One of the general thoughts I seem to have witnessed has a rather large group of supporters around here, is the idea that any human who arrives in Equestria has to fall into some manner of depression or long-term isolation before coping with the idea that he is in a new world.

While I agree that some form of heavy reaction is needed, I do not agree on the idea that it has to be depression or seclusion.

As we all know, different people cope with different situations differently. Therefore, would it not be safe to assume that not everyone would immediately fall into a state of sadness and longing? Some people cope with problems by being rather vocal and dramatic about it, while others are far more reserved and analytical regarding situations of stress.

Would the same not apply to a man's attitude regarding our particular predicament? What do you think?

2963585 I always imagined seclusion personally and the thought of sitting in a rocking chair with a noose in my lap just thinking.

I see what you're getting at, but I think any emotional reaction will be tenfold, considering the gravity of the situation, so if someone would usually feel sad about problems, losing everyone and everything you know and love would be en extreme blow. I honestly can't imagine I'd cope well at all with no computers, telly or video games, so I know that I'd have a breakdown just over that.

2963585 Very few people would simply be able to "go with the flow" after leaving behind everything they'd ever known. Most people would deal with depression, isolation, acute xenophobia, and even anger issues. Some would readily adapt to the new situation, while others would stubbornly hold on to their past and what Earth meant to them. It all depends on the person, really, though such a major life change would greatly affect almost anyone.

That being said, it also has a lot to do with whether or not the human has any hope of returning to Earth or not. Those that have that hope dashed by either a loss of faith or direct explanation from the princesses would likely fall into a depression, but would probably adapt quicker in the long run.

When i'm sadden by my troubles i stack my self with work and lock myself away for a week.

2963585
Insanity seems like it should be more common.

I went through some horrible moments in my depression so I exactly know what ranges of sadness can be felt. Losing a world where you have no place in makes me feel the opposite of sad, especially if you think in the same way as I do.
So if a character happens to feel like there is no place for him in this world, then gets into a new one, I'm pretty sure he can have any kind of emotion, excitement, mostly.
Sadness and the other are part of it, yes, but not a major one.

2963605
You are right in a point and wrong in another. I'm practically addicted to all these but if I had the chance to start anew, I would gladly throw away everything.
Especially if with ponies. Yes, ponies.

-Zeph

2963585

I myself would just go into a massive fit or rage before anything else. Then I would try to figure a way back... then rage again. Then I guess I would try to cope... if not, I would just go absolutely crazy.

Would make on hell of a story for the ponies...

2963657 I wouldn't really say I'm wrong considering what I said pertains to me, haha, I know that not everyone would be inconsolable if they couldn't play Dark Souls every day.

Well said, good sir. Well said.

2963585
One method of dealing with the depression is to 'play the fool'. Hiding the pain behind a smiling mask really doesn't make things better. People see this --> , but it really is like this -->. Personal experience has taught me that.

2963717 Well, let's be rational here: no matter how much one might think the world is messed up, we would want to come back if we were sent to Equestria...at least at first. The reason being is a sense of familiarity and normality that Equestria just wouldn't have. Even a traveler on Earth still considers the planet "home" no matter what, even if he/she doesn't have a permanent address upon that planet.

2963585
That hasn't happened in the last 4-5 HiE's I read, in fact, they all accepted it incredibly fast, meh.

2963585 I agree that the depression part isn't likely for everyone, however I'd say seclusion would be an almost universal act, particularly for the analytical who would do so to think everything over before making any actions.

The vocal would probably be an exception if they're the kind where their vocality has to be directed at someone, if not I imagine they'd also choose it and rant to themselves.

2963801 Yes, but even in the abstract, Earth is still seen as "home". I'm not saying such a person would be quicker to adapt, because they probably would, but they would still have a bout of disorientation and even depression. Even someone who believes the world is ruined by oppressive governments only looking out for the wealthy (i.e. me) still considers Earth as their home.

We generally don't appreciate what we have until it's gone, even if that's our home.

2963679
I wasn't speaking about that either, I just stated that losing the habit to spend hours in front of our electric devices can be thrown away in exchange for something better.

2963809 What you described is pretty much the I'm Not a Brony Get Me Out Of Equestria series to a T.

2963585 Realistically I have absolutely no idea how I would react to being placed in a situation without other humans so this is all speculative. It probably depends on how the character has lived and interacted with people but I sincerely doubt that humans would adapt as conveniently easily as a lot of HiE stories seem to make it. Particularly if they actually have families, friends, and lives. Humans are for the most part very social and the question of if we could really accept being detached from that or being able to supplement ponies as people beyond consciously to a subconscious level is difficult to try to make serious inflections on.

2963908 I think you underestimate just how much people take for granted the familiarity of Earth, even with all its imperfection. We're used to things being done certain ways, physical laws being in place, and even the behavior of humans. No matter how much someone dislikes the people of Earth, it's something they're used to, and it will always be the place where they feel they belong. Most humans dropped in Equestria would suffer from feeling like a freak in a world of ponies, as it's unlikely they would be able to walk around much without being stared at. Currency is different, universal and physical laws are different, and he/she would have to live with the fact that magic -- a fantastical thing of mere legend -- is completely real, and the entire world revolves around it...literally. Or, rather the sun and moon revolves around the planet, which would make the human have to completely rethink everything about physics and the way reality is supposed to work.

As mean as it sounds, a dumb person would probably have it easier than someone who's highly intelligent and educated.

2963981 Just presenting an opinion on how I see things, just like everyone else on the internet.

My mother used to say, "Opinions are like assholes: everyone has one, and they all stink."

2964046 Same here, but I also know not everyone would be like me. In fact, very few would be like me.

Being "normal" is overrated anyway.

I personally enjoy a short tantrum followed by passive aggressiveness and general irritation. But eventually going back to their norm, of course; otherwise it gets boring.

2963585
Trying to put myself in those shoes... I'd bury myself in work, learning the language if it's different, their culture if it's not. I'd probably grow increasingly isolated from groups as time wore on, ignoring the gnawing sense of loss at the back of my mind as it grows bigger until I am finally forced to deal with, in which case I break down and slowly start pulling myself back together again. It wouldn't be a sudden thing for me I think, and I'm not really one to mope, I tend to shove sadness aside until it becomes completely unbearable, and even then I never manage to hold onto it for very long.

2964180 Yeah, I got past that point a long time ago. Now, I just go with the flow. A few years and a lot of heartache will do wonders to clear your perspective in the world, for better or worse. Now, if something happens to me in the world because of the world itself or my uniqueness, I just figure, "It didn't kill me, so I can get through it."

It's liberating in a lot of ways when you just don't care anymore.

2964203 Of course not. Besides, even if you were, everyone needs to talk once in awhile.

2964213 Well, I am corrected. Good luck with that, I guess. Cookies or brownies might help, unless you have Celiac.

2963585 Culture Shock occurs even when you remain on this planet. It would be worse on Equestria.

2964233 Oh, that's too bad. A murderer or sociopath would have made things more fun.

2964272 Same I suppose, though I don't feel bad about it like I used to. Prison just isn't for me, so I plan to stay out...otherwise, things would get really fun.

2964375 At a glance perhaps. I suppose unless the multiverse throws something unknowable at us, we'll never know for sure.

2963635
Work can wash your problems away. You might even work faster in your anger and hatred of the situation.

2963585
It really depends on your life experiences. For a lot of military guys I know, they no longer feel that sense of belonging, this is especially true for guys who have deployed at least once. It's like, you learn to realize that home is where you make it, and what time you spend mourning, is wasted on making your current situation better. And when you come back home, say from deployment, or you're visiting your family that you left, you don't feel like you're returning home at all, you're just vising the memory of it.

Me personally, it doesn't phase me in the slightest, as right up until I was about 10, my family was moving nearly on a yearly basis, and even as a teen, I never developed that sense of having a home. My house where my family lives, and where I once lived, was my abode, I just stayed there, because there was no real reason not to, simple as that. I found this to be true when I stayed in Oklahoma Nebraska for about a month and a half, and in Seattle for about a month. I didn't feel like I had a home in those places, or when I returned back to live with my parents, so I could start my Senior year in High School. Hell, there wasn't even a culture shock for me, by being placed in a totally different location, with different people, and all the fix ins, I just integrated, and moved on with my life.

If I were to be suddenly warped to Equestria, I wouldn't lose too much sleep on being gone, if anything, I would be more depressed about the fact that I am the sole survivor of my species, in an Alien environment. Of course, having my beloved AK47 would help me sleep at night, because nothing better to cuddle with than steel, wood, shellac, blued metal, and enough firepower and munitions to kill an Equestrian Company of soldier.

I guess I just have an incredibly morbid way of coping, so yeah, it does seem to be an over used shtick to have the main character have a complete and utter, mental break down, were all mental facilities cease to function. Though, there does seem to exist a counter culture to this idea, stating that if there is hardly a reaction, you're no better than those that over react. In any case, it seems that the way many people write reactions, seems to be the general, acceptable, action, most people would cope terribly with being transported to Equestria, so I can't really fault anyone for going that route, so long as it makes sense with the parameters of the character's personality.

2963585 I'd probably be in a state of denial, not believing anything and thinking it's all just some dream.

Then I'd get pissed off about it, because there's just no way anything like it would be real. I wouldn't want to be around anyone and assuming I've gone insane. I'd eventually accept it as my survival instincts and need to be a social animal would kick in. I don't think I'd get completely comfortable for a long time, at least a year.

I don't handle change very well.

Personally, I go somewhere where I won't be heard, then scream my head off until I feel better.

Sometimes it can take a few trips until I'm done, but it helps.

I would probably go through the stages of grief or mourning. Mostly anger and blaming myself for no reason because I'm that guy. Equestria would be in for a real treat.

i would hate the fact that I would lose access to video games, my kinds of music, anime, ect but I dont really care so much about the rest of my life and I would have access plenty of books, so overall i dont think I would go through much of a depression faze

2963585 I agree, people are complicated and no one can fully predict how someone would react in a situation, can some predict how most would react, sure, but not absolutely everyone. With a new world, some might get depressed and reclusive, some might not. I'd be ecstatic, even if I wasn't a brony. I'd miss my cat Hannah though.

2964075 Darn right is it overrated.

2963585

Here's my go-to list of ways to react to great trauma, culled from Call of Cthluhlu insanity tables:

Repeats what others say
Does what others say
Repeats and does what others say
Eats dirt
Eats slime
Eats flesh
Goes into a fetal postion
catatonic (concious, but unresponsive)
hysterical blindness
hysterical deeafness
body part (random) paralyzed - arm, leg, finger, hand,
faint (THE TROPE TO AVOID)
screaming fit
flee in panic
crying fit
babble incoherently
rabid coherent speech
frozen
suddenly attack random nearby person once and then run
insane bravery
turn to drugs (I need a drink)
tics
tremmors
amnesia - friends and family
amnesia- friends family and all skills too
unable to talk/ hysterical muteness
depressed
manic
delusions
hallucinations
paranoia
wash hands constantly
compulsive praying
walk in exact rythm
never step on cracks
constantly check gun
fervent belief in "lucky" item: object, type of object, or person
Develops a PHOBIA (too many to list)
Becomes allergic (too many to list)
Hair turns white
Hair falls out