Living With Depression

[el jinete fantasma]

Originally Posted by Shai`tan

"biochemical imbalance in the brain can lead to depression."

Actually, I believe it is the opposite. Imho Depression, caused by many things.... if the Depression is inwardly focussed on too much by certain individuals, this can actually cause the chemical imbalance.

I believe we literally make ourselves cause the chemical imbalance. We make ourselves sick. We focus inward. Cut ourselves off from say... excerxising..... is a good example. Endorphins. Good you bring this up.

What do endorphins do? Create a sense of wellbeing. Laughing creates endorphins. Sex.... anything you do that you like to do, will actually stimlulate chemical endorphin creation.

When you are depressed tho, you cut yourself off from doing the things you like, effectively starving yourself. You harbor neg. feelings. You don`t eat right. You cut yourself off from communicating with others. No laughter, no fun, no excitement. This is I think what leads to the chemical imbalances.

Another example. Fear. Certain things effect you, and all of a sudden you feel that adrenaline rush = what we think is the feel of fear. All of our emotions have some kind of chemical effect on our bodies. I think Depression is somehow tied into this..... that it is as well a kind of emotion.

Doctors only really see the Depressed cases after they plummet. .... hit rock bottom and the damage has been done. I think if more peeps knew what to look for ahead of time, understood themselves better and the neg effects their own thoughts could have on them chemically/physically, they would be able to quicker recognise their own habits and take steps to turn the tide so to speak.

Is this the long way of saying "get over it?" This is something I'd heard many a time from people who just didn't understand what depression is. It's not a bad mood/day. There isn't necessarily a trigger. For no discernible reason, you can find yourself in a downward spiral that you don't even realize. If you don't know what to look out for, you can suddenly find yourself wallowing in hopelessness. Medication doesn't work the same way on everyone. I can take a lot of experimentation and mixing & matching before a good balance is found.

[Rock Bottom]

Thanks to the meds I have stoped the self destructive ways in my life. When I got home from the Army, I spent 10 or 12 years trying to drink & drug myself to death. Almost doing it on a few occasions. My family begged me to see the VA for help. After a few years of trying different meds they found the ones that seem to work. It works most of the time.
Riding everyday is a big help too. clears the mind.

[cgp-1200R]

I have fought depression my whole life and between Effexor and running 5k a day, dropping 55 lbs , has made me a happy guy ;o)

[sportyblue]

Originally Posted by Shai`tan

"biochemical imbalance in the brain can lead to depression."




Doctors only really see the Depressed cases after they plummet. .... hit rock bottom and the damage has been done. I think if more peeps knew what to look for ahead of time, understood themselves better and the neg effects their own thoughts could have on them chemically/physically, they would be able to quicker recognise their own habits and take steps to turn the tide so to speak.

And for some turning the tide is medication management and for some counseling and for some self-help books.

Actually you have a very valid point here. IMHO behavioral modification is a very useful tool when trying to get a handle on things. If a person is aware of an on coming backspin.....is able to recognize the symptoms then yes they can take steps to head off a bad plummet into a very black hole. One of those steps to take could be medication management. I think when treating people who suffer from depression it is very important to provide an educational component to the whole treatment plan.......helping them to recognize and act before it gets real bad. The same goes for bi-polar.....symptoms of mania....symptoms of depression. Behavior modification goes a long way in people helping themselves to control their mental illness rather than it controlling them.

Other people who do not have a chemical imbalance but perhaps suffer from a situational occurrence seem to respond well to counseling and behavior modification......working through the issues.....changing the thought patterns. And yes they do start feeling better. Of course at this point you get into the symptoms of major depression verses some other form of depression that is less disabling.

Basically I believe depression can be with or without a chemical imbalance.
I do believe there is a genetic influence for major depression/bipolar each an affective disorder.

EDIT: I suffer from anxiety also an affective disorder. When a wave of anxiety comes over me all systems shut down........I can't even think straight....the best thing I can do for myself in that moment of time is switch gears..........stop what I am doing .......stop whatever triggered it .......and do something else which includes physically doing something else and mentally thinking or talking about something else. It will subside quicker if I follow those rules. And I have not had this my whole life.........it is a new thing over the past few years.

[flathead45]

not to long ago a good friend and amazing customizer went and ate a barrel. turns out that his doc changed his meds (reason unknown) and it set him off and he just had to end it

so even the so called pro's who are here to help can mess up and give ya the wrong stuff

that said, never give someone advice for something ya just don't know much about. can be a bad thing

[el jinete fantasma]

Originally Posted by flathead45

not to long ago a good friend and amazing customizer went and ate a barrel. turns out that his doc changed his meds (reason unknown) and it set him off and he just had to end it

so even the so called pro's who are here to help can mess up and give ya the wrong stuff

that said, never give someone advice for something ya just don't know much about. can be a bad thing

Unfortunately, there's no way to predict how someone is going to react to certain meds. I hopped on the crazy train after a certain combo didn't agree with me at one point.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

[nemosengineer@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by pquirk

Advising people to get off antidepressants prescribed by their doctor is irresponsible and potentially lethal.

Please Note: I am not advising anyone to do ANYTHING... I am relating my experiences dealing with my own situation. Do not read anything into what I write that is not there, "What worked for me" means just that, it does not mean "You should do this"
Everyone who has dealt with depression for any length of time has waded through medications and counselors, feelings of self doubt and hopelessness, things that work and things that don't work, and wondered how and when everything will return to normal. My intent was to share my story and to be open about depression that I have been living with for 30 years, and to invite others to share there experiences in dealing with there situations, in the hope that we may all learn from each other.
If you have anything constructive to add to the conversation I will be more than happy to read it.

With Regards: Mike

[paralegalpete]

Mike, I'm sure it takes a lot of courage to talk openly about your illness.

If you had of said that you suffered from any other life threatning illness, this thread would have been flooded with condolances and support.

There is just not the same attitude toward mental illness with most folks.

Thanks for bringing up this discussion.

[nemosengineer@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by paralegalpete

Mike, I'm sure it takes a lot of courage to talk openly about your illness.

If you had of said that you suffered from any other life threatning illness, this thread would have been flooded with condolances and support.

There is just not the same attitude toward mental illness with most folks.

Thanks for bringing up this discussion.

Unfortunately depression carries a stigma with it, and I understand this, I also feel the act of talking openly about depression will help someone who is not so brave to seek out help or at least to talk to someone about there situation, the worst way to deal with depression is to do nothing about it.
I have lost jobs, wifes, and homes to depression, my sister committed suicide due to depression, I have had to rebuild my life on three occasions due to depression
I know my nemesis well, I also know the stakes for me are high, life or death. I have to watch myself and my moods everyday. I attend meetings for depression every week, there are people who call me at all hours when their life takes a wrong turn, and I call others when life becomes to much to deal with. Depression is not something you deal with alone, I have to be proactive.
I do not think of my self as courageous for talking about my issues, I no longer try to hide my history as it is so much a part of me, my biggest wish is that I might inspire someone to feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things in my life are running well at the moment.

Thank You For The Kind Words: Mike

[pquirk]

Originally Posted by nemosengineer@yahoo.com

Please Note: I am not advising anyone to do ANYTHING... I am relating my experiences dealing with my own situation. Do not read anything into what I write that is not there, "What worked for me" means just that, it does not mean "You should do this"
Everyone who has dealt with depression for any length of time has waded through medications and counselors, feelings of self doubt and hopelessness, things that work and things that don't work, and wondered how and when everything will return to normal. My intent was to share my story and to be open about depression that I have been living with for 30 years, and to invite others to share there experiences in dealing with there situations, in the hope that we may all learn from each other.
If you have anything constructive to add to the conversation I will be more than happy to read it.

With Regards: Mike

Yes that's true, you did offer an opinion based on experience but you also said,

Originally Posted by nemosengineer@yahoo.com

...The medication only masks the symptoms of depression and only postpones dealing with yourself and your life in my experience, I have been off medication for about three years now and my life is much better now because of it.

The mechanism of action of antidepressants in not fully understood so the first part of the quoted statement is pure Tom Cruise. That's the irresponsible part; you're stating opinion as fact. Further, I would argue based on the biochemical literature you're flat-out wrong, but that's beside the point. In addition, the chance of somebody thinking you actually have the expertise in medical neuropharmacology to support the claim is real and they might be desparate enough to take your opinion as advise even if you didn;t intend for them to do so. That's the potentially lethal part. So, I think that is pretty damn constructive input.

Best,
PQ