Life's worst feelings

[X'tyfe]

im in the same boat erica. one of the reason im not getting treatment is no meds work on me
i want nothing more than to rid my self of these feelings. iv tried and failed and now im doomed to live with it

[Er!c@]

i've been dealing with "depression" since 04, and i was 14, and everyone said oh its nothing she doesn't know what depression is, she'll grow outta it. almost 4 years later, i haven't grown outta it..


go fukkin figure.

[jägermonsta]

Girlfriend thinks she has depression. She's seen a doctor and has taken meds for many years now, since she was a teenager. Honestly I treat her no different then anyone else that thinks they have depression. I always pick on her idea that she thinks something is wrong with her. If I switched out her meds with tic-tacs I doubt she would notice.

[Robot]

I fail to see how schizophrenia and depression are in the same class.

I'm not sure what you mean by Cognitive therapy, but I do know Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and some variations of it works.

[10zx]

[Art]

I fail to see how schizophrenia and depression are in the same class.

They're not. Not even close.
and
ADD, Bi-Polar, Depression, Blah, Blah. Yeah, it's real but what exactly is it?
Life is too easy. Just grab what you want off the platter.
Woe is me. I'm confused.

[ReCycled]

I fail to see how schizophrenia and depression are in the same class.

I'm not sure what you mean by Cognitive therapy, but I do know Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and some variations of it works.

Actually they are, Robot. They all stem from the same class of brain hormones which the body uses to regulate mood and well-being. These days depression is the common-cold of the psychiatric business. Very common and very treatable. Generally its a lack of serotonin. Next worst would be bi-polar or manic depression. Also treatable with lithium but has lousy side effects. In past years these poor guys would be in "therapy" with some shrink for years to help 'cure' their illness. At the end of that all you got was a very insightful manic-depressive.
Last and worst is schizophrenia which has been linked to an excess of dopamine. Think of it as the mind on hyper alert. Your thoughts magnify to become voices in your head. A glance in your direction becomes a plot to kill you. The day-to-day stimulation of the world becomes too much to absorb and therefore threatening. There is no cure for this. Only heavy-duty sedatives and medication to control it. Of course Jager, who apparently has no brain hormones, would just tell the guy to snap out of it.

Cognitive therapy has been around since the early 80's and claims to be an alternative to medications with the same success rate. Its a 'talking' therapy. It says that by seeing all negative things in some kind of positive light, this will improve your outlook on life and hence alleviate your gloomy mood. Remember this is depression we are talking about - not situational unhappiness that occurs in everybody's life. Those things are usually resolved thru time. True depression is chronic. Your brain can get sick just like any other part of your body.

[Robot]

You underestimate how complex the situation is.  You could say "dopamine is related to pleasure", great, but in another part of the brain, it's related to motor activities.  And then you have numerous receptors for it and tons of other factors making things even more complex.  You could say "It's because of a lowered level of serotonin", then I'd have to ask why?  And you'll likely tell us it's genetic and is unalterable, and I'd have to disagree, because I've seen significant changes in my own mind firsthand.  Most prescription drugs for depression have side effects that are undesirable, like erectile dysfunction.

I agree with reaper that the brain is very changeable.

[quadz]

Cognitive therapy has been around since the early 80's and claims to be an alternative to medications with the same success rate. Its a 'talking' therapy. It says that by seeing all negative things in some kind of positive light, this will improve your outlook on life and hence alleviate your gloomy mood.

[X'tyfe]

it was suggested that i go for cognitive therapy by a specialist i saw
im still skeptical of it, and i havent gone for it yet

but im thinking more now that i should, its the only open option i have now
doctors here cant tell there ass from there elbow, they goto school for 10 years to learn about treating this
i wait 6 months to a see someone, they tell me theres nothing they can do.

as soon as i step in his office, iv just lined his pocket with hundreds of dollars
there in it just for the money, they all are

its a sick sick world

[Whirlingdervish]

try leading a fulfilling life, and many of the problems from which run-o-the-mill, non-chemicaly-induced depression stems, can be totally avoided.


I understand that some people may need to alter their brain chemistry to acheive a sense of normality, but for the rest of us, who are depressed by the shittiness of some aspects of life, the most potent tool that we can use to stave off depression is: action.

go do something instead of surfing the web all day and wondering why you don't feel fullfilled.

ex:
Make something with your bare hands and be proud of your accomplishment.
Go do something enjoyable to put a happier edge on a shitty day.
find someone who makes you happy even when you feel shitty and spend time with them.

it all boils down to this:

If you use the time you have (aside from work and responsibilities) and use it to do things that will make you feel better about yourself and your abilities, then you won't have time to sit around feeling sorry for yourself over things you can't control, and you won't dwell on the shitty parts of the day, because you're looking forward to the good stuff you're about to do.


this doesn't apply to chemically imbalanced people quite as much, but it can still be helpful to them.

[X'tyfe]

its true dervish, i sit on my ass all day and do just that
i dont go anywhere or see anyone

[Art]

I think Dervish has a handle on things there. NEXT!

[ReCycled]

As a result of my own experience many years ago I did some volunteer work in the psychiatric ward in one of the major hospitals downtown. I saw the whole gamut of problems and neuroses from bad to worse. From the doctors point of view, the intent of medication prescribed to people was never intended to be a long term solution, but to lift them out of their depression and give them their mind and hope back so they could start some sort of therapy. This could be traditional therapy or cognitive. Now at least they had the 'tools' to comprehend and work on their own issues in life, in case some stress triggered a future event. No one..and I mean no one..wanted to be enslaved by pills for the rest of their life. Only time revealed whether they could cope without medication. Sometimes biology is just too strong and after relapses they accepted the fact they needed something, probably for the rest of their life. Some even needed ECT (shock treatments).
 

[myamagical]

Finishing the program you wrote for comp sci and then when you go ahead to build/run it and it gives you 102 errors and 6 warnings.
Having IEA and Calculus exams on the same day.