Poll: So, Depressed Much?

[tobi the good boy]

I've tried but I'm just too amazing to let anything get to me. I'm sorry all you depressed ladies and gents. It just seems we'll never be in the same boat.

*Waves cheerily from his rainbow land of awesome*

 

[4173]

Depression + Creativity = Amazing Art

Worked for Cobain and Van Gogh...


On-topic, very much so. Probably at the lowest point in several years, currently fiddling with my current medication (doctor supervised fiddling), fingers crossed.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

I had one meeting with a doctor when I was younger about depression. He said he really wanted to see me again for a second meeting, but my mother decided that "it wasn't necessary". So no, I have not been OFFICIALLY diagnosed, but I'm willing to bet that I would be if I scheduled another appointment. It doesn't help that I'm one of those "best at my worst" types of people.

As for today, yeah, I was kind of down for various reasons and nonreasons. Nothing bad though (until Filipino Champ won Evo. That pissed me off).

 

[Mighty Lighty]

Wouldn't say depressed, but definitely pissed off

Basically after 18 years of trying at school I still suck but still want to succeed in school making me to smart for the arseholes who dropped out and got jobs/apprentiships, but too thick for the smarter people who stayed at college/school. I find I get most down when I see people do great things with their lives such as following ambitions or succeeding in school (I know petty right?) which forces a moment of self-reflection on how much of a loser I am (I'm currently getting most of my life advise from a very smart and talented 16 year old, whom I am jealous of).

I think the worse part is I feel like I have no right to get pissed as I'm actually very fortunate in my life (middle-class, good school(ish), great parents willing to support me) when I know there are people who wish they were in my situation.

Gee, that was glum

Anyhoo, Its difficult to say what cheers me up, usually its a combination of the right music and a mundane activity (washing up with dancing in the moonlight playing, or walking the dog with Don't stop me now)

 

[Chased]

Depression + Creativity = Amazing Art

Worked for Cobain and Van Gogh...


On-topic, very much so. Probably at the lowest point in several years, currently fiddling with my current medication (doctor supervised fiddling), fingers crossed.

They both did some great art but their deaths were indeed tragic. Self harm is never the answer.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Am I actually clinically diagnosed? No, not really. Of course, that does not mean I will not be. It is actually quite likely I will be at some point, what with my families history with depression (basically every single close family member I am related to by blood has had to deal with depression at some point). -_-

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

Welp. I don't have depression at the moment, but there have been ties of people with Social Anxiety developing depression later on in life.

And I do get episodes of complete dispair and misery and self-loathing.
(Normally get over it though! )

 

[communist dwarf]

Well I have been clinically diagnosed with depression for about 9 years. I however had to cope due to a lack of money and drive, eventually putting me into a state misanthropic apathy. Some retarded psychologist tried to diagnose me as a sociopath. All it boils down to for me at least is emotions don't matter to me. I just out think the emotions so to speak. So bright side I don't get sad or depressed to often. Downside is that I am almost never happy or excited unless something really big is happening. Like Rome 2......

 

[Daeggreth]

Yep. Been medicated for all my adult life and most of my teenage one. I'm at the point where I'm no longer severely depressed (relatively speaking). It's more like wavering levels of anxiety interspersed with severe bouts of apathy and the odd period of peace that lasts so long as I don't think about anything.

Although I certainly don't recommend following my example, I deal with it by escaping into various media (primarily browsing the internet).

I don't have 'worst days' as much anymore but when I do I tend to shut down completely and am unable to do anything beyond resorting to escapism. In the past it has been literally paralyzing. Well not that my muscles couldn't move, but that they wouldn't. You know what I mean.

 

[Phasmal]

No.
Having first-hand experience with dealing with people who actually do have clinical depression, I have no idea why people who have not been diagnosed would want to associate themselves with that. It's more than just being sad.
It seems to run in my family, but I'm pretty determined not to let it get me.

Those I know who actually have depression will probably be medicated for the rest of their lives. So it made it annoying when at 16 all your friends are claiming to have depression.

 

[Bvenged]

Since it's 9am, I'll answer for yesterday. Shit day. Every minute of every hour I had been plagued by an accumulation of first world problems, some of which are recurring but decided to nail me all at once now.

My internet has been getting progressively worse (currently 1.9mbps), my single player games (Skyrim) at the moment got corrupted but are still boringly playable, my PC is too shit to play the OLD games I installed on it even though it could play them before, my mother baked some muffins (yay!) but they're peanut butter and I hate peanut butter, my cat ate my pizza before I could, my Xbox Live keeps dying on me so I can't play multiplayer let alone with friends, I don't have a car any more (sold so we could move house) and the one thing I was looking forward to this week (paintballing) has now been postponed indefinitely because the place couldn't do the one day my group of friends could.

But like I said, first world problems. At least I still have internet (just), I can afford to catch a bus and instead of paint balling I'm going to sit down with a mate and eat McDonalds until we come up with something else. Today is a new day so lets get off on a fresh start

 

[EeveeElectro]

I go through bouts of it, but I'm generally a happy person.
I keep getting twinges of sadness recently. I feel a bit like there's something huge missing in my life and it makes me a bit upset.
Today I feel a bit crappy. I just want to have a nice conversation with someone is the problem, I think.

Also, how do you cope with this kind of problem?

Sometimes I just want attention. I don't mean like I'm "my life is so hard! I'm so badly done to! there's too much Goats cheese on my salad!" *cries*
I've never thought I'm badly done to and never will. People walk all over me all the time but that is my own fault.
Sometimes I just want someone to talk to.

What gets you through the harder days?

It's really hard for me to get out of feeling crappy when I do. I'll play with my cats, or sometimes the neighbours cats come to visit and I play with them. (there's about 25 cats in the houses surrounding me, so it can get fun sometimes) or I'll go stroke the ponies that live in the field near me.
Maybe get on the 360 to distract myself from it, being alone with my thoughts is the worst thing when I feel crap.

 

[Womplord]

I've also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. When I was diagnosed about a year ago with type 1, I had already had some suicide attempts, and I had a manic episode after that. I was at the end of my rope and was put on lithium which I can say did wonders for my mood, but had too many side effects to be bearable.

People think bipolar disorder is too 'hard-wired' of a disorder to do anything about it, which I think is rubbish. I had another period of instability after I gave up lithium, but after making a lot of great friends, exercising almost daily and using omega 3 supplements my mood swings are far less, though I still have swings (going through a mild depressive period now unfortunately). I find it hard to believe that taking mind-altering drug is going to do any good in the long run.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

I have not been diagnosed, but I consistently exhibit symptoms of depression and I have for years. I can tell the difference between being sad and being depressed, and I know what I've got is almost definitely depression, nonetheless I don't want to be among those who self diagnose and complain. So Technically... no? But in reality yeah, my brain doesn't like being an optimist. I'm very nihilistic and there are many days where I don't feel like living because I know there's no reason for it. On any given day I consider and picture ways in which I could end my life between 1-?? times. I know I'm not bad enough to act on any suicidal tendencies I might have(before people start telling me to call help lines etc). I have my life under control and I do feel like living just for the times I do get to enjoy. Why am I telling an internet forum this? Fuck me I don't have a clue.

 

[malestrithe]

Generalized anxiety disorder runs in the family. It manifested in me as depression and suicidal thoughts and also that feeling I was never good enough.

 

[PatrickXD]

I got diagnosed with OCPD and Depression a while back. Been on meds for about 6 months. They don't really help to be honest, they just make it impossible to fall into an anxiety attack.
In terms of coping and getting through the harder days, I tend to go out for the day, it's about a 2 hour walk from my house to a field where my family's horses are kept so I'll trek up there and sit at the top of a ~7m tall haystack for a while. That or learn me some Physics/Maths, the feeling of accomplishment I get when I learn some new stuff of that ilk is always gratifying enough to put a smile on my face for a bit.

 

[Mr. GameBrain]

I have not been diagnosed, but I consistently exhibit symptoms of depression and I have for years. I can tell the difference between being sad and being depressed, and I know what I've got is almost definitely depression, nonetheless I don't want to be among those who self diagnose and complain. So Technically... no? But in reality yeah, my brain doesn't like being an optimist. I'm very nihilistic and there are many days where I don't feel like living because I know there's no reason for it. On any given day I consider and picture ways in which I could end my life between 1-?? times. I know I'm not bad enough to act on any suicidal tendencies I might have(before people start telling me to call help lines etc). I have my life under control and I do feel like living just for the times I do get to enjoy. Why am I telling an internet forum this? Fuck me I don't have a clue.

I'm kind of like that too.

The other day at work, I was just working away like one does, then BAM! Full-on self-loathing mode activated.

My face became expressionless, and inside, my mind was just going allout to make me feel bad. Saying how useless and pointless my existance is, and that I should just go and kill myself and not be a burden on everyone. And how I'm too chicken to actually do it. To do anything.

But then, afterwards, I'm all right. I start to deal with whatever I'm doing.

I remember once, when I was working on an assignment, and it wasn't going well, I just snapped, rubbed cake all over my older brother (who was being a real asshole that day), and just laid down on the bare floor, and cried, and cried, and cried, curled up into a ball.

That is kind of funny in hindsight, but thats what I can be like sometimes. When I bottle it all up.

 

[StBishop]

So, this might be a bit heavy, but how many people out there are genuinely diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder involving depression?

I ask because I'm bipolar and currently having one of those episodes where the future to me is just a gaping hole of empty blackness that wants to drag me in and rip me apart and this makes me somewhat curious, in a more lucid moment, to ask if anyone else has anything similar going on here on the escapist.

Also, how do you cope with this kind of problem?
What gets you through the harder days?

And no, in advance, feeling a bit shit for a day is not depression.

Nah, I dodged a bullet. There's a history of mental illness on my mothers side of the family in all generations that I know of including mine, but I'm ok.

My mum use to be a lot better if she went for a walk or run. Only problem is, when she would have most benefited from a lighter mood from going out, she didn't see a point/care enough.

It's pretty hard seeing someone you love like that when there is literally nothing you can do for them. I'm sure it's worse for them though.