Depression thread

[WerewolfKeeper3]

basically, if you're feeling low, like crap, etc. this is the thread where you post it...

I might be using this one more than others... i can just feel it...

[IndianaJones]

You may call this the Depression thread.

[MattSullivan]

No thanks. It's my birthday and I choose to be happy ^-^ *munches cake*

I can't see how anyone would wanna stay on this thread unless they WANTED to be perpetually miserable

[Teh_DarkJokerWolf]

Well we DO have a venting thread so that would pretty much cover this too I'm afraid...

[WerewolfKeeper3]

eh... thanks... now i feel even lower and stupid than i usually do {goes and crawls under a rock}

[RedEye]

Don't be depressed. You saw a percieved need and adressed it. That means that you care, down there under your rock.

And leave the snails alone; they're mine!

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Yeah, i know... besides, Venting is for being ticked off... Depression is for... well, we all get a little depressed now and then, don't we? hopefully, this'll work one of two ways: one, we'll see how bad other's lives are and feel better because our's isn't as bad {NOT THE REASON I POSTED THE THREAD MIND YOU} or two, we can try to make each feel better... oh, i can see why things crawl under here... it's rather cozy...

[Scott Gardener]

Not feeling depressed myself, just venting.

Am I the only one who takes my life seriously?

When I got married, it was because I spent years getting to know my wife and all she was and had experienced; I got to know the little things like widescreen versus pan-and-scan or dishes in the dishwasher versus in the sink, but also the major things such as similarities of life planning. Perhaps more to the point, aardvarking in bed was not the first, second, or third most important consideration in choosing a mate with whom I will spend the next five or six decades of my life. But, too many people pop in and out of relationships, cheating on each other and squandering years of time and energy that could instead be spent enjoying legitimate devotion. Neither of us worry about things like, "is he/she having an affair?" because we were smart enough to align ourselves with each other rather than with people we don't trust. Never comes up with us, but I see too many people screw up their lives, dumping a good person in favor of an "other," blissfully unaware that if that "other" could abandon someone else for them, then they, too, can count on being some day dumped.

I went to high school, to college, and to medical school. I did a residency, and then I went to work. Took bloody awhile, but I got through it, and now I'm beating back work opportunities with a stick. There's a lot of people who dropped out of high school, complaining that jobs are hard to find. Well, duh! Also, a lot of people can't believe I am a doctor as young as I am. I got here because I didn't spend eight or nine years in college piddling about and going to keg parties instead of working my way through. Every year spent farting about in a dorm is a year that retirement is further away. I would have liked to have skipped a year or two of public school--did I really need to study the same course on fractions in sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grade? I think I got it the third time. But, no. Skipping grades would have made me socially poorly adjusted. Meanwhile, while I'm skipping ahead into algebra and geometry, other kids are vandalizing the parking lots, practicing for their careers as inmates. Who's socially maladjusted?

Yes, life sucks from time to time when you have to do something other than living in the moment. But, why do so many people throw their lives away? If anything, I should be the one who jeopardizes decades of future quality of life for a few minutes of drug-induced or biologically stimulated pleasure, because I believe in reincarnation. Most people in my culture firmly believe that they only get one shot at life, and, worse yet, at the end of it, there's an authoritative and demanding God who will nitpick everything about how it was handled. So, by painfully obvious simple logic, why the crap is my being an achiever strange and unusual rather than the norm?

Another thing that makes me pull my hair out, and I'm preaching to the choir on this one here: where the frack do these people get off declaring humans superior to other animals, when they're owned by their instincts. Owned in the full sense, as in enslaved by them, unwilling or unable to grasp the notion of free will. They're pwned by them, in the Halo III and World of Warcraft sense of the word, fragging their future decades for a few minutes fling, as if they could somehow respawn their lives in full order afterwards. If we're so not-animal, then why the crap are so many billboards, magazines, TV spots, and everything else about scantly clad women? Why am I supposed to be as compelled just by virtue of being a male to want to engage in intercourse with complete strangers? And, why am I, allegedly not being an animal, supposed to buy into so much aggressive posturing, enjoy blowing things up, and want to hoarde objects and territories as a principal goal in life?

If humans are so superior, then how about that part about dying? We haven't fixed that. We get cancer; we get heart disease. We all die. We haven't even tried very hard to fix that. We've just assumed that God likes it that way, because, well, he's nice and all-loving. Oh, we work on the problem, but not with nearly the dedication we could if more people actually did something with themselves besides doing each other. We've got chronic pain problems. Not a few hundred or a few thousand, but millions of people in my country alone, not able to get through life because of chronic debilitating pain. Sadly, some of them walked into it through their own, aforementioned not planning very well. They ignored warnings about how alcohol and driving don't go together very well, or about how getting into fights is not a very bright thing to do. But, most of our chronic pain sufferers are that way because of someone else's stupidity or no one's at all. I'm sure God wouldn't mind our fixing them. If I can plausibly imagine a world in which consciousness can be transferred out of a broken body and into a better one, then why are my morals the odd one? Isn't it more immoral to allow pain and suffering to exist? Can't I in turn argue that society as a whole right now is at least somewhat accountable for the negligent deaths of billions?

Why do so many people care about their age, their weight, and whether or not they look fat? Is low self esteem that powerful? I'll admit that I'm a lot more shy myself than I used to be, simply because I'm worn out more often, and when I'm tired, I withdraw. But, come on. Stop manufacturing problems. There's enough pressure from the idiots outside; you don't need to breed idiocy internally as well. Too many people hold themselves back, afraid of the perceived and hypothetical opinions of other people. First of all, most people don't care if you look fat or not. If I'm checking into a hotel, I don't care if the person behind the lobby counter is sexy or ugly; I just want to get to my room. If I'm catching a bus, I don't give a frack if the driver is fat or skinny; I just want someone who knows the route and how to drive an oversized motor vehicle. If, by some chance, you run into someone who does care, then unless they're a doctor concerned about diabetes or coronary artery disease, then why the crap should their opinion matter? Do you want to impress someone that superficial? If you're looking for a mate, then don't you want a mate with better priorities?

As long as you're worried about how other people think of you, your mental energies are getting wasted on doing yourself in and feeding codependency networks. There's better things to do with yourself. There's bigger problems to solve. I have no pretense about being able to solve the world's problems myself. Yes, it's overwhelming. But, you can make a bigger difference if you yourself are living well instead of draining society of its energy and brain power. It's a lot easier to give to causes if you're not yourself dependent on government aid.

And, stupidity and low self esteem are luxuries we can no longer afford. We have to change our energy paradigm within the next hundred years, otherwise well-supported science is giving dire warnings of ecological catastrophe. We need engineers to design wind, wave, solar, and geothermal power generators. We need forward-thinking farmers who can design for the forthcoming water shortages. We need kelp farms to grow a food source that could solve our current world hunger problem if we'd stop completely ignoring it. A space elevator would be nice, but I'd settle for fixing aging first. The bottom line is, we don't need millions of dysfunctional people draining our resources while they throw keg parties, beat each other up, show up in the emergency room overdosed and vomiting all over the place, or doing whatever else these people get off doing.

We've taken the first step. We put the geeks in charge for once. We're moving forward a bit, with a rapidly accelerating information technology network. It's a start. We just need for a bunch of people to get over themselves, step out of their overused metaphoric boxes, and stop making problems for themselves and the rest of us working towards solutions.

[Distorted Realism]

well humans will never get far enough to survive.. were doomed... and our instincts are telling us that... humanity was destined to fail from the start.... to think that only a empty baren planet will be left to tell of our socalled "monumental
achievements" ah what a mess earth is...

[cjkrythos]

I havent been able to stay depressed since I started talking to a certain lovely lady

[RedEye]

Hmmm...this "Depression thread" seems to be working, and in a totally different way from the Venting thread.

Makes sense; Venting is anger (active principle) while Depression is inward-turning (passive principle); and it's proper to have a thread for both.

Just remember: there are NO Doctor Phil's here; and Depression can be a type of disease caused by messed up brain chemestry. If you stay depressed for an extended period of time, you might want to pay a visit to your local M.D. Chemical/Clinical Depression is treatable.

And, right here and now, I'm going to advise everyone who posts here to learn the signs of Clinical Depression (Web M.D. .com) and if you have them, GET HELP!

I did. That's why I can write now.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

I agree whole heartedly with Scott... only problem is... this is, nor will it ever be a perfect world... humans will always make others beleive they are lower then them, just to make themselves feel better about some problem someone else gave them. Popular crap like models are always making the rest of us feel like we need to change to make ourselves feel better even if changing hurts us more than if we just stayed the same...
And trust me, when i do find my mate (hopefully before he starts loosing hair...) {Elbows Lewis} (Ooofff!) it'll be someone i can trust, and who, above all, loves me for who i am, and not what i've got... humans will always hold themselves above every other thing because they themselves are doubtful of their own right to be here... so far, all we seem to do is screw up the way nature has things planned.
(In our opinion, god doesn't have a form... so everything he/she made is in his/her image... not just humans... {waits for people to argue with him because it goes against thier religious belifes...} which is really sad, because religion could be so much help... if it didn't segragate everyone into groups.) Humans, i think, are failing a test... a test given by whom? Aliens, Another dimension's people, God... take your pick... i still think we're failing... and i still think the earth is going destroy us all, because we screwed up so badly, we can't reverse the damage we've caused, unless we don't exist anymore...

(RedEye, you had depression? That's extremely surprising to me...)

[ShadowFang]

The trick for me is...

1. Stop caring about what other people think about you. (you only matter to you)

2. Follow your dreams.

3. Stay single. No relationships = no drama = happy.

4. Profit!

[outwarddoodles]

Just remember: there are NO Doctor Phil's here; and Depression can be a type of disease caused by messed up brain chemestry. If you stay depressed for an extended period of time, you might want to pay a visit to your local M.D. Chemical/Clinical Depression is treatable.

And, right here and now, I'm going to advise everyone who posts here to learn the signs of Clinical Depression (Web M.D. .com) and if you have them, GET HELP!

I did. That's why I can write now.

VERY true, and VERY informative.

I also want to note that depression is NATURAL. There's a growing stigma in our society today that if you're not happy, you're selfish, unsucessful, or should take a pill for it. We have a growing ideal that you can learn how to "be happy in less than a week" from a book, and not being a joyful, pleasant person is cruel to those around you.

People hurt. People are depressed. Being depressed natural and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

I place an emphasis on this because there are a lot of people being treated with medication for depression that shouldn't (ie, someone important to them died. This depression is not a hormonal imbalanced and in my opinion should be dealt with naturally) whereas, on the other hand, there are countless people who are clinically depressed who do not seek treatment because they feel as though 'they don't have a right to feel sad.'

Werewolfkeeper3: All I can say is, you'll get your second wind eventually, promise.

[Wselfwulf]

Redeye: By no means though, should you think a prescence or lack of DSMIV outlined symptoms is indicative of the prescence of lack of serious problems. The DSM is not perfect, and some might say gravely flawed (I am particularly wary of Axis V). An example would be that it used to consider homosexuality a 'mental illness', and still has some iffy 'illnesses' in the fourth edition. Or David Ronsenhan's 'diagnosis' study in 1973. Chemical and clinical depression may be treatable, but few really suffer from it in the ways that prevent significant relapse, as even health professionals can be very confused as to what to diagnose in a patient and what to do.

In the end though, you are right (just avoid anyone using the word 'counselor' or 'homeopath' like the plage), as those trained are the best avenue. Regarding experts it's best to get alot of opinions, and to be aware that drug treatments have very high relapse rates (for mood disorders I think it's somewhere around 90%). If anything, opt for psychotherapy, which still has a high relapse rate, but done steadily is more effective.

I very much agree though that if you feel anything is wrong, go out of your way to act. Learn about it ask, whatever, or you could be spending years in unneccesary pain. I have no idea how the statasticians got this, but apparantly the average delay in seeking treatment for depression is 8 years, and 10 for anxiety disorders. I think that social stigma outwarddoodles mentioned has something to do with it, it's very strong and is directed towards all sorts of disorders, not just mood disorders.

For me, treatment is a highly individual process that doesn't come from a textbook, nor do I empathize with the medical model suggesting 'disease'. Even if it is a clear cut serotonin deficiency, it is nothing like a wound that can be patched up and healed, it is a chicken and egg situation with the symptoms of depression, and still confuses current researchers. Sorry to be prolix though. I study this and hope to specialize in mood disorders and therefore like to crap on about how I dislike the DSM.


And to Scott Gardener: Wow, thats a pretty extensive list of people's folly. Being an anarchist (that doesn't mean I want to shoot your cows) I empathize with your complaint about authorities dictating our educational path as if they know what they are doing. And I empathize with your complaints about peoples hatred, deception and perceived or imposed superiority. Although in that second last paragraph you sounded a bit like Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho’.

But to call those with low self-esteem a drain on society is a real kick in the teeth. Why do people care about weight, height, looks? Because people will condemn you, judge you, harm you if you are not like them. You will get knocked back for jobs, mistrusted, isolated (one study I read indicated that a good-looking individual is more likely to be rescuscitated at the ER if a choice has to made between multiple individuals)...anxiety at judgement is natural. It might be foolish to fear the opinions of others, but I've never met an individual who did not, least of all those who deny they do.

Maybe I've been reading too much Zimbardo but it's not in man's nature to be kind, which I think is relevant to a lot of the rhetoric you posed. And if it's really true that they, along with people throwing keg parties are a drain on 'our' resources, I think that says more about the system that displaces their actions into real problems than the actions themselves. Everyone is entitled to a liberty that cannot be messed with. And be wary of how you throw around the word 'dysfunctional'. You're entitled to your own opinions, but you seem a little extreme to me.
Again, I apologize for being prolix.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Don't know how to answer that one wselfwulf, but i was right when i said i'd probably be using this one... more than others... why?
No clue...
Well... last week while trying to do my best to do my job, i basically made a customer think i thought she was trying steal something. Basically made me wonder if i should stay at KB Toys, because frankly, it upset me to no end. Not to mention i'm worried about costing the company money, because she's told some of her friends how i "treated her". She was shopping for someone, and i asked if i could help her. Then, so she didn't have to carry them to the counter, i asked her if she wanted me to take them up front for her. Then, when i was headed back to the back to price more stuff, another employee had to head back there, and they asked me to help... the same lady. She was saying something about how i was trying to get her out of the store faster, how i could treat a customer like that... What? Helpful? All i was trying to do was be helpful... maybe i should go looking for another job... hmph my mother said it might have been the company spy... i doubt it... i'll just leave the customer servicing to everyone else. That'll solve it... oh wait, i can't do that... great...

[Wselfwulf]

I'm sure if you're calm and explanatory all will turn out fine. Wait, it never does, what am I saying...

[outwarddoodles]

WerewolfKeeper3: That's NOTHING to feel bad about. I'm pretty sure anyone here who has ever worked a job that dealt with costumers can tell you that people will be dumbasses for the sake of being dumbasses.


I have a friend who used to worked at a concession stand who was yelled at by a man who wanted a hamburger. He complained that if he was not served a hamburger, he would be recieving poor service. Hamburgers were not, and never have been, on the menu.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

WerewolfKeeper3: That's NOTHING to feel bad about. I'm pretty sure anyone here who has ever worked a job that dealt with costumers can tell you that people will be dumbasses for the sake of being dumbasses.


I have a friend who used to worked at a concession stand who was yelled at by a man who wanted a hamburger. He complained that if he was not served a hamburger, he would be recieving poor service. Hamburgers were not, and never have been, on the menu.

Thanks... usually, i'm the one who blaims himself for the problems of everyone else... eh... well, that made me feel a little better... thanks again...

[Spongy]

WerewolfKeeper3: Like outwarddoodles said, people are assholes just to be assholes. Plenty of people caused me trouble back when i worked at a pizza parlor, just for the sake of doing so. Don't worry yourself too much about it.


My turn to feel depressed. For the first time in a while, I feel genuinely lonely and alone. I recently (a week ago today) moved to Sweden, and I pretty much know no one here (not counting family), and i won't get the chance to know anyone until school starts in approximately a month. I'm about an hour's drive from the nearest city at the moment in the middle of no-where, so taking a stroll to meet people...not going to happen. I can't do much during the days except mope around (when my cousin isn't here to keep me company) until around 6-7 PM, when i grab my mobile modem and go online, and even then i'm limited to about 5 GB a month, so i can't do much beyond simple chatting and viewing web pages without images. So my general thought is... i'm lonely, and i really don't like the feeling of not knowing anyone here. I can't say I didn't see this coming, though. I just didn't expect it to feel this..lonely.

</end rant>

Woo. That helped.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

That sucks man... hopefully it'll get better when school starts, and hopefully i don't have to deal with that lady again. Thanks by the way...
(Hmm... well, do you: Draw, write, play an instrument, ride a bike, or something that might get your mind off not knowing anyone? And look at this way: If you go crazy the neighbors won't be able to call the police on you... I'm kidding. All that way out in the country might be a good thing. You never know...)

[outwarddoodles]

That sucks man... hopefully it'll get better when school starts, and hopefully i don't have to deal with that lady again. Thanks by the way...
(Hmm... well, do you: Draw, write, play an instrument, ride a bike, or something that might get your mind off not knowing anyone? And look at this way: If you go crazy the neighbors won't be able to call the police on you... I'm kidding. All that way out in the country might be a good thing. You never know...)

To Spongey: "You never know" is correct. Teenager moves out in the middle of nowhere, is excrutiatingly bored...sounds like a perfect setting to run into a pack of werewolves.


But, in seriousness, THAT SUCKS. I remember moving to a new school district a couple years ago. I was utterly convinced my life was over. At the very least, I lived in the same state, and had even better internet access than before.

So, here's hopin'. And don't worry about having to meet new people.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

That sucks man... hopefully it'll get better when school starts, and hopefully i don't have to deal with that lady again. Thanks by the way...
(Hmm... well, do you: Draw, write, play an instrument, ride a bike, or something that might get your mind off not knowing anyone? And look at this way: If you go crazy the neighbors won't be able to call the police on you... I'm kidding. All that way out in the country might be a good thing. You never know...)

To Spongey: "You never know" is correct. Teenager moves out in the middle of nowhere, is excrutiatingly bored...sounds like a perfect setting to run into a pack of werewolves.


But, in seriousness, THAT SUCKS. I remember moving to a new school district a couple years ago. I was utterly convinced my life was over. At the very least, I lived in the same state, and had even better internet access than before.

So, here's hopin'. And don't worry about having to meet new people.

She's got a point... you may even run into... a swedish legendary monster that, for all we know, is living near where you moved too...
( just remember, if you see yellow or red lights that look like eyes moving around in a forested area near you... lock all the doors and hope the phrase, "It's just a bunch of kids foolin' around" is right... that, and those eyes didn't see you... )

[Spongy]

WWK3: I wish i could draw or write. I don't really have a bike either. I have a boat though...2 actually.., but it's kind of boring to just go alone. I've been reading a lot though, and it helps a bit. Also, red/yellow eyes? I have no idea what you are talking about. Hah. I must have missed a memo.

Doodles: Glad to hear you were in the same state. I moved from California, so its kind of a whole flap-around. It's an advantage to be from Sweden originally, though. I have no problems speaking the language or understanding it.


But yeah, things should get better once school starts up... Hopefully. Thanks, guys.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

WWK3: I wish i could draw or write. I don't really have a bike either. I have a boat though...2 actually.., but it's kind of boring to just go alone. I've been reading a lot though, and it helps a bit. Also, red/yellow eyes? I have no idea what you are talking about. Hah. I must have missed a memo.

Doodles: Glad to hear you were in the same state. I moved from California, so its kind of a whole flap-around. It's an advantage to be from Sweden originally, though. I have no problems speaking the language or understanding it.


But yeah, things should get better once school starts up... Hopefully. Thanks, guys.

Red Yellow eyes as in something you don't want to meet, lurking in the woods... Well, sorry about that. I forgot reading... And your welcome... that's what this thread is for...