How to cope with 'depression'

[Blakhart]

I often wonder why people have to fool themselves with dope into thinking or feeling like they are happy..... *** is that? Is it due their lives are really so miserable they have to fake everything?
You can apply this to pot and all the other recreational pharmaceuticals as well.....
Why not do something that makes you happy? How about seeing a friend? What about going to eat in a nice place that has great food? (one of my favs) What about a walk out in the sticks somewhere? What about treating yourself better?
Wanna see folks with real probs, totaly messed up folks who have thrown their lives away? Watch court tv. Just an example. You aint so bad after all.

[SARGE]

Originally posted by drisley Its very tempting to pop a pill and make the hurt go away. But, its not the right way to go about it. It can be done in other ways, without falling into the cycle of drug use promoted by the drug pushers in the white labcoats.

Unless a chemical inbalance exists, there is no reason to pop pills. Personally I've dealt with too many folks (some very close) who tried everything. Docs put 'em on pills when all else failed; but that breeds other problems. Most depression I've witnessed had its roots in low self-esteem, guilt or unresolved conflicts with others. Of course the 3 can fit hand-in-glove or exist singly. No pill will ever fix those things - only the person staring back at you in the mirror.

[bailey]

I agree with you 100 percent sarge, plus the fact that life sucks

[juppy]

drisley > Well, as a matter of fact, yeah, I am still taking the meds. Don't have much of a choice cuz they're the only thing that keeps me halfway functioning. Believe me, I tried every possible way to get rid of my depression/anxiety before going to the meds. We tried for about a year to find some other "physical" reason for it; went through numerous tests including blood work and CT scans....Nada, nothing. My doc suggested a psych doc so I went to him. Again, he tried the usual "talk therapy" bit (didn't work), exercise (sorta helped, but only for a short while after I'd done it - evenings at home just sitting around were hell), tapes that you listen to in order to relax and do the "happy thoughts" stuff (again, nothing), and just getting out and doing things to keep my mind occupied so I didn't think about depressing stuff or anything that made my anxiety level rise (this did nothing for me either - I wasn't conciously thinking about these things but I still had the symptoms). After all of that, THEN he put me on some mild type of pills that didn't do anything so we tried Paxil and it worked. For awhile anyway; after a year or so it stopped working so I was switched to Zoloft. It did the same stopping thing so now I'm on Effexor and it seems to do rather well. My situation may be different than others though because I have the anxiety problems mixed in with the depression. Any symptoms I have anymore are not depression-related, they have to do with the anxiety, but the same meds treat both problems so I've just stayed with it.

[juppy]

Originally posted by Blakhart I often wonder why people have to fool themselves with dope into thinking or feeling like they are happy..... *** is that? Is it due their lives are really so miserable they have to fake everything?

It's not (at least in my case) a matter of having to dope myself up to make my life seem wonderful. It involves a chemical imbalance in the "happy" chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, that make things seem acceptable. When the sending part of the nerve gives off serotonin, it is supposed to be absorbed into the receiving portion of the nerve. With this chemical imbalance problem, the sending part reabsorbs the serotonin itself before the receiving side has a chance to get it. So your brain sees this as not having any serotonin at all (cuz it didn't get any on the receiving part). SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Paxil, block the serotonin from being reabsorbed into the sending nerve before the receiver can get it - hence, you are then getting the serotonin your brain needs.
As for being able to do without it in this scenario, you can't. It would be like telling someone with diabetes to do without their insulin, or a woman that has had a hysterectomy to do without her hormone replacement pills.

[TimPoet]

Originally posted by drisley Just thought I'd add my own two cents - for what its worth. I really cringe when people recommend anti-depressants for such things. Yes, it might help with the immediate situation, but like a Tylenol, it only dumbs down the actual cause; it doesn't alleviate it. And long-term use can cause really serious problems.

Dave, taking anti-depressants lightly is a serious matter. One should only take them if they are prescribed by a competent doctor.
Some people only need them for a season. I, myself, have a brain disorder called bipolar which was formerly known as manic/depression. Unfortunately, we have to take anti-depressants and anti-manics for the rest of our lives (until they come up with a cure). I resisted this diagnosis for several years. And did I suffer, I would hit lows where I had no hunger for two weeks, couldn't sleep more than 3 hours during that time, was anxious, would shake and sweat all day long, couldn't get myself to shower, my speech was impeded and then it would disappear, but afterwards, sometimes, I would feel shattered for months. I wouldn't be able to read newspapers or watch TV cause the problems of the world would seem to engulf me.
I no longer live like this thanks to psychotropics. Vitamins, prayer, exercise, St. John's Wort could help me, nothing but strong doses of good medicine carefully monitored by me and my doctor would save me from the ups and downs of my mood swings. The dark shadow of my life has passed and I am free of the heavy thrashes of that torturor's lash. Since then I have been privileged to serve as president of the board for a bipolar support group for a few years and learned and taught a lot from and to others.
I hope you and others reading this can understand that some people honestly have a disorder of the brain, just like others have disorders of the heart, liver or kidneys and need good medical treatment.

[brassman]

I think what bothers me the most about this thread is how lightly some of you are treating this serious disorder. True clinical depression is not something you just snap out of. I watched my best friend go through what TimPoet just described and it was downright scary. To think that someone would fake something like that is just absurd. We aren't popping pills to feel happy, we're taking medication under a Dr.'s care to feel normal. (Believe me, if I wanted to pop pills to feel happy I would find something a whole lot more fun than SSRIs.)

My own situation is a little different from TimPoet's. I am not bipolar,but like Tim, I also have a chronic disease that there is no cure for.(RA) Over the years I have watched my wrists and knuckles swell and become inflamed, my toes deform, and my hips deteriorate. Over the course of time I took a myriad of medications to slow the progression,but none of them helped. They made me physically ill and some of them have side effects that make Paxil look like a walk in the park. The fatigue and chronic pain finally take their toll. Recent research is starting to point to some of these RA meds depleting serotonin in the brain and causing depression. I guess that's great to know but it doesn't cure the depression. Like Juppy and TimPoet my medications are closely monitored. OK, OK, I'm rambling.

My point is, guys, clinical depression/anxiety is real not imagined!

[bailey]

think I will give up

3 differant times today I started to post my feelings on this subject and the power would go off in the middel of typing, thus preventing me from posting here on this post, I can only deduct that I am not suppose to say anything about how I feel

[TimPoet]

Originally posted by bailey think I will give up 3 differant times today I started to post my feelings on this subject and the power would go off in the middel of typing, thus preventing me from posting here on this post, I can only deduct that I am not suppose to say anything about how I feel

I will tell you how I feel about you, Bailey. I feel great compassion for you after reading about the level of your despair. I have always felt good about you in the Forum. And now, knowing of your suffering, I wish you lived in my hometown and I could visit you and we could talk and tinker with some computers and TVs. I think you are a good man and I wish you suffered none of this dread pain which is so invisible but so damned weighty. Sometimes when I have a breakthrough, it feels like a black coating of pain and extra gravity is on my soul. Would that all of us found escape from what Winston Churchill called, 'the black dog."
I love you, Bailey.

[bailey]

thanks tim, that was very heart warming, almost wetted my eyes

I have seen a lot of good and a lot of evil in the 61 years I have been in this world, sometimes I feel like I don't belong here

[Nuclear Krusader]

I've been only 26 years in this world and yet I've also seen lots of evil too. I've hit the bottom several times now and only God knows how I've managed to bounce back.

Now that I think of it, mayhaps I've bounced back because of the good people I have found on this place. So, even when I'm not in your place or know about your situation, Bailey, I can understand you pretty good. You see, the pain feels the same, even when the origins of it are different.

I look forward to meet in person several PC Mechers, and you are one of them, Bailey. In the meanwhile, I think you deserve a hug.

**Hugs**

[drisley]

I have done so much reading on this subject, the history of these drugs, the history of the psychiatric field, that I would NEVER be caught dead in a psychiatrist's office. Its not a matter of taking any of this lightly. I have full compassion for those going through such ordeals. But, at the same time, I do not think it is clinical in nature at all. The "chemical imbalance" thing is way too subjective. Do any of these folks actually test you for it? No, likely not. They just say "chemical imbalance" and proceed to write a prescription. Remember, it wasn't long ago that this field thought lobotamies and electro-shock were solutions to disorders. Yeah, the same procedures used in Iraq for torture techniques.

Look, the LAST thing I want to do is upset anyone here or invalidate something you guys think is working great. So if anyone wishes to discuss it further, we can do so at FC.

[bailey]

a big thank you to all, FC here we come

[brassman]

Last night I mentioned what bothered me about this thread. Today I would like to tell you what I think is good about it, and I promise to keep it short.

We all have our own opinions on the subject and the very fact that we can discuss it with mutual respect and not have it turn into a flame fest tells me something. It tells me you guys are a GREAT bunch of people. It's no wonder this site is the best on the web.

Thanks Guys-

brassman

[moonlight burner]

Originally posted by bailey thanks tim, that was very heart warming, almost wetted my eyes I have seen a lot of good and a lot of evil in the 61 years I have been in this world, sometimes I feel like I don't belong here

I can relate to that , at times I too feel I don't beong here . But the thought of my loving parents who are aging keeps me going on. And also the thought of , "There's still a lot of accomplishments and people who is waiting in not so far distant in my life for me ", keeps me lingering on.

Though things might not run according to what you wish, but I think all would agree , "The sight of sunshine, trees, birds singing all makes it worthwhile staying on till the end".

[LocoCoyote]

I was depressed once. I was able to find a 100% cure. Didn't take a sec!

Ya know what I did?

I just said "Excuse me, but you are sitting on my chest. Would you mind getting off?" and BOOM depression was gone!


OK OK 2nd BAD joke today