This Cures Depression
Replies
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This is a tricky subject, non-circumstantial depression. My post is not about the cause of depression. it's about the cure.
non-circumstantial depression, as I understand it, may be caused in some cases by chemical imbalances in the body's systems. If that is the case, then I am all for medicinal treatment to restore balance to the body's chemistry... or, other non-medicinal cures, including the pursuit of spiritual healing, depending on one's spiritual beliefs.
At the same time, my proposed remedy will certainly only help the process of healing. anyone snubbing the post, if they're honest with themselves, will have to admit that. Otherwise, it's like saying, "there's nothing that can be done. Just mope around then and stare at the floor." No! That will never aid the recover process now, will it?
Requoting yourself does nothing to further your "cure." The moment you employ what is essentially victim blaming, a.k.a "choosing to be depressed," your words become meaningless.
Snubbing the post is hardly people standing around and "wallowing." It's pointing out how dangerous it is to advocate a "cure" for a disorder that requires medical intervention, be it therapy, prescription medications, or both. Accusing depressed people of "enjoying attention, "just moping around," or "choosing to be that way" shows such a stunning misunderstanding of depression that I can only wonder what made you think you understood it. Did you wake up sort of bummed one day, think you were depressed, and then "solve" your problems by smiling? That's not clinical depression.0 -
Depressed people don't smile or laugh. Therefore, a smiling or laughing person doesn't stay depressed for very long. Stand up, throw your arms in the air, put a big smile on your face and tell yourself how amazing things are going to happen to you, and then have a big laugh about it, and I guarantee that your depressing thoughts will not stay around to join the party. That's right! I'm telling you how to crash a pity-party.
If you don't think depressed people smile or laugh, you probably don't have a clear picture of the breadth and scope of how depression actually manifests in people.
Clinically depressed people usually still have the full range of feelings and emotions. Depression is an odd combination of despair/hopelessness/indifference/numbness, but amid all that sadness there are still moments of laughter and levity. They're just not enough to pull you out of the 'sad pit'.
And, if only it were so simple to 'just cheer up' or let positive people/activities change your mood and rub off on you, then there probably wouldn't be so many people struggling with depression.
You've oversimplified.
Exactly.
I have real, true, diagnosed by a real physician, clinical depression. The day before I tried to kill myself, I went out for a nice lunch with a friend. I'm sure I smiled at least once.
Cure for depression, choosing to be depressed... :grumble:0 -
You certainly can't tell me that this would work with a soldier with PTSD-induced-depression that has a rope around his neck! PTSD-induced-depression is circumstantial.
I was going to say something similar. The depression I had was caused by PTSD. It didn't go away until the PTSD was adequately dealt with. Even now I have to be careful that either it or the PTSD doesn't come back. Because in 1/3 cases, it never goes away fully. It's just kept at bay.
Advice like in the OP helps in some cases, but helps =/= cured. Heavy barbell squats help a lot too (but I wouldn't expect them to help everyone with PTSD/depression). But it's not a cure. these things treat the symptoms, not the cause. And sometimes even when you know the cause you can't cure it.0 -
This is a tricky subject, non-circumstantial depression. My post is not about the cause of depression. it's about the cure.
non-circumstantial depression, as I understand it, may be caused in some cases by chemical imbalances in the body's systems. If that is the case, then I am all for medicinal treatment to restore balance to the body's chemistry... or, other non-medicinal cures, including the pursuit of spiritual healing, depending on one's spiritual beliefs.
At the same time, my proposed remedy will certainly only help the process of healing. anyone snubbing the post, if they're honest with themselves, will have to admit that. Otherwise, it's like saying, "there's nothing that can be done. Just mope around then and stare at the floor." No! That will never aid the recover process now, will it?
Requoting yourself does nothing to further your "cure." The moment you employ what is essentially victim blaming, a.k.a "choosing to be depressed," your words become meaningless.
Snubbing the post is hardly people standing around and "wallowing." It's pointing out how dangerous it is to advocate a "cure" for a disorder that requires medical intervention, be it therapy, prescription medications, or both. Accusing depressed people of "enjoying attention, "just moping around," or "choosing to be that way" shows such a stunning misunderstanding of depression that I can only wonder what made you think you understood it. Did you wake up sort of bummed one day, think you were depressed, and then "solve" your problems by smiling? That's not clinical depression.
^^^^ all of what she said0 -
Are you talking about depression as in clinical depression or 'depression' as in "having a crappy few days"? Because what you wrote may help with the latter, it ain't gonna do anything with the former.
I would also point out that telling someone with clinical depression to smile and the depression will go away will do a lot more harm than good. Even (and especially) if they believe you. A chemical imbalance in the brain cannot be cured with positive affirmations, just as a broken leg cannot be cured with happy thoughts.0 -
You certainly can't tell me that this would work with a soldier with PTSD-induced-depression that has a rope around his neck! PTSD-induced-depression is circumstantial.
I was going to say something similar. The depression I had was caused by PTSD. It didn't go away until the PTSD was adequately dealt with. Even now I have to be careful that either it or the PTSD doesn't come back. Because in 1/3 cases, it never goes away fully. It's just kept at bay.
Advice like in the OP helps, but helps =/= cured. Heavy barbell squats help a lot too. But it's not a cure. these things treat the symptoms, not the cause. And sometimes even when you know the cause you can't cure it.
:flowerforyou:0 -
From my experience, a depressed person really just gives up on everything.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I understand where you are coming from but as someone who has dealt with it for a long time now, it is like being between a rock and a hard place. What you are suggesting is much easier said than done. There is a lot more to depression than what you are making it out to be. It isn't like just having a bad day. Do you speak from personal experience?
I have to agree. I too have struggled with depression. Simply saying "kick negativity in the @ss & be happy" is not always a possibility with everyone who suffers with the "illness". Being positive is a choice... but dealing with A LOT of negativity in life throws some people into a downward spiral that no amount of positivity can CURE. My depression stemmed from an abusive relationship plus some other things from my background while growing up.
I don't believe medicine is always the answer either--but just telling someone to "MAN / WOMAN UP & BE HAPPY"... just isn't a real cure. YES positive surroundings help, to a degree, but can also do the opposite.0 -
choosing to stay depressed
OP should take a read of this:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
Allie Brosh hits depression on the head (at least the depression I have).Just FYI when someone who has never experienced depression tells me to "just cheer up", I seriously consider punching them in the face.
+Infinity0 -
Just FYI when someone who has never experienced depression tells me to "just cheer up", I seriously consider punching them in the face.0
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From my experience, a depressed person really just gives up on everything.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
*SMH*
FYI, here's the definition of clinical depression: a state of depression and anhedonia so severe as to require clinical intervention
NOT a choice. REQUIRES clinical intervention. If you're just talking about pessimists and negative nancies, that's not a DEPRESSED person. I do agree that some people are just NEGATIVE and choose to stay that way. But depression is not a choice. To suggest that is insensitive at best.0 -
Just FYI when someone who has never experienced depression tells me to "just cheer up", I seriously consider punching them in the face.
^^^ This!0 -
From my experience, a depressed person really just gives up on everything.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
No. depression is an illness that makes you feel utterly worthless and like there's absolutely no point in you doing anything, and trying to get anything done when you're suffering from it is like wading through treacle when there's absolutely no point to wading through treacle and it's better to just let yourself stagnate, drown and die.
It was only after I recovered sufficiently from PTSD and depression that i found out how easy life is when you don't have to constantly fight against a mental illness that makes everything you do seem utterly worthless and pointless and makes you feel like you're worthless to the point that you're not even human.
So yeah, it might look like just giving up on everything from the outside, but from the inside it's totally different. Having experienced both very good mental health, and very bad mental health, I can assure you that bad mental health is not the result of just giving up. It's not within the person's control, people suffering from it may frequently not realise how abnormal their thoughts and feelings are, and that they're battling against something that most people don't have to deal with. The choice that someone suffering from mental illness needs to make is the choice to get professional help from someone who knows what they're doing. And that's not the end, that's the start of what may be a long and arduous journey to good mental health, but it's worth taking that route, because when you get back to good mental health again, you can actually start to enjoy life and achieve what you're capable of.0 -
very few things in life are simple...
i dont suffer from depression but i definitly sympathize with everyones objection to this..
if i apply the same principle, i can just say im not gonna eat...boom no more weight loss struggle...rainbows and sunshine all my days..yea!
things arent so black and white.0 -
I really wish it was just a choice for me to have depression! If I could so easily say, "Okay, no more depression! I'm done!", I most certainly would. ;-)
Depression does, actually, often develop on its own. It may have precursors, but in most cases, I think you'll find the brain chemistry is out of whack - and that's from whence it comes. Certain situations may well exacerbate it, but for the most part, they're just adding to what is already an existing issue.
Unfortunately, you're oversimplifying something that is DEFINITELY not simple. I am sure I'm not alone in saying that I really wish it was as easy as perking myself up and refusing to be sad. I appreciate the "weeds in the garden" analogy...but removing those weeds is more difficult than just pulling them out or whacking weed-killer on them.
As to medication...well, I can categorically say that without it, I'd not be here replying to this post. Between that and seeing psychiatrists and psychologists, I'm still standing. But all the positive thinking in the world didn't make a difference - and trying desperately to "shake it off" did me no good. Seeing my specialists, taking my medication, eating well and exercising...that's the program that keeps me here. Without the first two, the latter two likely wouldn't even happen.
Just wanted to throw my many, many years worth of personal experience into the equation. I think the answer - if you can call it that - to managing depression (and I'm not sure "cure" is really ever the word to use, though it may apply in some cases) will vary for every single person. Our brains are all different and the chemistry will be too. :-)
Just quoting myself to put it in context - I actually spent YEARS playing at being "Little Miss Sunshine", so people wouldn't see how I really felt. I was bullied as a child and as a teenager (and just recently in my now former workplace - can't take a trick! :-P), so I created a persona to hide my distress, depression and loneliness. I felt that made it less likely I would be targeted. It worked a bit - but of course, created a whole other issue whereupon I was bottling up so much that I felt so lost that I would never find myself again. I wasn't officially diagnosed for many years after I first started feeling it, and it's a damned shame when I think of how long I struggled with it on my own. Many wasted years, I think. :-(
Depression has many guises...you definitely can't make assumptions based on how things "look".0 -
Thank you all. I feel thoroughly educated at this point. Wish you all the best with your avenues of recovery, whatever they may be.
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I don't think people should be so hard on the OP. I've been diagnosed as clinically depressed, was put on medication, and it had almost no effect on my depression. I was still lethargic, couldn't get off my couch most days, unhappy even though I had every reason to be happy. By the way, if you asked my friends and family, they would all tell you what a happy person I was. I wasn't.
Exercise helped me more than medication. Sure it was hard to start. I started by putting on my shoes. Didn't go anywhere, just put on the shoes. This led to going for a walk, then to a gym for a bike ride. And I felt better. Much better.
I no longer take anti-depressants. When I'm feeling down, I go to the gym and ride. And I practice thinking thoughts of gratitude. And for me this is much better than Celexa.0 -
Thank you all. I feel thoroughly educated at this point. Wish you all the best with your avenues of recovery, whatever they may be.
I'm glad you were able to find out more about this...I think what you said was very worthwhile - it's just not quite as straightforward as that for most people, much to our chagrin! :-)0 -
Thank you all. I feel thoroughly educated at this point. Wish you all the best with your avenues of recovery, whatever they may be.
Thank you for reading with an open mind and considering what we have to say :flowerforyou:0 -
OP should take a read of this:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
Allie Brosh hits depression on the head (at least the depression I have).
Darn - beat me to it!
And yes, I recognised a lot of that in family members who have depression.
ETA: To add Part 2: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2013/05/depression-part-two.html - it answers the flaws in this post even better than Depression Part 1.0 -
Thank you. I needed to read something like this today as I'm on that downward slope but it is up to me to alter the course of my mood and life. I started to read all the comments and had to stop. What others think is of no difference to me. What you said may not help them but it has helped me. I hope you do not mind but I am copying and pasting what you have wrote on my facebook page as I think it needs to be read by more people.
Have a wonderful day and know that your words made a difference in at least one persons life today. A person who has suffered and continues to suffer from depression.0 -
OP should take a read of this:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
Allie Brosh hits depression on the head (at least the depression I have).
Darn - beat me to it!
And yes, I recognised a lot of that in family members who have depression.
I love that post...it really DOES hit the nail on the head brilliantly. Between that and the Black Dog video, it pretty much covers my experience and that of many members of my family, too. (Diabetes and depression - it's a family affair. ;-))0 -
Cures for depression!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This diagnosis is a very personal thing.
For the first time today I had it confirmed that depression can be diet related. I attended an immunology clinic and was taken seriously. My reactions to salicylate colours my life, foods, I have them pretty well battened down to give me a degree of wiggle room from the environmental onslaught from the perfumes, and smells both naturally salicylate and most probably the synthetic sort. I'm seeking help in reducing the personal impacts of society's adored smells.
It is no joke to be happy and relaxed, then in the time it takes to breath in some noxious smell be almost crying your eyes out. It can take longer and give headaches first. Nor is it funny to have to sleep off the effects of a shopping trip to the local supermarket because the Lush company premiss on a local industrial area disgorge a thick stench which puts me to sleep. Or taking flavoursome children to school for their parents.
This does not take into account the joint pain and the muscle issues, bladder issues and most of all the breathing difficulties I have cast aside because I avoid like the plague this SALICYLATE
I will share my experience with anyone0 -
Thank you. I needed to read something like this today as I'm on that downwashouldrd slope but it is up to me to alter the course of my mood and life. I started to read all the comments and had to stop. What others think is of no difference to me. What you said may not help them but it has helped me. I hope you do not mind but I am copying and pasting what you have wrote on my facebook page as I think it needs to be read by more people.
Have a wonderful day and know that your words made a difference in at least one persons life today. A person who has suffered and continues to suffer from depression.
go for it, I'm glad it helped you. But if the backlash was intense here, Facebook should really be interesting. Proceed at your own risk.0 -
Thank you. I needed to read something like this today as I'm on that downwashouldrd slope but it is up to me to alter the course of my mood and life. I started to read all the comments and had to stop. What others think is of no difference to me. What you said may not help them but it has helped me. I hope you do not mind but I am copying and pasting what you have wrote on my facebook page as I think it needs to be read by more people.
Have a wonderful day and know that your words made a difference in at least one persons life today. A person who has suffered and continues to suffer from depression.
go for it, I'm glad it helped you. But if the backlash was intense here, Facebook should really be interesting. Proceed at your own risk.
you probably need to rewrite it..... don't claim that it'll cure depression.... make a distinction between clinical depression and when someone's feeling down (i.e. normal emotions such as feeling sad and discouraged from stress, life's difficulties etc) and don't imply that depression is a choice. A lot of lifestyle advice and positive thinking advice really does help, and even for clinical depression can relieve some of the symptoms, but it's not a cure, and it's not so simple as your OP makes out. but rephrased some of the advice really can be helpful.0 -
its not but all depression can be helped by alternative to drugs.......I don't advocate for any medication.
Nope. But thanks for playing.0 -
Tell me more about how a broken arm can be healed by positive thoughts.
its not but all depression can be helped by alternative to drugs.......I don't advocate for any medication.~sighs deeply~
While what you suggest probably will relate to some people, it's complete nonsense for others.
Not all depression is circumstantial.0 -
~sighs deeply~
While what you suggest probably will relate to some people, it's complete nonsense for others.
Not all depression is circumstantial.
Yah.
The following is a helpful overview of the subject:
http://www.upworthy.com/what-is-depression-let-this-animation-with-a-dog-shed-light-on-it
I hadn't seen this one before. Thanks for the link!0 -
So many years spent in therapy and I could have just read this post and chosen not to be depressed all along? Why didn't I ever think of that?0
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