This is going to sound extra-lame, but I’ll tell you something. I get really fed up with people who ascribe every negative emotion I feel to my depression. No, I’m not going through one of my ‘times’. I’m feeling like hell because someone said something really mean. Now, granted, this person -consistantly- says mean things about people, and if I had ways around dealing with him, I would, but I don’t. This means I’m angry at -him-, and my self-esteem at the moment is very low. It may have something to do with my depression, but it’s not CAUSELESS. It’s not simply something where ‘did you take your meds recently’ is a good answer to.
Pisses me off.
I’m not allowed to have real reactions to people because I sometimes have false ones. Lord forbid I might have REAL FUCKING EMOTIONS.
In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a little mad. Unfortunately, all my usual outlets for emotional support are out of town / busy / whatever, so tonight, this place gets my rant.
Yes, I have depression.
Yes, I have ‘real’ emotions as well.
Don’t treat me like I don’t. It just pisses me off further.
Me in same boat. But funnier. Wife on drugs TOO! Me stop drugs and begin have real emotions. She wig out and tell me take drugs. Me get mad and ask, “you take yours?” She say no. I giggle. She go NUTS!
I’ve noticed that when I’m in the middle of a bout of depression, I can’t trust my emotions. Oh, sure, they’re plenty real. Real enough that there are times I want to beat my head against the wall to distract from the emotional pain.
Thankfully, though, no one’s patronized me by saying I just need to take my meds. :rolleyes:
I feel for ya, ArrMatey. BTW, did I ever tell you that I think you’re a really funny guy, and I love reading your posts?
Depression, the biggest con artist in the world. I hate it when people call me on not taking my meds, I hate it when they ask me rudely “have you been taking your meds?” if I’m frustrated. Granted, I’ve been off em for a bit (there’s that con bit. on the meds I’m sure I’m fine, absolutely sure…then I’m off, and life blows again…) but having no money because I keep switching jobs because restaurants lie about the expected income of the workers tends to make people a bit testy, no?
That’s my way of saying I understand, and I’m sorry.
Partner of a Meds taker… why consider going off them. I know there have only been 4 or 5 posts, but it sounds like some of you are not on your Meds all the time. Why the hell not???
It’s not a sign of weakness, or instability. If being on them makes you happy, calm, or whatever you are looking for, stay on them!
And dont think there is anything wrong with having to take them. Don’t be ashamed of them. If someone asks ‘are you taking your Meds’, laugh it off, walk away, or poke them in the eye!
Who gives a shit!
Perhaps you don’t want to live your life on drugs… If it was me and taking a drug made me feel alive and real, I would buy the company and then get on with my life. (of course I’m talking about
prescription ones!).
Meds or no Meds your feelings are important. And they are always real.
Just be thankful you have found a way to solve your permanent or temporary depression. It’s us other people who don’t have depression or anxiety full-on enough to get a doctor to prescibe us medication, but have to ride through some really bad days on our own.
Dude. I am on my meds. That’s what makes it doubly insulting. The feelings I experience are ‘real’, but because people know I’m medicated, they look at it as if there’s no chance I could be experiencing anything other than chemical depression.
This whole thing might be a bit of a hi-jack, but I’d like to make a point here. Some of those meds that are prescribed to people who are depressed can have some serious side effects, and can significantly alter their long-term health. Which is why some of them try to somewhat/totally reduce the amount of medications that they’re on. (Not speaking from personal experience, but anecdotal from a few friends)
Maybe if the meds they were prescribed made them feel “alive and real”, they would keep taking them. Just MHO.
Yeah, what heater2000ca said. Not a taker of them myself, but the wife is, and in a lot of the cases you can end up with a choice between mild-moderate depresssion, or liver-failure and bloody diarrhea. Sometimes it’s hard for the person to tell if the medicine is doing anything at all, and the only way to check is to go off them a couple days and see if it’s your chemicals out of balance, or if your life really is just shitty right now. Some of them, especially SSRI’s (the seratonin inhibitors if I got the acronym wrong), have been known in rare cases to make the depression deeper, or worse convert an only mildly depressed person into a suicidal or homicidal maniac.
I want to comisserate fully on this one. The condescending attitude in the question of whether you’re “on your meds” or not is sickening, and although I don’t take meds, I am dealing with a similar train wreck at the moment. In my case, the idea that I would be utterly and rightly pissed at an acquaintance for behaving like a human hurricane, a selfish boob, an irrepressible asshole, a self righteous bitch, a manipulative harpy, and an inappropriate shithead HER ENTIRE MISERABLE LIFE, MUST be because I’m grieving over the recent death of my girlfriend…not because it’s time someone stood up to her and let her have it with both barrels. Nope. Not grieving yet. Just truly agog at how someone can behave so badly and abrasively ALL THE TIME and get away with it.
I’m with you. Have some validation. It’s hard to come by these days.
I know it’s not quite the same, but to me this is along the lines of when (usually) a man says “You must be PMSing” when I get angry or annoyed. Well maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. It doesn’t mean you’re NOT being an ass!
It’s the discounting of one’s feelings that stings.
Yup, only cases aren’t that rare. I’ve seen people get really messed up when anti depressants have launched them into a manic episode.
I’m mildly bipolar and as long as I’m not under any significant duress, I can usually manage just fine without medication as a result of really, really good coping strategies a therapist and I developed togther.
Sometimes I can’t quite manage on my own. During an annoyingly rough patch where I felt miserable, I was taking a very, very, very mild mood stabilizer. It had worked decenlty on me before and previously had taken the edge off of the depression to make it more manageable.
This time backfired and made me really hyper and paranoid! Everytime a door was closed in the office I just knew they were talking about firing me! And I was so consumed by this dreaded notion I could barely get work done. For three weeks I was agitated and terrified of what would happen to an unemployed me. It was totally irrational. I was plagued by a despairing anxiety and couldn’t sleep at night. I was becoming quite distressed.
Fortunately I remembered that the paranoia/anxiety had started within a day or two of starting the mood stabilizer. I realized that it was messing me up. I settled down again within a day or two of not taking it . I had to struggle with the depression a bit, but seriously, it was far, far preferable to that awful paranoid hypomania. That was horrible.
Hijack:
Hey, anyone ever get the physical symptoms of depression without the mood? Is that even possible? Strangely, my body has been feeling the way it does when I’m having a downswing. I’m not sleep, no appetite, exhausted, feel like I’m moving in slow motion, etc. This is the time of year where the lack of sunlight during the season change seem to kickstart my mood fluctations, so this is not unusual, and in fact a depressive episode is somewhat expected. What is unsual, is I that the emotion is absent. It’s weird. I don’t feel that thick, heavy, bone-crushing sadness. But my body feels the way it does when I do. Weird.
