Poll: So, Depressed Much?

[wrightguy0]

Shit day, shit week, but it'll pass and i'll come out better for it, but for right now i'm miserable, confused and feeling isolated and alone. Its mostly heartbreak, disappointment and such, but i'm used to this shit now, which should depress me actually....

but as the great freddie mercury said "Inside my heart is breaking, my makup may be flaking, but my smile still stays on." - Queen The show must go on

so I'll soldier through, like always because it's what i know, make the best of what's happened and pursue other avenues of life, hoping to find one that doesn't dead end and can lead me to the happiness i desire. I guess it's that hope that keeps me going, but at the same time it kind of drives me nuts @_ @ oh well, not much i can do about it, i mean giving up hope is probably the worst thing i could do at this point.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

I'm feeling pretty chill today, but I have episodes of serious depression. One of them lasted for a year. It sucks, but it's livable.

 

[Starik20X6]

I was most likely depressed for a year or two. Got over it though.

For those having trouble, I recommend the following remedy:

 

[MammothBlade]

Yeah. Mild-moderate depression and social anxiety here, possibly with rapid cyclothymia -my mood can take a turn for better or worse very quickly. I'm in a depressive phase right now due to worrying too much about a relationship. Not good.

 

[The Last Nomad]

I was about to say that after looking at the poll results, that a lot of people are hitting the yes answer, too many to be true. But when you think about it, the only people coming to this thread probably think they are depressed.

But today I'm feeling good. Yesterday was very different, as were the days before that.


3 things always cheer me up though: My best friends, Scaring myself shitless by playing horror games (like Condemned), and chocolate cake (dunno how that last one works, it just does).

 

[Teshi]

n/m

 

[MetalMagpie]

Lots of people like to self diagnose with clinical depression. I think there's something else going on.

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.

I saw a study a while back that found people who are given a firm diagnosis (even without sugar pills) often recover more quickly from things like colds and mild flu than people who are told "you're just a bit under the weather at the moment". For some reason, being able to label oneself as properly "ill" actually makes people feel better. (Something to do with being justified in not feeling great?)

So self-diagnosing as clinically depressed (without actually going to a doctor to have it confirmed) may be a form self-treatment. If it manages mild depression without the use of drugs, that sounds like a good thing to me.

However, the study did warn against taking these findings too seriously as - in some cases - patients who are diagnosed as more ill than they actually are can end up self-labelling as "ill" to the point that they actually start to slow their own recovery. (E.g. By staying shut up in the house when they should be getting back into a normal routine.)

Isn't the human brain fun!

 

[Master_Pancake]

I am not depressed, though I find it both intriguing and humbling that one is capable of expressing something that is historically quite an intimate state. Whether or not you should be desiring to have our audience (random escapist users) or the audience of your family and friends is something I'd rather not debate but support is support and hopefully you feel strength from everybody wishing you well.

Good Luck.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

I'm normally fine, have had a few periods where for a while everything was shit. It wasn't serious, but it was more than being a little bummed out for a day

ATM though, I sort of am. I've been sick for 16 weeks, and it's not improving :/. I can't really do anything at all. The only real contact I've had is with my family members, and I can't go out with them to the movies or any restaurants or anything like that.

Lol, my captcha was "Enjoy life"
Why are they always so relevant?

And after escapist ate my post, the new one I got was come along, pond.

Captcha likes DR Who?

 

[Gardenia]

I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression and social phobia about 4,5 years ago. I took the meds, I went to the (completely free) therapy sessions. I had a lot of input in my preferred treatment plan, and even got refunds on my student loan, as the depression made me drop out of university.
Today, I would say I am between 80% and 90% better, depending on the day. Everyone who says they "push through" depression, or similar statements, have obviously not had a real depression.

Clinical depression =/= sadness.

I don't disagree but I don't like your wording. Intense bouts of sadness CAN be diagnosed and treated with anti-depressants but not so much with treatments for mania. That doesn't make the problem any less real, the dopamine levels in the brain are still intensely off balance, but they can be more or less corrected. What you refer to as real depression or clinical, manic depression is a different issue yes, but its not like those who are not diagnosed for mania are all fakers.

You are ofcourse correct, and I apologize for writing stuff before I've had my coffee

 

[rob_simple]

I spent several years in a heavy depression but then I stopped being a teenager and got on with my life.

I'm not belittling anyone with genuine psychological problems but for the majority of us life is what you make it and I decided that I'd rather suit up and be awesome than sit at home all day drinking gin and shouting at Antiques Roadshow.

 

[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.

I was diagnosed a while ago and refused the medication, lithium, because it scares me and I don't really want to change, as I've said elsewhere the highs are amazing and it's a part of who I am.

Exercising and eating better does help, I'm sadly not in a great position to do either, I can't afford good food tbh I'm on a toast and canned food from the cupboard from years ago diet until I can find a job.

I'm on a mild period now I think, I get them a few times a year and within them some days are better than others, today isn't as bad as yesterday was for example but I still don't want to see daylight.

Nice to hear from someone who doesn't subscribe to the forced-fed belief that taking drugs are the be-all and end-all solution to everything. Bipolar disorder is a complex thing and isn't totally negative. As you expressed in your post, the highs are... sublime. Not just that, you get shit done when you're on them.

But yeah, it's important to keep bipolar in check because it can cause so many problems in your life. I'm not against that idea, just the belief that drugs should be the go-to solution. It's proven that they lower your intelligence and lifespan, and when I was on them I was very lethargic, gained weight, etc. It seems like something that will reduce your level of success. There has to be a better way, or at least you have to try.

Anyways, good luck to you.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I am not diagnosed with anything and don't think I would be if I were to see a specialist. Although I do dwell on things that I've done in the past and that leads to wondering about what could have been. That leads to me feeling a sense of wistful regret that things are the way they apparently are.

 

[The White Hunter]

What gets you through the harder days?

The knowledge that I got through the last one.

The first was the hardest. They've been getting easier ever since. Even though when you're right in it you can't see out, I know that I got out before so I just remove myself from social interaction as much as possible and wait.

Sounds like a reasonably good technique you've got there. It does get easier but it never gets easy.

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

I have my share of reasons to be depressed, but I don't bother because it's a waste of time and effort.

No, really. I reason myself out of depression. My default state is even, if contemplative. I'm quite stoic (although I can fake not being so quite well), but I enjoy being amused and am given to whimsy.

I do spend a lot of time guilting myself for past mistakes and doubting if my current actions can right my course in life, though, and if I'm currently on a less endangered course, I tend to fuss over what mistake I'm going to make that's going to end it. They're fleeting things, though, and rarely leave me in a bad mood; it's kind of like an unpleasant odor that isn't there all the time, but wrinkles your nose when you notice it.

 

[Whateveralot]

Depression?

Lemon. Definately lemon.

Why? Because I'm not at all unhappy (cold, hard facts. Kind of like life. It's cold...hard...wait where was I).


Yeah. I'm happy.

So... be that, too. Please. For your sake. It only seems hard because...well...because it SEEMS hard. It isn't. Just go do something random. Drive somewhere, find a nice place, sit down, take a drink, just look around.

The world is a beautiful thing. It's soothing, if you wish it to be that.

 

[The White Hunter]

Nice to hear from someone who doesn't subscribe to the forced-fed belief that taking drugs are the be-all and end-all solution to everything. Bipolar disorder is a complex thing and isn't totally negative. As you expressed in your post, the highs are... sublime. Not just that, you get shit done when you're on them.

But yeah, it's important to keep bipolar in check because it can cause so many problems in your life. I'm not against that idea, just the belief that drugs should be the go-to solution. It's proven that they lower your intelligence and lifespan, and when I was on them I was very lethargic, gained weight, etc. It seems like something that will reduce your level of success. There has to be a better way, or at least you have to try.

Anyways, good luck to you.

You get monumental amounts of stuff done on a high, truly crazy things get done too, it feels like everything revolves around you and everything is possible.

Shame you get the lows with it.

The meds also do a lot of damage to your kidneys and withdrawal from them causes a significant relapse. So yeah no thanks. I find a mixture of limiting social interaction and stress helps when I'm low, as well as indulging a a bit, like I recently bought a few retro consoles and a pile of games and music and that cheered me up a bit.

It's important to track your moods in my opinion, I keep a graph on them and have a thing on the fridge with magnets to show how I'm feeling on any given day, so people are aware.

And good luck to you fine sir.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

Not to sound a douche here, but have 40% of the people who answered yes actually been clinically diagnosed with depression? I know there's a culture of diagnosing people with everything at the moment in certain countries but really, 40%? I doubt a lot of people who've answered that actually are, maybe they're just in a rough patch or just aren't feeling great lately, doesn't mean that you're absolutely depressed.

 

[The White Hunter]

If you've been depressed for a long period time then you should let it manifest into something so that way all of your past life spent being sad doesn't go to waste.

Here's some ways to channel your depression (and some real life examples of depression taking shape into something meaningful).

Music Examples: Nine Inch Nails, a band fronted Trent Reznor. Agalloch a metal band or Mount Eerie, a lofi artist.

Writing Examples: Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket or various works by H.P. Lovecraft.

Video Game Examples: Limbo and Braid, two indie side scrolling games.

Visual Art Exampke: Various works of Mike Mignola, a comic book author and artist.

Film Examples: The Royal Tenenbaums, Fight Club, The Truman Show or Edward Scissorhands.

Depression + Creativity = Amazing Art

NIN <333

I write actually, I write a lot of poems and short stories. Not enough confidence in it mind.

 

[StBishop]

Yes bipolar.

I mostly get depressive symptoms with the very occasional bout of extreme mania coming along to ruin my bank balance and make me feel alive.
I've already jacked one career and I'm trying to find another one, work does help I wasn't too bad when I was working full time.

I think it's sad that she blames that on your father and sister, maybe she needs some kind of psychiatric evaluation? (not trying to be a dick, don't feel up to long complex discussion so basic discussion will suffice.)

What career did you have? If you don't mind me asking.

She has been evaluated by psychiatrists. They've all agreed that she has problems and needs ongoing help to manage them. She was seeing one weekly last time I bothered to ask. That was about 4 years ago now.
Since then there's been a tonne of drama, it's all settling down now, I'm coming to realise that she'll always be around due to my sister still living with her and, for now, getting along with her.

What gets you through the harder days?

The knowledge that I got through the last one.

The first was the hardest. They've been getting easier ever since. Even though when you're right in it you can't see out, I know that I got out before so I just remove myself from social interaction as much as possible and wait.

Apparently that's how Stephen Fry rolls. He just hides in a cocoon and tries to not act in a way which will upset his loved ones.