Depression

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

The thing with HIV is that ignorant ass people think it's contagious, when in reality it's actually difficult to get HIV. For example you have to swallow many buckets of saliva to even have a slim chance of getting infected. There's no chance of getting it by touching, kissing or even drinking from the same bottle as the infected person.

I don't know why depression has the same effect, I'm not familiar with this prejudice tbh. I presume it's because depressed people are considered to be no fun to be around with and will drag the mood down, or they are afraid of hurting their feelings even more, or they think they need to be alone or something... I don't know. I don't think there are dumbasses who think it's contagious, are there?

To be fair, it's a tough call. Some people want to be alone when they're depressed. Some people do act like dicks to drive other people away when they're depressed. The key is to have close friends who know you. Acquaintances come and go, but it's the people who truly care about you, who matter and they're the ones who will help you out of your funk. About HIV, you're right. It's actually quite difficult to catch and its spread is a testament to just how much sex people have.

I read this article a while back and I think it really got me thinking. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying Happiness is, to some degree a choice (taking out massive chemical imbalances) It's harder for some of us than others of course, but we've all met people who by all rights should be so happy and are miserable and people who should be miserable and are happy no matter what. If you've ever seen the movie Happy Go Lucky, I think it's a brilliant take on someone who chooses happiness.

[OnkelDal 27]

Nice to see this topic as it's hard to find people who truley know how depression really feels.

Been battling depression for the most part of my life. Once I was in my early 20's and on my own I felt okay, but up untill '08 my life went for a downward spiral. Wont go into details at this time, but from then to late 2011, and parts of 2012 have been my darkest and most frightening years. Although after making some changes in my life, it still effects me to this day. Feeling unwanted & unloved. No motivation to do anything with my life anymore etc.. etc...

Been planning on a nice long vacation hopefully in October as travelling is the only thing that clears my head from any negativity.

[dumps 284]

Mental illness is a horrible thing. I know someone very close to me who suffers depression and its just horrible to have to watch them when they go through a bad stage. So my first question is does anybody have any advice to help and support someone? i do my best, i try and understand, and then i try create distractions, and i always make sure she knows im happy so that i dont become sad to make her feel worse. not in a "haha im happy your not way" thats a bit harsh, but more of a so she can look at me and see that there is hope if you know what i mean?

Because this person suffers from depression it motivated me to take a mental health and physical activity module at university. and that has taught me a lot. its help me understand depression. for someone not suffering depression, it can be really hard to understand, and that must be really frustrating. at first, when she would get down for know reason it would confuse me, i wasnt ignorant or nasty, but i would be confused, its hard to understand it because it can sometimes see illogical. thoughts of suicide are a completely illogical idea to anyone not suffering. we all know we would rather (at worst) experience a life of hell than to not experience life at all (to a certain extent) so to hear someone in a perfectly good situation want to not live, its horrible and hard ot understand.

what ive taken from this module: (its based on increasing peoples physical activity) is that exercise can help, not masively, but its an inexpensive way that has multiple other benefits that can also contribute to the positive effects in the longer run. but hte main thing is lifestyle. for example, if you get in to a pattern of waking up late, not doing much with your day, missing classes, missing events, it builds up with guilt.

depression is a nasty cycle. you feel upset. so you dont do anything, then you feel even worse for not doing those things (meeting with people, going to class etc) and then you dont do anyhting because you are feelign even lower. and its about breaking that cycle. and thats what physical activity tends to do. forces you to have to go somewhere, interact with other people, do a sport and get involved, you amy enjoy it, you may not, its about preference. anti depressants work by trying to reduce the effects you feel of depression so that you are more likely to break that cycle on your own, but this can take time, doingi t along side exercise works great.

for more information on depression itself and how exercise may help, id reccomend this site, theres also a lot of other things on there for self help. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/expertadvice/treatments/exerciseandmentalhealth.aspx

The problem is, mental health isnt funded by governments like things such as cancer and heart disease so its way behind in research. however, the last few years theres been a surge of research, mainly because its being constantly put in to the faces of the people in charge that depression will soon (by 2020 i believe) be the biggest global illness.

I always see it as we all suffer from depression, just some people are masters of distraction and are capable of diverting from it. distraction, in minor depression, can be a huge help, however careful what you chose because it can lead to some nasty addictions that can then make things worse!



to you guys i go back to my first point, i want adivce on being able to help support someone who suffers from depression. i may have a bit of knowledge in the area, but at the end of the day, some of you guys seem to have had some really long term experience, i would just love to have some advice to help this person.

keep smiling

[Spike 12,049]

I'm so cripplingly depressed.

[Leif 6,006]

If anyone wants an aid for depression (temporary) go get yourself some L-Tyrosine capsules. They work. But you'll build a tolerance after a while so need to take a break after a month or so before restarting. Or err, if available to you, 'medical' marijuana. Use a vaporizer and get some Northern Lights or Purple Haze. Helps me greatly.

If you even consider weed though, do it properly. Don't just go to some random dealer. Every strain has different characteristics and effects - like fingerprints, each strain is unique. If you just buy cheap crap from someone you don't know it'll be a mix of loadsa other rubbish which can cause anxiety and even worsen depression. So only if it's a last resort thing would I suggest that.

[Kieran. 6,317]

I advocate marijuana for depression...as I've mentioned before, I've been diagnosed with mild depression since 2008. I never liked the way anti-depressants made me feel (almost as if I was a zombie). So I smoke weed daily and it helps a lot. But it really depends from person to person.

[Mundaka 243]

Im also quite phrone to depression, especially when i was a teen. When i feel down, sports outdoor like surfing/mountainbike/football helps me a lot, also going out (talk with people/go to a party), music, ganja are also great to get me into a better mood.

[Spike 12,049]

Venting.

When I was a kid (imagine a twelve year old) I got depressed all the time, for no particular reason. Maybe school had something to do with it, I remember I hated it so greatly. I often felt like a different person, mean and angry one day, nice and respectful the next. Shit didn't get much better in High School, I was bullied a lot when I was 13/14, and I became really aggressive and hostile because of it sometimes. I despised school and everyone in it I was so angry. I often lost my temper at the worst of times. I hate that school.

My grandfather died on my 14th birthday of a heart attack in front of me. That was horrifying, he was the only father figure in my life because my father was never there, I've never met him. And then again I have mixed feelings about my grandfather, because I think he saw me as a failure. Around this time is when I started drinking and smoking weed. I regret it so much.

One christmas when I was 15, I sat in bed all night and cried. For no reason, nothing had happened, I just couldn't handle life anymore.

I had a nervous breakdown when I was 16, I started screaming at my best friend in the middle of class. They had to get me out of there. I sat in bed for two weeks doing nothing at all. First came medication and then therapy. They were alright at the time but I'm back to square one now.

I've had several nervous breakdowns since then. And a lot of other shit has happened that I don't want to talk about.

Somtimes I feel like a completely different person, I hate it. I feel so great at times, it's like I'm invincible. But then I crash like a car and it's as if I was never happy in the first place. But then I'm feeling great again and it's like I was never depressed and I often can't remember feeling depressed.

[manpe 10,861]

but hte main thing is lifestyle. for example, if you get in to a pattern of waking up late, not doing much with your day, missing classes, missing events, it builds up with guilt. depression is a nasty cycle. you feel upset. so you dont do anything, then you feel even worse for not doing those things (meeting with people, going to class etc) and then you dont do anyhting because you are feelign even lower.

So true. The thing is it's almost impossible to get out of that cycle when you have trouble socializing and your confidence/self-esteem is literally shattered, every second thought is "you're worthless, you won't amount to anything" and "you're not worth it". You feel guilt even when thinking good and positive thoughts about yourself, because you don't feel worthy of good things and you instantly replace those thoughts with what I wrote before. Many people find help by talking to people or professionals, but what if you don't have courage to do that? What if one of your biggest fears is socializing with strangers face to face? When you simply can't open yourself up even to close ones and start lying and hiding as the easier option?

To start training and more importantly, to maintain it so it would actually have long term effects, you need extremely strong willpower and perseverance. Where do you get those things? Nowhere.

[Steve 10,227]

Venting.

When I was a kid (imagine a twelve year old) I got depressed all the time, for no particular reason. Maybe school had something to do with it, I remember I hated it so greatly. I often felt like a different person, mean and angry one day, nice and respectful the next. Shit didn't get much better in High School, I was bullied a lot when I was 13/14, and I became really aggressive and hostile because of it sometimes. I despised school and everyone in it I was so angry. I often lost my temper at the worst of times. I hate that school.

My grandfather died on my 14th birthday of a heart attack in front of me. That was horrifying, he was the only father figure in my life because my father was never there, I've never met him. And then again I have mixed feelings about my grandfather, because I think he saw me as a failure. Around this time is when I started drinking and smoking weed. I regret it so much.

One christmas when I was 15, I sat in bed all night and cried. For no reason, nothing had happened, I just couldn't handle life anymore.

I had a nervous breakdown when I was 16, I started screaming at my best friend in the middle of class. They had to get me out of there. I sat in bed for two weeks doing nothing at all. First came medication and then therapy. They were alright at the time but I'm back to square one now.

I've had several nervous breakdowns since then. And a lot of other shit has happened that I don't want to talk about.

Somtimes I feel like a completely different person, I hate it. I feel so great at times, it's like I'm invincible. But then I crash like a car and it's as if I was never happy in the first place. But then I'm feeling great again and it's like I was never depressed and I often can't remember feeling depressed.

That's not nice to hear and I really hope you pull out of it mate. If you ever need to talk let me know!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Venting.

When I was a kid (imagine a twelve year old) I got depressed all the time, for no particular reason. Maybe school had something to do with it, I remember I hated it so greatly. I often felt like a different person, mean and angry one day, nice and respectful the next. Shit didn't get much better in High School, I was bullied a lot when I was 13/14, and I became really aggressive and hostile because of it sometimes. I despised school and everyone in it I was so angry. I often lost my temper at the worst of times. I hate that school.

My grandfather died on my 14th birthday of a heart attack in front of me. That was horrifying, he was the only father figure in my life because my father was never there, I've never met him. And then again I have mixed feelings about my grandfather, because I think he saw me as a failure. Around this time is when I started drinking and smoking weed. I regret it so much.

One christmas when I was 15, I sat in bed all night and cried. For no reason, nothing had happened, I just couldn't handle life anymore.

I had a nervous breakdown when I was 16, I started screaming at my best friend in the middle of class. They had to get me out of there. I sat in bed for two weeks doing nothing at all. First came medication and then therapy. They were alright at the time but I'm back to square one now.

I've had several nervous breakdowns since then. And a lot of other shit has happened that I don't want to talk about.

Somtimes I feel like a completely different person, I hate it. I feel so great at times, it's like I'm invincible. But then I crash like a car and it's as if I was never happy in the first place. But then I'm feeling great again and it's like I was never depressed and I often can't remember feeling depressed.

Jake, buddy, that must have been very hard to write. I hope that the courage to talk about this is a step in the right direction. If you need to talk about anything, please feel free to PM me.

[Mundaka 243]

Some people might want to check this by the way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroticism

&

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_sensitive_person (if you have lots of mood-swings for no good reason this could be the reason, +/- 20% of the people have this, and it could be a big help if you know thats why.)

[dumps 284]

So true. The thing is it's almost impossible to get out of that cycle when you have trouble socializing and your confidence/self-esteem is literally shattered, every second thought is "you're worthless, you won't amount to anything" and "you're not worth it". You feel guilt even when thinking good and positive thoughts about yourself, because you don't feel worthy of good things and you instantly replace those thoughts with what I wrote before. Many people find help by talking to people or professionals, but what if you don't have courage to do that? What if one of your biggest fears is socializing with strangers face to face? When you simply can't open yourself up even to close ones and start lying and hiding as the easier option?

To start training and more importantly, to maintain it so it would actually have long term effects, you need extremely strong willpower and perseverance. Where do you get those things? Nowhere.

And thats exactly why i personally feel mental health research needs some huge funding. its only a matter of time before it does, but i dont know why its taking so long. the researchers that are out there trying to to help are making really slow progress. I think they have all settled on agreeing its an intervention that has to not only last short term, but becomes part of a lifestyle to then break the cycle and to maintain it for the future. but how do you do that. yes you can find some subjects, force them in to doing things like exercise, but like you said, as soon as the researchers go away, even if the subjects did find some benefit (which they usual do) its only a matter of time before they relapse.

The latest stuff looks to alter peoples behaviours in the hope that it then encourages and provokes them to do things like socialising or doing sport without being told to. kind of like the film inception, just not as kick ass. but thats not easy...

when you cant open up to close ones or have the courage to visit an advisor, i cant imagine how that must feel and i hope htat anyone in that situation just has the good fortune to be able to build up that courage and let someone know. My partner didnt tell me, i just noticed it. at first i didnt take any notice, didnt really think anythign of it, then there were periods (normally winter when the sun fucks off) where it was really bad, then it became continusously bad. Thats when i thought i should try and encourage her to see a doctor. the problem is, i persoanlly think, especially with mild - moderate depression, it can be made a lot worse by being clinically labelled as depressed. it then becomes a kind, and not to sound too harsh but i dont know how else to put it, but becomes an excuse that you can ride off. im upset because im depressed, so im gonna stay in and watch TV all day, because im depressed. and as soon as she saw the doctor and was told she was depressed, it got instantly worse for about 2 months, it was really bad. then she slowly started becoming better, and of recent weeks shes been back to normal.

I think anti depressants work in a way thats just reduces the negative feelings of depression, in the hope that you then feel ok enough to be able to break the cycle yourself. whereas prescribed exercise/social meetings are used to literally break the cycle till it is no longer a cycle, but relapses happen all the time.

Its a horrible thing and i think its something that isnt going to be properly sorted for a long time. maybe not even in our life times.

There is no point in giving up though. anyone who feels down and hopeless and cant be bothered to get back up and try again just needs that bit of support and encouragement. its enough to start by just identifying all the thigns nad behaviours you do that make you feel bad. so when you dont do something, or when you go out drinking, you dont even have to write them down, if in your head you can identify and seperate the bad behaviours and the good behaviours, you can at least try and avoid them.

that self help thing i posted in an earlier post has lots of information and simple things you can do. and all you have to do is read

so to anyone feeling down, give it a read.

[manpe 10,861]

http://en.wikipedia....ensitive_person (if you have lots of mood-swings for no good reason this could be the reason, +/- 20% of the people have this, and it could be a big help if you know thats why.)

Holy shit, reading this is just like reading about myself. But since every fifth person is highly sensitive, then I suppose it's normal.

I've been unemployed for a looong time now because I can't handle being in foreign environment around strangers. I get anxious and scared. Once I literally ran away from a test day. This really sucks because I can't live like that. When I think about this situation I feel totally helpless. At the same time I am convinced there is nothing wrong with me and I'm making it all up in my head as an excuse to being just plain lazy.

[Mundaka 243]

Well good thing is once you know it you can work on it if that's the case.

http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm

would try this one out first

[manpe 10,861]

Well good thing is once you know it you can work on it if that's the case.

http://www.hsperson.com/pages/test.htm

would try this one out first

I cannot do it because I don't understand some statements. For example: I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input. I seem to be aware of subtleties in my environment. I have a rich,complex inner life. My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself.

Like what the fuck

[Kojo 4,676]

Manpe you have been doing well, you seem more open and happier, personally I think you can over come what you've been through. If you're taking those little steps, you'll only grow to make bigger steps.

[Kieran. 6,317]

I cannot do it because I don't understand some statements. For example: I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input. I seem to be aware of subtleties in my environment. I have a rich,complex inner life. My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself.

Like what the fuck

I think I can explain those for you:

I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input, or bright lights, loud sounds, strong smells, etc.

I seem to be aware of subtleties in my environment, or you're very observant to small details in your environment.

I have a rich, complex inner life...no fucking idea what this is.

My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled I have to go off by myself, or when you become overwhelmed by your senses, you have you isolate yourself in your room, in a corner, etc.