On November 7, 1913, a Nobel Prize winner was born. Albert Camus was a French Algerian who was raised as a catholic and raised in poverty after his father passed away. Although he was raised Catholic, literary artists, such as Nietzsche, sparked his interest in atheism (Simpson, n.d.). Many things he faced throughout his lifetime are highly attributed to his philosophical mindset. His central mindset is focused on absurdism. Many would call his works existential, but he would often deny this. (Aronson, 2021) His works concentrated on darker themes, which likely paralleled his mindset. "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of." (Camus et al., 1990). Depression is a social epidemic that Albert Camus would find inevitable due to the need for society to find a sense of meaning instead of living life in the very moment that is in front of them.
      Camus' works highly portray his viewpoint on life as meaningless. Although his childhood consisted of Catholicism, his interest turned to atheism. His views are somewhat confusing because although he doesn't believe in God, he has a solid foundation to find the good and to do good with what you have. People with depression have a sense of meaninglessness. The American Psychiatric Association defines depression as "a common and serious mental disorder that negatively affects how you feel, think, act, and perceive the world" (American Psychiatric Association, What is depression?). Camus would agree that those who are depressed would need to see that good things can come from the depression.
      Albert Camus' philosophical view is that of absurdism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines absurdism as "a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe" (Merriam-Webster, Absurdism definition & meaning). Camus wrote several pieces that depict this type of view. His most famous works are The Stranger, The Pest, The Fall, The Rebel, and The Myth of Sisyphus. However, it is worth noting that he has many publications that expose his thoughts. Each of these books portrays a story of purpose or meaning in life. In The Myth of Sisyphus, he states, "Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable." (Camus & O'Brien, 2018). This quote resembles a significant aspect of what depression looks like and could center around depression in such a way that society searches for what is desirable instead of truth, which in turn can drive people to become depressed. The desires of the world are not the truth of life. When reality strikes, depression sets in, especially if there is a history of some sort of trauma.
      Those with depression can almost live in a "dreamlike" state. Once consumed by it, they have a hard time getting out. Like the characters portrayed in his books, Camus also feels that
                                I want to draw a humanistic way of thinking, clear-sighted and modest—

                                a certain kind of personal conduct in which life would confront life as it is

                                and not with daydreams. (Camus & Zaretsky, 2016).
It is almost as if Camus feels like society is in a depressive state because people not only work like machines, repetitive of what they do and what they are told to do but also what they feel comfortable with. It is like a depressed individual is living in a dreamlike state, ignoring what is happening around them.
      Camus believes that people need to face what lies before them for change, not disconnect. This view makes complete sense concerning PTSD. PTSD patients tend to withdraw themselves from society. Quotes like "after a while you get used to anything" (Camus and Ward, 1988) and "at that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it." (Camus & Ward, 1988), clearly exemplifies the complacency of a depressed mindset. Instead of fighting for survival, those with depression would rather lie in the "trunk of a dead tree" and "get used to it." Could Camus' mindset change the direction of a person with PTSD? Although his works were very depressing, he had so much influence in those writings to spark light into the brains of those like him to be better. "You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself" (Camus et al., 1998). He believes in finding the light at the end of the tunnel.
      According to Camus, life is meaningless. Although he feels life is meaningless, there is a need to go beyond that and find the things that would make you happy. "The realization of life being absurd cannot be an end, but only a beginning" (Camus & O'Brien, 2018). You are born into this world without choice, but you have to choose to pursue what is good. Find what will make you happy and want to live instead of living in a state of depression and "find out if it is possible to live without appeal." (Camus & Hapgood, 1996). Human beings are responsible for finding light in life in the darkness of the world. Camus would believe that it is a good thing to embrace depression. That sounds odd, but he believed in finding something positive within the negative. "Despair is caused not by the cruelty of life and man, but by the thought of the individual's greatness and his inability to establish a bond with an indifferent universe" (Sus, 2023).

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https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/10/everyday-stress-leads-suicide/

References​

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Camus, A., & Bloom, R. (2008). Notebooks, 1951-1959. Ivan R. Dee.
Camus, A., & Hapgood, D. (1996). The first man. Vintage Books.
Camus, A., & O'Brien, J. (2018). The myth of sisyphus. Vintage International : Vintage Books, a division of Penguin                                 Random House LLC.
Camus, A., & Read, H. (2012). The rebel: An essay on man in revolt. Vintage.
Camus, A., Thody, P., & O'Brien, J. (1998). Notebooks, 1935-1951. Marlowe & Co.
Camus, A., Viallaneix, P., & Kennedy, E. C. (1990). Youthful writings. Paragon House.
Camus, A., & Ward, M. (1988). The stranger. Vintage International.
Licayan, H. L. (2007). The atheism of Albert Camus: A critical evaluation from the perspective of the concept of god as                     relation. Animo Repository.                                                                             https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/138/#:~:text=In%20all%20anthologies

            %20of%20existentialist,to%20be %20a%20reserved%20atheist.
Merriam-Webster. Absurdism. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 27, 2024,
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Murphy, D. (2020, January 5). Camus at 100: "Live to the point of tears." All the Rusted Signs.                                                                                https://murphydp.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/camus-at-100-live-to-the-point-of-tears/

What is depression? Psychiatry.org- What is depression?                        

            https://www.psychiatry.org/patients- families/depression/what-is-depression
 

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