Well what I mean with 99% not having anything wrong with their brain kind of is wishful thinking that one day, through great effort they can be happy without needing any medicine.
I've seen someone who was mentally healthy driven to suicide by a combination of a very painful disease and god knows what.
I've known a man who drank himself to death because he couldn't bear living without his twin brother..
I could keep going but as far as I know those were people who didn't have any mental illness or chemical inbalance. Circumstance just made life unbearable. So when I say that I think someone has a healthy brain doesn't mean at all that I think the problems aren't real and possibly severe. I just don't want anyone to get stuck in that 'nothing i can do about it' mentality...
On December 14 2015 01:11 B.I.G. wrote: So forgive me for when I read a blog where someone writes that they don't have a job, only play video games, and haven't seen sunlight for days my first reaction isn't: "oh you are depressed guess you are fucked gl with life" but rather something that I feel is more realistic advise. BTW OP later clarified that he put a lot of effort in exercise and outdoor activity etc. so that obviously nullifies my point. Sorry OP I assumed to much when I read your blog and gave you useless advice. I hope you believe it was meant well.
Just my point of view it was never my intention to insult anyone.
I'm not upset with you at all. I know that you don't know me, so you couldn't have possibly known how long this was going on or the type of person I am...I'm not one to sit around, self-diagnose, and wallow in self-pity for attention on a forum. My intention with this blog was to bring attention to the way this sort of thing feels. In this case, it does happen to correspond to a relatively inactive time period in my life, but I just want to make sure everyone realizes that this is a reoccurring thing that can happen under any circumstance and drags everything -- including self-esteem, motivation, and interpersonal skills -- down, no matter how good it was to begin with.
I find the best thing you can do for a person who has any sort of issues is to 1) listen to them, and 2) treat them like a normal person instead of a problem that needs fixing. Scarecrow has a good point when he says to avoid lumping everyone together as simply going through a "rough patch", though he may have been a little overly aggressive in saying it.
EDIT: I appreciate all the advice and thoughts in this thread, though. I really do. Thank you all for being there to support me.
On December 14 2015 01:11 B.I.G. wrote: ...in this day and age it seems mental issues can be diagnosed and treated almost as efficiently as physical issues.
This is a mistake. Have you had much experience with the mental health system?
On December 11 2015 21:11 pebble444 wrote: [...] your emotions here. I want to bring your attention to the fact that in your very long and constructed statement, you talked about your emotions, or therefore lack of, once or twice. We are both human beings with emotions, and organized productive machines. Both things are equally important and should be equally regarded. to me it seems like there is some deep emotional level that you need to process and bring fully into your life in order to lead a satisfying life. Instead of fighting that feeling of guilt in your stomach, embrace it and dive fully into it. Research it. Make statements like you would about hots. This is a good place to start. It could or would be painful, funny, weird, apperently to much to cope with, to go trought this and it won' t happen overnight (or overday). But if you want to get to the bottom of it, thats the way of things. In the end it will be worth it.
I'd like to +1 this very much. Unfortunately, there's not enough space in a post to bring up everyone's advice here, but +1 to each as well. I've had to reside to the facts of the depressive state since I was 12 and I am now 26. There are probably around 20 minor instances each year where it doesn't feel very nice.
I don't know if this helps, but one of the major things i work on is focusing on one thing at a time. When negative thoughts creep in they inevitably detract away from your activities as you're doing them. This is the point at which it can help if you focus inwards and try your best to re-focus.
I also think it's not as important to have objective and clear writing. People are often going to understand what you naturally put on a page, or in other words, your first thoughts. Believe me, nearly everyone is reading what you're sharing, but everyone experiences it differently and resonates slightly less than is likable. It's [writing is] an outlet/art and this statement isn't necessarily directed at the creator of the blog.
There are many ways I've described "depression" in the past with each time not really progressing beyond the prior. However, i can tell that the OP is trying to do his best also.
Maybe to touch on some things people have said here: Blaming the depression is definitely not the way to do it, i really feel. Rather, just be good to your body and to yourself. There is so much out there that you can accumulate into yourself and you'll become a better person through all of it.
Firstly, I like your writing and you should do it more, also I am no expert and what follows are only some of my own largely untrained thoughts.
A lot of times the word depression can be used to simply mean someone is feeling down about life and there are entirely reasonable and sensible things that can be done. If every day is little more than shuffling from the bed to the computer and back again or you find yourself just sitting and staring off into space and dwelling on certain thoughts. Make a point of going for a walk in a park or somewhere with trees and let your mind wander. Expose yourself to sunlight everyday, develop your diet and exercise. Humans are social creatures, Find friends, find likeminded people you can really talk to, where you can depend on them and they can depend on you. Try to develop a career to be enthusiastic about. Find activities where you always have something to look forward to, make plans, set goals both short and long term.
The absence of these things can make you feel down and of course many of them can be beyond your control and taken from you, don't obssess over the things beyond your control. Endeavour to learn from the things that went wrong and always seek to learn and improve for the future.
Whereas actual clinical depression might have triggers but is not neccessarily tied to life cirumstances. You could be successful and have everything listed above and still have episodes of extreme depression, which is all the more confusing for people who would be jealous of your life.
I would highly recommend watching: The secret life of the manic depressive
It feels like mental illness is still largely misunderstood or even mismanaged. Everyone has highs and lows, in some they can become extreme and beyond self control. Realise that when suffering from mental illness, the brain lacks the insight to properly understand or help itself. Although upon going through a process of taking it seriously, of teaching and learning or perhaps by treatment from well trained professionals,it is possible even in some extreme cases for people to self manage without depending on a lifetime of therapy or drugs.
You are you and that is ok . Ok this last line is overly trite and I now feel down about having written it, but whatever Ill leave it here anyway...
@nanaoei Thank you for your advice. That's something that I try to do with the lists I've been making, and as a former pianist, I understand just how important it is to stubbornly trek through trouble areas and take things one step at a time. Also, you are right that many people experience this differently, and that's perhaps something that I sometimes overlook. For me, the most frustrating thing is the lack of clarity and fogginess that comes with it that keeps me from being able to think properly -- even to the point of paralysis.
@Startyr Thank you so much for this video. I did not realize that Stephen Fry had been diagnosed Bipolar, and this was an eye-opening little documentary...it resonates really strongly with me.
On December 16 2015 03:05 SC2John wrote: @nanaoei Thank you for your advice. That's something that I try to do with the lists I've been making, and as a former pianist, I understand just how important it is to stubbornly trek through trouble areas and take things one step at a time. Also, you are right that many people experience this differently, and that's perhaps something that I sometimes overlook. For me, the most frustrating thing is the lack of clarity and fogginess that comes with it that keeps me from being able to think properly -- even to the point of paralysis.
@Startyr Thank you so much for this video. I did not realize that Steven Fry had been diagnosed Bipolar, and this was an eye-opening little documentary...it resonates really strongly with me.
Well the way you say that there's that lack of clarity and that foggy feeling makes me smile a bit. That's because it feels very human. One thing that i personally try to share with people who are close to me is the idea of being transparent and understandable in the best way (that suits them). The very same way, it may be that you can bring that level of anxiousness to the same heights in your happiness.
These are really broad and sweeping things to say, but it's difficult to have the right examples. What i mean though is that it's a small shame to even lose a negative side of yourself. It sucks that you feel the crippling effects, but i'm certain you'll be better around it with the way you'll progress.
I can't say i understand what it's like for people who claim they love to be single, but definitely i think being detailed with your life is along the same pathway of finding someone great to share things and make memorable experiences with. There's really no other feeling than being accepted wholely as you are and in personal vein.
Wish you tons of good stuff! Good things happen to good people.
On December 16 2015 03:05 SC2John wrote: @nanaoei Thank you for your advice. That's something that I try to do with the lists I've been making, and as a former pianist, I understand just how important it is to stubbornly trek through trouble areas and take things one step at a time. Also, you are right that many people experience this differently, and that's perhaps something that I sometimes overlook. For me, the most frustrating thing is the lack of clarity and fogginess that comes with it that keeps me from being able to think properly -- even to the point of paralysis.
@Startyr Thank you so much for this video. I did not realize that Steven Fry had been diagnosed Bipolar, and this was an eye-opening little documentary...it resonates really strongly with me.
Well the way you say that there's that lack of clarity and that foggy feeling makes me smile a bit. That's because it feels very human. One thing that i personally try to share with people who are close to me is the idea of being transparent and understandable in the best way (that suits them). The very same way, it may be that you can bring that level of anxiousness to the same heights in your happiness.
These are really broad and sweeping things to say, but it's difficult to have the right examples. What i mean though is that it's a small shame to even lose a negative side of yourself. It sucks that you feel the crippling effects, but i'm certain you'll be better around it with the way you'll progress.
I can't say i understand what it's like for people who claim they love to be single, but definitely i think being detailed with your life is along the same pathway of finding someone great to share things and make memorable experiences with. There's really no other feeling than being accepted wholely as you are and in personal vein.
Wish you tons of good stuff! Good things happen to good people.
I found a great remedy for overcoming depression. Recently I’ve experienced a lot of pressure on me from all the directions possible. I've crashed my car because I was looking into telephone while driving. Because of quarantine I lost my job. So all this bad events in my life gave me headaches.
U gotta try drinking a bunch at 4pm. Falling asleep. Waking up midnight, taking sleeping pills and going back to sleep for another 6 hours. Now that's some good depression
EPT
