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Old 10-31-2010, 10:57 AM
 
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This is very true. I work with people who are disabled, and I see the difference between adjusting to a disability, and havnig a clinical depression, which is separate from adjusting to changes in viisoin or hearing. What is funny to me, is doctors who just automatically assume that all people who are blind are depressed. They don't see the difference. It is the same as assuming all fat people over eat, and are depressed. Talk about flawed logic.

I have a friend, who is very large, she is over 350 lbs. She is not unhappy, not depressed, she is bubbly, cheerful, and vibrant. I wish I was as happy as her, so being thin does not equate with happiness.. that is for sure.
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Old 10-31-2010, 10:59 AM
 
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In "Care of the Soul" Thomas Moore has a chapter on depression that I think is brilliant. He talks about depression being a "gift" from one's soul advising that something needs addressing in one's life (that's a simplistic explanation of what is a beautiful idea that he expounds on).

Also, many people believe that "depression" is a secondary condition . . . that it could be caused by repressed or unprocessed rage or grief. Once the rage or grief is brought to the surface and acknowledged and processed, the depression goes away.

You can experiment with this theory the next time you feel "depressed." You might notice that there is discernable anger or grief underneath the surface . . .
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:00 AM
 
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Originally Posted by imcurious View Post
In "Care of the Soul" Thomas Moore has a chapter on depression that I think is brilliant. He talks about depression being a "gift" from one's soul advising that something needs addressing in one's life (that's a simplistic explanation of what is a beautiful idea that he expounds on).

Also, many people believe that "depression" is a secondary condition . . . that it could be caused by repressed or unprocessed rage or grief. Once the rage or grief is brought to the surface and acknowledged and processed, the depression goes away.

You can experiment with this theory the next time you feel "depressed." You might notice that there is discernable anger or grief underneath the surface . . .
I think what you said has a lot of validity, imcurious, and a lot of repressed grief and anger can contribute to depression, but I also think that it's not the only explanation. Thanks for the contributing though. It is an interesting perspective.
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:06 AM
 
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Originally Posted by imcurious View Post
In "Care of the Soul" Thomas Moore has a chapter on depression that I think is brilliant. He talks about depression being a "gift" from one's soul advising that something needs addressing in one's life (that's a simplistic explanation of what is a beautiful idea that he expounds on).

Also, many people believe that "depression" is a secondary condition . . . that it could be caused by repressed or unprocessed rage or grief. Once the rage or grief is brought to the surface and acknowledged and processed, the depression goes away.

You can experiment with this theory the next time you feel "depressed." You might notice that there is discernable anger or grief underneath the surface . . .
I think part of dealing with depression is all the lost time due to it. The illness will literally take away years of your life (well, can in some cases)and then one has to deal with the grief over losing years of your life. And how do you explain to a potential employer why you haven't worked in X amount of time? Who is going to hire you if you're honest? Churchill called it The Black Dog. William Styron also wrote an excellent book on it called "Darkness Visible."

Here is a blog that really gets to the heart of the matter in one of the more severe manifestions of the illness...anyone reading this will get the difference between unhappiness and true depression:

Damn I hate being Depressed: Personal Hygiene...
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:14 AM
 
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That is when you have to deal with Existential Guilt. What you could have been, if you had been able change things. How your life would have been, if you had not messed it up. It is the same issue that people have who are drug addicts, after they get off of drugs, they have to deal with the mess that they have made of their lives. That is the same issue with people who deal with clinical depression, once you are over the depression, your life is so screwed up, who wouldn't be depressed?
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:21 AM
 
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Originally Posted by nimchimpsky View Post
So true. When I was depressed, at my lowest I didn't even bother to get out of bed. I just wanted to stay under the covers. My parents would force me to get out of bed and the furthest I got was in the pool in our backyard. I would spend my days standing in it crying (the irony), trying to get myself to swim so I could release some endorphins, but my depression was too severe to battle without help. Eventually, I was treated with therapy and medication. I would have been hospitalized but my therapists and parents made a deal that they would provide the "cushioning" that hospitalization is intended to do provided I would go to therapy every day and be medicated.

Two years later, while most would argue my life conditions are worse (went from being rich to poor, partially sighted-hearing to totally blind and deaf, employed to unemployed, in school to not in school, experienced the death of a loved one for the first time) but ironically enough, I'm happier than ever before because I'm not depressed anymore. Some therapists believe I am still dysthymic (a milder, more hidden, underlying form of depression) but I honestly think it's only normal considering my life conditions.

I think that illustrates how much of depression really is chemical, and shows that clinical depression isn't just about being spoiled or having no sense of will. It is just as much of a disease as any physical condition. Like any physical condition, it is aggravated by stress (emotional or physical) but it is more than just a symptom of stress.

I wouldn't trade my physical disabilities for the depression I had to go through. I think depression, and mental illness in general, is so hard to deal with because when you have a physical disability, you still have a full set of coping mechanisms and the ability to have a positive outlook. But depression interferes with the coping mechanisms themselves, and makes it almost, if not completely, impossible to have a positive outlook. Therefore depression is not something that can just be waded through without the help of medication and/or therapy that helps target the actual physical cause for depression. Once medication and/or therapy is used to get over that initial hump, then a depressed person has at least a spark of can-do attitude to begin the healing process.
Wow, what a powerful post. Thank you for sharing such personal stuff. You were very fortunate to have someone to look out for you and the opportunity to go to therapy every day and it sounds like the right medication.

And I do know what you mean about that spark of can-do attitude. I started a med and thought it was working (I was finally starting to clean my house) and then BOOM! just stopped working. One thing that makes it tough to deal with are the setbacks. Part of the illness makes you withdraw from people. Then you have no friends or support. Then things just get worse as you isolate.

No, I would not wish mental illness on my worst enemy. Your post is very enlightening and informative. I am so happy you are better in terms of your mental health.
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:28 AM
 
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Originally Posted by jasper12 View Post
That is when you have to deal with Existential Guilt. What you could have been, if you had been able change things. How your life would have been, if you had not messed it up. It is the same issue that people have who are drug addicts, after they get off of drugs, they have to deal with the mess that they have made of their lives. That is the same issue with people who deal with clinical depression, once you are over the depression, your life is so screwed up, who wouldn't be depressed?
No truer words have been spoken and therein lies the rub. Fortunately, some people don't have to deal with this to a severe extent. There are degrees of depression even in clinical depression. And there are different stages of just how far down a person has gone. I know someone who has managed to be in the same job for 14 years, despite having what I'd call severe mental illness. She's been able to take FMLA and keep her job. Other people aren't quite so fortunate. It just depends on many factors.
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:34 AM
 
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One of the hardest things about depression is the people around you who get annoyed with you and snap at you. When my parents would snap at me, it was just a little reaction they got over and forget about half an hour later, but those things would gnaw at me and cause me to really question if they loved me and if I was a good person. When someone is already in the dumps, it doesn't take much to cause them to sink lower. That's why educating friends and family about depression is so important, so that they don't unintentionally contribute to their loved one's depression through bursts of frustration or by saying things that make the depressed person feel even more like "nobody else understands." Understanding that depression isn't just a matter of will but a real disease helps replace frustration with compassion.
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:37 AM
 
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Originally Posted by jasper12 View Post
That is when you have to deal with Existential Guilt. What you could have been, if you had been able change things. How your life would have been, if you had not messed it up. It is the same issue that people have who are drug addicts, after they get off of drugs, they have to deal with the mess that they have made of their lives. That is the same issue with people who deal with clinical depression, once you are over the depression, your life is so screwed up, who wouldn't be depressed?
Again, so true! I am still dealing with existential guilt. If I wasn't depressed, I probably would have gotten into college the year out of high school and been well into my BA by now. But these past two years I've gotten close to nothing accomplished, and I've had a LOT of pressure put on me from friends and family to get it together. Couple that with deafblindness and a bad economy and I am still trying to figure out how to get back into the "swing of things." I want to go back to school and I want to work, but where do I start??
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Old 10-31-2010, 11:45 AM
 
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Well, in your case, maybe a change would do you good, you could go to the Helen Keller Center in Long Island, for free, just appy, Vocational Rehabilitation will pay for that, there, you would get comprehensive instruction and treatment, and adaquate assessment for your disability, and be with others who have the same disability. Few people understand deafblindness, and the continuum of the spectrrum of this disorder. But you would be eligible for this program even if you are 20/200 and have a slight hearing loss...something to think about, the begining of getting out of depression is changing your life.
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