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Old 10-31-2010, 11:50 AM
 
5,546 posts, read 9,976,136 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nimchimpsky View Post
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.
Yes, education is very important. Unfortunately, there is the stigma one has to deal with as well. It's good that some people have "come out," as it were. I can't remember their names right now, but I think one guy is a famous journalist.

And that feeling that "nobody understands" is a very real one. I am really glad the OP started this thread, but I also think that the just unhappiness question vs. depression is one a lot of "normal" people think about a lot. It's the old, can't you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality (no offense intended to the OP. This discussion is very useful and a good one to have).

I participate in this peer to peer training put on by NAMI. It was there I met my current therapist. Looking at her, one might question her ability to help a person. She is very much overweight and some people could assume this might mean she is not a completely together person (again, another stigma). Yet because she has dealt with depression herself, she really gets it. She was so bad that by the time her father finally dragged her to this one Dr in town (who is supposed to be a miracle worker) she couldn't even talk. Another Dr. told her that the best she could hope for would be washing dishes part-time. Well, she has two master's degrees and her career back. So it is possible. And I do find her to be an inspiration, even if she doesn't look like the picture perfect therapist - and I've been to them.
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Old 10-31-2010, 03:19 PM
 
18,837 posts, read 37,256,775 times
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I had a thought about this, remember Anna Nicole Smith, she had tons of money, she was beautiful, had a wonderful little baby, and a boyfriend. And she used drugs, was extremely depressed and ultimately ended up dead from an overdose of using prescription drugs.

I think about her sometimes, when I am depressed about my life, she had "everything" and still ended it. So, it is not money or beauty that equates happiness, think about Marilyn Monroe, and definitely we could add Micheal Jackson to that list.

I don't care about anything in my life currently, but I know I have to at least care enough about my job, because if I don't care about my job, I will end up in a homeless shelter. So, at least I can't get so depressed that I just stay home with a blanket over my head. Perhaps, that is good, I am not enabled by anyone, like parents, or a husband to stay depressed. I can hang out all weekend, and do nothing, but come Monday, game on...and I am working on trying to get better, rather than cycling. I know that I get Seasonal Affective Disorder, even in Southern Florida! I used to live in Seattle! That was the worst for me. Even here I get depressed this time of year.
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Old 10-31-2010, 05:20 PM
 
10,449 posts, read 12,430,601 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasper12 View Post
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.
Really, the state covers HKNC? I have heard of several DB people that had to pay out of pocket, about $3000/week. Or maybe it was that the center covered costs, but you have to pay out-of-pocket for airfare and a hotel. I like HKNC too cause their staff is trained in ASL, whereas other state covering blindness rehab programs don't have any staff trained in ASL so you have to bring your own interpreter. With the state programs, though, I have only heard of state programs being 100% covered.

More on topic, I'm not really depressed anymore so much as I am just still trying to get back up and moving. I can relate to the posters who were talking about the aftermath of depression. I haven't worked or really gone to school in a year and a half and don't really know what to tell employers and schools.
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Old 10-31-2010, 06:15 PM
 
18,837 posts, read 37,256,775 times
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No, you have to have a vocational goal, and write that into the goal, along with maintainence to cover airfare, and costs while you are there. Everything has to be written into the IPE (individualized Employment Plan). By law, everything that is in the plan is covered, they got ripped, because they did not add that to the plan. Go to your advocate agency, tell them what you want, and need to accomplish your goals, for example, an orientation and mobility instructor that knows ASL, and that cannot be found in your area..blah, blah..remember, vocational rehabilitation is not your advocate, they don't give you what you want, only what they want to give you.

Sorry took the thread away for a second...
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Old 11-01-2010, 08:26 AM
 
10,449 posts, read 12,430,601 times
Reputation: 12596
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasper12 View Post
No, you have to have a vocational goal, and write that into the goal, along with maintainence to cover airfare, and costs while you are there. Everything has to be written into the IPE (individualized Employment Plan). By law, everything that is in the plan is covered, they got ripped, because they did not add that to the plan. Go to your advocate agency, tell them what you want, and need to accomplish your goals, for example, an orientation and mobility instructor that knows ASL, and that cannot be found in your area..blah, blah..remember, vocational rehabilitation is not your advocate, they don't give you what you want, only what they want to give you.

Sorry took the thread away for a second...
Lol I guess that's where I failed. I told them my goal is to get a B.A. in Linguistics.

Anyway, back onto the topic of depression...

Quote:
Originally Posted by mistygrl092
I participate in this peer to peer training put on by NAMI. It was there I met my current therapist. Looking at her, one might question her ability to help a person. She is very much overweight and some people could assume this might mean she is not a completely together person (again, another stigma). Yet because she has dealt with depression herself, she really gets it. She was so bad that by the time her father finally dragged her to this one Dr in town (who is supposed to be a miracle worker) she couldn't even talk. Another Dr. told her that the best she could hope for would be washing dishes part-time. Well, she has two master's degrees and her career back. So it is possible. And I do find her to be an inspiration, even if she doesn't look like the picture perfect therapist - and I've been to them.
I've gone to therapists who have been through what I was seeing them for themselves. I always thought they had something extra to bring to the table, because all the textbook knowledge in the world isn't the same as personal experience. They also had a lot more empathy for their patients IMO. Once I had a therapist who blew off my symptoms as being a baby. But I went to see another therapist, who had been through the same struggle herself, and she was much more sympathetic to my situation, and as a result much more helpful. Being mentally ill and "having it together" aren't mutually exclusive. Some MI people's lives are in shackles cause of their MI but there are also people living with MI that "have it together" and manage their MI well with medication, therapy, and a good support system.
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Old 11-20-2010, 08:43 PM
 
74 posts, read 113,161 times
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If someone is chronically unhappy, it is probably dysthymia. The anti-depressants put a floor under it and keep you from killing yourself.

If you are stuck in a life you've created for yourself or fallen into due to finances, priorities, family obligations etc, they can smooth things out and keep things from irritating or upsetting you as badly as they do. They can help you cope if you just HAVE TO in order to stick it out.

However, sometimes things really SHOULD irritate or upset you because the real solution is to make some changes or alter the situation you're in.
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