Coping With Depression

[Dingus Khan]

Name something that matters, spank.

[spank]

I don't even remember which NIN song I got those lines from...

[mystic]

hey white, (Im assuming I know you under a different name) share it with your friends, I know you are close with Kuberr and he has helped me through some bad times, even though he doesnt know it. You can feel free to contact me anytime too, even if just for an argument.

I am not into all that therapy and drugs crap, I know you have a good brain and are a thinker, look into yourself for the answers, thats where the real truths are and dont let yourself get depressed about not being like 'normal' folk, normal folk are boring bastards, at least you are interesting.

[Melfice]

The worst thing you could probably do is let yourself feel inferior, even if you think it as far as the horizon reaches. What it's about partially is self acceptance and realization of your current position in life. While you probably don't like it, and I don't blame you, you need to not think about it, at all. I know its got to be hard. I can't say that I know exactly how you feel since I'm not in the same situation, and haven't gone what you've gone though. However, from experiences of less extremity, I can tell you that if you can find something to do, and not something that's going to harm your mind or body further, and you enjoy it alot, then perhaps it will take your mind off of what you seem to be constantly feeling. Even if for a few minutes, It be progress. I suppose all I can tell you after that is to just find more and more things that you find enjoyable (once again, without harming your body or mind). I hope this helps a little bit. Some of it is what I've already told you via Yahoo Msngr, some isn't. :)

mystic said
Kuberr and he has helped me through some bad times, even though he doesnt know it.

Really? Haha, Kickass!

[Captain Red]

White said:
How does the populace of DoomWorld cope with depression, loneliness and complete and utter emptiness?

Play Games, bitch on the everything else forum and Laugh at right wing Christian sites.

better then drinking

(ummm... witch I sometimes do anyway.)

[Chopkinsca]

yeah, I have depression all the time...
play games? I did that... too much.. games were too comforting and now I can't talk to people, even if I have known them for almost a year.
I hate the fact I can't deal with people, I freak out when I have to do anything that involves people. then the rest of the day is spent trying to keep myself sane until I can sleep and start another day.

[Aseph]

Well, ever since one my best friend killed himself because he was depressed and no one would take him seriously (including me), I've always taken stuff like this seriously.

White, you made a good descision to talk to someone about it. I don't really know how or why you're depressed, but I won't focus on that. Being depressed sucks. It's happened to me. It's happened to lots of people. The problem is that it can be a vicious cycle, because most of the time you're also depressed because you're depressed. In my case I was able to overcome it without medication or therapy. All you have to do is, whenever you feel that cold, deprived, empty feeling the most just do something you enjoy and get your mind off of it. If you don't have anything you really enjoy, find something. It does help to talk to family or close friends, at least in most cases. If all else fails, take therapy. I'm personally against medication unless it's something REALLY serious, so I'd recommend a therapist over a pill any day. In KoRn's case, I can't really give advice because I've always been perfectly comfortable around people.

[Scabbed Angel]

Cecillia said:

. . . as for those raped as children... I'd kill the rapists, myself o_o;. It may be bloody, but, it is my own greatest personal fear, and I say death to anyone sick enough to do that sort of thing. Normally, I'm a pacifist, but in this case...

Too friendly. Blow torch their pricks, stick a pruner up their asses and yank it open.

"Cause its dull you twit, it'll hurt more."

Disgusting fucks.

[Scabbed Angel]

spank said:

I don't even remember which NIN song I got those lines from...

"I do not want this" Halo 8

[Rubilacxe]

I've suffered through some depression...it mostly derrives from GF's or ex GF's. With my friends tho, I get through it. If things get too akward with my friends, my school has like 50 thousand people who can be counsellors, so yeah.

[Carnevil]

Suffering from clinical depression myself for many years, I know a lot about it, and what it's like.

First off, there seems to be some misconceptions about what depression actually is. It's a serious medical condition that be incredibly criplling for those who have it. Depression is NOT when something bad happens and you feel sad for a short time. "Man, my dog died so I got depression" = NOT DEPRESSION. That is normal. However, you're in a prolonged state (2 or more weeks) of sadness that interferes with your ability to function, feel pleasure, concentrate, maintain an interest in something, don't enjoy the things you used to, etc., then it's very likely you're suffering from depression.

What results from depression, can range from somewhat mild, to very severe. It can range from just feeling bad about yourself, to suicide. How bad was it for me? I lost a great programming job I enjoyed very much due to it. They were very tolerant of me when I started to go downhill because I had done a very good job for them in the past, but when I stopped showing up for work altogether, they had no choice but to let me go. Why did I stop going in? I was afraid they would yell at me due to my performance slipping (my ability to concentrate dimished; a symptom of depression), which only compounded the problem. For a long time I was very paranoid and scared, sometimes very irrationally. I felt I was a failure and a worthless piece of shit. Only now (that was last September, it's not July) have I started to come back from all that nonsense.

So what's the cause of this? It's really a two-part thing. First part is the biochemistry in your head. This can be solved with the correct medication. The second is basically a result of self-esteem. Yes, that's right. I said self-esteem is a problem. It is perhaps the #1 problem amongst people today. Why is this a problem? The philosophy basically says you're actions are a reflection of you. So, in turn, you're only a good person when you do good things, and you're a bad person when you do bad things. Since we're all human, we inevitably do bad things. We might say, "I did the best I could", but even then, not everyone does the best they can all the time. So, inevitably people do bad things, and when self-esteem is involved, they esteem themselves NEGATIVELY. That is an attack on YOU. When you put energy into attacking yourself like that, you feel bad, and then your performance gets even worse. And now that you feel bad, and your performance has gone down, you beat yourself up for getting to that position in the first place, so now you're doubly depressed. There's a lot more to it, but this is the basic downward spiral that leads to depression, stemming from the internal mental dialogue.

So what's the solution? Understand that it's something that just can't be "snapped" out of. Really the best solution is a combonitaion of the right medication and the right therapist. The medicice is perscribed by a psychiatrist, and the theray is given by a psychologist. The psychaitrist will probably put you on a bunch of different medications, until one if found that works for you (you will know, the changes will be profound). The psychologist however, that's another story. There's definitely some bad ones out there... believe me, I've been to them. The real key is 3-5 visits. If you don't see any results within 3-5 visits, the guy probably sucks and it's time to find a new one. Once you find a guy that's good, you'll know :)

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions.

[toxicfluff]

I was gonna make a similar post, but I doubt I could add anything to what you said Carnevil. I had my first trip to the psychologist yesterday.... a really goddamn nasty and difficult experience.

[Rellik]

My doctors latest solution? Valium. I think I'd rather be a hermit than a zombie thanks very much. :p It was really tempting to keep using it, as it pretty much numbed me to everything. The only thing I'll really miss about it was that while it was kicked in, I could stop thinking. There was this glorious silence and peace inside my noggin. It just wasn't worth the cost though.

Yeah like Carn said you gotta find GOOD help, there's lots of not so good help out there. I've been going to shrinks since I was 8 and still haven't found a single one that could really help me. So I've given up and have spent the last few years trying to figure the shit out for myself. Everything was going great up until about 6 months ago and now I'm right back in the rut again. Sooner or later I always manage to crawl out so I'm not worried.

[Chopkinsca]

Drinking to help ease the depression is one way to become an alcoholic. For one, alcohol is a depressent, it may make you feel good for a while, but after that, you are going to crash, badly. Same goes for sugar.
Also if you use it to fix your problems, you will soon start drinking whenever anything happens, and that isn't really a good idea. The best way is to find strength to help yourself. But with depression, that is almost impossible.
For me, getting a job would help me a lot, but the only thing getting in the way of me getting a job is being depressed. and while I am depressed, I know I won't be able to talk to people, so I am kinda stuck until I get lucky enough to get a job. and even then, I don't know if it will help me.