sigh
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He’s so dreamy.
BigPerm–You’re an idiot.
Not necessarily.
While I totally agree with Medea’s Child about depression not being something that you can control with willpower, exercise does change chemical balances in your body, and I read (I know I should find a cite, but… it’s the Pit) that exercise, in some cases, is as effective as antidepressant pills.
But if it didn’t work for jarbaby, then it didn’t. No big deal.
There was a clear subtext to BigPerm’s post–pills are for wimps, and that if she tried hard enough she could pull herself out of it.
Like Medea’s Child said, that is like asking a diabetic to “will up some insulin.” The diabetic can help his/her situation with careful diet, and the depressive can help him/herself with behavioral changes. Exercise is a huge help to lots of people with depression. But I resent his implication that jarbaby can “cure herself.”
I know nothing of BigPerm’s and jarbaby’s respective depressions, but I suspect his was not very severe if he could just exercise himself out of it.
What a fine argument you’ve made!
You’re right GB, you don’t know anything about my depression… furthermore, you’ve interpreted my message entirely wrong. If you care to try again, be my guest.
jarbaby: I know what worked for me. I can only suggest and hope it helps you also. Not every “cure” works for every person though. Everyone but GB understands that.
BP
PS - GB: someone of your intellectual level would have been destroyed from half the depression I suffered.
Same here. Boy, can I feel it when I’ve missed it. Urgh.
jarbabyj, people on anti-depressants do indeed still get depressed. The meds just make it a little easier to cope. They make me realize that I’m just having a bad time right now, but it will eventually pass. Not like before I started taking medication, when everything sucked and I just knew it would last forever.
And tell those blowhards that ask if you’ve remembered to take your pills that “Oh my, no I didn’t. So that’s the reason why you’re such an asshole! Thanks for reminding me!”
Jarbaby, I’m going to take a bit of a devils advocate position on this. I can understand why someone might ask you if you’ve taken your meds. It’s because they care about you and are worried for you. People do stop taking their meds sometimes.
Your friends are not going to be able to tell if your unhappiness is just a normal mood swing like everyone has, or a result of a decision to stop taking the pills. I know it must be irritating to get the question 10x a day when you’re feeling down, but don’t be too hard on them, they just care.
Don’t get into a pissing contest with someone you don’t know, asshole, or I’ll give you some of the depression I used to have (it’s much better now, but I’m still occasionally suicidal). Then we’ll see how someone of your intellectual level does with that.
FWIW, I agree with you on the exercise bit, though I imagine it differs from person to person. My depression tends to be a general weakness toward unhappy things, so a little thing can set me off something fierce. I’m also not very good at holding a happy mood and my brain seems to absorb serotonin excellently (as opposed to not as much so, which would make me happier). I suspect that it is the adrenaline released durin a workout/period of strenuous physical activity that has some effect on one’s mood. But I will tell you this: I’ve been depressed during a workout. Way depressed. The adrenaline doesn’t always do it, which is why I stopped relying on it.
i too suffer from depression. every morning, i do the zoloft (novo-sert…hold on lemme grab my bottle…oops…sertraline HCL…walmart likes me) diarreah (sp?) dance. i was on paxil which made me gain tons of weight and sleep through EVERYTHING. i was too tired to do anything, but i started to feel the depression through the meds. yuck. i felt horrible all the time. with the new meds, i’m able to excercise like i’m going to compete in ms. world fitness or something…so jarbabyj, you are certainly are not alone. i used to lock myself in my room, eat jubejubes and cry watching A&E…oh wait …i still do that…
Do I look like the one that came in and criticized someone else’s depression? No, so fuck you.
I came in trying to offer some simple advice. It’s anyone’s choice, take it, of fucking leave it.
My only point in my original post, is that many doctors don’t use a comprehensive approach to treating depression. I don’t doubt for a second that jarbaby probably needs medication for her particular brand of depression. But does her doctor insist and ensure that she is getting enough exercise?
Another thing you said is that you were depressed during a “workout”. Which is why I suggested that one competes against other people. There’s a big difference between sitting alone on an exercise bike, thinking about your depression… and having to concentrate on the game at hand and having social interaction with other people.
Depression is a terrible thing, that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. I can’t explain why I lost 40 pounds (on a 200lb frame) or couldn’t sleep for days or even weeks (at some points) at a time. What I do know is that it affected me dramatically. I don’t look at life the same way that I used to. So I don’t care what you or GB say, I will do whatever I can to hopefully help someone else out of it.
BP
Well, I seem to be back on track today. Betcha never knew I was such a rollercoaster, eh?
cheesesteak, I understand that people care…but what I’m saying is, I can have a bad day and still take meds, AND meds don’t make the sun come out.
Jarbaby: God, it’s so cloudy today, it really brings me down.
Mom: Well, did you take your medication?
I mean, can’t I even complain about something that bothers me? With or without medication, a cloudy day is going to bring me down, hard.
jarbaby
Since diabetes has been mentioned, let me tell you my experience as a diabetic. Often, when I say I’m hungry, the response is “Is your blood sugar low? Do you need something to eat?” No. I’m hungry.
It can be a little annoying, but I understand that the intent is good, even if the execution is flawed. So I guess I lean more towards the Cheesesteak point of view.
On the other hand, I realize that part of the reason for the Pit is to bitch, so I’m not trying to tell you that you can’t be annoyed (since I get annoyed, too). But I disagree with several posters who take the comments as heartless, insenstive intrusions into your life. Yes, depression and other mental illnesses are still stigmatized but it doesn’t mean that anybody who comments on a person’s mental condition is automatically an asshole. Perhaps they operate with a hair trigger, but that’s different from being an insensitive asshole.
I’m glad you are feeling better today.
Jarbaby, you’re right, that would be incredibly annoying to hear all the time.
You can do what I do, take all these annoyances, gather them together, and squeeeeeze them into a tight, little, hate filled ball. Then when someone wanders by and says something completely innocent, EXPLODE and take all of your frustrations out on them.
It’s great for the blood pressure too, the higher the better, I always say.
May your rollercoaster have more ups than downs.