Thanks Czarcasm! Hey!! Why can’t I buy Moderator Underoos in the SD store??
Back To The Op
Astro-Examine your reasons for not going to a psychiatrist, do they really stand up?
You're not going to be laughed at or lobotomized. If money is a problem, most shrinks work on a sliding scale and give huge boxes of free samples to patients who can't afford medications.DocCathode:
Not necessarily true, but moving right along…
Regarding the “social causes versus the physiological causes” thing: Let us start with the hypothesis that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms we call “depression” does indeed correlate with certain neurochemical / neurotransmitter states. Let’s assume also that if you could pluck up random persons from the sidewalk and magically induce in them those same neurochemical / neurotransmitter states, they would experience and exhibit those same symptoms.
These postulates do not equate to “depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in your head”. A less politically-specific version of papertiger, e.g., that the modern world, such as it is, exposes people to depressing circumstances and that these depressing circumstances are the causes of depression, is equally viable as an explanation even given these postulates. (The assumption would then be that being depressed is manfested by, rather than caused by, those neurological conditions).
Add in the possibility that some individuals are more predisposed than others to slipping into and/or maintaining those neurological conditions and you have plenty of room for some people to experience themselves as being in need of pharmaceuticals which help them cope with depression, and believe me, I’m no one to get in between anyone and whatever they need to get them through their tribulations.
But does the so-called “mental illness” called “depression” therefore exist as an entity totally different from a plain old case of the ugly old blues? The OP asked this, and I said that the difference consists of a psychiatrist’s opinion. Because in practice that is indeed the only difference. The psychiatrist does not sample your biochemistry and do a blood titer and assess your neurotransmitter level, let alone run a test to determine whether or not your tendency to become gloomed out exceeds the normal response to gloom-causing stimuli. No, the psychiatrist makes the diagnosis on the basis of symptoms, and the symptoms themselves do not inherently bespeak their causes.
AHunter3-I do think that this thread is the right place for this discussion. GD would be better suited. It is interesting discussing mental-healthcare-reform with you though.
I knew what you meant 
Point taken. Carry on.
I didn’t say I wasn’t going to get some assistance. I had several meetings (about 8) with a “lifestyle coach” last summer/fall whom a colleague had recommended as helping them get back on track and focus. The meetings were interesting but basically consisted of lots of good advice to make lists of things that needed to be done, eat healthier and go to bed earlier which I did not follow.
The problem is basically that I’m in a place mentally and lifestyle wise that I feel “boxed” in and am either dis-inclined or too lazy and cynical to follow good advice. I’m a divorced, single father of two kids with shared custody and I’m in a profession where my time is my own, to use or waste as I see fit, and I’ve been wasting a lot more than using over the past year or three. It isn’t like this “place” I’m in happened overnight. It took me years to construct this little toolshed. I’ve watched it all coming apart in slow motion. I’ve had enough big deals come together to keep going financially but these have been due more to my past contacts and my technical skills, and quite frankly the grace of God (which is something for an atheist to say) than a focused, consistent effort.
I’m used to being a highly successful person and not being successful is a real show stopper. I go to bed too late, I wake up too late, I don’t get enough exercise, I’m overweight, I’m low level exhausted most of my waking hours and I feel like I’ve got this annoying, enervating buzzing “cloud” or “fog” in my brain that is just sapping my energy and will. My brain basically shuts down in the late afternoon and if I eat anything at all and I feel this overpowering urge to sleep. I “wake up” mentally around 9 or 10 in the evening and the 10 PM to 12 midnight time period is the only time of day where I feel I have any real energy and It’s typically the only time when I can get the energy to clean the house and take care of other housekeeping. Basic, little tasks that are manageable if taken care of daily pile up to the point they seem overwhelming.
It’s all so screwed up. Quite frankly I would never have posted the original OP in this thread if I had not had an Oxycontin buzz going the other day from some meds I got few weeks ago for a tailbone injury that is finally (I think) healing. It’s the sort of thing I prefer to keep private and deal with privately but (while under the Oxy buzz) I did wonder about the power of other meds to lift a mood and maybe give a person a foothold on climbing out of an emotional and lifestyle well. Having said that, however, I’m glad in retrospect that I did make the post because some people have given excellent advice and points to ponder.
Ultimately I’m a “can do” person. It’s my basic nature, and I will find some way out of this enervating and frustrating morass and get back on track. The guidance and insight given in this thread have been most appreciated.
Gee, my psychiatrist DID the blood tests, eeg, etc.
As was stated above, I found that the drugs were the stepping stones to a better life. In my case the moderate the chemical imbalance so that I can cope with the normal ups and downs of life. Also many years of self-observation help one understand what’s happening when the slide into the pits gains momentum and that, in itself makes coping easier on me and everyone who has to be around me.
My definition of depression is: helpless and hopeless. It’s that “why bother?” feeling about everything - regardless of your circumstances. If you bought a PowerBall ticket and won, you wouldn’t cash it in because it wouldn’t make any difference in your life.
Hope it all works out well for you.
They do that in order to rule out a physical cause for the depression (not that brain chemistry is not physical, but you know what I mean). There are certain disorders that can cause depression.
A medical doctor, not necessarily a psychiatrist, can diagnose depression and treat it. I would recommend getting an opinion from one of each. A medical doctor has a broad range of experience to check and see if something else is the cause.
astro-I just noticed this thread so apologies for being late. I was diagnosed as clinically depressed about 7 years ago. I was on Paxil for about nine months and haven’t looked back since. Like you, I ended up in the place I was after about 2 years of slowly sliding down. I kept thinking of it as being a cat with all my claws extended on a wall but still slipping down. It happened so gradually that I didn’t realise it and by the end I didn’t think I could even *get * better, all I was hoping for was to not slip any further.
I couldn’t accept that I was depressed until my ex-boyfriend made me go on the advice of a psychologist working with him. That first psychologist was horrible. She pushed me over the edge from feeling suicidal to being actively suicidal. Like you, I had no real problems to speak of-she insisted that I wasn’t being honest. I felt much worse after seeing her; of course being suicidal also made me realize that I needed help because this was not going away. My ex helped me find another psychologist and she diagnosed me as clinically depressed. I didn’t think the drugs would help but it was like going from a black and white world to full color. The only regret I have is that I waited so long and lost precious time because of my pride and stubborness.
astro if you are clinically depressed (and it sounds like you are) a lifestyle coach is only going to make things worse because its just adding something else that you are failing at. It’s important to look around until you find a psychologist you “click” with. Also I would like to reiterate that everyone has their breaking point. I hope this helps you in some way. Good Luck.
Astro…seeing as how you want to find more a “do-it-yourself” approach to your malaise, I’d suggest that regular exercise might just do the trick for you. The lack of energy, fuzzy-headed thinking just might be remedied by a daily jog or something.
Of course, I realize that this is easier said than done, especially in light of your present inertia and lack of motivation. But this might be an easy way of jump-starting your life.
I too always thought of myself as the “strong one”, who would never need a psychiatrist, or be depressed. It snuck up on me and I didn’t realize how bad it was, until I was in the midst of it. I did some “self-diagnosing” by taking a few tests on the internet, then left the results lying around. My SO saw them and made me go to a therapist (which is what I wanted, I think now). I was diagnosed a being “slightly to moderately depressed.” I never went on medication, for me getting it out in therapy was a great unburdening. My therapist was great, never told me I should get over it, or that things weren’t really that bad. BTW, these kinds of things are the absolute worst things to say to someone who is depressed! I didn’t care about anything, just wanted to sleep all day. I learned I was basing my happiness in future events, that “as soon as this happens or I have such-and-such life will be complete.” For me, that day never came and I had to learn to be content with now.
I also have a friend who is manic-depressive (a different scenario), and she can’t get by w/out her meds. I now have a much better understanding of what she goes through, what anyone with mental illness goes through. Until I experienced it I didn’t have much sympathy or understanding, I thought these people were “weak” and could snap out of it if they stopped whining for a minute. This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon point of view.
I agree with most people here that depression is defined by the length of time it is experienced, and also the inability to feel better or take pleasure in things you normally do. I found myself withdrawing from friends, when normally I am a very social person. But you don’t have to have all the symptoms to be depressed, and there are different degrees of depression.
Sorry this is so long!
Astro, I have no experience or knowledge about treating depression so I am afraid I cannot offer much direct help but the topic interests me.
Some years ago I used to heve a girlfriend who was very dynamic and motivated. She worked out of her home and when I stayed over I could not believe how she would get up in the morning and start making business phone calls right away. I was never like that. If I have the excuse of someone around to converse, I’ll put things off indefinitely…
That got me thinking some people can do well structuring their own life and some people need to make a strong effort to get that structure. If you are employed by others, then that gives you a certain degree of structure as you have to show up but if you organize your own life that makes it so much more dificult.
Lately I have been thinking about this as my own life has zero structure… everything which can be put off for another day is put off for another day. But it creates a feeling of not going anywhere which is unhealthy.
So I have been thinking about this circle of lack of structure -> lack of will in general -> lack of will to get some structure -> lack of structure . . . and how do you break out of it.
I think this is an important factor in many people who feel depressive but do not really have any chemical imbalance. Circumstances have put them in a position where they are lost and cannot see a way out of that circle.