Depressed people check in

[IronLionZion]

I've noticed a lot of threads about depression here on DU. It's probably Bush's fault. ;)

I have moderate chronic depression and social anxiety. I find it much easier to spend my time at an online forum than at social functions, but I'm getting better. St. John's Wort has helped a lot.

How about you?

Cheer up we're not alone! :toast:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Check

In

[Fenris]

2. Badly

I'm sort of coming out of my darkest hour. Relationship issues. I have chronic depression, agoraphobia, social/generalized anxiety. Wonderful genes.

I've never felt like I wanted to die before, but December was a black black month, and I started to think I'd be better off not existing at all. Hopefully that's passed.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

17. I am going the same thing you are going through

and I felt the same way you did in December . Here is a hug :hug: in hopes that you feel better in 2004 .

[TheZoo]

3. Yo!

Between a good friend that got banned, and the fact that I've "celebrated" another year without Marie O8) and even though I have a close friend in Vegas, it's still not the same.

[IronLionZion]

4. Clinical depression is different from being sad.

If you have "the blues" then you just need to cheer up. If you have clinical depression you probably have a chemical imbalance and consider suicide.

Depression sucks. I'm trying to deal with that and tackle social anxiety at the same time. A positive mood will help with social situations and vice versa.

oh well, good night

[Gingersnap]

5. here

I have struggled with chronic depression since childhood. I too hit a very low point during the last few months, triggered I think by stress. Didn't think about suicide, but did withdraw basically to the point that I had no life and was miserable in a self-hating paralysis. You know how it is when you no longer have the will to do things that you KNOW will make you feel better (like listen to music, call friends, go for a walk, read a novel)--that's been me for the last two months. I think it is very hard on Mr. Gingersnap sometimes.

[Hogarth]

6. I guess I'm in your boat.

The past couple years have been a bitch, family-wise. The death of my kid brother, the deployment of my son to Iraq, and many other things that would not be appropriate to discuss here.

Add to that the fact that I watch a lot of news on the teevee. I don't have to elaborate in detail here--you know what I mean.

I tried St. John's Wort some time back, and it didn't really do anything for me. But beer ... is beer an herb?

Be well ... and, vote Quimby!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. Beer is a herb, just like ketchup. (nt)

[Grey]

7. not so much, anymore

Do a google search for magnesium + depression. George Eby has a "killer" web page that has helped me. If nothing else it will take your mind off your problems for an hour. :-)

[Lostmessage]

8. Do you want a list?

:hi:

[koopie57]

9. I wish that I alone felt this depression thing

cuz it is a horrible place to be. Even though I have been doing really fine, working the program, all that stuff, the other day a big mach truck was in my rearview mirror. It was not really hard not to hit my breaks, but I could feel my foot on the brake pedal. I remember the days when I would have slammed on the breaks..... I'm glad that on that day, I had a momemt to think first.

[Toucano]

10. Not depressed

but a touch of S.A.D.

[oxymoron]

21. I have fought it most of my adult life.

SAD and depression seems to run in my family. Thank God for Welbutrin. It really has changed my life.

(BTW, what a wonderful picture of Ella...I'm a huge fan! If your interested, I have a huge collection of her stuff, including some rare recordings. Message me if you are interested in talking.)

[mykpart]

11. Depression and PTSD here.

I take Zoloft. Better living thru chemistry!

[Piperay]

12. I also take SJW

I couldn't make it without taking it. I suffer from anxiety attacks and chronic depression due to a series of deaths in my family, my crappy life and the state this country is in. :argh:

[moz4prez]

13. OK so here's my question

If I consider suicide whenever I'm alone with myself, if I feel like weeping like a little shit at the slightest provocation, and if my sleeping pattern has degraded to such that I have no definite routine save that I wake when I wake and I sleep when I sleep (also I keep waking up in a cold sweat) and my hygeine is terrible and I'm UGLY and STUPID but WHAT can I do. I'm not employed. I wake up, I get drunk, I fall asleep, wake up, eat, sit, get drunk, lie down, pick up a novel, grow bored, fall asleep . . . it's terribly monotonous and I've become convinced that I won't make it past this month. Yet I always go on, and on, and on.

Am I depressed? It's times like this I wish I had religion.

[IronLionZion]

19. see a doctor for a depression screening

that sounds like me before I sought treatment

[terrya]

14. I'm like you.

I've dealt with depression for many years now. It's a lot easier to be at an online forum than social occasions.

I'm currently taking Wellbutrin and Celexa. Both keep me on an even keel, emotionally.

No, my friend, we're not alone.

Terry

[Bertha Venation]

16. It's not bush's fault, at least not here

yet here I am.

[DemExpat]

18. I've had a history of depression and anxiety disorder

which I now have a stabilized management of with a healthy diet, good walks, very little alcohol, and no meds whatsoever...

I kicked a terrible 10 year long addiction to tranquilizers etc. 22 years ago, tried anti-depressants 5 years ago with terrible results, and now I feel depression and anxiety -free after a period of Homeopathic treatment (by a doctor specializing in Homeopathy) and starting University studies in a field I love.

Oh, and I had about 10 years of intensive psycho-therapy - a psychiatrist - along with the meds.....:-( ....which gave me insight into human misery, but did little to relieve my state....

This marked improvement has remained stable for about 5 years now! :kick:

We certainly are not alone!
:hi:

DemEx

[IronLionZion]

20. There are a lot of us here

I hope you are all having some kind of treatment or a seeking treatment other than drugs/alcohol. Alcohol and most drugs like marijuana tend to make depression much worse.

in the meantime try to cheer up! :grouphug:

[evil_orange_cat]

22. severe depression here...

in fact I have a doc appt. today with a neurologist I've been seeing... I had a brain-spec scan done to help further diagnose/treat my depression. I've attempted suicide multiple times, not lately though.

I blame Clinton for my depression... jk ;)

http://www.amenclinic.com/ac/default.asp

Dr. Amen is the popular pioneer in the field of brain spec scanning for depression, adult ADD, and other neurological conditions. Perhaps DU'ers with depression should visit his site... he also has a few books that I would recommend. If current treatments are helping much, perhaps this is an option you should explore.

I'm visiting my doc today to view the results of my scan, I'll give you guys an update. Nothing much has helped me, but I am optimistic about this method.

[Skittles]

23. I know a lot about depression

family history of severe depression: dad, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin all committed suicide.

Gawd how I DESPISE those morons who say I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD KILL THEMSELF or PEOPLE WHO COMMIT SUICIDE ARE COWARDS. They apparently have never seen the agony a person with severe depression experiences. I tell people who make insensitive comments If you don't understand it CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY AND SHUT THE F*** UP.

[terrya]

24. I've had people (co-workers) tell me to "snap out of it"

When I'm in really bad time, depression wise. They'll never understand.

[Skittles]

25. they sure don't

they are f***ing idiots who have no IDEA how lucky they are.

[scottcsmith]

26. Severe depression w/psychotic episodes & anxiety

I've got most symptoms under control. Still have the occasional bout of psychosis and anxiety. Every so often I hallucinate, usually by hearing voices.

[AlFrankenFan]

27. Howdy ho

I should be taking medication, but my mother doesn't want me to.

I agree that forums are a lot easier than social settings, I have a touch of social anxiety I'm sure cause I'm too shy even in front of teachers unless they really piss me off. Listening to music also lightens the mood, and talking to my friend on the phone.

[HEyHEY]

28. Until recently

I don't know what it is, but I don't get mood swings, anxiety attacks or depression anymore..or at least in the last couple of months. It all lasted about two years.

[brainshrub]

29. Check.

[scarlet_owl]

30. I'm pretty blue right now.

All the same old reasons. I think I'm getting sick, too.

[Nailzberg]

31. Drinking Jack, waiting for Ex to call me when she gets off work.

We broke up in July, and continued a romantic friendship, the whole time she was starting to date someone else.
When I told her I couldn't be part of that anymore, things turned around for me. I got a decent job that makes me much happier than I was when I was freelancing. I lost weight. I bought a new car with money I had been saving for a ring. Finally moved back out of my parents house. All in all, things where going great for me without her.

Then we slept together on New Years.

Now I'm back to feeling upset that we're not together.

So Nailzberg is checking in on this one.

[ironflange]

32. Clinically depressed here

Effexor treats it nicely, but if I forget my meds, I get grumpy as hell. My daughter (13) is bipolar, but it was diagnosed early and she has it well in hand.

[AnnabelLee]

33. Checking in

I can remember being depressed even as a small child. I'm not glad to see that others have been told to "snap out of it", but I am selfishly glad to know that I am not alone. In my case, my family alternated between telling me to "grow up, everyone gets depressed now & then" (that's a real big pet peeve of mine, when people try to equate normal feelings of grief or disappointment with clinical depression) & telling me I wasn't praying hard enough.

Medication helps some, but only when you can afford it--we still make too much to qualify for the free programs offered by some drug manufacturers. I do the best I can by avoiding stress, so social situations are, for the most part, right out for me--they're too draining.

I drank heavily for a few years in my twenties, & look back on that time as the happiest in my life; self-medicating worked for me for a while.

[eileen_d]

34. Hello - thanks for the thread

Diagnosed in 1991; actually faced diagnosis a few years later. I had a hard time taking meds regularly in my early 20s; also I had to learn the hard way that I cannot handle alcohol and depression at the same time. I am not an alcoholic but I do miss drinking because it seemed to help ease my anxiety in social situations (although the aftermath was never worth it in terms of triggering depression, if not vomiting).

Currently I am on a high dose of Effexor and I credit antidepressants for much of my recovery, but lately I've had more luck with counseling. I have an excellent therapist (she actually has a biblical last name, which assists in my reverence of her) and have had some luck with self-help books -- PM me if you're interested in names of them.

:grouphug:

[LastKnight]

35. im here...

seasonal depressions... social problems... ect ect ect on and on we go...

-LK

[smallprint]

36. Off and on for most of my life...

Over the years I've found that my depression has less to do with body chemistry and more to do with the choices I've made in my life, and how I make decisions and take responsibility for them... my self-esteem has always depended on trusting my instincts and following my dreams-- when I have strayed from this path, I have suffered terrible consequences. Depression to me is a warning signal-- my body is telling my brain: "stop and look what you are doing. Is that really what you want? Is there a better way to do this? Is there something you need to express? Well, get it out already..."