NationStates Jolt Archive

haven't seen a thread about depression on here in a while, so... anyone a sufferer, past or present? got any tips, coping methods, stories, etc?

any non-sufferers got an opinion - is it a disease or are people with depression just weak minded?

basically, whats your view about this dibilitating psychological disorder that affects anywhere between 15 and 20% of the population (of most countries it would seem) at any one time? the figure is rising - any thoughts why this might be?

Me being the eternal optimist: Lighten up. It ain't all that bad

If you came here to bitch about your life. There's always Gaia.

My opinion: Stop giving the kids Prozac.

Depends on what you're depressed about. If it's the decline of society, there's plenty of reasoning behind that. If you become depressed after losing a Counter-Strike match, seek professional help.

Depression is Overrated.

no, its not, but its wrong to call everythign depression, there should be more like, this and this is wrong, not just i am depressed

no, its not, but its wrong to call everythign depression, there should be more like, this and this is wrong, not just i am depressed
well i'm specifically talking about clinical depression. its not absolutley necessary to be clinically assessed i have to say - if you're actually depressed, you know it.
and it is certainly not overrated... if anything it is wholly underrated by most people. it clouds your mind, stops you thinking clearly, stops you functioning properly, stops you from caring, changes who you are, your personality and your whole life - its far, far more than just 'feeling down' or 'having the blues', which a lot of people seem to think it is nothing more than. its not a case of just 'cheering up' or whatever - its caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that isn't easily rectified and stays with most sufferers the rest of their lives in some way or another...

sorry i feel strongly about this (on the way to) being a ex-sufferer

well i'm specifically talking about clinical depression. its not absolutley necessary to be clinically assessed i have to say - if you're actually depressed, you know it.
and it is certainly not overrated... if anything it is wholly underrated by most people. it clouds your mind, stops you thinking clearly, stops you functioning properly, stops you from caring, changes who you are, your personality and your whole life - its far, far more than just 'feeling down' or 'having the blues', which a lot of people seem to think it is nothing more than. its not a case of just 'cheering up' or whatever - its caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that isn't easily rectified and stays with most sufferers the rest of their lives in some way or another...

sorry i feel strongly about this (on the way to) being a ex-sufferer
Yep. I find it astounding how people treat people who are depressed. They just don't understand. Your mind doesn't work properly, you see insults everywhere, and anything that happens to you feels a million times worse then if something happens to someone else.

True clinical depression is a life-threatening disease. The drugs that have surfaced these last two decades to treat it are almost miraculous in that they can severely alleviate, if not cure it.

haven't seen a thread about depression on here in a while, so... anyone a sufferer, past or present? got any tips, coping methods, stories, etc?

any non-sufferers got an opinion - is it a disease or are people with depression just weak minded?

basically, whats your view about this dibilitating psychological disorder that affects anywhere between 15 and 20% of the population (of most countries it would seem) at any one time? the figure is rising - any thoughts why this might be?

Disease, and like all diseases depression requires proper medical help to overcome. Some debilitating psychological disorders can be cured with prescription medication and/or psychological therapy

True clinical depression is a life-threatening disease. The drugs that have surfaced these last two decades to treat it are almost miraculous in that they can severely alleviate, if not cure it.

A lot of said drugs kinda work like emotional botox, though, freezing your mind into a chemical smile. While I agree that in many cases things like Prozac are necessary, it would be nice if they had a drug that allowed greater range of emotion.

I've probably been clinically depressed in the past, though I was never diagnosed. Hasn't happened in a couple years, though. I agree that there's a huge difference between real depression and just "feeling unhappy". Real depression makes it almost impossible to complete anything, it feels like a weight that makes every action tiring.

Yep. I find it astounding how people treat people who are depressed. They just don't understand. Your mind doesn't work properly, you see insults everywhere, and anything that happens to you feels a million times worse then if something happens to someone else.
exactly, paranoia is just part of the bag [edit: as is chronic fatigue, yeah]. and when you can't feel good the things in life, and only see and feel the bad things, many times more extreme or worse than a 'normal' person would, its not suprising life tends to lose its meaning and purpose for so many people...

True clinical depression is a life-threatening disease. The drugs that have surfaced these last two decades to treat it are almost miraculous in that they can severely alleviate, if not cure it.
true, but i have heard that many of them turn you into some kind of zombie (not literally) while you're on them.
thats one reason why i decided not to have them, and seek out a psychological solution instead. the main reason was because i figured its cheating somehow - without getting to the root cause of the depression (assuming it has a cause, sometimes it doesn't) seems to me to be more of a long-term solution. the drugs seem like a short term 'quick fix'

its caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that isn't easily rectified and stays with most sufferers the rest of their lives in some way or another...

I know back in the mid-seventies they were not sure if the depression was caused by chemical imbalance or if the chemical imbalance caused the depression. Medication can help stabilize someone with depression and other psychological illnesses, but a combination of medication and/or psychotherapy can lead to a cure in some cases. However the person with the illness must want to be cured for any therapy to be effective.

A lot of said drugs kinda work like emotional botox, though, freezing your mind into a chemical smile. While I agree that in many cases things like Prozac are necessary, it would be nice if they had a drug that allowed greater range of emotion.

Funny, but very few of the people, patients as well as a few friends, I know who are on SSRI's and the like describe feeling like that. Most do better with the drugs and feel that they do make their conditions and lives easier to cope with. It's too bad they can have libido-lowering side effects, as that is the primary reason I've encountered for people wanting to stop or not follow through with treatment.

I haven't had a clinical depression yet, but I have fallen pretty deep and can understand it enough to know that thinking it's overrated is dangerous.

Well I have been feeling bad for the last year or so but I think thats more to do with just having a shitty life than an actual chemical imbalance, I didnt even know that was possible.

Well I have been feeling bad for the last year or so but I think thats more to do with just having a shitty life than an actual chemical imbalance, I didnt even know that was possible.There's glands that'll do it to you too, and that wouldn't even be a depression.

You know about me PM. And I agree with you, as you also know.

Extracts from a website (www.freewebs.com/understandingdepression) I'm making at the moment:

Depression is more than a bad mood. It is a recognised mental illness. Feeling down is a normal part of life but with depression, emotions are disproportionate to events in the sufferer's life and make them unable to cope with events that a person who isn't depressed would manage to.

Depression is when there are chemical imbalances in the brain, specifically hormones play a huge part. Chemical messages aren't communicated in the brain properly. The results are negative emotions and physical effects. It can also cut off the instinct to survive making a person suicidal.

It is not a bad mood. It is not a weakness. It is not something that can be snapped out of. It is an illness and it is the illness controlling how they feel, what they think and what they do.

Yes, they may be irrational and illogical. Yes, they may not make sense all the time. Yes, they may see things in a different way to you. Yes, they may be irritable and flare up. Yes, they will be depressed most of the time. Yes, they may not be able to see or understand things that seem obvious to you. But it is the illness doing this. They are not simply able to stop thinking like that. It is a lot more complex.

Remember that the depressed person's behavior isn't indicative of the "real" person.

Depressed people aren't lazy. They're ill. Everyday activities like cleaning house, paying bills, or feeding the dog may seem overwhelming to them.

[Some descriptions from people]

"It's difficult for the public to realize how powerful the mind is, and how much pain the mind can give you. When you're depressed, it's as though this committee has taken over your mind, leaving you one depressing thought after the other."

"Depression is more than an illness, more than a disorder. It is a non-existence. It is a world with no hope, no joy, and no way to change it. To people who don’t have depression, it seems so easy to change your moods and your outlook on life. But they have never lived in a world where everything causes pain. Where the best news is always bad. Where you hide in fear of the next disaster, the one that will always come, the next heartache, the one you will cause."

"Clinical depression is much more than that, and is comparable to a down mood as much as a sneeze is comparable to pneumonia. It is an illness that affects a person in many different ways. It can affect appetite, sleep patterns, powers of concentration, and even slow down movement and speech. While the predominant feeling depression brings is often sadness or a blue mood, it can also be a numb, empty feeling, anxiety, hopelessness, loss of self-esteem or self-worth, inability to make decisions or a combination of these. Unlike a passing mood, clinical depression dominates a person's life and brings it to a screeching halt."

I feel very strongly about this. If you haven't experienced it, you can never fully understand. Ever.

I'm depressed right now about the friends I have (there all pretty crappy and boring) and that nothing ever goes my way no matter how much I deserve it to (I haven’t had a girl in a while and everyone else seems to have one now :( ) oh yes and I have no job, no money, I realised on the way home that I'm going to spend my life having the same career as someone who has just messed about all there lives (going into the marines because I can't get a B in maths because I'm in the stupid group) and all the music I have is really quite crap

so as you can see things aren’t going my way and wont be for the foreseeable future (thanks now I'm feeling really bad)

I'm a revolutionary without the idea :(

On treatment, it depends on the causes. If it's mainly chemical, drugs might be the best option. If there are psychological issues that've been around a long time, a mixture of drugs and counselling/CBT is probably best. If it's mainly life circumstances, counselling/CBT is probably best.

I know back in the mid-seventies they were not sure if the depression was caused by chemical imbalance or if the chemical imbalance caused the depression.
Clarification, please? Seems to be the same statement to me, and I re-read it two times just to be sure.

Anyway, my sister has a horrible history of depression (as did my mother and grandmother), and I'm a medicated bipolar. I feel that it's safe to assume that most people who have no experience with these disorders, really have no way to understand. Before I was diagnosed as bipolar, I largely assumed that maybe I was just always too tired to keep myself in check, or that I was more prone to bad days than many other people. My freshman year of college I ran out of medicine and my insurance had a hold on ordering more out of concerns of possible "addiction", because I've just been ordering so long (not like they checked which medicine it was they were withholding :rolleyes: ), and for almost two months I had to deal with people telling me "You really shouldn't even need the medicine, you can get over it, it's not as bad as you think, why don't you just think things through real hard, etc" and it's not like that helps at all. It's a significantly different mindset between natural and medicated.

On the other hand.....I can understand why certain people would think that maybe it's "all in our heads".....I used to just think my sister was an over-reacting bitch from time to time....

Simonist']Clarification, please? Seems to be the same statement to me, and I re-read it two times just to be sure.


I think he/she means the confusion between whether the depression causes changes in chemicals in the brain or whether chemical changes in the brain cause depression.

Simonist']Clarification, please? Seems to be the same statement to me, and I re-read it two times just to be sure.


He means whether the depression came along first and something about the depression caused the chemical imbalance, of whether the imbalance appeared first and something about the imbalance caused the depression.

edit: Dammit! Beaten!

However the person with the illness must want to be cured for any therapy to be effective.

They must want therapy. Nearly everyone with depression wants to be cured, believe me, they just may not want therapy perhaps because they think it's pointless or because they think it'll be too hard to cope with.

I'm depressed right now about the friends I have (there all pretty crappy and boring) and that nothing ever goes my way no matter how much I deserve it to (I haven’t had a girl in a while and everyone else seems to have one now :( ) oh yes and I have no job, no money, I realised on the way home that I'm going to spend my life having the same career as someone who has just messed about all there lives (going into the marines because I can't get a B in maths because I'm in the stupid group) and all the music I have is really quite crap

so as you can see things aren’t going my way and wont be for the foreseeable future (thanks now I'm feeling really bad)

I'm a revolutionary without the idea :(
i think somebody needs a fluffle :fluffle: :fluffle:

my advice (helped me at least): try not to think about the future too much. i resolved to live life a day at a time, to stop myself dwelling on what could be and being disappointed with what is. you can find yourself obsessing over the future, and it filling all your thoughts all too easily. put it out of your head for a while and concentrate on the now: on having and making some fun with your friends and see how you feel then :)

On treatment, it depends on the causes. If it's mainly chemical, drugs might be the best option. If there are psychological issues that've been around a long time, a mixture of drugs and counselling/CBT is probably best. If it's mainly life circumstances, counselling/CBT is probably best.
hows that website coming? ;)

He means whether the depression came along first and something about the depression caused the chemical imbalance, of whether the imbalance appeared first and something about the imbalance caused the depression.

edit: Dammit! Beaten!
Well I'll quote yours if it'll make you feel better.....

That's kind of what I assumed he meant, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't toally shifting that to fix my own understanding. Thanks to both of you.

I think he/she means the confusion between whether the depression causes changes in chemicals in the brain or whether chemical changes in the brain cause depression.
frankly i think its both, but i'm no expert.
what matters i suppose is which happens first

SNIP

thanks I feel a bit better now :)

Simonist']Clarification, please? Seems to be the same statement to me, and I re-read it two times just to be sure.

It is a cause and effect problem; did the chemical imbalance cause the mental illness, or did the mental illness cause the chemical imbalance?

There were/are two theories. The first was/is that a person had a chemical imbalance in the brain and that caused the mental illness. The second theory was/is that a person became mentally ill and the illness caused the chemical imbalance.

edit: Dammit! Beaten!
Haha :p

But I wasn't quoted.... :(

hows that website coming? ;)
I posted extracts above. ;) I need to find time to work on it more and add to the sections.

Any descriptions of depression or information about it or things that people feel should be added or anything from anyone is greatly appreciated.

i think somebody needs a fluffle :fluffle: :fluffle:

my advice (helped me at least): try not to think about the future too much. i resolved to live life a day at a time, to stop myself dwelling on what could be and being disappointed with what is. you can find yourself obsessing over the future, and it filling all your thoughts all too easily. put it out of your head for a while and concentrate on the now: on having and making some fun with your friends and see how you feel then :)


hows that website coming? ;)

That is pretty good advice actually. I often think about the future too much, in fact now i remember a program i saw quite a while about some phsychologist talking about how some people concentrate on future and are often dissappointed by them, or that they spend so much time working towards them that the end result is bound to be a dissappointment. He said we dont focus on the here and now enough. Kind of to do with depression.

my grandpa suffers from depression but he did the shock theropy and is geting much better...yippy

Haha :p

But I wasn't quoted.... :(


I posted extracts above. ;) I need to find time to work on it more and add to the sections.

Any descriptions of depression or information about it or things that people feel should be added or anything from anyone is greatly appreciated.

Here's an interesting topic you may want to put on your website: the different effects of depression medication based on race. This is one of the few areas where different races actually have concrete medical differences. It's a big controversy.

frankly i think its both, but i'm no expert.
what matters i suppose is which happens first
I think sometimes it's both, sometimes it's one or the other. It depends on the situation. Also there are different types, one is reactive (life situation causes it), one is clinical (mainly chemical related), some are mixes, one is SAD (affected by seasons) etc etc .

I think they probably worsen each other in a lot of cases- depression is full of downward spirals.

i think somebody needs a fluffle :fluffle: :fluffle:

Everyone needs a fluffle. :fluffle:

my grandpa suffers from depression but he did the shock theropy and is geting much better...yippy

shock therapy? I thought they stopped doing that years ago.

shock therapy? I thought they stopped doing that years ago.
Depends on severity of symptoms. I believe that if it's a case of "all else fails" and you're willing to try, they'll still do it. Probably not everywhere, though.

shock therapy? I thought they stopped doing that years ago.
i think that they kind of changed the way they do it now... so it not quite as sever as it was a while ago

my grandpa suffers from depression but he did the shock theropy and is geting much better...yippy

I'm glad he is doing better. He must have been very ill as shock therapy is usually used as a last resort. I'm glad it is working for him. Don't forget to tell him you love him every time you see him.

thanks I feel a bit better now :)
w00t! :fluffle: :)

Perhaps this site I made could be of use to some of you? Please use a pop-up blocker while visiting.

http://www.hostultra.com/~r00bix/

It's about depression.

I'm glad he is doing better. He must have been very ill as shock therapy is usually used as a last resort. I'm glad it is working for him. Don't forget to tell him you love him every time you see him.

yah, he's had sever depression and anxiety for the past 8 years, its a side effect of the parkensons(sp?) disease and heart disease that he has- he had been on every drug on the market at least once none of the worked so he though that he would try shock therapy

Comment on Shock Therapy Shock therapy is still used quite frequently in this neck of the woods for clinical depression that is non-responsive to medication (SSRI's, SSNRI's and the older antidepressants). It's much more humane in the sense that you're under a general before any seizure in induced, but the side effects can be unpleasant. Been there, done that, won't do it again. CBT works well with both clinical and chronic, but as someone said, the patient has to be willing to be helped.

I think they probably worsen each other in a lot of cases- depression is full of downward spirals.
indeed :(

and i just saw your post with the quotes from your website (somehow missed it before) - damn good work, and good info :)


wish my other computer was working cos i think i might have had some useful links (specifically to more depression self-analysis tests) on there that i could offer you... but its broken. bah!

Comment on Shock Therapy Shock therapy is still used quite frequently in this neck of the woods for clinical depression that is non-responsive to medication (SSRI's, SSNRI's and the older antidepressants). It's much more humane in the sense that you're under a general before any seizure in induced, but the side effects can be unpleasant. Been there, done that, won't do it again. CBT works well with both clinical and chronic, but as someone said, the patient has to be willing to be helped.
did you lose your short term memory?

haven't seen a thread about depression on here in a while, so... anyone a sufferer, past or present? got any tips, coping methods, stories, etc?

i used to suffer from depression in my early teen years. at first i completely shut down, slept most of the time and then i tried self mutilation, which made me feel better for a little while but only made things worse and left some scars; physical and emotional. in the end the best way i found coping was to get my feelings out in the open and confront the problem which was causing the depression. it took some time before i recovered but i did, and i don't think i could ever go to that place again.

I thought i suffered from depression, sought professional help and determined that i am just lazy :p . The great lesson though is do everything in the present and not worry or think to much about the future.

Perhaps this site I made could be of use to some of you? Please use a pop-up blocker while visiting.

http://www.hostultra.com/~r00bix/

It's about depression.

As you are doing a research project, may I suggest you check Dr. Paul Ware of Shreveport, Louisiana. He is a remarkable man and used group therapy or a combination fo group therapy and medication to help many people. One of the innovative things he did was to have people with different illnesses in the same group. I don't know if he wrote any articles or books, but you might want to check.

I'm suffering from a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including a heavy case of depression (last 2-3 years) and very low self esteem at times. And I'm already getting professional help after I decided on it instead of chosing alternatives.
Happy now? :(

I used to have depression and they gave me zoloft and everything and the pills just make you a boring person don't take them,smoke buddha

I used to have depression and they gave me zoloft and everything and the pills just make you a boring person don't take them,smoke buddha
I don't and won't take pills that screw around with brain chemistry 'cause they won't tackle the real problem.
And I cut down on my smoking habits by 95%. Cigarettes and food went up, though.
I'm just glad that I'm already getting a little better and my sleeping habits (daily routine) have normalized to a certain extend. The nightmares don't come as often, hope it stays that way.

I don't and won't take pills that screw around with brain chemistry 'cause they won't tackle the real problem.
my thoughts exactly (bump)

haven't seen a thread about depression on here in a while, so... anyone a sufferer, past or present? got any tips, coping methods, stories, etc?

any non-sufferers got an opinion - is it a disease or are people with depression just weak minded?

basically, whats your view about this dibilitating psychological disorder that affects anywhere between 15 and 20% of the population (of most countries it would seem) at any one time? the figure is rising - any thoughts why this might be?
I've been depressed before, but it was always over something really serious, like losing a job or losing my spouse. When it occurs without a significant initiating event, it's a highly debilitating illness.

i have never been depressed but i beleive if it is true and it is like really bad u could kill urself so i think its a serios problem but some of the drugs that "help" can actually do more harm sometmes

I had severe depression most of my childhood and up to my first year in college. I had it periodically as an undergrad. Later as an undergrad it mostly went away. The stress of starting a new life at graduate school sort of caused the depression to resurge, which was complicated by being rejected by a girl I liked. Anyway, I've been free of depression since then.

The main cause of my depression was a feeling of loneliness and that I didn't fit in. I also felt that I had certain expectations to live up to and became a workaholic.

What did the most in fighting my depression was prayer and meeting up with a great group of Christian friends here. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to evangelize but that's what did it for me. The knowledge (or my self-delusion, depending on your perspective) that everything was in God's hands and all I had to do was trust Him was relaxing. This also gave me meaning in life, so I no longer felt that it was all just a waist of time.

Even if it wasn't a Christian group, I think finding a group of people I could feel comfortable with and open up to helped.

I would say that it's mostly mindset, even those with clinical depression I think can get some benefit out of changing their mindset. If you feel pressure to perform the realization that you don't need to is relaxing. Why does it matter if you get a good grade on your report card, or impress your boss? It doesn't. If you wanted to you could just pack up and leave and go anywhere. There is no reason to feel any pressure at all. You are free to do whatever you want. All you have to do is get enough money together for food and shelter and you are set. I think the work ethic of the US (and most of the rest of the world) is unhealthy. Keeping that in mind helped me. I no longer worried about failure realizing that what I was working for was just a slightly more comfortable and happy life, and if achieving this is going to make me uncomfortable and unhealthy there is no point. This sounds sort of lazy, but surprissingly after the stress and worry went away I could focus more and actually performed better and got farther.

Even if you don't have a religion, just sitting and meditating helps. Just let your mind relax and not focus on the pressures. After relaxing you can focus on one problem/insecurity at a time. I think dealing with these is important.

I don't like how in our culture we are quick to drug people. People don't deal with their problems because they can just take drugs instead. I think depression is often a mind's way of telling the body that something needs to change. I think you need to change that. That said, I believe medication isn't allways bad. It's hard to think straight and deal with problems when severely depressed. Plus severe depression can lead to suicide, and if it doesn't lead to you directly killing yourself it can lead to other self-destructive behaviours. Therefore I think you should go on anti-depressents at least long enough that you can focus on and deal with any problems leading to depression, but no longer.

This is all just my experience and opinion. I'm not a psychologist.

Hi Guys and Gals
Yeah, well I got 'off' the antidepressant Effexor-XR at the middle of August 05 after being on it since May 2004 (so 15 ish months). I was on a low dosage but the main treatment was counselling from a psychologist.
I was on these:
Serotonin Noradrenaline Re-Uptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)
SNRIs are a recent addition to the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. They have a dual action, as they increase levels of both serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain and like SSRIs, is an effective treatment for depression and Efexor XR tends to cause fewer side effects than older antidepressants.
Australian Mental Health Site (http://www.yestolife.com.au/blue_site/index.htm)
I think the triggers were stemming from car accident trauma, loss of self confidence, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, the possible loss of career and lifestyle, and not talking to anyone about any of my problems.

The pills got my brain working properly again, I seriously believe that I wasnt thinking 'straight' and by reading some of the things I wrote before I started treatment, this seems the obvious answer. However, to combat the depressive mind processes, i needed psychological education and strategies which I learnt from counselling. The counselling also uncovered many of the underlying PTSD problems and symptoms, which then could be treated with counselling and a lot of hard 'mind work' (as i like to call it)

I know I'm still not perfect, nor ever will be, but I have come around to my own conclusion that: my brain and mind are just different to everyone else's

and Der Drache (above) is right on the meditation, its good gear. So is the book; Dont Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson.
I dont know about everyone else, but I just wanted to get off the medication for months before I got off them, even though I was a little worried that I'd go 'crazy'.

the figure is rising - any thoughts why this might be?
Capitalism, dispossession and loss of community spirit.

Depression is definitely a medical condition. Whether people who suffer from it are weak willed or not is irrelevant. Even if the cause of depression is a weak will that doesnt change the fact its a condition. Heart failure is a medical condition caused by a weak heart, this doesnt change the fact that its a medical condition. The same applies to depression whether or not a weak will is to blame.

I suffered from depression throughout my college career. Anti-depressants helped hold me over until I was able to solve the underlying problems that were causing my depression. Once I solved those problems and started going to God for comfort rather than to a bottle or a joint, I overcame it.

I am currently a very happy and highly optimistic person, which in turn has made me highly successful. Whereas before I was in a cycle that only lead downwards, now I am in a cycle that only leads upward. The cycle looks like this:

1. I am optimistic and have a positive outlook, so I go after the things I want.
2. Because of my attitude and abilities, I succeed in obtaining what I was after.
3. Because of my success, my self esteem increases and I acquire a more optimistic and positive outlook.
4. Return to 1.

The only drawback? its given me a head. But thats alright, Im working on that, and Id rather have a big head than be a failure.

I don't and won't take pills that screw around with brain chemistry 'cause they won't tackle the real problem.Sometimes the brain chemistry being messed up is the problem.

Anyway, I'm on Paxil (for depression) and Buspar (for anxiety) and I have to say that I don't think that they are numbing in any way. Aside from minor side effects, they work well for me. I don't take them as much as I should, though, and I notice that when I don't, my thinking starts to change, I become more paranoid, and I feel depressed. While my circumstances are much better now than they were when I first started taking the medicine, mostly it was my brain chemistry that was causing the depression. Of course, circumstances get me down from time to time, too, but that's typical.

Even if you don't have a religion, just sitting and meditating helps. Just let your mind relax and not focus on the pressures. After relaxing you can focus on one problem/insecurity at a time. I think dealing with these is important.

well that may help you, and thats great. but personally i found thinking about things was a major factor in what was making me depressed in the first place... so sitting quietly to meditate and think about things certainly wouldn't have helped me :p
thankfully i've now learned to control where my mind takes me to some dregree, so i don't go to those nasty places as much as i used to :)

Capitalism, dispossession and loss of community spirit.
alienation of the worker, rampant and neverending consumerism, a loss of altruism and a much more aggressive society, too, yeah


1. I am optimistic and have a positive outlook, so I go after the things I want.
2. Because of my attitude and abilities, I succeed in obtaining what I was after.
good for you. though thats a problem for those whose abilities don't enable them to suceed in what they want. when you have that its a short road to a very downward spiral.

good for you. though thats a problem for those whose abilities don't enable them to suceed in what they want. when you have that its a short road to a very downward spiral.

95% of the people who think that way are wrong and just have a self esteem problem or are too lazy to put in the work necessary to increase their abilities or do whatever it takes to obtain what they want. The remaining 5% just need to shift their goals to something more realistic.

Sometimes the brain chemistry being messed up is the problem.

The reasoning for this is somewhat circular. All mental states have corresponding brain chemistry. When someone becomes depressed their brain chemistry changes. Is the brain chemistry change the result of or cause of depression? My answer would be that the brain chemistry change is in itself the depression. I've known many people who have been told that their problem was that their brain chemistry was messed up, but who went through therapy and were cured without drugs. Besides, do these psychiatrists actually do any tests to discover the levels of the different neurotransmitters in your brain before they prescribe anti-depresents?

The truth is that people use "it's all brain chemistry being messed up" as an excuse not to recieve psychological treatment for the disorder and to just take medication instead.

Besides brain chemistry is alterable without drugs, since brain chemistry and mental state are related it is only reasonable that altering mental state has the affect of altering brain chemistry. Or in my opinion is the same thing as altering brain chemistry for your mental state is your brain chemical state.

Yes, there are probably people that have genetic flaws that cause a brain chemistry inbalance, but I imagine these people are much rarer then you think. And I'm not convinced these people can't recieve benefit from psychological treatment. Sort of how someone with a bad leg might be able to learn to walk anyway with physical therapy.

Please don't missunderstand me. I am not saying one shouldn't take drugs (see my previous post). I instead are suggesting that drugs are being overused and the biggest excuse for their abuse is "but its a brain chemsitry imbalance" when in reality is that all depression is a brain chemistry imbalance.

If I'm not too busy I will look for articles to support these things, but if not just do a google search. Pubmed ( www.pubmed.com ) might have some scientific articles about it.

Please don't missunderstand me. I am not saying one shouldn't take drugs (see my previous post). I instead are suggesting that drugs are being overused and the biggest excuse for their abuse is "but its a brain chemsitry imbalance" when in reality is that all depression is a brain chemistry imbalance.Ah, I see. Well, I agree that drugs are overused, and also that at least initially, there needs to be a form of psychotherapy given with the drugs.

A couple of my friends have taken SSRIs for reasonable periods of time (one for depression, the other for other things), and after hearing them describe the effects of the drugs I can't really imagine a disease worse than the cure.

Saying that, however, they did help my friend's depression.
The other friend's descriptions of coming off the drug (seroxat, if I recall) were decidedly unpleasant.

I lived with the depressed friend for a year at university. He's not exactly the most get-up-and-go person at the best of times, and knowing he was depressed I tried gentle encouragement to get him to do stuff. It mostly worked, but I was never convinced that a more enthusiastic and less sympathetic approach to getting him going might've proved more effective.
Habitually sleeping for 14-odd hours a day will make you feel tired - and of course you'll be bored and not have time for things, you're spending so much of your time in bed!

A couple of my friends have taken SSRIs for reasonable periods of time (one for depression, the other for other things), and after hearing them describe the effects of the drugs I can't really imagine a disease worse than the cure.

Saying that, however, they did help my friend's depression.
The other friend's descriptions of coming off the drug (seroxat, if I recall) were decidedly unpleasant.


As with any drug, SSRIs affect different people in different ways. Some people will develop certain side effects, other people will develop other side effects, and some will develop no side effects at all. The ideal thing when the side effects are bad is to switch to a different drug. There are a wide variety of anti-depressants available and not all of them are SSRI based. Sadly, some people will have side effects to all anti-depressants and will have to seek alternatives or learn to live with the side effects of the one that affects them the least.

You are supposed to wean yourself off of these medications. I wonder if your friend followed doctor's orders when he terminated the medication or if he just quit taking them on his own.

Me being the eternal optimist: Lighten up. It ain't all that bad

Would you like it if you were in a house with the same two people for eight-plus years, knowing nobody else, and never going out to do anything?

That's how it is for me, and I frequently find myself staring at the walls in my living room... Which happens to be empty, except for a lone piano and some bicycles.

You are supposed to wean yourself off of these medications. I wonder if your friend followed doctor's orders when he terminated the medication or if he just quit taking them on his own.
He can be quite arrogant, so I imagine he did whatever he thought best. I can't remember the details, I'm afraid.

Would you like it if you were in a house with the same two people for eight-plus years, knowing nobody else, and never going out to do anything?
Why don't you go out to do something? I presume there is some reason?
Even hop on one of the bicycles and menace the local motorists - that can be exciting.