety in front of the cause.  He really can't 
> win in this situation, can he?
> 
> Not that I want to invoke anything too personal onlist, but I 
> try to put myself into the shoes of someone overtly suffering 
> from depression, ...well, I've fought the black dog myself, and
> it's not fun and it's not a case of willpower 'snapping' someone
> out of it, either.  ... I go crazy if I'm stuck in one place for
> a few days without being able to take breaks (done that, too).
> 
> ...edited..
> 
> -Nora 

bboyminn:

Ah yes, the 'great black dog' has visited me on many occasions too.

The thing people are forgetting though is that there are several kinds
of depression; like situational depression vs bio-chemical depression.

When you are in a depressing situation, depression is exactly the
appropraite response. If Sirius had been happy and jolly all the time,
slapping everyone on the back and making grand toasts, THEN I would
have seriously worried about his sanity. As it was, he was in a
depressing and frustrating situation, and as a result was depressed
and frustrated, which is exactly the appropriate response.

OK, there was a time or two when he was feeling a bit sorry for
himself, but again, that's not all that unexpected.

Notice, he is in much better shape when Harry and others come to stay
for Christmas. The depressingness and the frustration of his situation
are less, and consequently, he is less depressed and frustrated.
That's a pretty good sign that he is responding to the situation
normally and not trapped in a bout of clinical depression. When Harry
and the gang leave after Christmas, Sirius anticipates a more
depressing and frustrating situation ahead, and logically become more
depressed and frustrated. Again, a perfectly normal reaction to the
situation. 

As even I pointed out, Sirius wasn't a prisoner, he could leave
anytime he wanted to, and as much as he may have want to go, he was
well aware that doing so represented a trememdous risk. In a sense,
making a foolish and dangerous move, would do him no good, and more
importantly, it would jeopardize the quality of Harry's future. 

Indeed, I think the reason Sirius remained obediantly at home, was for
Harry. So that he could be a close to Harry as possible and as
available to Harry as possible. He suffered what he endured in the
house of his parents because he wanted to do the best for Harry that
he could, even if, at the moment, that 'best' wasn't very much at all. 
In a sense, to abandon Grimmauld Place would have been to abandon
Harry, and we all know that was never going to happen.

Again, everyone thought the situation was temporary. They knew they
had to endure for now as a sacrifice for relief and vindication that
would come later. I doubt that anyone ever expected Sirius to die so
soon. In everyone's mind, the two of them would be together for many
many years, and as a result, they left those long talks until later.
They put off the deep intimate questions for better times, and as a
result, great opportunities were lost. In a sense, what is lost when a
person dies like this is not so much the person themselves as the
future that might have been.

People can say 'snap out of it', 'buck up', or 'lets talk', but in the
end, when you are in a truly depressing circumstance, being depressed
is exactly the appropraite response. Sorry, I don't find Sirius mood
all that surprising or unusual.

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn