We all become depressed, sooner or later, some more often than others. But when one is depressed, they try to tell their friends in the hope of getting some kind of advice, therapy, or just plain sympathy. More often than not, the depressed person may come off a bit like a whining bitch and make their friend get annoyed with them. Then the friend starts to avoid the depressed guy, and the depressed guy wonders why everyone runs away from him, figuratively speaking.

Why do people avoid a depressed person? Why do people choose to be ignorant to someone's sadness? I don't. I'll listen to my friends, even to the deep thoughts of people who's wrists are still in bandages, and try to help them not only because they're my friends and they need my support, but because it makes me a more enlightened person. It's good to see life from both it's beautiful side and it's dark side, and I don't understand why people choose to just live in a happy-happy world where people only whine about the most meaningless elements of society?

The only conclusion i can make of this is that my current friends are not yet true friends (at least not at the moment, we've only known each other for a few months now since i just moved), and that the next time i hit a rough spot I'll probably have to manage on my lonesome, which i can do, but sooner or later we all just want some kind of compassion, know what i mean?

BTW, my fellow americans, i just moved from a military base in europe after 18 years of my childhood, and most mainlanders are some of the most ignorant people i've ever shared a school or college with. But to the seemingly small portion of the American population that seems to strive to be more enlightened than the average joe, god bless you, and good luck on your way through life.

p.s., i promise this will be the only time i make a post about my depression, at least for this... let's make it a year.

It's funny that you chose to start this thread, I've been suffering severe depression the past 2 years, I was making a reasonable recovering, but it's all plumetting down around me again now, woot.

why's that?

Every time I get depressed I try to place myself in an environment with lots of people.

In time, their stupidity and ignorance, makes me pity them more than myself and reminds me of how grateful I am not to be like them.
No matter how bad it gets for me, I can at least feel joy in not being them.

why are there so many depressive people in this site?
is it because it is a scientific related forum and people who are into science are always looking for answers and etc i dont know where im going hmm yes byebye

Religious people kind of have someone to fall back on, God, God will look after them, those of us who have brains have no such luxury. All we have is constant questions and no answers. That can get a bit depressing after a bit, it's also likely that as scientists we probably did have the best of childhoods or exactly fit in, making us more prone to depression.

actually God's what's keeping me relatively sane so far. it's the people that ignore god and pursue raw religion that don't seem to have much depth.

See, religious people less depressed :p
I'm sorry for my rather rash post, but I am back in the depths of deep depression, I just dunno if I can rescue myself from this one.

actually God's what's keeping me relatively sane so far. it's the people that ignore god and pursue raw religion that don't seem to have much depth.


O contrare, I take principles from certain pagan ideals and A LOT of principles from taoism, and some stuff from here and there, and all of it has a lot of depth, actually. The very principle of the symbol yin and yang is in itself remarkably deep in meaning. Having tried the whole God thing, I find this route better, myself. It actually makes me feel better that I don't need a God to fall back on, that I can and indeed must rely on myself.

See, religious people less depressed :p
I'm sorry for my rather rash post, but I am back in the depths of deep depression, I just dunno if I can rescue myself from this one.


How many times might you have said that in all the other depressive phases? You'll come around. Everyone comes around.

Neh, see, in all the other depressive phases I've still had my fire, and my best friend.

I just lost my best friend, well, my 3 best friends, my education is going down the drain along with my family, future, and I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting. But hey, it's all good, I'm still alive right.

hey lil light foot,

sounds rough, way rougher than my mere bitching about mainland americans. i think you need to find a goal for yourself, like where you want to be in the next few years. a career, a hobby, or maybe just moving to a new place. so far, i'm looking for a smart girl that doesn't mind my cynicism, and i havn't found her yet, but the ride's at least been fun. i think the mind wants to quit when it gives up, and as long as you occupy it with something, you're at least doing something, maybe even something productive, and maybe even something that improves your life.

Deja Vu, lol.
You can't be as much of a cynic as me. I drive everyone away, I'm too stubborn, hot headed, and, yea, long list.
I'm in Uni, I did have drive, a goal, it all went down the drain. I was strong, confident, intelligent, that went down the drain too. I was planning on going to the US for a year this summer, but I dunno about that anymore. I did have hobbies, but guess what, they went down the drain, are you seeing a pattern here?

There is an 'alleged' cure for depression. It's EPA if you suffer from depression I reccomend you read the links below. The treatment is very inexpensive and is short term, 100% natural and generally healthy option, nothing to lose everything to gain,
http://www.epa1.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340824964/026-4434279-4223642

I have this book and it is really great.

Every time I get depressed I try to place myself in an environment with lots of people.

In time, their stupidity and ignorance, makes me pity them more than myself and reminds me of how grateful I am not to be like them.
No matter how bad it gets for me, I can at least feel joy in not being them.

I am not surprised you are miserable, that is if there is any truth in what you say. Let's hope we are not invaded by an intelligent alien race as if they have as little compassion for their, 'lesser intelligent human friends' as you do for those you perceive to be 'lesser' than you, we have no chance.

You should use your intelligence to rise above the stupidy and try to exude some 'love' then you will receive it back. No I'm not a hippy, but it kind of is true that we get back what we put out. Put out something nice and see what happens.

Neh, see, in all the other depressive phases I've still had my fire, and my best friend.

I just lost my best friend, well, my 3 best friends, my education is going down the drain along with my family, future, and I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting. But hey, it's all good, I'm still alive right.

Try taking 1000mg EPA oil (found in cod liver oil) take it in liquid form not capsule or tablet, once a day for 3 months, studies show that it actually regenerates part of the brain (previously thought to be impossible in human adult brain) relating to depression and actually cures it, even in long term sufferers when nothing else has worked. I have put a book link in the thread, if you truely suffer from depression there really is nothing to lose by trying this! Good luck

Theory

Religious people kind of have someone to fall back on, God, God will look after them, those of us who have brains have no such luxury. All we have is constant questions and no answers. That can get a bit depressing after a bit, it's also likely that as scientists we probably did have the best of childhoods or exactly fit in, making us more prone to depression.

You assume people with brains do not believe in God, does this make Steven Hawking a fool? He believes in God and makes no secret of it. I believe in God and have a modest IQ of 155, I am no fool. I don't beleive in the religious stuff but I believe in a source of creation and deffinately having studied animals, nature and evlotution can see there is a design element there! (slight jest) but don't rule out those belivee in God as idiots, you just reveal yourself as one.

Having faith does make people more positive no doubt, it helps and for this reason I do not slander religion, it has its place.

Intelligent people are more likely to suffer depression, they think too much!
Intelligence and madness are as they say very closely related. But you will find if you adopt a kinder attitude to your fellow man you would feel this kindness returned.

My extreme laziness depresses me sometimes. I try and get as much intense and varied natural stimulation as possible at such times.

what happened to your goals, strength, integrity, may i ask lil light foot? I mean, how do they just up and disappear like that? I ask because i believe depression is often more than a problem that can be solved with just cod liver oil. hell my mom takes that stuff daily and still has blue days.

Drugs cure the symptoms not the cause of the problem. My goals vanished because I felt like I just couldn't achieve them, the idea that I'd failed at everything I'd tried set in. I'm speaking in the past tense because I am now too exhausted to be depressed.
I know depression is irrational, of course I haven't failed at everything, but when it feels like everything goes wrong all at once like that.

There are two types of depression, that which is caused by life events (death, job loss etc) and that which is chemical, caused by lack of seratonin production. If you have that then you cannot snap out of it, you need to do something to jump start seratonin level production. Vitamin D, Vitamin B, best of all EPA. Sunlight and lots of it.

depression is a state of mind you can actully live in you're own vision of the life you want to lead or you could wallow in the mire as the doors once sang, things can never be as bad as it seems, while you have breath in you're body you have every chance of being the person you want to be, not what society or peers expect you to be, as for god I believe in me and as god is in all of us, hence I believe in that which is master of our fate, I live in my world be it right or wrong but it's a world in which I find a source of wonder and enlightenment in all things, it's one life one shot.

depression is a state of mind enlightenment in all things, it's one life one shot.

No its not a state of mind, there are two types and if you have a chemical form of it, there is an imbalance in your brain and no amount of 'faith, self chatting' will shake it. It needs intervention.

The depression brought on after yrs of drug use, is due to damage to the brains function, it can not be shaken off.

It is not helpful for someone sufferring from that type of depression to be told to 'get over it, snap out of it, ' their brains are not functioning correctly.

I myself experienced severe depression for just 3 days after having a contraceptive implant inserted in my arm. I had a bad reaction to the hormone progesterone and while previously being 100% fine in my mind, I suddenly wanted to kill myself, it was very very frightening and for 3 days I was zombie like, thought all my life had been miserable, life was pointless, could not get any joy from my kids, life was too hard to cope with, being happy was too much of a struggle. Fortunately I had some presence of mind and realised it may be connected to the implant, I had it removed immediately and the symptoms cleared immediately. This is NOT an uncommon reaction to this hormone or this implant.

My depression was not a snap out of thing, it was chemical, and had I not realised it was the hormone implant, who knows where I'd be now.

Any of you sufferring depression, there are natural alternatives and seeing your Gp can help, you don't have to suffer with this illness. If you are are depressed through life events, then talking talking talking will help. As will physical exciercise, faith, self belief.

the whole myth of 'normal depression' and 'clinical depression' is promoted by the pharma-shrink cartel. they say it is a 'diease' a 'chemical imbalance'. well do not believe them. yes good diet helps, as does excercise, and sense of humour if u can muster any--allow t. but goin on 'meds' to 'correct chemical imbalance' s a scam, and dangerous

for more indepth about this--and no theoryof-idont wanna a row about this--checkout Fred Baughman, and Thomas Szasz

the whole chemical imbalance shit is based on th materialistic premise that we are JUSt bio-chemical mchines tat neen 'fixin' when we go 'wrong' and aren't 'productive' etc. but people DO become down for REAL meanings. and te so-called 'meds' they dish out and which more and mpore people are on and which makes the pharma peoplple and shrinks fukin fuck off rich can MASK your underlying unhappiness, putting te prson in a limbo state

but the choice is yours. all i want to do along wit Baughman and Szasz et al isINFORM, not DISinform you, depression--which used to be called 'melancholy' is N O T a disease of the brain!

Duendy, did u read what I said about my 3 day depression?

I am not a fan of anti depressants but I am not a fan of suicide either, ignoring the problem is dangerous.

you had a chemicla intervention which caused you disrption yes. i am talkin of peple who become naturally unhappy and go to doc etc and are told they have a 'disease'. it is FALSE. there is no evidence whatsoever. AND you say you worry about suicide. wel many who g on this supposed 'medication' have gtten suicidalo tendencies and have killed themselves. in fact this connection was covered up fo YEARS by the pharmaceutical industry

and a person HAS the natrual right to kill themselves IFthey so wish. it is not for the STATE to coerce peole to take theirndrus so as to force them to be -anti-depressed'

Duendy, I hope that if I ever have this imbalance again or feel depressed through unhappiness, so much so that I feel suicidal, that someone intervenes by whatever means possible, depression lifts eventually and when it does we are grateful for life! I have kids and welcome any intervention that keeps me alive for them. I have no right to kill myself and leave them motherless, none whatsoever. But that is a personal view.

I agree with what you say about the readiness to prescribe before alternatives are sought, this problem exists with all areas of modern medicine.

I also do know about the side effects of some anti depressants, its a very dark area, but having been in the 'black hole' of despair, all help is welcome in being pulled out of it.

I have been depressed through life events a few times and never went on any medication and when I did once succumb and went to the Doctor he said a few positive words that lifted my spirits and all was well. I was lucky, another Gp would have put me straight on meds!

i hear you. what i am for is INFORMED consent. telling people the truth. don't know if you'veheard of here www.mindfreedom.org
well, tis site is run by psychiatric survivors. yes, some Do take medication, BUT they also are on te scam. a while ago they had a hungerstrike to try force the APA to show evidence mental illness was abiological disease. of course they didn't, cause they cannot.

the people at mindfreeedom like yourself also recommendgood diet, excercise, natrual surroundings, people to talk to etc. ie., understanding that it ALL counts. we are NOT just machines destined to put up with any old crap te system trows at us and if not being able to cope, treated like machines with theirtoxic drugs. but yes. again, a person DOES have choice to take teir pills, but ONLY with informed consent. not uninformed consent

It's not a disease u are correct, to say so is an innapropriate use of the word, same as when they claim alcoholism is a disease.

"same as when they claim alcoholism is a disease"

* Alcoholism IS a disease dude. Who is THEY?

No It Isn't Dude

"No It Isn't Dude "

* Present your case dude.

Disease= A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Alcoholism
al·co·hol·ism (lk-hô-lzm)
n.
1. The compulsive consumption of and psychophysiological dependence on alcoholic beverages.
2. A chronic, progressive pathological condition, mainly affecting the nervous and digestive systems, caused by the excessive and habitual consumption of alcohol. Also called chronic alcoholism.
3. Temporary mental disturbance and muscular incoordination caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. Also called acute alcoholism

by the way stretched, an apple isn't an orange either, would you like me to present a case on that too?

Hi stretched...a bok that goes more indeth aout your question is by Thomas Szasz titled 'Bad Habits are Not Diseases'

think about a gambler. do we say a gambler has a 'disease'? yet they can bring uter havok and degradation all round. they can end up in the utter just like a person wit a drink habit

what about a 'compulsive' shopper, and persn who cant seem to stop eating. iam talking about the people who dont have an actual disease which makes them not feel full......etc

a habit is not a disease. it is a bad habit. a need. a choice a person makes for many differing reasons. to numb pain usually. but and/or to feel they are 'swingin' wid the rest, to get sleep etc etc. many many reasons

Theoryofrelativity, would you say that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not a disease?

This is going to sound like a really mundane solution, but for me personally, I find that running (jogging) helps me with my depression.

Without going into the details of just how bad my depression tends to get, jogging totally clears my mind. Instead of concentrating on whatever is bothering me, I concentrate on breathing, and attempting to run faster/keep a pace. If I push myself to point where I'm struggling, I have to focus on it, and I don't have room to think about whatever I was ruminating on.

I used to have a problem with not being able to sleep at night because of whatever thoughts I was plagued with. When I started jogging on a regualr basis, I went to sleep alot easier (due to having spent the energy).

I wish I could say that this was akin to zen meditation where I found some sort of enligtenment that solved the problems/issues, but the stuff that I'm typically depressed about doesn't have a solution. The only real solution is to change focus.

That's not mundane at all, om. Most professionals will tell you that regular exercise and a healthy diet are two of the best things for someone with depression, and I tend to agree.

The only problem with that, for me, is that I have to be forced, literally, to do either. Most of the time, I'm so depressed that I don't care whether I get better or not anymore. I think a person has to have a reason to want to get better (at least one thing that you can get truly excited about), otherwise it is too easy to fall back into the negative thoughts and say fuck it all. For some, this is a career that they are passionate about, or children that you really love, or a spouse that still excites you, or family, etc.

Even if you have one or more of those, it can be so easy to say that they are not enough to want to go on for. So, I am just going in circles again. Meh.

theoryofrelativity:
I suddenly wanted to kill myself, it was very very frightening and for 3 days I was zombie like, thought all my life had been miserable, life was pointless, could not get any joy from my kids, life was too hard to cope with, being happy was too much of a struggle.

That's amazing to think about. Severe depression for only three days! So are you completely happy now? On a scale of 0-9, how would you rate it?

I've had some times in my life where my depression was very severe, at about a '2' for a couple of years or so. And now it's about a '3' or so. I haven't been happy since the very beginning of adolescence. I'm basically living out of habit. And as much as it sucks, I never realized how habit-forming living could be!

"During the past 35 years, numerous studies by behavioral and social scientists have supported Jellinek’s contentions about alcoholism as a disease. The American Medical Association endorsed the concept in 1957. The American Psychiatric Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the World Health Organization and the American College of Physicians have also classified alcoholism as a disease. In addition, the findings of investigators in the late 1970s led to explicit criteria for an "alcohol dependence syndrome" which are now listed in the DSM IIR, DSM IV, and the ICD manual. In a 1992 JAMA article, the Joint Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the American Society of Addiction Medicine published this definition for alcoholism: "Alcoholism is a primary chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, mostly denial. Each of these symptoms may be continuous or periodic."
(http://www.physiciansnews.com/commentary/298wp.html)

* I concede that there is ongoing controversy. But the generally accepted view is as above.