Poll: So, Depressed Much?

[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.

 

[wolf thing]

fuck no they may have found the higgs boson why in the world would i be depressed

 

[Ando85]

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.

This reminds me of an article I read awhile back. According to statistics about 1 in 5 people have some sort of mental illness. A lot more than that claim they do as well. I think there is a flaw in the profession of psychiatric medicine. There is no actual physiological tests, they just have to diagnose people off their behavior and what they say is going on in their mind. The drugs they prescribe work sometimes for some people and not for others. They don't really have a grasp as to why the drugs work or not.

I once saw a psychiatrist over the course of a few months prescribe more drugs than I can remember. I even got treated with anti-psychotic and seizure medication as for some reason they noted that it can sometimes help depression. Again they have no real grasp as to why.

Point is it just seems thousands of years of evolution (or creation, I don't intend to start a debate on that here, that's a totally different topic) have led to half of us having some sort of major problem in the brain just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Psychiatric medication is in its infancy. I sort of compare it to treating people with leeches. The brain is incredibly complex and I think we are still a long way off to completely understanding it.

 

[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.

This reminds me of an article I read awhile back. According to statistics about 1 in 5 people have some sort of mental illness. A lot more than that claim they do as well. I think there is a flaw in the profession of psychiatric medicine. There is no actual physiological tests, they just have to diagnose people off their behavior and what they say is going on in their mind. The drugs they prescribe work sometimes for some people and not for others. They don't really have a grasp as to why the drugs work or not.

I once saw a psychiatrist over the course of a few months prescribe more drugs than I can remember. I even got treated with anti-psychotic and seizure medication as for some reason they noted that it can sometimes help depression. Again they have no real grasp as to why.

Point is it just seems thousands of years of evolution (or creation, I don't intend to start a debate on that here, that's a totally different topic) have led to half of us having some sort of major problem in the brain just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Psychiatric medication is in its infancy. I sort of compare it to treating people with leeches. The brain is incredibly complex and I think we are still a long way off to completely understanding it.

Those statistics still seem very high though, I don't think 1 in 5 people I know have a mental illness, unless some very non serious things are counted as mental illnesses (which I don't think they should, you shouldn't go round classing 1 in 5 people as mentally ill because their heads work differently to ours).

Also the people claiming they are piss me off the most, depression used to be viewed as a serious problem, now everybody and their dog seem to have it, and I can't take anybody who has their life in order and claims to be depressed seriously, which stops people that have genuine problems getting the help and attention they deserve, it's a very sickening thing to want to appear mentally ill to get attention.

 

[The White Hunter]

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.

I was going into primary education, was too stressful to cope with it and I fucked up a placement badly cuz I had a minor episode in the middle of it. Now I'm not sure, I'm gonna try do some writing and such, have a few story ideas.

Stephen Fry's method is a pretty good way to go about it.

 

[The White Hunter]

fuck no they may have found the higgs boson why in the world would i be depressed

They have? LINK PLEASE : D

 

[Quiet Stranger]

How would I find out if I have actual depression or I'm just really a negative person? I've always wondered that.

 

[wolf thing]

fuck no they may have found the higgs boson why in the world would i be depressed

They have? LINK PLEASE : D

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-18738179

there you go very exsitting news

 

[Nyaliva]

I have no girlfriend, I'm Greek, I have 150 euro in the bank, the weather is boiling hot, my insomnia is acting up and I can't sleep more than 3 hours per night, and I haven't left my apartment at all in the last 3 months except to take university exams, in which I am not doing particularly well. So... I don't know if I'm depressed, but I'm definitely miserable. Very, very, very miserable.

Try hops, stuff some with some lavender in your pillow so there's a faint scent coming from your pillow and that should help with your insomnia. I'm not sure where you'd get some though, a health shop or aroma therapy place.

OT: I've never really been depressed throughout my life although my sister and one of my friends have clinical depression so I know how much it can suck. I really want to help but I haven't experienced the condition enough to warrant suggestions which might actually help. But I often watch funny videos such as JonTron or sad songs which really make me feel like old Disney songs. I've been having some existential crises of my own recently, wondering where I'm going but I keep thinking where I'm aiming for, a nice job which pays well and I can help people or, more short term, books and games I can write/make to enjoy or other people can enjoy.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Well, I?ve been to various counsellors and therapist who?ve all said that I suffer from depression, low self-esteem, stress, anxiety issues, and OCD. Mostly, I just try to distract myself from it all by going on the laptop, browsing videos and forums like this, and occasionally going out with my miniscule amount of (close) friends.

I?ve basically just been going through the motions of a routine, no matter how futile, empty, bleak, and repetitive it all is. But perhaps things will get better as I grow older. Sadly, I don?t have much hope for that. I strangely dislike myself even more for being scared of the pain that comes from my self-harming attempts, even though I know that it?d probably be a great relief from the shitty trappings of my worthless existence which I have no control over.

Sure, people tell me that it could be worse, but it could be better. Why the fuck isn?t it better? Just saying that it could be worse doesn?t make things any better; I?m still a miserable bastard, so why should I give about little Johnny Nobody suffering from AIDS in Kenya? Of course I look at things from a wider perspective, but that doesn?t change the fact that I?m still unhappy and have a shit ton of problems that makes me unable to fully relax on a daily basis. Why did I get dealt a bad card in life? Life is just so annoyingly unfair.

As for those who self-diagnose themselves on the internet?sure, there are some people who do it to look cool and interesting, but I think there are others who genuinely believe that they have something wrong inside them, something that they can?t control, and they?re desperately looking for a reason as to why they are like they are. It?s much easier to deal with a problem when you can look it from a medical perspective, because that way it can be ?cured?, whereas if the problem is just you being weird, it?s much harder to actually change your being, especially if you feel you literally can?t.

 

[Nyaliva]

-Snip-

Whenever I read a post like this I feel sad and scared because I don't want you to hurt yourself but I don't know what I can say to make you stop. All I can say is please don't, from one person to another. I don't think you're weak for fearing self-harm so much as understanding that the pain could very well just make things feel worse rather than better. Anyway, if anyone, including you RiC, wants to talk, just PM me, I'm always happy to talk although I'm not always sure what I can say.

Anyway, the reason I came back to post again is because I just saw another thing that always makes me happy and is a sure-fire (probably not) way to cure depression.

Spoiler: PUPPIES!!!!!