Great account, that takes a lot of work, I definitely understand.
I've always joked I would make a great fugitive, because depending on the time of my life that people saw my, my appearance changed drastically. I was always a lanky kid, through high school and college, and eventually hit a wall of depression and with age gained weight. I think I maxed out at 260, leveled off around 240, then in a matter of five months or so manage to drop around 60 pounds. I would go pure fat free diet and walk a good 2-3 hours daily.
About a year ago I fell back again around 210, but now I'm in my comfortable 170 range at 6'2, it's pretty lean.
I think there are honest people who fall into depression or have problems, that cascades into other issues, into a rut that they can't get out of. I don't think there's one grand answer to every single problem. It seems like society falls only between, "hey screw any kind of social net, just give more to the rich because they need more!" or "give everyone everything on society's dime."
I just put it this way, there are dishonest, untalented, lazy people who are rich and got there by the people they know, the family they grew up in, or stepping on others. And there are dishonest, untalented, lazy people on down the social ladder who expect everything done for them that Gene is obviously one of.