Depression is NOT a Real Disorder

reply to post by Mdv2


Goto tools then messages then it should come up with a box with ur name in it.. Put Petrols name in there and then whatever you wanna send him.. then hit send..

Briefly and without engaging in any argument with the grossly uninformed ones on this thread, I would like to just say that I have lived through and dealt with clinical depression since as far back as I can remember. Even as a child in middle school I can recall it's effects, and it has had a big impact on my life.

Many great thinkers, artists and minds have experienced what we all go through. Winston Churchill called it his "black dog" that followed him wherever he went. Like many others mentioned here I am also a creative type, seems for some reason to be a common theme. Never once taken a pill for depression, never once visited any doctor, I have chosen instead to manage it in my own way. Some days are worse than others, but by and large I have learned to deal with it effectively enough to have a decent life.

My description of depression, for those who have never experienced it's grip. Imagine waking up in the morning, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, you have those you love most near you. You have a good home, everything you need in life comfort wise, a good job, a bright future......and in spite of all of these things you feel absolute dispair and hopelessness...a nagging feeling that life is pointless and awful and that nothing you can ever do will be enough to mean anything or make any difference. It is a feeling of complete worthlessness, devoid of all hope.

It is irrational and impossible for those who have never felt this type of thing to truly understand. It is your own mind and your own emotions turning against you. Can you imagine what it is like to go through a day where every ten minutes you find your mind wandering toward contemplation of death and suicide? For no good reason?

My experiences these days arent so bad, and I have no thoughts of suicide anymore because I have gone to the brink and realized that I can not and will not do such a thing to my family, just cant do it. So I have accepted the fact that, good or bad, I am stuck here on this Earth and in this life until I am naturally dead, so it is now my choice how I will live. Good or bad. To all of those out there experiencing this terrible affliction I say hang in there. I find that for me a certain natural green substance helps way more than any therapy or prescription pill, but to each his own.

Peace.

Thanks for this thread. A lot of people unfortunately think that people suffering from depression are seeking attention and it makes me sick. I guess you really don't understand what it's like until you're there. I wonder if part of the cause is environmental, like the world we live in. The negativity in the world and on the news, and television in general. Getting bombarded by that every day can't be good for you. S&F for you.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


you should play world of warcraft, it helps

Originally posted by Hefficide
reply to post by PETROLCOIN

 

I saw the title of this thread and came in here to absolute rage! But, upon reading it, starred and flagged. I have been in treatment for depression / PTSD for over 20 years and will argue tooth and nail with anyone who says otherwise. To me the only reason to even begin to say that depression isn't real is to troll...

Sad.

~Heff

But surely the fact that you fight tooth and nail to claim that depression is real is probably a reason that you are suffering from it.

Instead of running around going "oh I am unhappy thus depression is real and anyone saying otherwise is wrong" is doing nothing but psychologically drawing you to the fact that "you are depressed". If you chose to focus on other things and not fight people's "ignorance" and constantly bringing the subject to light just forget about it buddy.

Granted ... it might not be easy but get yourself a hobby. A hobby that I might add is not ATS and browsing the topics on depression.

I know you kick off at this but fine. I just wanna help and I think that drawing your mind onto the issue is not the best way to go about it.

reply to post by hisshadow


Actually it doesnt.. I played before.. it wasnt fun.. trying to be the best of the best.. it sucked.. it felt like work more than play..

I have also heard of cases where some people have suicided because they couldnt get into thier special guild or something..
I would not suggest this game to someone who is depressed, the game is suck anyway..

Originally posted by Skid Mark
Thanks for this thread. A lot of people unfortunately think that people suffering from depression are seeking attention and it makes me sick. I guess you really don't understand what it's like until you're there. I wonder if part of the cause is environmental, like the world we live in. The negativity in the world and on the news, and television in general. Getting bombarded by that every day can't be good for you. S&F for you.

I agree with what you are saying. The news etc. really is bombarding us with depressing thoughts but you need to be stronger.

I really don't want to bring "strong" and "weak" minded into the equation but from the way you explain it I see it as follows:

Depressing stuff on TV. I am weak minded thus get depressed and let it affect me.
Depressing stuff on TV. I am strong minded thus will just get on with it and not let it affect me.

Come on.

We all see the same # that you do. The same depressing TV. We don't all get affected by it and before you say "I have had other crap to deal with in my life" ... well guess what ... so have the rest of this forum. Every human has their problems that of utmost importance to their small world.

Be kind, for everyone that you meet is fighting a hard battle - Plato.

It is how you handle those problems that makes you who you are and you can choose how it affects your life. Whilst very few of us can choose how it affects our psyche it is entirely up to you how it affects your life

(by this I mean that it will hurt say if a loved one passes away but if you decide to sit and wallow for the next two weeks then you have chosen how it affects your life)

Everyone gets depressed, it's a mechanism of our body to Increase survival chances. A human that never gets depressed, will run higher risks of falling prey to various pitfalls we have always faced through history.

Depression is a alarm bell, it signals important factors of distress, and instigates you to deal with those factors in order to avoid said pitfalls and overcome them.

Taking a pharmaceutical drug all of the time to remedy the brain's alarm system is absurd, because the purpose of the alarm is to signal something is wrong. This is essentially taking morphine to remedy the pain of a gunshot wound, RATHER than actually surgically removing the bullet and patching you back up. It's insanity.

We need to remove the bullet friends. Doping you up on morphine is sad because I just watch you sit here and die slowly basically. I'd rather see these wounds fixed rather than just deadened to the pain they inflict.

Ask yourself, do the poor masses in Asia for example, do they have depression? Yes. But they live with it and overcome it. Poor developing nations seem happier despite the fact they have no wealth, they live in mud or clay houses and struggle to find a clean supply of fresh water daily.

They are willing to work like a real slave all day for 10 or 20 cents in some multinational factory making us cheap crappy shoes or something. And do they get some Paxil for their trouble? No.

So why are they on average, happier than we here in the developed world you may wonder? Because we are ignoring our emotional issues inside by taking drugs to cover them up and hide them. Just like I said before, we need to take the bullet out.

And depression is the alarm that signals us to know that there is a bullet within us that needs to be removed. (Metaphorically). Replace "bullet" with "whatever makes your life suck".

Now, if we are talking about chemical deficiencies, than the only cure for this is particular animal or plant products that we humans would eat naturally over the last thousands of years and evolved to.

Since we evolved with these plants and animals, it only follows that we can gain any chemical needed for our sustainment from those sources.

For example, if you only eat candy all day every day, that explains why you feel like crap all the time. Or if you just eat the same McD's burger meal 3 times a day forever....these types of diets will screw you in a week easily so just make sure your eating real decent food at least 3-4 times a week in the middle of all the junk.

Also if you were doused in highly toxic chemcials, or if you were exposed to high levels of radiation, you will also feel like total complete crap all the time.

If your depression is NOT caused by a bad negative attitude, it could be posioning or malnutrition. That's not depression though, that's just feeling like crap all the time.

We need to separate these cases, depression deals with sadness, poisoning deals with exposure to toxins, and malnutrition deals with bad diets.

And like said before, the only way to deal with sadness is to choose to overcome it and change your point of view and start thinking optimistically about things.

Some people mentioned video games, movies, etc. I'll throw in Comedy Central, go to their website and check out all the stand up comedy. It will lighten your mood.

Whatever is bothering you, just stop dwelling on it. Think about other stuff.

And if you were poisoned get antidotes or detox. If your diet sucks than eat something decent for once.

One more thing, I almost never see anyone in wheelchairs or on their death bed claiming to be depressed. It's always those of us who have so much yet ignore all of it and focus on what we don't have. And ususally those with little to nothing, are just thankful to have something!

Originally posted by Skid Mark
Thanks for this thread. A lot of people unfortunately think that people suffering from depression are seeking attention and it makes me sick. I guess you really don't understand what it's like until you're there. I wonder if part of the cause is environmental, like the world we live in. The negativity in the world and on the news, and television in general. Getting bombarded by that every day can't be good for you. S&F for you.

Well... uhh... "Depression is NOT a Real Disorder" and then all the cry about how depression sucks.... to me that looks like someone wants attention... Why start such a depressing topic? I mean look at the other topics... "You Are All Going To Die!" or "Nuclear False Flag Alert!! It's ON In 3 Days!" and "TO ALL HUMANS, the time has come to take back our world! FULL DISCLOSURE!" haven't you people had enough?

Depression = Weak state of mind...
Suicide = An easy way out...

That is how I see it... I could be wrong... I do think that pills is not the answer... they just mess with your mind even more... If you take them... don't have kids... ever...

Maybe I just don't understand... how you can feel so bad that you would think about killing your self... I mean just thinking about... that if you kill your self you will burn in hell for all eternity... that would stop me any day...

I am not trying to be an ass... It's just if you know that you have a problem... fix it... get off your lazy ass and do something about it... meet new people... play board games with friends... stop browsing depressing forums... get a puppy... get a hot wife... and a hot gf... enjoy your life no matter how terrible it is you think it is... because it all could be much worse... millions of people die each year from accidents... incidents... they are robbed of their lives... they could of done so much, could of made so many people happy... yet you are here reading this... you still can have what ever you want... yet you are wasting your life thinking how bad it is... how no one understands what you're going through.... slap your self... dumbass!

Don't hate! Peace!

reply to post by PETROLCOIN

I think everyone goes through depression. I have, even bad cases, but I got over it with the belief in myself.
So while I think depression IS a problem, to call it a mental disorder can, in lots of cases, be a little over the top.
Why? because its natural, with the system we've created, that we have to live with and through every day, to feel depressed.
While some ore worse than others, to call it a disorder isn't correct. Depression is the correct response to the system we've created. Its completely natural to feel this way.

It could be that you take things seriously... and shouldn't perhaps.

Originally posted by george_gaz

I really don't want to bring "strong" and "weak" minded into the equation but from the way you explain it I see it as follows:

Depressing stuff on TV. I am weak minded thus get depressed and let it affect me.
Depressing stuff on TV. I am strong minded thus will just get on with it and not let it affect me.

Come on.

We all see the same # that you do. The same depressing TV. We don't all get affected

Wow and double wow. Have you truly not learnt anything from this thread? A colleague was diagnosed with clinical depression. He had a good job and a good family. He was not miserable in any way. He was not depressed by the TV, he was not 'weak minded' - geddit? Then one day he forgot why he was going to a work meeting and that was the start. Of course it can start with feeling down, but many times it comes out of the blue and is not related. Just LISTEN to what people are telling you.
Sheesh....

Anyone can score themselves a depression diagnosis simply by going to a doctor and telling them that you don't want to work anymore.

Also, isn't it ironic how workplace stress (which an employer may be liable for) appears to have been replaced by "depression", which fortunately is nobody's fault.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN

Wow! A lot of flags in a topic of depression. It seems that a lot of people here can relate to the topic. I not making any judgment but just an observation.

reply to post by cosmolidity


Maybe its not a choice that we take things seriously.. maybe cause thats how it is..
Depression stems from other things wrong with someone, we are just.. well thanks to Petrol there.. isnt now.. I was going to say hidden..

Some people think things are to literal, they take most things seriously.. It is how it is..

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


great post. being nearly indestructible from a psicological point of view through some very harsh events of life, i've always wondered what depression was. then i had for a year a girlfriand with clinical depression, and saw how deep the suffering without chemicals. it is really hard and there is nothing a person can do from the outside.

reply to post by starchild10


WTF. That sounds more like Dementia or Alzheimer (I don't mean to be rude).

lots of people here (with due respect) don't get it. if your neuro transmitters lack some chemicals, imputs won't get through, and you're in such a state of depression that death is a welcome relief.

what part of this simple explanation you don't understand? you may be talking of light psicological depression, you know, hard thing in life from wich you can lift yourself up. but trust me, if you lack some chemicals, you are cooked without some proper cure. telling such people that this is normal, that is lack of will to work or other horrid things i have read, is utter hypocrisy.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Everyone gets depressed, it's a mechanism of our body to Increase survival chances. A human that never gets depressed, will run higher risks of falling prey to various pitfalls we have always faced through history.

Depression is a alarm bell, it signals important factors of distress, and instigates you to deal with those factors in order to avoid said pitfalls and overcome them.

Taking a pharmaceutical drug all of the time to remedy the brain's alarm system is absurd, because the purpose of the alarm is to signal something is wrong. 1

I agree with some of your points and absolutely disagree with others.

Sometimes our bodies malfunction and we need to take medicine to correct it. Diabetics needs to take insulin for the rest of their lives because their bodies are not correctly producing insulin in the right amounts.

Clinical depression is an overwhelming feeling of despair and hopelessness, often without any obvious outward signs from the sufferer. Sadly, we often find out about a clinically depressed acquaintance from learning of their hospitalization or even worse.

Stress triggers many different types of mental illnesses including clinical depression.

Third world countries are often economically driven from the backs of their citizens so their physical exercise rates are much higher than developed nations. Stress initiates the fight or flight syndrome which nature alleviates through exercise. Citizens of developed countries are often faced with fight or flight without the physical exercise nature gave us to fight it off. This additional stress triggers mental illnesses that might otherwise lay dormant.
Overcrowding, crime, and pollution in modern cities all add to the stress load that many in third world countries never see.

Acquiring brain chemical balance is the goal of many mental illness drugs. But measuring brain chemistry is not currently possible because it would be destructive testing leaving the patient lobotomized.

The current state of the art research being done in mental health is being done with the human genome to pinpoint a genetic reason and marker for new drugs to target.

best,
Jennxx

look: since it seems difficult to understand, i have an example. if you have a simple electric circuit you have basically a dynamo and a lightbulb. if some contacs are damaged, if you're lucky the bulb will give out very feeble light, even if the dynamo is fully spinning. you have to repair thos contacts, in the human body that is not so simple. in some cases, you are talking as if the other lights that are working properly, were accusing the bulb that it's its fault and to move on.

quite absurd.