Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Data

Data's journey of self-discovery was not always an easy path. Even without experiencing emotions, he ran into a lot of hardships that took him to some very dark places mentally.

Data talked about his mental health experiences with Geordi in the Next Gen episode Eye Of The Beholder. While the two were discussing the apparent suicide of a crew member named Lieutenant Kwan, Data realised that he had experienced similar feelings of hopelessness in his past. When he was first activated, he became overwhelmed by his emerging sentience and the feeling of his neural pathways developing and becoming more complex. It was an extremely difficult process, and at one point Data considered shutting himself down to start over again. In a way, he considered ending his own life because he thought it would be easier.

Fortunately, Data came to a very important decision that stopped him from going through with the procedure. He chose to view the problems he was having as challenges to overcome, rather than obstacles to avoid. This simple change of mindset helped him overcome his hopelessness and turn it into something empowering.

The best part about this scene was the way Geordi immediately stopped what he was doing and turned all his attention to Data. Geordi was of course concerned when Data began talking about these feelings, but he was clearly proud of his friend for overcoming his struggles and learning from them. Geordi has always been an amazing friend.