OK Eddie ~ now that's just down right sick (and funny) !!!
Jhe T.
LIVE TO LEARN, LEARN TO LIVE
True stories after calling the suicide prevention line
I was actually put on hold once....
Another time, I was asked if I felt suicidal.....
On one occasion they me asked why I was calling.....
Another time they asked me "are you feeling sad?"......
And the all time winner..... "is this an emergency?"........
God bless the volunteers though....their job can't be easy.
CJlovestigger... I'm a work in progress
I thought about posting on this a couple of times. At the present time I am struggling with a bout of depression and cannot seem to find it funny. Sorry to put a damper on the joke.
I have been told by someone in the program that depression can also be seen as a bout with self pity because things are not the way that I want them to be. Or that I am thinking that because I have been so wounded that I think that the world owes it to me to be easy on me. It has been hard to accept because there may be some truth in this. It also pisses me off to be told these things. My thinking has become way off base it seems.
Self-pity or chemical imbalance? Who the hell knows and can add to this?
Cheryl
Depression: Self pity or chemical imbalance? What a fantastic thesis topic.
IMHO, I believe depression is an intrinsic chemical imbalance. When depression is present, the brain doesn't put out seratonin, dopamine, norepinephrine. In order for our emotions to be stable, we must have a balance of these neuro-transmitters.
Sure, some depressions can be created by circumstances. And surely there are persons whose depression may linger because sitting in self-pity and avoiding seeking a solution is a choice. And there may be others whose depression has evolved to a paralyzing state and has remained untreated. And then there are depressions that are bio-chemical. Nonetheless, the mind/body/ spirit connection is WHOLEistically effected when depression is present. To the best of my knowledge, there is no matter-of-fact answer to date, and there may never be an answer.
Is there a Neuro-Psychiatrist on site?
Hear Hear Jhe T !!!! .....excellent prospective on the topic...and I agree wholeheartedly.
Cheryl....is this person a licensed clinical mental health specialist? I seriously doubt it because a professional would never tell you this. It has been my experience that some AA er's like to play "Novice Psychologists " when they have no training to do so. I've learned to just smile, thank them for the advice, and then sit in another part of the room. You can thank them for sharing and then leave it at that.
I have major bouts with depression too...and I can tell you that they have never spawned from self pity. As Jhe T pointed out....it can go the opposite way. I've gotten on the "pity pot" after becoming depressed which causes the depression to linger...and I've had some situations lead to periods of depression....such as a death of a loved one, a bad arguement with a friend or spouse etc...but many times I have no clue what is triggering my depressive moods other than a internal chemical imbalance.
If you are really worried contact a mental health professional. There are no absolute answers concerning depression but there are many options available to help you deal with it. Don't be hard on yourself and don't be quick to believe everything you hear. Arm yourself by learning the FACTS. I think it is the best way you can help yourself.
Best wishes my friend. I hope you are able to sort it all out.
Cheryl, I am not in any shape, fashion, or form a professional, nor do I have any counseling/ psychiatric credentials. However, from what I have learned about depression through some of my social work courses, I am left with the impression that it is about 75% biological (as Jhe pointed out the neurotransmitters – bravo!) and 25 % situational. I wouldn’t think that long term depression could be caused by self-pity, because I tend to believe the self-pity would have pre-existed the actual bout of depression. I do believe that we become depressed when a pet dies, a loved one is sick, we lose a job, etc., BUT at this point, you would be able to recognize the circumstances that would be present for the depression to occur.
We are here for you! Do something for yourself – watch a funny show/ cartoon, eat ice cream, go to Starbucks – anything that can turn around your frown to make you smile! Clint
Living a happy, joyous, and free life by embracing the mind, body, and spirit.
Thanks for your post on this. I was just reading a book about depression and the opinion of the writer was that the best solution for an individual was collaboration with their mental health care provider. If they agreed with the method of treatment, usually it would work whether it was theraputic or medical. The most important thing was that the paitent/client agreed that this was a correct path.I am not a mental healh care pro, but I do suffer from depression from time to time and know how debilitating it can become.
Wow! This is the medicine for me.Thank's Cheryl for your honesty, this depression stuff gets me down , it really does.There was a time i would feel so low ,when i woke in the morning i did not have the willpower to lift my head off the pillow.It felt like some one had super glued me to the bed. Today i have a better understanding of MY depression.For a start i don't call it depression, i feel that the word alone eats away at my own well being. doctors and shrinks call it that and i am none of them .I will tell you what i call it but first lets look at some other names( and i would be truly grateful if any one can add to them) Way down in the deep south they call it THE BLUES. The Irish call it THE BLACK DOG .My friend calls it THE CONCRETE SHOES but the breakthrough for me came when a man told me that what i had was a SICKNESS OF THE SOUL and that man was Bill W (As Bill Sees It) There are days in my life when i will be so high you will have to scrape me off the ceiling and there will be days when i will be so low you will have to scrape me of the floor. I will be grateful and truly blessed for the good days and for all the beautiful people that helped to fill them. And for the bad days i will be grateful and truly blessed for all the beautiful people that got me through them. Like all you guys on Sober.Com Keep the medicine coming guys.
I am looking for the TOP TEN home made Anti-Depressants (Films ,Food ,Music, anything)
I love films and my two favorite Blues Busters are
PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (God bless John Candy)
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Jeff Bridges'-THE DUDE)
today is the next step in the journey......paw
Was it Buddy Guy who said, "I think the blues will be my only way....."? For me the best thing I can do is get out and talk to people. Usually I start with a meeting and find someone there who is willing to share about just about anything. Once I start communicating with others in a positive way, I get better.
My own thinking makes me stay in my hideaway room with my TV, computer and music and shut out the rest of the world. Sometimes I just sit there without turning anything on. If I can, I get dressed and go out...almost anywhere there are people.
My longest bout happened around the Christmas holidays and lasted for about two weeks. At the end of that time people would cross the street if they saw me coming...But thanks to the ones who would talk, I got out of it.
Depression is a pretty blanket diagnosis. What I wrote earlier about having the provider and the patient be in agreement with the treatment recommended si just about a foolproof method of getting out of the depression. I have not used meds, but I know people who do and it keeps them on an even keel...Whatever floats your boat I guess.
The expression of a desire for death, or of a loss of will to live, is often misconstrued as being synonymous with a request for euthanasia or assisted suicide. There is good evidence, however, that in the context of advanced illness, desire for death can be thought of along a continuum. At its most extreme, desire for death is synonymous with suicidal intent and preoccupation with the wish to die. Far more common, however, are the many patients who, over the course of their cancer illness, experience occasional and fleeting thoughts that not awakening to another day might offer the kind of escape and comfort they perceive life can no longer provide. People tire of pain, disability, changing roles, mounting losses, and fewer prospects for remediation. In the face of depression, poor symptom control, and lack of appropriate supports, these thoughts can become overwhelming. Conversely, in response to appropriate palliation and the rallying of a community of support, thoughts about the wish to die can dramatically recede.
Pennsylvania Drug Treatment Centers
IMO, I believe that past traumas such as physical, mental and sexual abuse all play major roles in developing debilatating depression. Even if the traumas have been repressed a person may go into deep depression which may have begun as situational. Therefore leaving the depressed person feeling extremely sad and hopeless perhaps even suicidal even if it was brought on by a divorce, death of a pet etc. If non diagnosed depressed person experiences a loss that others may grieve in a normal manner the deeply depressed person may have a much more difficult grieving process that may even seem irrational, however for the truly depressed person these events may trigger that underlying deep depression that may have developed due to previous traumatic events. If a depressed person has not been diagnosed or treated they may not have the tools and coping mechanisms to handle even what some may see as a small event. We must remember that the depressed person can not talk themselves out of it. Their perceptions and logic are not the same as someone without depression. For someone who is depressed a cartoon, or eating icecream etc. will not help them especially if its due to a chemical imbalance. Even though some of those activities may have been enjoyable before they usually do not have the energy or any desire to do those activities. A true depression needs to be treated medically usually with a psychiatrist and medicine if need be.