ignorance of depression

too all those suffering the curse that is depression. i feel ur pain. i start this post as i need someone to talk to as the ppl where i live are just plain ignorant of depression

you can talk to me if you would like.

people around here are like that too. I hate it.

but i am here if you need someone to talk to.

i know EXACTLY how u feel.

does anyone ask themselves, why they keep ontrying to explain how they feel to other ppl when all they get is, yer i had depression once, lasted for about aweek, sux doesnt it. it was after my cat died ARGGHGHG ppl like they piss me off so much

me too...I hate how people think that it's just teenage hormones, it's a phase you'll grow out of. Most of the time, that's the case, but sometimes it's not. Depression is a disease and some people don't understand that. I know what it's like have depression, and it lasts way more than a week.

People shouldn't consider themselves depressed if they have not been confirmed as depressed by a psychologist. That's what I think. Especially because most people who think that they are depressed are really only bipolar or have dysthemia.

i hate it. And when i tell my friend he just calls me emo and tells me to get over it. :( Its not even like he tries to understand or care.
I don't think im really depressed, everyone else does.

Para Noir
when you say "ppl think they are depressed but really there only bipolar" that is a very serious statement bi polar in some ways can be much more severe than depression as it is a psychotic disorder.. referring to it as "only bipolar" dismisses it

u idiot
bipolar
and dysthemia are in some cases just as worse
altho dysthemia isnt generally, u just cant feel happy about anything.

Falseties people believe:
Depression is all in the head
Depression is a weakness and depressives "just can't cope" (if anything, surviving depression shows unusual strength)
Depression is the result of a lack of faith in , or a symptom of "spiritual weakness"
You can lift yourself up out of depression (i.e. without help)
Anti-depressants are addictive
Anti-depressants are "uppers" (a few are, but most are not)
Depressives are dependent on their medication
Depressives are just too lazy to try function
Depressed people are just feeling sorry for themselves
Depressed people just need to get out more
Depressives like being the way they are (well, this one's not always that simple)
"Snap out of it!" Need I say more on that one?

On the levels of mood disorders, the order goes:

mania, bipolar 1, bipolar 2, dysthemia, MDD

PERSON BEFORE ME:

Depression IS all in the head, that's why it's called a MENTAL ILLNESS.
Depression is a weakness, in fact, most people don't make it through.
Depression needs to be helped through talk therapy, medications, or in extreme cases, ECT.
Anti-depressants HAVE BEEN PROVEN to be addictive, both by doctors and patients. Without them, in some cases the depression will not lift.
Antidepressants can go both ways, up or down.
Some people with mood disorders, like MDD or bipolar, MUST RELY on their meds.

Now, you believe honestly that you have depression. I'm going to tell you right now, to have depression the mood of sadness must last more than two weeks. Not one week. So don't go on about how your depression was so deep when you only had that feeling for a week. Get over it. There are people who have suffered real depression for years. Depression is not a feeling, it is a disease in the mind. A Mental Illness.

OTHER PERSON:
Bipolar 1 goes both ways, it is a combination of mania and MDD [major depressive disorder].

Mania is a disorder in which the state of mind is constantly elevated, symptoms may include restlessness, the idea of 'invincibility', and so on.

Bipolar 2 is cyclothemia [a cycle of mania and depression] not as deep in depression as bipolar 1.

MDD is a VERY extreme as disorder.
Patients who suffer MDD may not be cured as well as patients who suffer from bipolar by meds alone.
There are NO UPS AND DOWNS for MDD.
Some cases are so severe, patients must be restrained to prevent them from killing themselves.
Bipolar is a VERY dangerous disorder itself, but can be treated by medication and is not known to resist Lithium. I have heard of no cases in which Lithium has not helped bipolar.
MDD, however, does not always respond to meds.
Sometimes, not even ECT can help.
-----

And just to tell you I know what I'm talking about, I got all my information on depression and other mood disorders from Mental Disorders TR 4 [revised]

Medications have also become more than reliable for people with schitzophrenia. In fact, untreated bipolar or schitzophrenia may result in institutionalization.

And just to tell you what ECT is, because if you are dense enough to think that dysthemia [a lower case of MDD] is more extreme than MDD itself you may need me to tell you, it is Electroconvulsive therapy known widely as shock therapy. It is used mostly on people with MDD and depression. I have not heard of a bipolar using ECT for their bipolar condition. Notice, I used the word bipolar, which once again is a COMBINATION OF MANIA AND MDD, NOT JUST MDD OR ANOTHER FORM OF DEPRESSION.

Thanks Para noir

Someone who has bothered to research their details. I hear some people say their suffering depression for this and that or whatever.

I wouldn't agree with the two week statement you made. Personally if the problem lasts for 1-2-3 years goes then returns for extended periods of time then you really have a problem.

What worries me is after such a long time is I cant seem to shake this. It the underlining feeling that I can't be bothered with anything that upsets me the most. I seem to have my life ticking by and I don't feel like Im really living.

lost and forgotton...no i'm not an idiot i know much more than you think.

Para Noir

i do agree with you that some anti depressant medications are addictive...i no many ppl who have been addicted to them...one common one to get addicted to is valium but this one is not an anti depressant though. Alot of the time the addiction is all in the head. people think that they will fall without them so refuse to stop taking them. other ppl there body actually yerns for them and they go into withdrawal without them.

I also agree with you that to be diagnosed with having depression it has to have lasted more than 2 weeks. i myself have had depression on and off for 9 years...my longest period lasting 3 years.

i do also no wot mania and MDD is. now this is just a personal opinion and it may not be correct. but i don't believe MDD is considered the worst mental disease. Bipolar which consist of both MDD and mania makes sense that it can be considered worse because it involves both MDD and something ON TOP OF THAT (mania). Having MDD can drive ppl to do some relli impulsive, drastic things but mania can just as much. I myself have experience both MDD and mania....at extream levels...both of which i had to be restrain heavily and repeatedy over periods as long as three weeks.

Now i HAVE heard of cases where lithium has not helped cases of bipolar...and yes that same case was given ECT treatment. ECT is actually more commonly used with ppl who are experiencing a catatonic condition which if you don't no basically means that they don't eat or drink or sleep and they are in a perpetual state of wot some ppl call shock. They also dont talk. But yes it is used in cases of MDD alot also...but they usually try ALOT of other treatments before that. alot of the time nothing except ECT works with a catatonic state.

Now i am not downgrading the severity of MDD all i am saying is that i have seen ppl who have bipolar and are just as worse off as them. and i don't deny that you no wot ur talking about. i'm sure you do...you just sometimes can be misleading...as to can i.

I also do believe that depression is all in the head thus the name MENTAL ILLNESS. but there are some exceptions where it is genetic and the person has no reason they can think of to be depressed. it still is in the head but is slightly different to how most ppl experience it.

not just people with untreated schitsophrenia and bipolar have 2 be institutionalised also ppl with MDD to as they can be a threat to themselves and other ppl. only in some cases tho

when you say patients who have MDD may not be cured as well as patients who have bipolar by meds alone" well patients who have bipolar experience MDD. so maybe you are saying that there mania can be treated more effectivly but there MDD isn't. or are you suggesting that ppl who just have MDD. that there MDD is worse off than a bipolar persons MDD...i may have misread but please explain exactly wot u mean.

By the way everything that i am saying it simply an opinion and i no that many ppl out there wouldn't agree with me or would have just as many facts to prove that i am wrong. there really is no worng and right there just ppls experiences. i have been admitted against my will in several different psychatric units and have seen many ppl come and go with all types of mental illnesses. i have concluded my results simply on what i have seen. also wot i have heard doctors and counsellors talking about and also from what i have read. i am not personal fimilar with your source of information but i am hoping it is a reliable one because there are many out there that aren't... have you heard of DSM 4. is it like that???.

anyway shall be interested as to what you think.

by the way...how old r u???

ino that depression isnt a two week thing, i was plainly giving an example of the blindness of ppl when it comes to depression. i know all about what ur saying when it comes to mdd,bipolar etc. but wat is new to me is ECT. as i thought it was only ever used in ppl within a catonic state... well interesting. after two suicide attempts and going on 4 psychiatric addmissions and working with 3 psychologists i thinks its safe to say with their and my own judgement that i am depressed

shhhdon'tmove are you asking lost and forgotton why there depressed or sum1 else. i'm confused. lol

i dont really know why im depressed, i just feel crap all the time. there were a few things at the start of it but they have no bearing watsoever now... so really i dont know why i wish i did. i get really guilty when i met ppl who have been sexually abused as a child or seen something really violent cos i havnt, and ive really got nothing major to deal with. i almost wish something had happened to me sometimes so i knew why i felt this way...

DSM is just the Diagnostic Statistical Manual.
Therapists use it to, obviously, correctly diagnose [spell wrong, I'm sure] illnesses.
The reason people don't know about people using ECT for depression, I'm sure, is a movie I haven't seen myself but heard of with a man being given ECT. Also, Bipolar is a combination of, as stated, MDD and Mania. Mania is a happiness disorder, too much happiness. People with Bipolar usually only experiance MDD once in their lives. But there are people who experiance it more than that. They do go back into depression, that's true, but never back to such a severe level such as MDD.
I have been to 5 therapists in my life. I was incorrectly diagnosed with depression when I was in grade school. I was thereby only given meds for depression. Later, psychaiatrists found that I had Bipolar, and I went untreated. I no longer have Bipolar, but it has tossed me into a state of MDD. No medication has helped and I still have MDD.
Yes, I have heard of cases where ECT has not worked, and I have heard of people having to be restrained to keep them from killing themselves.
It's a sad thing to see people so deep into the depressive state there simply is no escape.
I'm thinking of becoming a Cognitive-Behaviour Psychologist, that's how I have to know so much about these conditons. I haven't heard of the case where Lithium has not worked. I would consider for that person being re-evaluated for their mental condition.

becoming a cbp is a good idea we need more decent ones around

yes i was considering becoming a cbd my pshycologist actually said i'd make a good one except he did say it involved alot of statistical work and u relli had 2 be good at maths and science when u study it at college/uni. and i don't relli lyk that stuff so i am going to become either a social worker or counsellor. but how old r u? i'm interested to know

age is no barrier

lost and forgotten, you say u wish something had happened to you so u would know why you feel like you do but my dad and older brother hit me all the time and i'm not depressed i just feel crap most of the time

i think feeling like crap and being depressed are along the same lines.

^^not really lol

Where does does depression hurt?....EVERYWHERE

Who does depression hurt?....EVERYONE

sorry got that from a commercial lol

I know that commercial!!! Its hella annoying and kind of makes you depressed. Isnt that counter productive for the company?

^^lmfao seriously

the people look all melancholy and have a sh!t look on their face..............YOUR ON TV!!!! be happy

lol jk jk =]]

i see that thing everywhere.

it's annoying and makes me wanna hit something.

hitting things is fun, specially when ur knucles bleed

you can talk to me hunnie i know exactly what you feel like i have been depressed since i was 7 since my parents split xx