Depression Support Thread

shazrobo

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ab

been to the gp, keeping me on same meds for depression, asked if i wanted to increase, but i said no, as i am managing just about, and once josh is back in school, should be easier, providing he stays there
have been refered to hospital for x-rays regarding the hip pain

hugs all
shaz xx

whitevanwoman

absolutebounder wrote: »

WVW nice to see you are sending people to sites and information written by hypnotherapists.

I have to admit that I didn't realise the author was a hynotherapist - I just discovered that particular page and felt that it was one of the most useful explanations about the link between sleeping alot and depression that I'd ever come across, and no doctor has ever given me a reason or explained things as well as that. In fact, I'd always kind of got the impression that sleeping alot was something that happened because I was miserable and that I shouldn't give in to it, and that sleeping alot was making me more depressed. And that kind of thinking probably did make me more depressed as it made me feel that I was lazy, idle etc.

I've always felt that the more I understand about the physical and emotional links, the better chance I will have of overcoming the depression. Recently there seems to have been a much greater encouragement by the medical community to take exercise to combat depression and they are keen now to publish the fact that exercise increases endorphins which increase serotonin etc. That's a big step forward but they need to remember the flip side that if someone is so severely depressed, especially if they live alone and have little or no support, the thought of even going out for a 10 minute walk is just too much, and the depressed person could end up feeling worse if they can't manage to get out for that 10 minute walk.

Having a clear diagrammatic explanation of the way that depression affects us both physically and emotionally was really helpful and it is something that I could maybe take to my employer to explain why I find it so difficult to work in the mornings, and I think perhaps more importantly, it has helped relieved some of the guilt of sleeping so much and sleeping in so late on a regular basis.

For years I have struggled to adjust my body clock to a more normal sleeping pattern. I find it very difficult to go to bed at night and the more depressed I am, the later it gets. I suspect that it is because there is so much going on in my head that I know that I won't sleep until I am so dog tired that I can go to bed and fall asleep fairly quickly. I dread going to bed earlier and lying awake unable to sleep. I have tried to do this and I just end up getting back up again a couple of hours later in an extremely anxious state and I go back downstairs and watch some mindnumbing film on tv. I suspect maybe this is why there is a high incidence of alcohol and drug use in people who are depressed as they need to find some way of shutting down their brain. Doctors rarely prescribe sleeping tablets these days - for good reasons - but I do feel that so long as it is carefully monitored and for a limited time period, together with discussion and good practical support from either GP or mental health team, sleeping tablets could be a way of resetting the bodyclock and developing new healthier habits.

Its all about taking a holistic approach - informing and educating people with depression about their illness (which I believe the medical community has been pretty rubbish at doing - they give you a diagnosis and some pills but very little in the way of practical "action plan" type advice) so that people can find ways of beating this illness from all sides. In my opinion, ADs are a useful support mechanism, but not the only solution and I think that the medical community has given the impression that if you take ADs, you will get better.

I didn't intend this to turn into a rant - sorry if it's come across like that, but I do feel pretty strongly about knowing as much as possible about my illness and if I don't get that info from the medical community, then I have to find it out for myself. There is, of course, the risk that whatever we find on the internet may not be true, but that risk equally applies to whatever we might read in a book or a magazine. We might be depressed but we are not stupid and we deserve to have people realise that, given as much info and support as poss, we can make our own decisions about our illness, which ultimately should have a positive empowering effect.

I'll stop now as I could probably go on for ages and having just woken up, I need my caffeine...;)

Sssssss

hi to all you newbies, welcome and stick around
pain killers for those with dodgy ribs, hips etc.
thanks to those who have posted jokes or useful links

as you can see I'm being lazy today and just posting in summary form, my last week at home before venturing out in the big bad world of work, start next monday. Feel ok so far but think sunday night will be a killer.

take care all and remember you're one of the good guys.

whitevanwoman

Sssssss wrote: »

hi to all you newbies, welcome and stick around
pain killers for those with dodgy ribs, hips etc.
thanks to those who have posted jokes or useful links

as you can see I'm being lazy today and just posting in summary form, my last week at home before venturing out in the big bad world of work, start next monday. Feel ok so far but think sunday night will be a killer.

take care all and remember you're one of the good guys.

Enjoy your last week of freedom. Do what you want to do this week. See it as your reward for starting work.

However, and please don't take this as criticism, but be aware that by saying sunday night will be a killer, you are setting it up to be just that. Try turning it round and think that on sunday night you will be anxious but excited, looking forward to taking a brave step which might not be easy but will be a positive step and a big change. It's your chance to fly. Anyone starting a new job is going to be anxious beforehand but from what you have said in your posts on the thread, you really really wanted to get back into work and YOU HAVE DONE IT.
That's a massive achievement. :T

In the current economic climate it's hard enough for anyone to get a new job, let alone someone who has had the disadvantages that you've had recently.

I bet your wife is SO proud of you. So be proud of yourself and try not to see it negatively but as a major positive step forward. You've proved to alot of people on this thread that even despite the problems we all have, it is possible to achieve. One of the biggest disabling symptoms of depression is the negative thinking - I battle constantly with this and don't realise I'm doing it half the time. And when I do realise I'm doing it, its still really hard to change that way of thinking as it is so ingrained. I guess its all about whether you see the glass half empty or half full.

And in my opinion, my friend, your glass is half full and it's still filling up! :beer:

absolutebounder

whitevanwoman wrote: »

I have to admit that I didn't realise the author was a hynotherapist - I just discovered that particular page and felt that it was one of the most useful explanations about the link between sleeping alot and depression that I'd ever come across, and no doctor has ever given me a reason or explained things as well as that. In fact, I'd always kind of got the impression that sleeping alot was something that happened because I was miserable and that I shouldn't give in to it, and that sleeping alot was making me more depressed. And that kind of thinking probably did make me more depressed as it made me feel that I was lazy, idle etc.

I've always felt that the more I understand about the physical and emotional links, the better chance I will have of overcoming the depression. Recently there seems to have been a much greater encouragement by the medical community to take exercise to combat depression and they are keen now to publish the fact that exercise increases endorphins which increase serotonin etc. That's a big step forward but they need to remember the flip side that if someone is so severely depressed, especially if they live alone and have little or no support, the thought of even going out for a 10 minute walk is just too much, and the depressed person could end up feeling worse if they can't manage to get out for that 10 minute walk.

Having a clear diagrammatic explanation of the way that depression affects us both physically and emotionally was really helpful and it is something that I could maybe take to my employer to explain why I find it so difficult to work in the mornings, and I think perhaps more importantly, it has helped relieved some of the guilt of sleeping so much and sleeping in so late on a regular basis.

For years I have struggled to adjust my body clock to a more normal sleeping pattern. I find it very difficult to go to bed at night and the more depressed I am, the later it gets. I suspect that it is because there is so much going on in my head that I know that I won't sleep until I am so dog tired that I can go to bed and fall asleep fairly quickly. I dread going to bed earlier and lying awake unable to sleep. I have tried to do this and I just end up getting back up again a couple of hours later in an extremely anxious state and I go back downstairs and watch some mindnumbing film on tv. I suspect maybe this is why there is a high incidence of alcohol and drug use in people who are depressed as they need to find some way of shutting down their brain. Doctors rarely prescribe sleeping tablets these days - for good reasons - but I do feel that so long as it is carefully monitored and for a limited time period, together with discussion and good practical support from either GP or mental health team, sleeping tablets could be a way of resetting the bodyclock and developing new healthier habits.

Its all about taking a holistic approach - informing and educating people with depression about their illness (which I believe the medical community has been pretty rubbish at doing - they give you a diagnosis and some pills but very little in the way of practical "action plan" type advice) so that people can find ways of beating this illness from all sides. In my opinion, ADs are a useful support mechanism, but not the only solution and I think that the medical community has given the impression that if you take ADs, you will get better.

I didn't intend this to turn into a rant - sorry if it's come across like that, but I do feel pretty strongly about knowing as much as possible about my illness and if I don't get that info from the medical community, then I have to find it out for myself. There is, of course, the risk that whatever we find on the internet may not be true, but that risk equally applies to whatever we might read in a book or a magazine. We might be depressed but we are not stupid and we deserve to have people realise that, given as much info and support as poss, we can make our own decisions about our illness, which ultimately should have a positive empowering effect.

I'll stop now as I could probably go on for ages and having just woken up, I need my caffeine...;)

i didnt think it was a rant, I think it is a very good post and you are 100% right that the more you know about the illness the better the chance you have of fighting it. knowledge is power in the fight against depression. I used to post a lot of information but got told off for it. There is a lot of information on the internet but some is contradictory and some thought provoking. The sleep patterns thing was good and obviously helpful. I wish someone would put up a thought patterns one.
just had bit of a discussion on another thread and wondered if you had tried meditation before sleep as the idea of meditation is to get your head clear of thoughts which might help you to sleep

LadyMorticia

I'm in desperate need of a photoshoot but I'm meant to rest. Argh!

I don't like rest. =/

See how I feel on Wednesday.If I can move, then I'm going out to do a shoot with Kay. This is driving me insane. =/

xx

rosepink1984

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Went to the doctors this morning and I have two fractured ribs and bruising (how he worked that out from just poking and prodding me I'll never know!). Apparently the only thing I can do is rest and take painkillers.
I don't lke resting. It makes me feel lazy. :rotfl:

Anyway, yeah, I kinda hurt right now.
Cheer me up? :rotfl:xx

You poor thing, that sounds awful. How did that happen then? Can't think of anything cheerful, but am thinking of you. Won't send a big hug as that might hurt you! xx

Savvy_Sue

LadyMorticia wrote: »

LOL AB! That certainly cheered me up.
Thank you very muchly.

I just hope it didn't make you laugh! That would be painful with cracked ribs!

LadyMorticia

rosepink1984 wrote: »

You poor thing, that sounds awful. How did that happen then? Can't think of anything cheerful, but am thinking of you. Won't send a big hug as that might hurt you! xx

It happened when I had my fall into the middle of the road. I bruised my knee badly, but landed awkwardly on my side somehow too.

LadyMorticia

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I just hope it didn't make you laugh! That would be painful with cracked ribs!

:rotfl:
I did laugh and it was painful...but not as painful as when I bent down to pick a cup off of the floor earlier. OUCH!

Although, my ribs do funny things when I laugh. It's like my whole bottom ribcage moves up and then down again. Very weird.

xx