Poll: Depression is real. Have you experienced it?

[Looney1a]

When something is going wrong in my life i just do something to get my mind off it. I have gone through alot of stuff, lost three grandparents (the forth died when my mum was nine) lost an aunty and my parent have divorced after being married for about 27 years. I'm only sixteen too. So to get over stuff I just simply try to get my mind off things without losing touch with reality. A good way i found is to play alot of computer games, i know it sound like a sad way of doing things but it works. What I mean by don't lose touch of reality is getting your mind off things by using drugs or alchol is just completely stupid, and so is killing yourself. These three methods of helping depression will only make things worse, probably for others too. The main thing is when your down, seriously down, as hard as it may be just don't give and remain optimistic

Looney

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: Looney
When something is going wrong in my life i just do something to get my mind off it. I have gone through alot of stuff, lost three grandparents (the forth died when my mum was nine) lost an aunty and my parent have divorced after being married for about 27 years. I'm only sixteen too. So to get over stuff I just simply try to get my mind off things without losing touch with reality. A good way i found is to play alot of computer games, i know it sound like a sad way of doing things but it works. What I mean by don't lose touch of reality is getting your mind off things by using drugs or alchol is just completely stupid, and so is killing yourself. These three methods of helping depression will only make things worse, probably for others too. The main thing is when your down, seriously down, as hard as it may be just don't give and remain optimistic

Looney

You really don't have a clue about what depression is... so... good for you...

However, do not tell someone who is really suffering from depression to get their chin up and try to be optimistic, to that person, you are just putting them down, becasus they can't just do that, and you do not understand...

 

[Need4Speed]

I went through a particularly painful experience last year when a dear friend of mine was brutally murdered three days before christmas. This was the hardest thing I had to deal with up to that point in my life....I didn't handle it very well to say the least.

To say that I was depressed would be an understatement. My social life went into the crapper and I generally didn't care about anything. It had gotten to the point where I quit my job, becuase I no longer had the passion for it. Eventually I realized that this was going no where and I sought the help through medical means. Almost a year later, and things are almost back to normal. I still battle with the occasional spell of depression, but now I have the education to get through it.

So yes, I think depression is common. However, I do think that some people get depressed over jsut about anything. That's not to take away from their pain, but I think most people would agree with me here if I was to say that some people can use depression as an excuse to justify why they are so miserable.

-P

 

[DorkBoy]

Never had it, I am happy all the time, until my wife gets home, and the constant nagging starts, but I have selective hearing and can tune her out, beer helps also.

But I am surprised overtime how many people I know are on some kind of medication for it, even a captain for a major airliner outta here in Charlotte, that was scarry.

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: Need4Speed
I went through a particularly painful experience last year when a dear friend of mine was brutally murdered three days before christmas. This was the hardest thing I had to deal with up to that point in my life....I didn't handle it very well to say the least.

To say that I was depressed would be an understatement. My social life went into the crapper and I generally didn't care about anything. It had gotten to the point where I quit my job, becuase I no longer had the passion for it. Eventually I realized that this was going no where and I sought the help through medical means. Almost a year later, and things are almost back to normal. I still battle with the occasional spell of depression, but now I have the education to get through it.

So yes, I think depression is common. However, I do think that some people get depressed over jsut about anything. That's not to take away from their pain, but I think most people would agree with me here if I was to say that some people can use depression as an excuse to justify why they are so miserable.

-P

You think saying you were depressed would be an understatement... well, you are wrong, now imagine how it would be to feel like that all of the time, for years and years... that is what clinical chronic depression is all about...

You have NO hope, NO future, NO belief in anything and you can never see the end of your constant sorrow...

THAT is chronic depression...

Is it so strange that these people are thinking about that one solution that would end their misery here on earth?

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Originally posted by: Looney
When something is going wrong in my life i just do something to get my mind off it. I have gone through alot of stuff, lost three grandparents (the forth died when my mum was nine) lost an aunty and my parent have divorced after being married for about 27 years. I'm only sixteen too. So to get over stuff I just simply try to get my mind off things without losing touch with reality. A good way i found is to play alot of computer games, i know it sound like a sad way of doing things but it works. What I mean by don't lose touch of reality is getting your mind off things by using drugs or alchol is just completely stupid, and so is killing yourself. These three methods of helping depression will only make things worse, probably for others too. The main thing is when your down, seriously down, as hard as it may be just don't give and remain optimistic

Looney

It's worst in the weekends for me as I don't have work to concentrate on (which also is hard to impossible when it's a bad attack), so in the weekends I sometimes play games all day and night without eating or drinking, hoping I don't start thinking even more. If a friend calls for help I will often be heavily depressed for days to weeks before it gets less again. I don't go out, I don't eat/drink/shop, I don't even talk to people over the internet when having a bad attack.

I cannot stop thinking, I can just temporarily focus my mind on stuff. When doing easy, daily tasks I do not need to think to do them, and instead my mind will start reflecting on my life, the world, humanity and what not. I've thought over the theory of relativity and several of its formulas while showering just to keep myself from thinking about anything else.

Killing yourself is a final way out, you never have to feel anything again. That's why it seems comforting to people suffering from depressions.

 

[db]

Well, the threadcount is at 80, so I'm not going to read all responses....
I just want to point out that people who have clinical depression CANNOT just "pull themselves up by their bootstrapes" or "snap out of it".
That kind of response is shear ignorance of the facts. This is a "quiet" disease which nobody talks about and is not obvious, but which many suffer from. You'd be surprised how many people are on meds or seeing a Dr about this. It's like having all your air sucked out; everything is hopeless and there's no end in sight; there's no point in doing anything. Yes folks, it's for real.

 

[smp]

Originally posted by: db
Well, the threadcount is at 80, so I'm not going to read all responses.... I just want to point out that people who have clinical depression CANNOT just "pull themselves up by their bootstrapes" or "snap out of it". That kind of response is shear ignorance of the facts. This is a "quiet" disease which nobody talks about and is not obvious, but which many suffer from. You'd be surprised how many people are on meds or seeing a Dr about this. It's like having all your air sucked out; everything is hopeless and there's no end in sight; there's no point in doing anything. Yes folks, it's for real.

What cuases it? And why is there a certain demographic that suffers from it? (to be general, it is mainly in the middle class demographic)

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Originally posted by: smp

Originally posted by: db
Well, the threadcount is at 80, so I'm not going to read all responses.... I just want to point out that people who have clinical depression CANNOT just "pull themselves up by their bootstrapes" or "snap out of it". That kind of response is shear ignorance of the facts. This is a "quiet" disease which nobody talks about and is not obvious, but which many suffer from. You'd be surprised how many people are on meds or seeing a Dr about this. It's like having all your air sucked out; everything is hopeless and there's no end in sight; there's no point in doing anything. Yes folks, it's for real.

What cuases it? And why is there a certain demographic that suffers from it? (to be general, it is mainly in the middle class demographic)

I think about the problems of the world a lot (and get more depressed by it), about hunger, war and rape, about everything. I think most people living in the 3rd world have more pressing matters than just thinking about it, like dealing with it IRL. And there are also upperclass people who suffer from depressions, but most upper class people are powerhunger maniacs who don't care about the world or other people, just about money. They tend to become member of the Republican party too

 

[db]

"What causes it?"
I can't answer that. There are two schools about why: one says that it's due to physical chemical imbalance in the brain; the other says it's all 'mental'.
Doesn't matter--if you've got it, you need to do something about it. Traditional 'talk' therapy can take a long time, and a good therapist will help you to find the problems. Some approaches now try to eliminate the traditional practice of finding out the "why" and rather just find a way to deal with it or change your attitude, in an attempt to save time (years). Other people are partially or totally helped with medication.
It's whatever works for you.

 

[Eli]

Yes..

I was pretty depressed for a couple of months when I couldn't see my girlfriend due to her butthead dad... lol

It's all good though, she lives with me now.

 

[Moonbeam]

Looney, I don't buy for a minute that you don't know what depression is, nor do I think your solution is anything but the proper and probable only one available to you right now. I thank you very much for offering optimism as a solution. Everybody alive has that to thank as the reason, in some ultimate fasion. As you get older and find work and are self supporting, you may have the opportunity to pay for and acquire tools, psychotherapy, etc, that may provide you a setting where you can let your pain and suffering out and shed that skin as is natural following deep grief. I complement you on the enoumous strength it must take to be optimistic. The love it takes is the love that comes from the real self. Be of good cheer.

 

[globalstud]

smp,

Are you a psychiatrist? You are speaking like you are the end all be all expert of depression and mental illnesses.

What's that you say? You aren't? Ok, in that case Shut the F*** up.

 

[Moonbeam]

Hehe, Yup you're right, globalstud, only psychiatrists know anything about the mind. That's true because they are the only ones who have one to introspect on.

 

[T2T III]

(to be general, it is mainly in the middle class demographic)

OK, I'll fall for that. However, there's a couple of things that should be considered first:

1) Low class: most people in this class don't have medical insurance, so they are not diagnosed with this disease. They can't afford the diagnosis and treatment which could run up to $200 per Psychiatrist visit and the medications could run $100 per month, or more. So, essentially, this class is not tracked when it comes to mental illness.

2) Upper class: I'm sure many people in this category just see a Psychiatrist outright - they pay the bills themselves without submitting insurance claims. The same is true for their medications. So, essentially, this class is not properly tracked when it comes to mental illness.

Then, this leaves the middle class. The middle class more than likely has medical insurance, but not enough disposable income to pay a Psychiatrist or for their medications out-right. So, they use their insurance plan to cover the diagnosis and treatment of their illness. This leaves them in a category to be tracked.

'Nuff said.

 

[AdamK47]

Everyone experiences depression. If you say that you haven't experienced depression then that will depress me.

 

[AShadeOfClear]

I'll speak for myself and say that friends can't do anything for someone who is severely depressed. I know this for a fact, I go out with friends and I'd feel very dissapointed. They can't provide salvation. I take meds but none of them have had any effect so far, they are certainly not happy pills for me, they may as well be sugar. There is no salvation in friends, a girlfriend, money, social activities, etc for a person who is very depressed, they are all just distractions from the constant pain. A person with all of thsoe things can be depressed. Depression is not logical. There is a hole inside, and it is bottomless -- nothing you throw at it can help. External conditions don't matter because your primary reality is internal. The mind has the power to make hell out of heaven. I wouldn't describe it as something I can snap out of. But, maybe one the intense suffering will be too much and I will "snap" and then become incredibly calm and happy. The other less painful way is to try to work on it, but there is a demon inside that is so resistant, it tries every tactic it can possibly think of to remain in control and continue sucking the life from me, if there is any left.

If I get better one day I am going to start a thread and if anybody tells me I should snap out of it ...

 

[Platinum321]

Here's my opinion:

Mathew 7:25 - The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

The rock = Jesus Christ

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Looney, I don't buy for a minute that you don't know what depression is, nor do I think your solution is anything but the proper and probable only one available to you right now. I thank you very much for offering optimism as a solution. Everybody alive has that to thank as the reason, in some ultimate fasion. As you get older and find work and are self supporting, you may have the opportunity to pay for and acquire tools, psychotherapy, etc, that may provide you a setting where you can let your pain and suffering out and shed that skin as is natural following deep grief. I complement you on the enoumous strength it must take to be optimistic. The love it takes is the love that comes from the real self. Be of good cheer.

This is the typical do-gooder response, i have heard it soooo many times... well, i know that you moonbeam meant no harm, but what you are stating is what we have all heard sooo many times... it does not help, actually, it brings you down, as you cannot conform to that thought...

You did not know this, but now you do...

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: Platinum321
Here's my opinion:

Mathew 7:25 - The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

The rock = Jesus Christ

*sigh* another fundie xtian... *yawn*

 

[mchammer187]

yep, after my dad died it sucked for about a year

since then its gotten marginally better but I

still get depressed just thinking about it

and its really depressing on the anniversary, his birthday and holidays

 

[BD2003]

That is sooo damn... WRONG!! You do not have to hear voices, you do NOT have to be out of your fsking mind to consider suicide... actually, MOST people do at one point or more during their lifetime.. Suicide and depression are two seperate things, suicidal ideation comes from the fact that you think that death would be easier than life... I have known people who have taken their life because they were bored... i have known people who have taken their life because they could not stand the world they live in, or what they have gone through in life... NONE of them heard any voices... My stance? I believe that you have your life, if you seriously want to end it, that is YOUR choice... i will talk to you, i will try to help you, in any way that i can, if that way means knowing a reliable method... i will give it to you...

Umm, I didnt say that. Read it again asshat.

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: AShadeOfClear
I'll speak for myself and say that friends can't do anything for someone who is severely depressed. I know this for a fact, I go out with friends and I'd feel very dissapointed. They can't provide salvation. I take meds but none of them have had any effect so far, they are certainly not happy pills for me, they may as well be sugar. There is no salvation in friends, a girlfriend, money, social activities, etc for a person who is very depressed, they are all just distractions from the constant pain. A person with all of thsoe things can be depressed. Depression is not logical. There is a hole inside, and it is bottomless -- nothing you throw at it can help. External conditions don't matter because your primary reality is internal. The mind has the power to make hell out of heaven. I wouldn't describe it as something I can snap out of. But, maybe one the intense suffering will be too much and I will "snap" and then become incredibly calm and happy. The other less painful way is to try to work on it, but there is a demon inside that is so resistant, it tries every tactic it can possibly think of to remain in control and continue sucking the life from me, if there is any left.

If I get better one day I am going to start a thread and if anybody tells me I should snap out of it ...

Thank you for that post... the truth is not so easy to understand for those who do not know... i know... :-( You ever vistit ash?

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: BD2003

That is sooo damn... WRONG!! You do not have to hear voices, you do NOT have to be out of your fsking mind to consider suicide... actually, MOST people do at one point or more during their lifetime.. Suicide and depression are two seperate things, suicidal ideation comes from the fact that you think that death would be easier than life... I have known people who have taken their life because they were bored... i have known people who have taken their life because they could not stand the world they live in, or what they have gone through in life... NONE of them heard any voices... My stance? I believe that you have your life, if you seriously want to end it, that is YOUR choice... i will talk to you, i will try to help you, in any way that i can, if that way means knowing a reliable method... i will give it to you...

Umm, I didnt say that. Read it again asshat.

oh, but i did read it several times, and your condescending attitude shines through... and more so in your response...

 

[sobriquet]

I was diagnosed with "Major depression with psychotic features", which needless to say was quite an adventure. I was on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. I was sleeping up to 20 hours at a time, had about three friends, rarely left the house, thought about suicide on a daily basis, thought about killing others quite frequently, felt an overwhelming sense of paranoia, was afraid of everything, and other things of that sort. I was never officially declared "undepressed", just sort of upgraded I guess from major depression. It took 8 months of therapy and 7 months of meds to get that far. I'm just thankful I didn't do something stupid.