View Full Version : Depression
I thought I'd start this thread as I don't want to take the Good and Bad thread off topic. I feel that unless I do this then people will naturally (out of kindness) comment on my post and the thread will get side tracked.
Its amazing when someone reveals that they have depression how many people also have experienced it yet the stigma attached to mental health very much exists still. I posted an open letter in my place off work because I heard that people thought I had stress (in my opinion stress and depression are very much different) and I did not want people to treat me differently when work has always been my 'escape'. Quite a number of people in my work have come to me since to discuss their experiences which makes me feel a bit more normal.
In my case in the last two months I have been to some very low places and really experienced a very poor level of care from the NHS. I would like to point out that previously any experience with the health service has been good at worst so please don't see me as someone who knocks public service bodies as a norm. However on Christmas Eve I met a really good doctor at Aberdeen. It was odd because I did not feel a connection to but the difference between him and other NHS personnel I had dealt with was that his time was my time - all three hours of it! He actually let me talk and wasn't just concerned with ticking the boxes that his paperwork required of him. In the past week, and also due to some new medication, I feel like the person I was for the past two months was someone else. Previously whenever I felt able to tread water and 'survive' I have ignored my depression, almost like a denial so to speak. Now, having gone through the last two months, I know that I can't afford to do that anymore because I simply can't go back to where I was.
So thats me, as ready for my journey as I'll ever be. Sometimes scared, sometimes without fear and sometimes excited. But thats my journey so here goes.
Well done for sharing your experience; if it helps only one person to know there is more to life than the black hole that can overtake without realising it then good for you.
There is a lot of help out there for depression sufferers and it is wonderful to meet the right people who can "gel" with you from the start. It's such a shame that sometimes the right person doesn't appear when you first seek help but to anyone looking for that help, don't give up, you will find it.
I wish you well for 2009.
Bad Manners
02-Jan-09, 11:56
Brave thing to admit to it is a subject people shy away from because most don't understand it. As Torvaig said there is help out there you just have to find it. I wish you well for 2009 and hope you find what you are looking for. as for those who dont understand you can explain it if they still dont understand then they are no worth worrying about.
Thanks :-)
Its like you say, if my openess helps just one person then its worth while. And in the meantime I'll focus on my own journey, but will do so knowing that other people know where I am if they ever feel they need someone to listen.
In this day it is such a shame that folk can accept a broken leg or arm but cannot accept 'a bit of the mind' requiring help.
The stigma surrounding depression or any mental health problems is a strange one when so many people are trying to cope with their own or family members mental health issues. Many continue to be unwilling to open up and talk about their fears and worries or leave seeking help until crisis point is reached due to knowing they will be looked at differently by their family and friends.
If only folk were able to be completely open with their mental health problems as they are with their physical health problems the world would be a much healthier, happier place.
teenybash
02-Jan-09, 14:10
RK07, it is so heart warmimg to come across someone like yourself who has openly admitted to suffering from depression and took up the stance of, 'But it ain't gonna beat me.' and you have reached out and found what you needed.......someone to listen.......Now that you have found the 'key' you will never have to face being closed in to that awful place of darkness.
Bless you for being so brave to share this with us.....................:)
purplelady
02-Jan-09, 14:23
i t is so brave of you to admitt on here you have depression, I went though a really bad patch when my husband and i split up and a few other things happened, am not sure it was depression but I do know my doctor said it was gave me tablet and told me to come back in a week , that is about all the help i got have to say never took the tablets and worked though my problems so really do not think it was depression it was more like stress I think do not really know but you are so brave and thank you for sharing x
Thanks for the messages and also the private ones :-)
If anyone ever wants to share there experiences then feel free to contact me in confidence. Personally I have found it helpful to discuss my experiences and if you feel it may help you then just shout. As an example, whilst I am not a big Britney fan, the advert for her documentry on Sky really connected to me when she said that people who go to prison know when they'll get released, people who have depression don't. For me its just little things like that that make me realise that I'm not alone. Sure people can tell me I'm not and people will say the nicest things because they mean well but for me there is nothing like hearing someone say something that clicks or hits the nail on the head.
I don't see what I'm doing as brave although I understand why people say that. I'm just doing it my way. For so long I have tried so hard not to be like people who have influenced my life and now I'm going to try and find out who I actually am. As I say, its scary (what if I don't like myself?), its exciting (who am I?) and having been to the edge of the earth in my own life, or at least as close as I'd like to get, its without fear because surely it can't be as bad as the last two months. If that attitude makes me brave then maybe I've found something out about myself already.
This is bad time of the year anyway and I must say I agree with what has been said here It’s a hidden illness like alcoholism and battered folks no one wants to admit that it is happening in their family life but it continues to carry on. I have been in this black hole since my husband died 2 and a half years ago, I have to stand on my own two feet with everything that I do. I then get told I was a wrong. I have just spent the most miserable of New Years in my life as I have a son and a daughter who have not lifted the phone to wish me a happy new year yet. But if I make a big noise about the importance of this they think your going of the head.
Hey sadam
Firstly its not wrong to be depressed. Thats something I have learnt. I liken it to a cancer but the most notable difference is that there is nothing physical there to remove/treat. Thats what makes it hardest in some ways and as someone who would desrcibe themselves as pretty intelligent, its pretty damn tough not being able to slap yourself around the head and get on with it.
Families are funny thinks and obviously everyone has a different perspective on this. Some people have great family's. Wonderful units as tight as a well built dam. Others are the opposite end of the spectrum. I have my own issues with my family but I just need to work through it at my own pace. One day I hope I am strong enough to speak with people in my family about how I feel - they know I am depressed but for x,y and z they don't fully understand how I feel. Saying that it may help me to listen to them. Maybe that will help me. Who knows?
Maybe if/when you feel strong enough you will talk to your son and daughter and discuss your feelings. I think its important to be able to talk without losing it and whilst being able to be objective and consider their reponses and feelings. Thats why I can't talk to my family yet, because I don't feel strong enough to. Also accept that this is a slow process. Almost six years for me so far and this is me just accepting where I am! I have got a mountain to climb yet.
However you move forward, try to talk to someone about how you feel. It really does help especially the first time you realise that you're not alone :-)
And regarding being told that you are wrong, I grew up with a Father who refused to accept that depression existed even when my Mum had breast cancer twice and she had her own emotions. He was weak for not accepting it, not strong like he thought he was. But that doesn't make him a bad person. Its just an obstacle. That reminds me of a phrase I have always liked and what seems quite relevant to me now.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of your goal.
cuddlepop
02-Jan-09, 16:31
Depression has many faces,some of our best comedians were really only playing the part of Mr Funny.Mum was Mrs Funny to the outside world but indoors her world was blacker than black.
Since I lost my father in79 at the age of 15 I can honestly say the clouds have never lifted properly.
I have gone round on auto for so long for so many people that I've lost site of my own feelings.
This year i've promised myself that 30 years of "shadows and hurt" have to stop and I will heal myself .
Tablets only work short term,you have to relearn behaviour and that takes time.People to have to stop and look at the way they treat you aswell.Your nobodys emotional "bunch bag".:(
Your lucky you've found someone you can connect too,I'm still looking.
Various Gp's over the years have hinted that I should stay on anti depressents for as long as I'm a carer as I cant remove the stress only treat it.
I know my symptoms are returning as I'm finding it very difficult to read just now and prefer my own immediate family circle.
There are montains to climb this year,my daughter leaves high school and moves into Adult services for the vunerable but there are no services only MUM.:~(
The Org helps in a strange unconnected way.
I totally agree that about tablets - they don't treat depression. They just allow you to 'cope'. There is a big difference between coping and not having depression. I love living in Scotland - we moved up from England in 2005 - but the draw back about living somewhere less populated is that if you encounter a service which you feels let you down then it makes it very hard.
About a month ago I met a doctor in Inverness and speaking with him made me worse. The doctor in Aberdeen did nothing but give me his time. I didn't feel a connection with him. I was just grateful for how he treated me. The only people who I have connected too are those who have actually suffered from depression. I feel something from those who have experienced it with someone close to them but not in the same way as someone who has been to similar places. They're never the same place, but sometimes they are similar.
What facilities are there in Skye?
cuddlepop
02-Jan-09, 16:51
[quote=RK07;477042]I totally agree that about tablets - they don't treat depression. They just allow you to 'cope'. There is a big difference between coping and not having depression. I love living in Scotland - we moved up from England in 2005 - but the draw back about living somewhere less populated is that if you encounter a service which you feels let you down then it makes it very hard.
About a month ago I met a doctor in Inverness and speaking with him made me worse. The doctor in Aberdeen did nothing but give me his time. I didn't feel a connection with him. I was just grateful for how he treated me. The only people who I have connected too are those who have actually suffered from depression. I feel something from those who have experienced it with someone close to them but not in the same way as someone who has been to similar places. They're never the same place, but sometimes they are similar.
Skye has very few facilities for any "illness or disability"
The waiting list to see a mental health officer is appaling.Our mental health drop in centre,which is voluntaryily funded is fit to burst with "lost souls"
If though you have a drink problem well that got extra funding,we know have a full time alchol liason nurse.
Skye's a beautiful place to live for the scenery but not for quality of living for anyone other than "normal":~(
What they do over here on the East Coast is arrange for you to have a consultation and then the real wait starts. I have a very poor opinion of the mental health service. I don't blame the individuals - even the doctor at Inverness - he was just doing his job. Its the people who dictate funding and manage it that are responsible.
Do you have CPNs over there (community psychiatric nurse)? I have one who I see weekly until I can be seen at hospital. It annoys me that I have to get to the place where I was before they took notice of what I was saying. My local GP is great but living 30 miles from Aberdeen you just become someone in the queue. When I explained this to my CPN I said it was like being at a Deli queue at the supermarket and you're stood there with your ticket but there are so many people in front of you that you can't even see the deli counter. Its very hard when no one listens because ultimately thats all you need!
Tablets are only a temp fix and the doctors don’t want you to be long term on them, I didn’t stay on them to long, I tried to sort it out myself, it’s a pity there are no local groups like AA where everyone can meet up. I think a lot of people generally feel low or down and thoughts are always their worst in the middle of the night, Molehills become Mountains.
Bad Manners
02-Jan-09, 17:37
Tablets are only a temp fix and the doctors don’t want you to be long term on them, I didn’t stay on them to long, I tried to sort it out myself, it’s a pity there are no local groups like AA where everyone can meet up. I think a lot of people generally feel low or down and thoughts are always their worst in the middle of the night, Molehills become Mountains.
When you have the org you are not alone even in the wee small hours.
If you feel down try posting and see who's around conversation gives you something to focus on and helps prevent the negative thoughts.
there are many on the org that understand sadness and depression. and orgers do like to talk
Middle of the night was my low point. I just used to get up and drive all night. One night I drove from near Montrose to Durness and back again and did similar routes numerous times. I have been given a different tablet though to take at night. Its not a sleeping tablet - they didn't do much when I had them - but an anti depressant and it just slows everything down.
Tomorrow I'm aiming to go munro-ing for the first time in ages and I'm trying to focus on a healthy diet too. I can't expect the NHS to do everything for me so I may aswell do whatever I can to balance myself out a bit. Some people paint (I would struggle to call any artwork of mine as aspirational!), some play music, others read books. I guess its just finding out what works for you. I'll let you know if Scottish Hills help me at all when I return :-)
I feel so sorry for you Sadam, I would have expected my family to be there for me,,, not even a call, thats terrible. I take it they are adults ??? not a very adult attitude then. Maybe in time they will need somebody to be there for them. Cheer up now we are into a new year where you can look forward to such a lot out there.
Thorfin, my experience is that I have not responded well to people who feel sorry for me or tell me to cheer up. Before this upsets you, please accept my assurances that I don't mean this in a hostile way. Not at all. Just sharing my experience. It may well be that sadam appreciates your sentiments. Thats not for me to say and I know you say what you do out of kindness.
This is a link to a site that I found and have emailed to a few of my friends. It also contains some good dietary advice :-) www.lookokfeelcrap.org (http://www.lookokfeelcrap.org)
As I say please don't take my comments as being agressive. I mean them in a constructive way :-)
sadam, feel free to pm if ever you need to.
i too have suffered from clinical depression for some years, and i believe for years before before i was diagnosed. i just used to keep thinking i was losing the plot.
i am on medication for the depression, and i dont care if i have to stay on them for good, (at the moment anyways)as there is no way I could/would go back to the way i used to be. i have some insight to depression and recognise symptoms and thoughts, and try to combat that, ,,, sometimes i get on pretty good with it, then other times i don't.
I see the psychiatric nurse for the cognitive behaviour therapy, which in hindsight, has helped a little bit....the more i go on, the more it may help too. who knows,just need to keep trying. Doc Fraser is the chap who listened to me and got me on the right road again...he's the dog's danglies, as far as i am concerned.
on yerself though, it's no easy, and i hope you get there in the end.
ShelleyCowie
02-Jan-09, 19:09
Thorfin, my experience is that I have not responded well to people who feel sorry for me or tell me to cheer up. Before this upsets you, please accept my assurances that I don't mean this in a hostile way. Not at all. Just sharing my experience. It may well be that sadam appreciates your sentiments. Thats not for me to say and I know you say what you do out of kindness.
This is a link to a site that I found and have emailed to a few of my friends. It also contains some good dietary advice :-) www.lookokfeelcrap.org (http://www.lookokfeelcrap.org)
As I say please don't take my comments as being agressive. I mean them in a constructive way :-)
sadam, feel free to pm if ever you need to.
I get what u mean RK! (also not in an agressive way)
But it is slightly the same as saying "cheer up" When something absolutely tragic has happened! Would not like to use examples as some may take offence...(no offence intended here at all just to remind)
"If" Something tragic ever happened and somebody told me to cheer up then i think it would make me worse!
Obviously RK this is nowhere near what u are feeling its just a small example! But u get my point! Right? :confused
Thanks again for the public and private replies.
Jings, my saviour is a guy called Dr Ike and my CPN is a chap called Jeremy. Long may have they have time to listen to my drivel!
Shelley, you are exactly right in much the same way that I would find it hard to comprehend someone who may have lost a loved one in a tragic way. I'm glad that you didn't see my reply as being hostile and I hope that Thorfin can see this too.
I guess BT said it best - its good to talk. Incidently if anyone from BT is reading this my home phone has developed a crackle :lol:
ShelleyCowie
02-Jan-09, 19:28
Thanks again for the public and private replies.
Jings, my saviour is a guy called Dr Ike and my CPN is a chap called Jeremy. Long may have they have time to listen to my drivel!
Shelley, you are exactly right in much the same way that I would find it hard to comprehend someone who may have lost a loved one in a tragic way. I'm glad that you didn't see my reply as being hostile and I hope that Thorfin can see this too.
I guess BT said it best - its good to talk. Incidently if anyone from BT is reading this my home phone has developed a crackle :lol:
No i did not see ur reply as hostile but as sensible, and your own personal feelings! I guess people like to take things differently!
Haha i work for BT! :) But i work for BT Global! Phone BT and ask them to run a noise check for ya! Could be ur T'internet interfearing with phone line!
I think folk need to learn how to accept the fact that we all get down at times and think theres no point in going on, but if theres not a lot of help from doctors for months or years and they dont want to keep taking tablets for the rest of our lives then it is wonder why the suicide rate is rising. I would have thought family and freinds would be a good place to start. I dont understand why there is a stigma surrounding depression, your just down in the dumps for some reason.
Interesting thoughts Thorfin. I don't however agree but I'm a big boy and have learnt that not everyone understands what its like. It doesn't make you wrong and I sincerely hope that you never fully understand what it is like for people who do experience depression especially to the ones, like myself who have taken themselves to their limits.
If this thread does nothing but stimulate conversation about depression then I'll go to bed a little further along my way from where I was this morning. I know people have taken value in what I have said through their public and private messages and I have taken value in their words. I may be new but I'm very much a fan of the org and the ability of all to have an engaging conversation :-)
It is usually when something tragic happens that we find ourselves at the lowest point and starts the depression. I agree I don’t want people to feel sorry for me as it does make me worse, I just to be treated with a bit of respect the same as others, I want to get on with my life the best way I can.
I don’t know who you are RK07 but with the cost of petrol today I don’t think I will be driving a lot a good walk generally does the trick also. I also found that people with depression turns to drink so one link follows another. No one wants to go down that road either. A friendly ear and a bit of support is the answer. I don’t see any response as hostile it was just the way it is portrayed. I think Shelley if you work for BT then say no more. That place is depressing in itself
ShelleyCowie
02-Jan-09, 20:12
It is usually when something tragic happens that we find ourselves at the lowest point and starts the depression. I agree I don’t want people to feel sorry for me as it does make me worse, I just to be treated with a bit of respect the same as others, I want to get on with my life the best way I can.
I don’t know who you are RK07 but with the cost of petrol today I don’t think I will be driving a lot a good walk generally does the trick also. I also found that people with depression turns to drink so one link follows another. No one wants to go down that road either. A friendly ear and a bit of support is the answer. I don’t see any response as hostile it was just the way it is portrayed. I think Shelley if you work for BT then say no more. That place is depressing in itself
Haha yes that place can put you down in the dumps a bit i guess!
But im ok for now im on maternity leave for a bit longer! So until then am okay! :D
Fortunately I've never really drunk so I don't think I'll head down that path. But yes, fuel bills did increase, thats for sure!
Shelley, I think it is our router thats causing our troubles :-)
cuddlepop
02-Jan-09, 20:30
What they do over here on the East Coast is arrange for you to have a consultation and then the real wait starts. I have a very poor opinion of the mental health service. I don't blame the individuals - even the doctor at Inverness - he was just doing his job. Its the people who dictate funding and manage it that are responsible.
Do you have CPNs over there (community psychiatric nurse)? I have one who I see weekly until I can be seen at hospital. It annoys me that I have to get to the place where I was before they took notice of what I was saying. My local GP is great but living 30 miles from Aberdeen you just become someone in the queue. When I explained this to my CPN I said it was like being at a Deli queue at the supermarket and you're stood there with your ticket but there are so many people in front of you that you can't even see the deli counter. Its very hard when no one listens because ultimately thats all you need!
We have CPN's over here,think there's two and the community facilitie has two outreach workers.
My brother is still waiting to see his CPN down in Ayrshire and thats been since 2002.support that was to be in place never appeared when he left hospital after being sectioned.:confused
Thankfully with friends and family he's pulled through and is now in a fulltime job.
No thanks to the NHS who apart from his Gp done nothing.[disgust]
ShelleyCowie
02-Jan-09, 20:53
Fortunately I've never really drunk so I don't think I'll head down that path. But yes, fuel bills did increase, thats for sure!
Shelley, I think it is our router thats causing our troubles :-)
They can still run router diagnostics for you and see if any data is being lost between the bt exchange to your router. There are many other diagnostics to be run too but i wont get into that! Im such a geek! :lol:
(Not meaning to go off subject! Just helping)
We have CPN's over here,think there's two and the community facilitie has two outreach workers.
My brother is still waiting to see his CPN down in Ayrshire and thats been since 2002.support that was to be in place never appeared when he left hospital after being sectioned.:confused
Thankfully with friends and family he's pulled through and is now in a fulltime job.
No thanks to the NHS who apart from his Gp done nothing.[disgust]
Thats shocking, even after my own personal experience I find that disgusting although I'm really pleased that your brother found a way to move forward.
Have you been able to see a CPN in Skye?
percy toboggan
02-Jan-09, 21:50
I'm sure many more of us could get depressed if only we didn't have to get into the real world and cope with it. When does feeling 'fed-up' start to manifest depression symptoms? I've been fairly fed up for quite a while now.
One wonders how this country might have fared in the nineteen forties if 'depression' had been so rampant back then....when, there were more than a few reasons to be seriously depressed.
Now, I'm not saying all the people on here who claim depression of a clinical nature are making it all up. I'm not saying they're imagining it either. although if they are depressed or paranoid then they may well think I am. Some case will be genuine...100%...but some others will be swinging the lead.
What I am saying is that all this mental illness stuff is highly subjective. One man's sanity - coping -- struggling --- mindset might easily switch to 'depression' inside the head of another.As a society we indulge the sufferer (some of whom are genuine) and ignore the coper/ struggler.
There's a need for more discussion of course, and less stigmatisation...there's also an overwhelming need for some folk to buck up and get on with life:which can be tough in the 21st.century....t'was ever thus. If people are waiting at hospitals in retail sized queues to see a 'depression Doctor' then something is clearly not right. I wonder how many of those queuing up are claiming incapacity benefit. Apparently there are almost half a million under thirty-fives claiming this benefit...most of whom are suffering from 'stress'...is this the same as depression? It's certainly a depressing statistic....in fact it beggars belief.
I'm afraid one cannot post subjects like this on an open public forum without attracting some negativity at best and hostility at worst. I'm offering more of the former than the latter but if anyone can't see that then they may have a problem.
Hi Percy :-)
I do see value in your post and have shared the same thoughts about subjects such as ADB and dyslexia. I agree that there is a danger that something can be over diagnosed. Perhaps it is easier sometimes for a health professional to label something?
In my case I was offered tablets back in 2003 but only accepted them in November 2008 and have worked full time since being eighteen and part time since sixteen. I have never claimed benefit but also choose not to judge those who do.
As you say a forum is designed to stimulate debate and share experiences and have been really pleased with how this thread has been received.
I'm sure many more of us could get depressed if only we didn't have to get into the real world and cope with it. When does feeling 'fed-up' start to manifest depression symptoms? I've been fairly fed up for quite a while now.
One wonders how this country might have fared in the nineteen forties if 'depression' had been so rampant back then....when, there were more than a few reasons to be seriously depressed.
Now, I'm not saying all the people on here who claim depression of a clinical nature are making it all up. I'm not saying they're imagining it either. although if they are depressed or paranoid then they may well think I am. Some case will be genuine...100%...but some others will be swinging the lead.
What I am saying is that all this mental illness stuff is highly subjective. One man's sanity - coping -- struggling --- mindset might easily switch to 'depression' inside the head of another.As a society we indulge the sufferer (some of whom are genuine) and ignore the coper/ struggler.
There's a need for more discussion of course, and less stigmatisation...there's also an overwhelming need for some folk to buck up and get on with life:which can be tough in the 21st.century....t'was ever thus. If people are waiting at hospitals in retail sized queues to see a 'depression Doctor' then something is clearly not right. I wonder how many of those queuing up are claiming incapacity benefit. Apparently there are almost half a million under thirty-fives claiming this benefit...most of whom are suffering from 'stress'...is this the same as depression? It's certainly a depressing statistic....in fact it beggars belief.
I'm afraid one cannot post subjects like this on an open public forum without attracting some negativity at best and hostility at worst. I'm offering more of the former than the latter but if anyone can't see that then they may have a problem.I concurr, people should just get on with their lives and stop dwelling on past experiences. Live life for the now, not the past.
I don't believe that Percy was being as black and white as your reply would indicate but good to hear your thoughts anyway.
I won't speak for anyone else but if it was as easy to 'get on with it' as you say then believe me I would. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.
I don't believe that Percy was being as black and white as your reply would indicate but good to hear your thoughts anyway.
I won't speak for anyone else but if it was as easy to 'get on with it' as you say then believe me I would. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.No offence meant but many an old saying has so much truth like, "You die if you worry, die if you don't", It's mind over matter, "You don't mind and your problems don't matter". Very simple theories but very good values.
percy toboggan
02-Jan-09, 22:24
Hi Percy :-)
I do see value in your post and have shared the same thoughts about subjects such as ADB and dyslexia. I agree that there is a danger that something can be over diagnosed. Perhaps it is easier sometimes for a health professional to label something?
In my case I was offered tablets back in 2003 but only accepted them in November 2008 and have worked full time since being eighteen and part time since sixteen. I have never claimed benefit but also choose not to judge those who do.
As you say a forum is designed to stimulate debate and share experiences and have been really pleased with how this thread has been received.
Good luck to you.
Maybe the tablets are helping.
I admire your work ethic and your 'hang in there attitude'
As for 'judging' - it's what I do....in common with most folk.Unlike many I can't keep my mouth shut once the judging is done. One day it'll cost me.
Best wishes..I hope you get better sometime soon. (indeed there were shades of grey in myp ost)
Thanks.
I was once taught that its ok to have prejudices but I should try not to act on them. Of course I have thoughts about things that happen and the actions of others but try to concentrate on other things. Maybe thats where I've gone wrong, who knows?
I see you've met Percy.;)
At least Percys opinion takes it out in the open. Hes a ruthless thinker but he has a soft side. How many of us may think similar things about certain people in the privacy of our own minds? Not only that but the very people who are suffering from depression will have similar thoughts about themselves. Thats the nature of neurosis or depression or whatever you want to call it. It kids us on.
Talking helps though and it sounds like you got a good doctor. So much of the cure is up to ourselves and Like most illnesses, how we handle them determines our state of mind.
Ive had some dealings with the mental police over the years and I found them to be as helpful as their training allows and I always trusted their diagnosis.When your dealing with such deep anxieties though it takes a specialist kind of probing to treat them and even then without a deliberate effort from the individual things can still get worse lol.
purplelady
02-Jan-09, 23:33
This is bad time of the year anyway and I must say I agree with what has been said here It’s a hidden illness like alcoholism and battered folks no one wants to admit that it is happening in their family life but it continues to carry on. I have been in this black hole since my husband died 2 and a half years ago, I have to stand on my own two feet with everything that I do. I then get told I was a wrong. I have just spent the most miserable of New Years in my life as I have a son and a daughter who have not lifted the phone to wish me a happy new year yet. But if I make a big noise about the importance of this they think your going of the head.
know that feeling when i said to mine did not want to spend this xmas /new year alone it was like i had lost the plot even my own mother who herself has so she say suffered from depression and do not mean that in a bad way so pls do not mean to offend so i understand how you feel x
must say, that 2007 my depression came to a head, so much was happening in my life the year before, when we had the court case, my son was born early in aberdeen, plus other things, and at the time i thought i would battle it myself, big mistake, it took unto the may 2007 for me to pluck up the strength to go to the docs, took meto nearly throwing a cup at my daughter to realise i needed help, couldnt face going to work, or seeing anyone. my doc started me on tablets then increased my dose, which had me acting really brave, uprooted my kids twice in a week, but was home by bedtime on both occasions, i couldnt have managed without the support of my family, forgoing out their way to take us home, i slowy came of the tablets, only to have another dip last year which seen me of work again, but thankfully i regonised the symptoms early enough that time and got help. Depression has such a stigma behind it,but ithappens to so many but like me they are afraid to seek help at the start. but can i just say it is nothing to be embarresed about and seek help, as there is always someone willing to listen.
whitecloud
03-Jan-09, 15:25
Its so nice to see people being honest about there emotions, and very brave, for speaking is the first step to healing. I am sure many people if honest with themselves would say that they have been depressed at least once or twice in there life.I have quite a lot of experience with dealing with depression , for one I have had it myself and two I have treated many diffrent people with depression over the last ten yrs, I treat people in a holistic, complimentary way,I help people to heal themselves by teaching them sort of life tools,which helps the client get to the root of the cause then making peace with the cause so it is no longer hurting them, energy work is brilliant for this,in our bodies a natural flow of energy flows threw us like a river, as time goes on we pick up pebbles say these pebbles are diffrent hurts, negative emotions,guilts and anger from diffrent times in our lifes, these emotions(pebbles) start to mound up in diffrent areas in our bodies leaving the flow of energy run slower at these parts sometimes so much that they start to effect not only the mind and emotions but the phisical, by practising some sort of energy work, eg tia chi ,reiki,meditation and various other types of energy work that you get out there, the energy we work with, helps sort of wash away our pebbles one by one usaully staring with the one that is doing the most damage to us first,this comes to the surface ,meaning we think about it and feel the emotions we have been carrying, we dont analize too much during this process just let the feelings out, then usally after a week we let them go for ever, we carry on until we reach a point were we no longer carry any baggage and our river is flowing well and clear making us feel healthy on all levels.Any one can do energy work its just focusing and intent.Diffrent courses for horses what ever works for you, I found that seeing a head doctor just put all my baggage infront of me like a massive hill then they would say well go home and think about what we have discussed, how do you start, i would go home and feel more depressed now after dragging all my past up at the one time,prefer the pebble by pebble method, at least now these feelings have gone forever,I can still think about certain times in my life but I have no emotions attached to them now, and feel a lot happier and heathier in myself.Well done to all who you here who have been open and honest about a very personal real problem.
love whitecloud x
Welcomefamily
03-Jan-09, 23:50
I think it is important in all cases that people understand that they need help, at the same time we should also remember that there are many cases where people dont release. (Psychotic Depressions / Manic Depressive states). It is important not to make generalisations on depressions, for some types of depression, medication is a very important part of the process as direct chemical changes in brain chemistry have been noted in post mortum studies and the influence of the (catecholamine pathway) dopamine has been shown to play a major role in the past. In a past post I talked about the benefits I had seen from ECT.
In other types of depression, self awareness, behaviour change, counselling will help. Certainly a Community Psychiatric Nurse or a Psychiatric Social Worker via a GP is a good place to start.
Something that is quite important for any one with depression to note is the importance of some exercise, twice a day, helps with sleeping as well, getting out, and taking a good diet, cutting out drugs / drink etc. The bodies Mental State is regulated by Chemical levels, it needs certain factors to be able to act efficently, amino acids, good fluid balance, waste removial (exercise). If this very basic level is not meet, then higher needs cannot be meet effectively. (Maslow)
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