The Journey Forward: It’s funny but as a preant you never say, “oh I hope my child is...
It’s funny but as a preant you never say, “oh I hope my child is depressed”. Close to twenty three years ago, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. As she grew into a toddler and then a pre-schooler, she would have temper tantrums that no book we read helped us correct. For years her Dad…
This story was really touching and I though it needed to be shared. This story is written by a mother whose daughter suffered from bipolar disorder and depression. You can see that at first the mother is scared, as anyone would be in her situation. But she makes a tremendous effort to help her daughter cope with her disease very early on in life and it seems that now she had led a fairly normal life. It is so important that families get involved when it comes to depression. Though they may not be able to fully digest it at first, they come around and are able to love and support the person suffering from this disease.
This photo points out something important. Sometimes people who are depressed think that everyone wants them to just magically be really happy. They list all of the things they should be happy about and expect them to just voila! change back to who they used to be. The truth is, it is not necessarily about being HAPPY. It is about not feeling worthless anymore. Not feeling like you are a waste of flesh. Sometimes knowing that the people around you love you doesn’t help because even the people that love you put stress on you to do you best and succeed at everything. And sure they will love you either way, but sometimes the pressure of disappointment is too great and you feel as though you are not good enough and you let yourself believe that. Just as dark is the absence of light, contentment is the absence of sadness. If you can tell yourself you are good ENOUGH, you don’t have to be great, just good enough, you will be on your way to happiness. Sometimes forcing yourself to be happy or to convince yourself you are happy is more depressing than anything else.
(Source: -everysecond)
Hold On, Pain Ends.: How Self-Stigma Hurts People With Depression
(reposted because I love it so much)
The following article is from http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0„20425884,00.html
People who suffer from mental illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, face a litany of challenges: dark moods, an…
I was very interested in this article which was reblogged by the blog I talked about earlier, The Journey Forward. The article kind of shows how people suffering from depression are often their own worst enemy. They end up expecting to be judged and stigmatized so much that they become more depressed and end up stigmatizing themselves. This causes the victims to stay out of any social situation to avoid the judgement of others. They begin to believe they are weak for having this disease. I believe it is very important to end this stigma and to let society know that being depressed is okay and it happens to a lot of people. There is no reason to feel inadequate because you have been diagnosed with a disease that you cannot control.
Depression Doesn’t Play Favorites: An Exclusive Interview with a Depression Sufferer
1. Depression is often considered a quiet disease or one that many folks live with for quite some time without treatment. Have you found that to be the case with you, and if so, how did you finally decide to seek treatment?
Personally I lived with depression from when I was in my teens until my mid-30s, yes a very, very long time. I figured I could handle it. I knew that I suffered from more than just the blues, but I also didn’t want to take medication. I was afraid that the medications would mess around with the one thing I treasured–my mind. What I didn’t know was that the medications just help my brain work better.
Why did I finally get help? Frankly I hit rock bottom. My marriage was falling apart and my professional life was not going well. Finally I went to my doctor. The best decision of my life, it probably saved my life.
2. Why do you believe people wait so long to seek treatment?
There are lots of reasons, especially for men, the biggest I think is the stigma of being “mentally ill”. Men also don’t want to feel like being less of a man or that they “can’t handle it” themselves.
Even though many, many men and women suffer from and are treated for depression, the stigma is still there. This is one reason that I talk openly about it. I suffer from depression, I take medication, and I’m okay.
2. Do you believe depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain or by circumstances? Or both?
For me, the cause is chemical, but the triggers are circumstances. You can have “situational depression” and still need help to get out of it. So, it is both. And, for me, the chemical reasons make it easier to grapple with.
3. Once you’ve received treatment for depression, are you “cured” or is recovery an ongoing process?
I don’t know about being cured. Maybe for people who have something related to a specific event, but for me, it’s going to be the rest of my life. Will I be able to reduce my medication in the future? Maybe. That is something that I work with my doctor on. Working with your doctor is critical to success.
4. What are some triggers you’ve experienced?
Read Tris’s answer to this question and the remainder of the interview after the fold…
For me it’s stress and the downturns of life. That’s when I know I’ve done the right thing by treating this. Something that would have knocked me flat for days, we all get the blues sometimes, might only last a day or so.
Life isn’t perfect, and medication can’t or doesn’t fix everything, but it helps keep things in check.
5. What are some treatments you’ve tried, both naturally and medically-based? What seemed to work best for you and which would you consider a last resort?
I’ve tried various SSRIs and SSNRIs along with counseling. I like the newer drugs, but, all medications have side effects. My worst one is night sweats, which in the great scheme of things isn’t too bad.
Sexual dysfunction? Yes, very common. And yes, it can be an issue.
The thing with depression meds is that they don’t, and can’t, work overnight. It takes about a month for them to start kicking in and the first two weeks can be hell. When you start taking meds, you have to be ready for the nausea and other initial side effects, and just push through them.
Another very, very important thing about depression meds is do not stop taking them without talking to your doctor. The withdrawal symptoms are real and suck. That’s even before the emotional roller coaster starts. When I’ve forgotten to take my meds, I know in about 4 hours.
I haven’t tried natural remedies and don’t know if I’d suggest them.
6. Do you have any statistics or depression-related facts you care to share?
I wish I knew about prevalence, but I do know that 30% of people with depression commit suicide. That is a sobering stat, and one that haunts me. Haunts me every day. This is one reason that I keep tabs on how I’m feeling, ask for help, and adjust my meds with my doctor if needed.
7. How has depression affected your relationships and/or work?
Before I got help, I just wasn’t a fun person to be around when the dark times hit. I would get down, and just not able to function well. One thing about depression is that social anxiety often goes hand in hand with it. The newer drugs help with that too.
Before, I had trouble concentrating, getting things done, and just making those connections needed for work. Now, well on my down days, people understand. I work with very understanding people. Sometimes I just have to take a break (mental health day is apt). However, on “normal” days, I have focus, energy, drive, and passion. The meds have really helped me.
8. If you could give any one person who may be “feeling blue” advice, what would it be?
See. Your. Doctor. Ask. For. Help. You’re not alone. You can get help. And it can get better. Talk to a friend, talk to your doctor.
Yes, everyone gets the blues. Everyone gets down. But if you can’t shake it, or thinking about hurting yourself. You must get help.
It will take tremendous courage to do it, but your family and friends, the people who love you, will be there for you
I thought this was an amazing, uplifting and inspiring interview. This woman, who has suffered from depression reiterates all of the points I have been trying to make on this blog since I started it. Depression is serious, it is more than just an unhappy feeling. It is necessary to contact a doctor or professional to get help if you ever want to get better. Getting help was scary for her as it is for everyone else. It is hard to be seen as someone who other people think is crazy. Once you get help you are on the right path, but healing will not happen overnight. It takes time to find the right medication and to adjust your life in a way that you are able to find happiness again. And it is SO SO important to talk to your family and friends about getting help. They love you and they want you to get better just as much as you do. Support is such an important part of recovery.
http://archive.blisstree.com/feel/depression-doesnt-play-favorites-an-exclusive-interview/
Psychiatry’s Electroconvulsive Shock Treatment: A Crime Against Humanity
“Psychiatrists who use ECT are violating their Hippocratic oath to not harm patients and are guilty of a form of health care quackery. Unfortunately, most psychiatrists have administered ECT, and government has failed to live up to its responsibility to protect us from this harmful and irrational “treatment”. It is therefore left to you to protect yourself and your loved ones from quackery such as ECT by keeping yourself and your loved ones away from practitioners who use it.”
This was the final paragraph in the article I recently read about why ECT is such a horrible procedure. Firstly, I would like to point out the fact that the “article” or whatever you would like to refer to it as has a background of lightening bolts and the title is done with word art. It is also published on the website “stopshrinks.org”. All of these factors considered, the article seems to lack credibility. It is not presented in a professional manor whatsoever and it is also on a website whose title seems a bit radical.
Another point of lacking in the ethos department is the fact that the author fails to provide any sort of counterargument whatsoever. He just declares all of the monsters doctors and implies that there is virtually no success stories in the field of psychiatry. He continually puts the word patient in quotation marks as to signify that they aren’t real patients just victims of this seemingly horrible procedure.
He insists that shocking oneself is the worst someone could do to another human being. He should perhaps consider treatments for other diseases, such as cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation are essentially pumping chemicals and toxins into someone’s system. I highly disagree with this article and think that while ECT does have side effects, today it is a safe and life saving procedure.
http://www.stopshrinks.org/reading_room/ecb/stevens_next.html
Depression Drugs
One assignment was to blog about an academic article. I was able to find an article titled: “Treating depression: Update on antidepressants” in the Harvard Women’s Health Watch.This was an article comparing the many different types of antidepressants and how they work.
The article first talks about how much the possibility of effectiveness differs from one person, woman specifically to the next. Effectiveness depends on the type and also dosage of antidepressant one receives and is often changes multiple times before the drug is successful. This is important to understand when being treated for depression, one should not just give up hope if one or more methods does not work.
The article goes on to list the side effects and ways to counteract the side effects of certain drugs. One such side effect is withdrawal. The article points out that it is possible that if the medication is stopped abruptly there will be adverse effects from that also.
I think this is an important article because it shows that people with depression have many many options and should never give up trying my medications or doses because the next one they try may actually save their life. The article also shows how serious depression really is. These are some very serious medications that may have alarming side effects or symptoms from withdrawal. Depression is nothing to be taken lightly.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=32f1f334-c7ed-436d-8181-154430f8ffc2%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=126
The Dark Hour
And rain makes trees look fresh,
An overpowering staleness holds
This mortal flesh.
Though well I love to feel the rain,
And be by winds well blown —
The mystery of mortal life
Doth press me down.
And, In this mood, come now what will,
Shine Rainbow, Cuckoo call;
There is no thing in Heaven or Earth
Can lift my soul.
I know not where this state comes from —
No cause for grief I know;
The Earth around is fresh and green,
Flowers near me grow.
I sit between two fair rose trees;
Red roses on my right,
And on my left side roses are
A lovely white.
The little birds are full of joy,
Lambs bleating all the day;
The colt runs after the old mare,
And children play.
And still there comes this dark, dark hour —
Which is not borne of Care;
Into my heart it creeps before
I am aware.
Miranda Lambert - Over You
This is a song that is really close to my heart right now. It is not about depression directly, but for me it is because it reminds me of my dad. This song was written by Blake Shelton and is about his older brother who died a long time ago in a car accident. It is sung by Shelton’s wife Miranda Lambert. The reason I can really relate to this song is because, as is true in every death of a loved one, I will never be able to get over my dad. “They say I’ll be okay, but I’m never going to ever get over you.” Something that really frustrated me at the time of my dad’s death everyone just kept saying that I would be okay. The truth is I will never be okay. My dad’s suicide will haunt me forever and losing him will always hurt. A part of me will always be missing from that experience.
Another part of the song that affected me when I heard it was, “your favorite records make me feel better.” Though I didn’t get my dad’s records I did get his iPod. He had nearly 10,000 songs on his iPod and he listened to it all of the time, especially when he and I took long car rides together. Whenever I miss him or feel like I am losing memories of him I just grab his iPod and listen to it and it always makes me feel closer to him.
(Source: misscarolinabelle)
