Dealing With Depression

Curiously, Crash Landon: do you think that depression medication is EVER useful? Like, maybe not to MASK symptoms, but to aid the process of piecing your life together?

I hear what you're saying, but forgive me if it's hard to imagine that the psychiatric field is all wrong but some guy on the internet got it right.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

^^^Sometimes, yes. Sometimes a little help is all one needs to confront their demons and move forward accordingly. This doesn't always work, however...

People are sometimes coherced into believing there is SOMETHING WRONG. It makes the FDA MUCH more powerful (and wealthy) than it is. It's too easy nowadays to convince someone that they are lacking in determination to deal with their problems on their own.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I don't know if you guys read anything from the link which I posted, but it has some real valuable information that may help you guys in depression. What the site is mainly about is a nutritional disorder that seemingly is one of the biggest underlying factors, if not the biggest. There are a lot of articles to read on this site that are very good and I advise you to read it if you are in depression.

All the articles are taken from the Hypoglycemic Association of Australia
Depression a nutritional disorder
Depression, A disease of energy production
Hit and Miss supplements for depression
What is Hypoglycemia
The Hypoglycemic Diet
Hypoglycemia, is it a 'cure-all' for mental illnesses?

Read these! It might help you a lot!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by The Hypoglycemic Health Association

Similarly, mainstream psychologists believe that talk therapy can alleviate the symptoms of depression. They assume that our irrational thoughts, unpleasant childhood experiences or ‘’bad parents’ - hidden in a mythical ‘subconscious mind’ - have caused us to be depressed.

"Mythical" subconscious mind?

Wow, that's going to win points in the intellectual field.

I don't know about that whole concept - frankly, I'm immediately pretty skeptical from that article - but what you eat affecting depression isn't exactly a new concept.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Hachifusa

"Mythical" subconscious mind?

Wow, that's going to win points in the intellectual field.

I don't know about that whole concept - frankly, I'm immediately pretty skeptical from that article - but what you eat affecting depression isn't exactly a new concept.

I don't find that quote odd at all. The thing is that many mainstream psychologists really think depression is only an effect of the "mysterious" and well "mythical" subconscious (because really, can you tell me what the subconscious is exactly?), and think every problem is just stored in your mind/subconscious. In academic settings the use of the word subconscious is actually regularly avoided because of it being such a loose term. Well I guess most people only think of depression just as a mental problem, while in most cases that may not be it.

It may not be a new concept, still I don't know that many who know of this being a big factor on mental health. Many times people don't realize it's the physical which is unwell and think can only think of it as mental ill-health. I'd say most people think of curing depression by pills or talk therapy, and well I'm not saying that is completely wrong, however I'd search for any physical ailments before trying pills.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

First of all, I want to thank everybody for your great responses concerning the situation I'm in. Crash I personally want to thank you, for a person such as yourself that has dealt with depression to a very serious extent, I genuinely take your words with all the wisdom that you have to offer.

All the same I want to answer some of the questions people have asked since I really haven't had much time to post lately.

First off, I work as an environmental field inspector in the oil sands of alberta. This area has been going through a large economic boom in recent years and with all the plants being developed there is an increased for a bigger environmental presence up here. There are more jobs than there is people, so practically every company is going through an employee shortage; because of that fact a lot of companies work their employees 24 days straight with 4 days off to accomodate with the problems of their companies being understaffed.

I'm feeling much better now, its just a lot of times I go through so much stress and my feelings and outlook on things acts just like a roller-coaster. I don't necessarily see myself as moping around to be honest. I would see myself as moping around if I was still back home with my fiance. I would still be living in an apartment, working at a job I hated, and being stuck in the sense that I wouldn't be able to do anything productive with my life. The sole purpose of this move was to make something for my myself and my future, I know this is a positive step in my life but you know it doesn't help to know that it can have its tough moments.

I've always lived with the perception that life should never be easy, if life was easy than in my eyes it wouldn't be truly worth living in the first place. I think that us as human beings are truly defined by the challenges that we face and how we try to overcome them builds character.

In response to someone's post, your absolutely right I haven't been flat out depressed ever since I was 13, but its been kind of like an off and on switch for the majority of my life. I think that I can handle my depressive nature on my own no matter how much longer I have to be up here. I absolutely refuse to go on any kind of medication. I don't want to feel like that I have to depend on a pill to help me get through the day. I've only been to a psychiatrist only three times in my life, and they all happened during my time in university.

As depressed as I can be, while I continue to work up here I will never lose sight of my goal no matter how sad or hopeless it may seem. The greatest things in life take time and patience. I know deep down that sacrifices will be worth it.

I don't know if anybody else will ever read this forum topic ever again, but to everyone that responded I just want to say thanks to your kind words. I hope to become a better member of this community even though I've gotten on Denicalis and Bradylama's bad side from time to time.

Being a part of this forum helps me get through the tough times up here, and for that I'm very grateful for.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by nanaman

Many times people don't realize it's the physical which is unwell and think can only think of it as mental ill-health. I'd say most people think of curing depression by pills or talk therapy, and well I'm not saying that is completely wrong, however I'd search for any physical ailments before trying pills.

While I don't disagree with you entirely, I believe that you're thinking of the physical and the mental as two divided beings. This is not the case. SSRIs (modern anti-depressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) work by increasing the amount of serotonin available in the synaptic gap. Serotonin itself is a stimulant. In short, that means that through changing the physical, which is what anti-depressants do, your mental state can be changed as well. The mind is esentially nothing but a consequence of electrochemical reactions.

You might want to consider anti-depressants. They have helped me a great deal, although there is a high chance of relapse once you stop taking them. The most effective therapeutic approach for depression has emerged to be a combination of anti-depressants and either behavioural therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy (IPT), dependent on the person and the severity of the depression. Most counsellors and psychotherapists today use a combined approach, though - so pretty much whatever works for the person sitting there. That's probably the most realistic way of going about it.

All that talk about the subconscious has got nothing to do with that - that's psychoanalysis, which is currently becoming rather unpopular, and has also moved beyond all that "your subconscious is causing it" stuff. It's such a cliché that all psychologists actually work like that.

IPT basically works by establishing a relationship with another person, which leads to a more positive interaction, and thus more positive social experiences.

CBT intends to challenge your cognitive schemas, your perspective of the world, the self and the future, as well as the behaviours this leads to. It basically attempts to break the vicious cycle and make you evaluate your own beliefs.

All that is very well, but in practice, talking therapy is really highly dependent on the counsellor or psychotherapist involved, and you yourself as the person who's sitting there.

I, personally, found counselling the greatest help, because it was so non-judgemental, and you could just talk. Sometimes, that's all you need, just talk to someone who won't tell you what to think, or what you should be like. The hard thing is sustaining that positive effect - I'd always feel good for a few hours after a session, but then the bad feelings would return. I am better at dealing with them now, though, because I've learned coping strategies. And at the time, it was these meetings which kept me going.

I won't lie, though, I think depression is always a process, always going up and down again, and it's you yourself who has to work on it the most. Maybe that's the hardest thing, but it's worth it. You need to find a way of dealing with it that is right for you. And if it doesn't get better, I'd advise you to seek help. There is nothing to be ashamed of about that (although I have to admit I still feel ashamed about it).

Good luck with everything.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?