I've even mocked those who openly admit their despair.

Denying it is just putting on a fake face because the world doesn't actually care about you. It's admitting the world doesn't care if you are hurting and doesn't want to see it if you are. Perhaps that's the greatest sadness of all.

nothing to lose at all but my own sanity.

It's overrated.

I don't really know the answers...I know that what society does to us is wrong. We have to accept our sadness. We have to embrace it. We have to learn to live with it and not just deny it's existence. It's one of our co-inhabitants in the house of us. We can't just deny it's existence because we don't like it. That's grade-school bullshit.

But we also can't just wallow in despair. We have things we have to do. Sometimes we have to be strong for others. Sometimes we have to be strong for ourselves.

It's a fine line to walk...

As to running a business...people are seldom honest about it. It's not easy. You're responsible for your own success or failures. Everything's always riding on that success. If you ever let expenses pile up too much or income go to low...it can all come crashing down...but working for someone else means they always get the profit from your hard work. Keep working hard, and be an annoying penny pincher, because that's how empires are grown.