Moved to Support by Lirit (28370) on 2008-05-07 06:30:10 Moved to the support board, which so needs this sort of sticky.
Made sticky by Lirit (28370) on 2008-05-07 06:30:27
Every so often, a post pops up from someone who is concerned that they might be suffering from depression, and the advice given by members of DDN is alwas encourgaing and fantastic, so I thought I'd create a collection reference thread to help out.
Having suffered depression myself, and now working in the field of non-clinical mental health, I found vrious resoruces like this to be helpful ain getting some perspective on my health, so I hope this can help others.
Depressed, or Just feeling blue?
Most of us feel depressed from time to time. This is usually linked to changes, losses and setbacks that are a part of life. We can feel down about a death, job loss, the end of a relationship, physical problems, failures, social problems and so on.
Depression associated with such life events, though painful, is usually TEMPOARY and lifts once life returns to normal.
Depression may become a serious problem however, if it is ONGOING and not linked to obvious cause.
If you are experiencing four or more of the following symptoms on a REGULAR and ongoing basis, you may have a problem with depression which will require attention:
Constantly sad, blue, or down in the dumps,
Lost interest in activities you used to enjoy,
Overeating or under eating (loss of appetite),
Oversleeping or under sleeping,
Less active than usual,
Finding yourself avoiding other people,
No longer getting a boost from compliments or praise,
Lost all interest in sex,
A low-self esteem or are highly critical of yourself,
Have become less efficient at work/school/home,
Less able to cope with everyday routines,
Find it very difficult to make even trivial decisions,
Entertaining morbid thoughts, of suicide or self harm. (or currently self harming)
It is very painful to live with depression. Some people liken it to being lost in a fog, or being pressed down by a great weight. The colour seems to drain out of the world, the nights are too long, nothing seems to bring any comfort and you feel alone, even in a group.
What these descriptions have in common is a sense of HOPELESSNESS, a lack of future and a deep lonely feeling of ISOLATION.
But you are certainly not alone!
In fact, the World Health Organisation has even suggested that 15% of the population suffer from a kind of depression which seriously effects a person’s ability to function normally.
The Different kinds of Depression
The CLINICAL terms for Depression include:
Reactive or Situational – Depression that is triggered by an external event (and therefore usually temporary)
Endogenous – This is the type of depression that is believed to be triggered by INTERNAL factors, such as genes or biochemical triggers.
Your depression and other people’s perception
Depression makes an impact on most, if not all, areas of your life, but few can take such a toll as in your dealings with others. Some of the problems you might face include:
Feeling that the depth of your pain is being TRIVIALISED.
Feeling INADEQUATE and like a FAILURE because you are depressed.
Felling GUILTY and UNGRATEFUL for being this way.
Feeling caught between wanting to be alone and feeling rejected if you are.
Feeling MISUNDERSTOOD.
Feeling very ALONE.
One of the greatest difficulties in all of this is conveying to others what you are FEELING and having them UNDERSTAND.
An important key here is understanding the difference between being UNHAPPY (which others may perceive your problem as) and being DEPRESSED (which is how you feel.) – and
there is a difference.
When you’re unhappy: you can seek comfort and allow yourself to feel comforted.
When you’re depressed: you feel unable to do either.
Unfortunately, a lot of people have never been educated about depression, and some can tend to take things the wrong way.
You may find it difficult to communicate because your feelings are CONFUSING, PAINFUL and you LACK ENERGY: others may take this lack of responsiveness personally.
You may feel as though your ENERGY has DISAPPEARED: others may mistake this for laziness.
You may feel UNWORTHY, GULITY and FLAWED. You may tend to GIREVE over the HOPE you have lost. Yes, you DO tend to feel sorry for yourself: but you have good reason to, and it can be beyond your control.
However others might see this as selfish.
All of these things make it very difficult for EITHER PARTY to close the gap by REACHING OUT, but..
REACHING OUT IS CRUCIAL
Getting Help.
Depression is classified as a serious health condition by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) AND the International Classification of Diseases (World Health Organisation, 2006).
It is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and if you feel as though you may be suffering from depression, it is important that you seek professional help to get you on the mend.
The first step, is mentioning how you are feeling to your GP or family doctor. They will then be able to assess your situation, and refer you to psychologist, or psychiatrist: or perhaps both.
The definition of a psychologist can be found here:
www.google.com.au . . .
The definition of a psychiatrist can be found here:
www.google.com.au . . .
Some cases of depression may require medicating. This often comes in the form of anti-depressant medication, which your GP or psychiatrist will prescribe for you.
You can read about anti-depressant medications, and their side effects here:
health.ninemsn.com.au . . .
Starting anti depressant medication for the first time can be scary and intimidating, so make sure you ask your doctor any and every question you have about any medications you might be on.
Remember: they are there to help you, and are trained in the field of mental health, so you do not have to feel embarrassed to air your problems and concerns to them.
99% of the time, they are more than happy to answer any questions or meet and requests you might have.
Treating depression is a partnership between you and your health professional, so don’t feel the need to take the back seat., work with them on achieving what works best for YOU.
When you feel like you can’t go on – Let someone know!
Below are two telephone counselling services which you can call at any time of the day if you feel you need help. i’ll add more as I find them for other countries)
If you are thinking of harming yourself or seriously contemplating suicide, or even if you feel trapped and need someone to talk to urgently: I urge you to pick up the phone and make the call.
National Suicide Hotline (USA) - 1-800-784-2433 (24 hours)
Lifeline (Australia) - 13 11 14 (24 hours)
Resources used in this thread:
‘Taming the Black Dog’ by Bev Aisbett.
All other resources and websites listed.
