Depression

[AChimp]

I used to laugh at people who suffered from depression, because I thought that it was just a made up condition. However, since I appear to have be under its effects for the last couple of months, I have changed my mind (see my Big Thread in Loveline).

I've been sad a lot lately, and I have almost no motivation to do anything anymore. When I do start something, I have to push myself to complete it. I have very little appetite now, and I'll go for hours before I realize that I'm hungry. I'm tired almost all of the time, and I can go from content to extremely angry as fast as you can snap your fingers. Pretty much anything can irritate me now, even something as simple as the presence of another person in the room (like my parents, for example) even though they've been there all along. There are times where I've just wanted to cry, but I can't.

Fortunately, it seems to be subsiding. I haven't wanted to take a nap in the middle of the day since last Thursday and my mood is becoming more stable.

I don't think I'll make fun of depressed people anymore.

[FS]

Oh, get over it, frowny.

[punkgrrrlie10]

The best thing to do is go for a run or go climb some stairs at a stadium. The blood flow and endorphins will help get you back on track. And being outside...sunny weather helps your moods.

[ScruU2wice]

actually i used to get depressed alot over the summer and i just came to the philosophy forum and read stuff and realized by simply reading and comprehending the stuff in here i was far superior in intellect to most people in my age group. So logically, if you write some of the stuff your far superior to most humans...

[O71394658]

Well, that sucked. :/

[AChimp]

Your avatar is playing a big role in my therapy.

[O71394658]

Good to hear.

[Jeanette X]

Serves you right, Chimp. I've been on antidepressants since I was eight. Have a little taste of what I have had to deal with more than half my life.

[O71394658]

Sugar pills work better than antidepressants.

I kid you not.

[AChimp]

Actually that's true. In a lot of cases, a placebo works just as well as a regular antidepressant.

A combination of therapy and medication works the best, whereas one alone has the same rate of success as the other, usually.

EDIT: That is, of course, unless your depression has biological underpinnings, in which case you actually do need the pills to make your brain work properly.

[Sethomas]

I have a psychological condition that renders me wholly incapable of happiness. The medications serve to make it all suck just a little bit less, but they really don't do all that much. My biggest problem is that I'm fundamentally convinced that the world is a shitty place to be, and there's nothing to be done about it. As I said in Spinster's thread, life is far too much effort to ever be worth living in my perspective.

I've had that attitude and depression since I was five, and I've only been medicated for the last five months or so.

[Jeanette X]

Maybe you should switch meds or increase the dosage if it isn't working.

[Sethomas]

Yeah, we've increased the dosage and it seemed to relieve some pressure. What I've tried to explain to my psychiatrists is that 95% of my problem is terminal cynicism. That I'm schizoaffective is just icing on the cake.

[Dole]

Jeanette: I am curious as to how you get prescribed anti-depressants at the age of 8....was it at the suggestion of a doctor? or your folks? were you able to comprehend what it meant at that age? has anyone medical ever suggested you stop taking them at any point since?

I get the impression that drugs like that get prescribed more often in the US than in other countries...at least for kids anyway.

[imported_Cynical.Angel]

Zoloft

[The_voice_of_reason]

Maybe it's just me but I love my depression. I would never medicate myself, I would rather be sad than be an emotionless zombie.

But then again my depression is mostly seasonal not the all encompassing all permeating soul leeching darkness that you all must suffer through every day.

[Protoclown]

Dole, you raised a good point. And this isn't really related to Jeanette's situation, but one thing that pisses me off to NO end is that I am seeing more and more children being put on medication for Attention Defecit Disorder, Hyperactive disorder, and some other bullshit kind of "Defiant disorder" (there's another word in the title, but I've forgotten it). Basically, kids are being put on medication in this country simply for ACTING HOW KIDS ARE FUCKING SUPPOSED TO ACT!!!

The possible long-term ramifications of this shit disturb me to no end.

Winston: I find it a strange contrast that you have a really depressive attitude about how futile life is, and yet you seem to have a very strong faith in God. I've gone through periods of depression where I've thought life sucks myself, so I can understand having that sort of dual-attitude up to a point, but anything like that I ever experienced was nothing more than a phase, and I always merely talked a lot of shit about how worthless life is, but I don't think I ever really convinced myself. I can't imagine actually having that kind of attitude for years and years and years while still maintaining faith in God (or ANYthing for that matter). How do you do it, man?

And isn't it possible that true change has to come from within yourself regarding your attitude? Could medication really help anywhere near as much as if you made a conscious effort to affect a change in your outlook?

[Anonymous]

It amazes me that parents are allowing their children to be put on these medications, but you can actually have your child taken away from you for neglect if you don't and some nutjob says you need to. Parents need to be more aware of this before they go to some dumb psychiatrist who has 'cute' little zoloft notepads and paxil pencils all over his/her office.
It literally makes me sick to my stomach how many people buy into this bullshit. These medications have to be one of the biggest scams in history. It's fucking criminal.
People should only be put on medication under a very serious and acute situtation, and should be really monitored, and only on them for a very short period of time (working with other ways to overcome the crisis)... and as a last resort/no other foreseeable alternative. There is absolutely no reason for people to be on these for years and/or for non-absolutely-critical reasons. And all this only if there is a real chance it will actually help somehow as opposed to the shot-in-the-dark way they pass out that shit now.
Making major changes in your life, (maybe therapy, if you can actually find someone good), changing your diet (very important) and exercise, and working really hard at it, go a hell of a long way.

[Vibecrewangel]

ACTING HOW KIDS ARE FUCKING SUPPOSED TO ACT!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

I was sitting with this woman who was telling me how she thought her 5 year old son had ADD 'cause he had an overactive imagination and couldn't sit through a whole movie. She then went on to tell me that he had nightmares and was afraid of the moster under the bed.....
She wanted to have him put on meds.

Normally, since I don't want kids, I keep my mouth shut. I feel since I don't have or want kids that my opinion is less valid. No practical experience and all. But this time.....I kinda lost it.
I told her her son didn't have add. He was five. Kids should have an imagination. They should want to wander away from a 2 hour movie to go play. Hell they watch too much tv as it is. I asked if she had thought of the possibility that the reason kids are growing up with weight problems and depression and real psychological problems later in life might just be that drugging them now is causing imbalances later. Or that maybe the things some parents and doctors are trying to stop are normal necessary parts of development. Being afraid of the dark and overcoming it. Taking that first look for the monster under the bed. Playing with imaginary friends and talking about things with them probably helps us learn to work out problems and issues we all have day to day.

Sorry off my soap box.

Hey Chimp....sorry to hear about your depression. Hopefully you will find the cause and find the method to help with it that works for you. I'm sure you already know that meds may not always be the answer. For me diet and exercise coupled with melatonin at night do wonders. In my case caffeine (or any stimulant for that matter) makes it way worse. So did prozac. I actually had to stop listening to my doctor as all he wanted to do was up my dosage. I was a zombie who was slowly developing homicidal thoughts. But he didn't believe any of that......

Jeanette - I know you are bitter at people who don't understand it. Especially if yours has been going on as long as it has. And I am sure your reaction was purely an over emotional one. I would hate to think that anyone who has lived through would ever wish it on anyone else. Or even feel glee when it does happen.....even if you think they might deserve it. Hopefully you have it under control. It is a horrible experience. I still have bouts of it now. But for the most part, it seems like normal healthy mood fluctuations.

[kellychaos]

I have mixed feelings about this issue. True, I think that many psychotropic drugs are way over-prescribed and it seems that children are being used as guinea pigs for a relatively new biotechnology. Is the cure worse than the cause? Can a lot of these problems be solved through a better diet, exercise and therapy? Is it more of a society flaw (i.e. fast foods, everythin automated makes for less exercise for U.S. citizens, ect.). I don't know the answers although I'm hope that studies are being made. What I am sure of is that perscribing these drugs is a hell of a lot better than sending the "crazies" to the "nuthouse" like they did all the way through to the early part of the twentieth century. Change is good but are we overdoing it?

[Vibecrewangel]

Sever cases....like my mother and middle sister....seriously need meds and heavy therapy. I have always thought my mother need hospitilaztion and my middle sister has the exact same problems. My youngest sister and I have some ourselves (depression and OCD are our biggest) but certainly do not require the same level of help as mom and other sis.
What I am talking about is normal behaviors in normal children. Kids have imaginary friends. Little girls have stuffed animal tea parties and boys wage battles between dinosaurs and the russian army. We built forts out of sofa cusions and pretended they were our houses. We used to have art time in grade school. We had a creative outlet. Many schools don't offer that any more and when kids are caught drawing or doodling they are thought of as flighty or that they have ADD. We used to sleep with night lights on and I remember the feeling of strength that first night I made it without one. I was never able to sit through a whole movie. Even an hour long tv show was a task. I wanted to get up and play. We were princesses and cowboys. Astronauts and animals. I remember trying on different personalities trying to figure out not only what I wanted to be when I grew up, but who I wanted to be. IMHO stifiling these thoughts, these feelings is a big part of why so many teenagers are horribly depressed. So violently co-dependent. So alone within themselves. Why they aspire only to be just like everyone else. Not in appearance but in attitude. I see so many young people today who know what they want to be but have no clue who they are. Kids need to find themselves and I believe in the deepest core of my being that as a society we are severly stunting the growth of our youth.

[punkgrrrlie10]

Little girls have stuffed animal tea parties and boys wage battles between dinosaurs and the russian army.

Hey, some grrls didn't have stuffed animal tea parties. They had dinosaur battles and GI Joes.

[mew barios]

i had stuffed animal battles. :o

[Vibecrewangel]

Actually Punk.....that was me too. I also built a fake kitchen out in the backyard out of stuff I found at a house that was being demolished. I then proceeded to be a backyard chef for a couple of years. The plants suffered greatly for this dream. And no, I never ate any of it. I was imaginative....not crazy.

I would also cover boards with mud and then add broken flour pots and the like to build a city. The residents were the empty snail shells I found around the garden.
Now I am the resident WarHammer terrain builder.

[AChimp]

There's a big section on this in my psychology textbook. It's way too long to type out here, so I'll try to paraphrase a summary of it as best as I can.

Research has shown that young children develop a gender identity very early, and conform to these identities very strictly. In fact, toddlers are often called the "gender police" because they seem to have a very vivid concept of what is male (i.e. trucks, muscles, etc) and what is female (ie. dolls, soft cute things, etc) and get all worked up when they see something that defies these rules.

However, at about the age of 4 or 5, when kids enter school and are regularly exposed to other kids, these gender lines start to blur a bit and it becomes more complex. Due to the way our society works, girls gain status by acting more like boys (independent, assertive, playing in mud, etc) while boys loose status by acting like girls (being big sissies and playing house, for instance).

Of course, I probably butchered that explanation, but it makes sense if you read it.