Depression is NOT a Real Disorder

Thank you all for the responses.

I am pleased to see that a lot of you have found ways to cope or have found methods which have worked to treat or cure your depression. I take Xanax for my anxiety and depression and it keeps me stable. It is not my preferred choice in dealing with my depression as I have strong opinions against medication, but unfortunately I exhausted all options to dealing with depression prior to taking Xanax, and none of them worked for me.

I once found myself on the naive side of the depression argument; I too saw it as a fabricated disorder which people claimed to suffer from. But when I experienced it for myself, my opinion changed very quickly. Depression is something I would not wish on anyone.

It does not have to come to experiencing it yourself to understand what we go through. All it takes is education, an open mind, and a little empathy. We aren't seeking attention or content with wallowing in our own self pity. We do not choose to feel this way. It is a condition we have been cursed with.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


The Xanax worked for me as well, it makes me feel normal, I was given other drugs but they made me feel like I was trippin,

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


As someone who does not take anything or see anyone for my issues..

As you see in the suicide thread you linked to.. I am a real screwed up person..

Suicide thoughts are a freind to me because I think that is the best way to deal with how F'd up my life is..

Things that happen in my life that are negative are bad because there is no way to stop them.
I am angry, hateful, and resentful about alot of things in my life..

That post i made about suicide was because i watched that movie The Bridge Documentary and was mad on how cold some of the family members where after thier loved ones suicided..

I live day to day knowing things will stay screwed up..

Someone said for me to make a change in my life. I tried that, guess what it blew up in my face and left me worse off than what i was..

I Do things slow and dont assume i will get somewhere cause chances are i will end up nowhere...

Suicide when and if it comes, will be a relief through the bs I go through day in and day out..

But you know what.. If i had a choice to be a normie or be me, I would always pick to be me.. No matter how F'ed up I am.. I will always be better what a normie will ever be..

Just cause i cant go hang out with a million people or make my life better does not mean it sucks being me.. There is alot of good in me that i give to other people.. Stupid thoughts, art, things to think about, and knowledge... These are the greatest gifts someone can give someone, material things are so over rated..

And to the Arnold Schwarzenegger guy. not everyone wants to bulk up just cause thier mind is crazy.. Some of us like how we are because it makes us us.. true individuals.

Hey I just realized i made a positive about myself.. WEEE!!!

There are different types of depression. Most of us will experience some bad things in our lives and be 'down' as a result. This is not the same as finding oneself in a big black pit and not being able to climb out of it. In fact clinical depression can actually be the result of brain chemistry/biology. It's as real as cancer or a broken leg.

I agree with OP. There are varying reasons for clinical depression, and triggers might include traumatic brain injury. It is known that damage or underdevelopment of certain brain regions directly correlate with mood, and CNS neurotransmitters. Damage may occur from mild to severe brain injury, and underdevelopment is associated with traumatic experiences.

For those of you who are sceptical about depression being "fake" I urge you to do some research. Here are just a couple articles that can help get you started:

The neural networks that putatively modulate aspects of normal emotional behavior have been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders by converging evidence from neuroimaging, neuropathological and lesion analysis studies. These networks involve the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and closely related areas in the medial and caudolateral orbital cortex (medial prefrontal network), amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial parts of the basal ganglia, where alterations in grey matter volume and neurophysiological activity are found in cases with recurrent depressive episodes.

Source

Information from structural (MRI, CT) and functional imaging (SPECT, PET) is then examined for direct evidence of prefrontal cortex abnormalities in clinically depressed subjects. Functional imaging studies, with few exceptions, demonstrate prefrontal lobe hypometabolism in primary and secondary depression, with severity of depression often correlating with the degree of frontal inactivity.

Source

Clinical depression is a lot like asthma.
When someone has an asthma attack, you give them a puffer. It helps relax their airways and allows them to control their breathing.
Well when someone has an "episode" (clinical depression is long term) medications are needed to help "relax" the brain and allows a person to be able to have more control over their attack of depression.
It definitely it not the answer, but it can certainly help with dealing with the intensities of such a disorder.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN



Count me in. Thank you for this thread, S&F!

P.S. I watched The Bridge too, it is a very good documentary.

reply to post by ThichHeaded

There is alot of good in me that i give to other people

I think sometimes we tend to dwell on the bad and over look the good,



Do negative experiences have a more profound impact on our mental well being?

Or do we just not appreciate or fail to appreciate the good times?

reply to post by InnerTruths


That was interesting, TY.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


I've yet to find any combination of meds that help me more than hinder. The last time I went to a doctor and requested help, I was given zoloft and that was in 2004. Never again... I've never felt so psychotic in my life.. I went sideways, as I can only describe it... I've tried so many I cant even remember half of them. Some had positive effects initially, but I start to feel like I've taken a psychedelic without any euphoria to synergise the insanity.. Feeling that way day after day...

Herbals too, I've tried st johns wort, certain ethnobotanical plants that supposedly bring calmness and stability..

Councelling, Cognitive behavioural therapy, etc... I know they work for some people, but having spent so long working on myself I see it all as a form of tricking myself..

But overall I find myself just going in circles for near 20 years..

Ahh well, insomnia for days till I crash, or self medicating with homebrew... Pretty much everyone I knew is in the past due to the crap, so hey ho a hermits life for me..

I find the worst aspects are when I feel manic... some people with depression say they wouldnt know themselves without their manic states, but they are people with an outlet. it just drives me sick.. Exploding inside waiting for the crash..

Depression really is a cancer of the emotions...

reply to post by Stormdancer777


No I am specifically pointing myself out as doing good for people..

I ran a site on the study of 911 for 5 yrs, ATS even put it in thier search engine for CT sites awhile ago..

I do art..
community.webshots.com...

I Do photography..
Here

Just cause I am mentally screwed up does not mean I am completely black.. I cant believe i am going to say this.. I have some shades of grey in me somewhere.. It shows everytime i show myself somewhere. whether it is here life or whatever..

I enjoy things I have done, It gives a great service to people who see my art or work...

That site where my 3d art is.. I am 950 out of 65,000 people..
I am accomplished... I am good and I am awesome at what i do.. everything from art to hating myself..

YOu think situational depression and clinical depression are not the same????? Whilst it is true both types of depression have different sources but to say depression from one is not the same as the other is ludricous. Depression is depression whether its a chemical imbalance or situational. You think situational depression you dont feel like killing yourself???? At least with a chemical depression you can get treatment....

reply to post by loner007


I am not downplaying situational depression, nor am I claiming sufferers of clinical depression feel any worse than sufferers of situational depression. I am merely pointing out that when people suggest a change in lifestyle as a treatment of depression, such a thing typically only works with those suffering from situational depression.

Again, in no way am I downplaying situational depression. I do agree, depression is depression. I feel sympathy for all depression sufferers. I am simply pointing out that people's "get a life" approach to depression does not and never will correct a chemical imbalance in the brain. It simply, and unfortunately, does not work that way.

hmm lets see ,
fear triggers hormones from the small part in the back center of brain thalamus that over rides you and you do thing s automaticly ,

constant fear mongering keeps hormone factory in over drive resulting in "mild brain damage" ^^cough cough^^^
depression ,

outside stimulus makes you sad in the long run , mmkay

Like someone else mentioned earlier, I was ready to come into this thread all in a rage over the title. Man, am I glad that I read the OP.

Having said that, Depression (whether Clinical or Situational) can be an incredibly life altering thing. Some people are able to cope better with it, while others need a little more help. I've been somewhere in between Situational and Clinical for the past ten years. I've been to a therapist for most of that time, and I've been on medication for easily half that time as well. I personally don't like taking medication. I feel like I am having to be completely dependent on it for my happiness and general well being, instead of just myself being responsible. But I also know that it does help me, so I continue to take it. I'm also not so naive to think that other people are the same as me, or that Depression (especially severe Depression) is something that can be fixed easily. All I have to do is look at what my mother has been through to know that medication can be just as helpful, if not as necessary, as support from those around you.

At the same time, though, I do feel like many doctors "push" medication on people who simply have a case of the "blues." Whether its a symptom of the marketing of big pharma, a misunderstanding of Depression and its' causes, or the result of a quick fix society, I don't know. It probably is a combination of all three.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


Ok I see what you are saying

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


Thank you. S&F

...I've heard the terms before, but didn't realize that "situational" and "clinical" depression are recognized as distinct. Now of course, it's obvious.

Also, btw - doctors often diagnose people with debilitating chronic disease as "clinically depressed" to help make the (needed) case for disability - because debilitating chronic diseases do NOT qualify victims for disability, only the symptoms do. Ie., stroke, cancer, heart attack and clinical depression - all "symptoms" of various chronic diseases.

Originally posted by ThichHeaded
Suicide thoughts are a freind to me because I think that is the best way to deal with how F'd up my life is..

I often find myself seeing suicide as the only true solution to my issues as well. I often think about the meaning of life and what purpose it serves to continue living. Although I have thought about it many times, the only conclusion I ever reach is that we live to die; death is the only purpose and the only end.

What a lot of my friends and family cannot comprehend about me is that I have a very complex mind. My mind does not filter or censor any subject. I have deep thoughts about a wide range of subjects, whether it applies directly to my life or not. One example of this is that even before I developed depression (or before it became obvious that I had it, if I was predisposed) I often thought about suicide in a relieving and calming light. The idea of having the ability to end any suffering I was going through or simply to not exist anymore was relaxing to me.

I think that is what has made this depression so difficult for me to deal with; I had positive opinions about suicide before the depression even showed itself, so that when it finally did, it only pushed me closer to the edge of actually going through with it.

Originally posted by zerbot565
hmm lets see ,
fear triggers hormones from the small part in the back center of brain thalamus that over rides you and you do thing s automaticly ,

constant fear mongering keeps hormone factory in over drive resulting in "mild brain damage" ^^cough cough^^^
depression ,

outside stimulus makes you sad in the long run , mmkay

That sums it up. No one outside of ATS has depression. It's all the fearmongering.

I wonder how long this lady was a member of ATS before she killed herself?




Charmain Dragun

Originally posted by riddle6
Like someone else mentioned earlier, I was ready to come into this thread all in a rage over the title. Man, am I glad that I read the OP.

Yeah, sorry about the title being a tad bit misleading. I figured, though, if I made the title a statement I agree with, such as "Depression is a Real Disorder", it would not attract as many viewers. So instead I titled it a statement I am refuting.

Originally posted by riddle6
At the same time, though, I do feel like many doctors "push" medication on people who simply have a case of the "blues." Whether its a symptom of the marketing of big pharma, a misunderstanding of Depression and its' causes, or the result of a quick fix society, I don't know. It probably is a combination of all three.

Absolutely. I completely agree. That is why medication was my "last resort". I literally tried everything I could find that seemed in the least bit credible, and nothing had enough of an effect to prevent me from having these strong impulsive thoughts to end my own life. I still have strong opinions against medications and Big Pharma, but I realize now that some medications are necessary. I dislike that I must take Xanax to remain stable, but it is unfortunately something that I must live with.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


Ya I dont see suicide being a bad thing.. It is quite calming sometimes to sit and think about why one should do it..

The mind thing.. ya sometimes I think about the most stupidest things.. Like why is the sky this color and it bothers me that i cant think of a good answer to the question, I spend hrs and hrs on it..

But ya.. odd people think more complex than others.. We dont have a simple mind to tell us yes its this way or no its that way.. we thoroughly think the yes and no out.. That is why we know our beliefs are solid because we run them through so many tests before we come up with a conclusion..