Has Dragon Ball Made Your Life Happier?

[theoriginalbilis]

What's not to be happy about?

Being a Dragon Ball fan has provided me with countless hours of entertainment, forged friendships which will last a lifetime, allowed me to meet face-to-face with some amazing voice actors and fans alike, and has been a major inspiration in my art/animation career.

So yeah... you can say it has left a positive mark on my life.

[SSJ3_Zack]

DragonBall has given me countless moments of Joy in my life. It's been both therapeutic and inspirational to me personally. I have had some troubles in my life and DragonBall has played a part of the support through those troubles. I simply cannot be thankful enough to be able to turn on my TV or a page and jump out of this sometime gloomy world and straight into the bright and rather colourful world of DragonBall.

[thatdbzguy]

Dragon Ball? Can't say it has, but it has entertained me for over 20 years!

Has it at least helped you get through some tough times?

[FortuneSSJ]

Most important thing in my childhood and one of the most important things in my life.
The answer is yeah.

[baneofdemon22]

Yes. It has helped me a lot.

I've been debating how much I want to elaborate on my health problems, because I've been doing this for years with doctors and it's too depressing for me, so I have to avoid those details. I've been chronically ill since I was young kid and have had it pretty rough. I was sick a lot, and when I was in school I was bullied throughout. I grew up with superheroes, but Batman and one of his villains, Bane, were my major source of inspiration. They faced so much struggles and beat tremendous odds, constantly pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits. I tried to mimic them. I was an honors student and got all A's and would work out and study with any free time I got. However, I was never happy. As my health got worse and worse, I couldn't do those things and eventually couldn't go to school and couldn't walk for months. I'd keep getting into these cycles and was miserable. I got more bitter and depressed over the years. My religion and my Batman comics helped me strive to get well and it gave me a sort of perfectionist mentality, but as my mind and body started to get worse, I became more miserable. Last year, I watched Dragonball Z Kai and it changed my perspective on life in a lot of ways. It made me proud of myself for my achievements and made me recognize my flaws, like my pride. I always wanted to jog, but feared how I would look. I could only make it two houses before almost passing out and was scared people would mock me and I would look silly. It took 6 months, but I was able to go my whole route jogging without stopping. Previously, I would have hated myself for it, but now I pat myself on the back. I'm still hard on myself, but thanks to Dragonball, I do not want to dwell in my depression. It will take a long time, but it helped to set me on track. It gave me hope that people can change and made me excited for them (There's a reason Final Attonement is my all time favorite fictional moment). It helped me understand things about parenting and why my dad pushed me so hard, because he wanted to make me strong (like the Cell games). Goku's carefree attitude helped me get over my fear of dying and getting more ill. For almost 10 years I've been in doctors appoints where I have to be naked a lot and I have been very embarrassed over. Now I think of Goku's carefree attitude of being in the natural. I was never a materialistic person, but I worry a lot about finances and Goku's lifestyle helped to ease it a bit. I still have a lot of depression, pain, and worries, but after watching Dragonball, it helped my spirits a lot.

I could go on more, but I'll stop there. Hopefully this answered the question.

[thatdbzguy]

Yes. It has helped me a lot.

I've been debating how much I want to elaborate on my health problems, because I've been doing this for years with doctors and it's too depressing for me, so I have to avoid those details. I've been chronically ill since I was young kid and have had it pretty rough. I was sick a lot, and when I was in school I was bullied throughout. I grew up with superheroes, but Batman and one of his villains, Bane, were my major source of inspiration. They faced so much struggles and beat tremendous odds, constantly pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits. I tried to mimic them. I was an honors student and got all A's and would work out and study with any free time I got. However, I was never happy. As my health got worse and worse, I couldn't do those things and eventually couldn't go to school and couldn't walk for months. I'd keep getting into these cycles and was miserable. I got more bitter and depressed over the years. My religion and my Batman comics helped me strive to get well and it gave me a sort of perfectionist mentality, but as my mind and body started to get worse, I became more miserable. Last year, I watched Dragonball Z Kai and it changed my perspective on life in a lot of ways. It made me proud of myself for my achievements and made me recognize my flaws, like my pride. I always wanted to jog, but feared how I would look. I could only make it two houses before almost passing out and was scared people would mock me and I would look silly. It took 6 months, but I was able to go my whole route jogging without stopping. Previously, I would have hated myself for it, but now I pat myself on the back. I'm still hard on myself, but thanks to Dragonball, I do not want to dwell in my depression. It will take a long time, but it helped to set me on track. It gave me hope that people can change and made me excited for them (There's a reason Final Attonement is my all time favorite fictional moment). It helped me understand things about parenting and why my dad pushed me so hard, because he wanted to make me strong (like the Cell games). Goku's carefree attitude helped me get over my fear of dying and getting more ill. For almost 10 years I've been in doctors appoints where I have to be naked a lot and I have been very embarrassed over. Now I think of Goku's carefree attitude of being in the natural. I was never a materialistic person, but I worry a lot about finances and Goku's lifestyle helped to ease it a bit. I still have a lot of depression, pain, and worries, but after watching Dragonball, it helped my spirits a lot.

I could go on more, but I'll stop there. Hopefully this answered the question.

Damn. Reading posts like this makes me feel bad for going through so much mental stress just because of a cartoon. After all of the things you've had to go through, you still manage to find happiness in DB, while I on the other hand continue to moan about how unhappy the series makes me just because of the opinions of others.

[baneofdemon22]

Don't feel bad! I wish the best for you! You're topics have offered a lot of awesome discussions, that have helped keep me busy and got me talking. I have a lot of low self esteem, so you helped me by giving me an opportunity to get my opinion out there on things, even if it's so small as for a TV/book franchise. I have a medical procedure I have to do that takes about 6 hours everyday and they help to keep my mind off how miserable I feel! So thank you sir! Take care!

[Blade]

Well, today I lost a close family member.

I live quite far away from my family, and my house mates are all away this weekend - so not only do I have such awful news to digest, I'm all alone to do it.

So yes - Dragon ball does make my life happier.

[Dbzfan94]

Well, today I lost a close family member.

I live quite far away from my family, and my house mates are all away this weekend - so not only do I have such awful news to digest, I'm all alone to do it.

So yes - Dragon ball does make my life happier.

I'm sorry to hear that man, I lost a close family member when I was a kid, so we're in the same boat.
If you want to talk, feel free to PM me.

[samuraix123]

So I just got my wisdom teeth removed, and of course, I'm not really feeling 100% because of it. I'm going to see myself if watching/reading some Dragon Ball will help make me a little less miserable.

By the way, sorry for getting a little off-topic, but I want to thank you guys. I know a lot of you may think poorly of me, or think I'm just some troll out for attention, but the things you said to me in the thread where I talked about wanting to get rid of all of my Dragon Ball stuff really touched me. Hell, I'm actually getting teary-eyed now while typing this because I just feel that touched. It's not everyday when random people on the internet type up such heart-warming advice and show so much care towards someone who they don't even know.

Thank you. I wish there were more people on the internet like you guys.

Not a problem at all buddy! Anytime you need a friend to talk too in private, just Pm me and we'll see what's up.

[TheAldella]

Yes, you can assume that.

Can I get a Schamen?

But I'll add onto my previous post; while it did make me a little harder to talk to back in the old days, I'll say that without Dragon Ball, I'd be one of the most boring people around. It has made me happier, truthfully, now that I've had time to toy with the question. it's made me some good friends and people that I can rely on without getting stabbed in the back.

Because I grew up with this, I can look out for others more and I've become more and more enthusiastic about things.

I owe a lot to this franchise and many others for setting me on a good path and ensuring I don't become a twat.

[Duo]

Debating Dragon Ball subjects on MFG ten years ago taught me the basics of using proper citation and logical deduction to make points, even referring to a fictional universe. I spend more of those energies on politics now, but it helped lay the groundwork for how I address matters and form arguments.

Opening up to the Japanese version and abandoning the dub taught me the principle of honoring the original version of anything I watch that's produced in another language, and I've been much happier and learned a lot from that.

Also, one of the most enjoyable friendships I've been building the last few years is with someone I met arguing about Dragon Ball on the internet.

As for the sheer entertainment hours? I don't even know where to begin...more than anything else, it's the longest standing and most passionate obsession in my life related to entertainment.

[DBZAOTA482]

Yes. It has helped me a lot.

I've been debating how much I want to elaborate on my health problems, because I've been doing this for years with doctors and it's too depressing for me, so I have to avoid those details. I've been chronically ill since I was young kid and have had it pretty rough. I was sick a lot, and when I was in school I was bullied throughout. I grew up with superheroes, but Batman and one of his villains, Bane, were my major source of inspiration. They faced so much struggles and beat tremendous odds, constantly pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits. I tried to mimic them. I was an honors student and got all A's and would work out and study with any free time I got. However, I was never happy. As my health got worse and worse, I couldn't do those things and eventually couldn't go to school and couldn't walk for months. I'd keep getting into these cycles and was miserable. I got more bitter and depressed over the years. My religion and my Batman comics helped me strive to get well and it gave me a sort of perfectionist mentality, but as my mind and body started to get worse, I became more miserable. Last year, I watched Dragonball Z Kai and it changed my perspective on life in a lot of ways. It made me proud of myself for my achievements and made me recognize my flaws, like my pride. I always wanted to jog, but feared how I would look. I could only make it two houses before almost passing out and was scared people would mock me and I would look silly. It took 6 months, but I was able to go my whole route jogging without stopping. Previously, I would have hated myself for it, but now I pat myself on the back. I'm still hard on myself, but thanks to Dragonball, I do not want to dwell in my depression. It will take a long time, but it helped to set me on track. It gave me hope that people can change and made me excited for them (There's a reason Final Attonement is my all time favorite fictional moment). It helped me understand things about parenting and why my dad pushed me so hard, because he wanted to make me strong (like the Cell games). Goku's carefree attitude helped me get over my fear of dying and getting more ill. For almost 10 years I've been in doctors appoints where I have to be naked a lot and I have been very embarrassed over. Now I think of Goku's carefree attitude of being in the natural. I was never a materialistic person, but I worry a lot about finances and Goku's lifestyle helped to ease it a bit. I still have a lot of depression, pain, and worries, but after watching Dragonball, it helped my spirits a lot.

I could go on more, but I'll stop there. Hopefully this answered the question.

Whoa. I feel you, man. I feel you.

[orbweaver]

I'm 40, got into the fandom when I was in my mid to late 20s, and feel I've gotten positive things from DB.

Hard to elucidate... but there it is.

[Insertclevername]

Sure. It's certainly inspired me in many different ways; mostly artistically. I also found this site because of Dragon Ball which certainly made me more articulate (well, relatively speaking that is). Not to mention all the cool people I've met via this site and it's extensions. I chat with members via Twitter and IRC because of this series. So, yes. It's certainly influenced me more positively than negatively (if any).

[KentalSSJ6]

As someone who has faced severe depression and attempted suicide 3 times in my life, I can safely say Dragonball has helped me through quite literally the lowest and darkest points of my life.

[Blade]

Well, today I lost a close family member.

I live quite far away from my family, and my house mates are all away this weekend - so not only do I have such awful news to digest, I'm all alone to do it.

So yes - Dragon ball does make my life happier.

I'm sorry to hear that man, I lost a close family member when I was a kid, so we're in the same boat.
If you want to talk, feel free to PM me.

Thank you for the offer and your consideration

I guess being alone in the house over the weekend has had the effect of giving me a little bit of time and space to comprehend the news and begin to come to terms with it. I considered traveling back home, but I think I'm going to wait until the funeral and just try and get up for work tomorrow morning and keep on going as normal. I think stopping and feeling sorry for myself wont help anyone or anything.

And yeah, to tie it all back into the thread - a combination of Dragonball Z movies and cheesecake has kept me sane this weekend. Escapism is the best cure sometimes.

[dbboxkaifan]

Damn. Reading posts like this makes me feel bad for going through so much mental stress just because of a cartoon. After all of the things you've had to go through, you still manage to find happiness in DB, while I on the other hand continue to moan about how unhappy the series makes me just because of the opinions of others.

How does a cartoon make you feel mentally stressed? People critic you for liking it? I'm 23 years old and my room is filled with games and shit, one would say that could've been a kid's room.

And yeah, to tie it all back into the thread - a combination of Dragonball Z movies and cheesecake has kept me sane this weekend. Escapism is the best cure sometimes.

Fingers crossed you're not going to punish yourself watching the Brocoli films.

[FortuneSSJ]

Yes. It has helped me a lot.

I've been debating how much I want to elaborate on my health problems, because I've been doing this for years with doctors and it's too depressing for me, so I have to avoid those details. I've been chronically ill since I was young kid and have had it pretty rough. I was sick a lot, and when I was in school I was bullied throughout. I grew up with superheroes, but Batman and one of his villains, Bane, were my major source of inspiration. They faced so much struggles and beat tremendous odds, constantly pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits. I tried to mimic them. I was an honors student and got all A's and would work out and study with any free time I got. However, I was never happy. As my health got worse and worse, I couldn't do those things and eventually couldn't go to school and couldn't walk for months. I'd keep getting into these cycles and was miserable. I got more bitter and depressed over the years. My religion and my Batman comics helped me strive to get well and it gave me a sort of perfectionist mentality, but as my mind and body started to get worse, I became more miserable. Last year, I watched Dragonball Z Kai and it changed my perspective on life in a lot of ways. It made me proud of myself for my achievements and made me recognize my flaws, like my pride. I always wanted to jog, but feared how I would look. I could only make it two houses before almost passing out and was scared people would mock me and I would look silly. It took 6 months, but I was able to go my whole route jogging without stopping. Previously, I would have hated myself for it, but now I pat myself on the back. I'm still hard on myself, but thanks to Dragonball, I do not want to dwell in my depression. It will take a long time, but it helped to set me on track. It gave me hope that people can change and made me excited for them (There's a reason Final Attonement is my all time favorite fictional moment). It helped me understand things about parenting and why my dad pushed me so hard, because he wanted to make me strong (like the Cell games). Goku's carefree attitude helped me get over my fear of dying and getting more ill. For almost 10 years I've been in doctors appoints where I have to be naked a lot and I have been very embarrassed over. Now I think of Goku's carefree attitude of being in the natural. I was never a materialistic person, but I worry a lot about finances and Goku's lifestyle helped to ease it a bit. I still have a lot of depression, pain, and worries, but after watching Dragonball, it helped my spirits a lot.

I could go on more, but I'll stop there. Hopefully this answered the question.

Beautiful post. Thanks for this writing.

[TheDoc]

Dragon Ball always helps cheering me up when i am depressed. It's like therapy in a way. If i am feeling particularly sad, reading the manga or watching the anime helps making me feel better. It's amazing to think such a simple series that ended 20 years ago can have that effect on people. And it may sound corny as hell, but DB's philosofy of never giving up and keeping focused in your goals actually helped me trough some difficult moments in my life, and helped me achieving a lot of the good things i have today.

Some of the posts on this thread are kinda heartwarming, and that makes me realizing how stupid it is to argue over a cartoon. Debating is always fun and is what keeps this fanbase a live, but getting into heated arguments trying to win instead of proving your point removes the joy of it.