Black Dog of Depression - can we help each other?

dmg24

LameWolf wrote: »

In my case, a major over-indulgence in PC and PlayStation2 gaming. Also, dog-sitting when possible (need to have a dog needing to be "sat" iyswim), baking, cross-stitch and other handicrafts when the paws permit, and FAR too much time on the internet.:o

Anyone else? I'm open to ideas to try for a change.:o

I love cross stitch too. Unfortunately I have hit a brick wall with it, I have so many unfinished peices that I feel a tad demotivated? If I can ever get myself organised in other areas, I might get them all out and try to get some finished!

black_paw

unity love the true blood series ..see it on plain old tv..but seen in shop to day the complete first series on dvd about £24 ...changed the avater to bills photo....but think it confuses people ..so may switch back ..i found a free site that you put any size photo in and it turns it to avatar size for any sites to be used on .very helpful. big headache today ..but there's bill to watch tonight ..so feeling looking forward to that.

crazy_girl

LameWolf wrote: »

In my case, a major over-indulgence in PC and PlayStation2 gaming. Also, dog-sitting when possible (need to have a dog needing to be "sat" iyswim), baking, cross-stitch and other handicrafts when the paws permit, and FAR too much time on the internet.:o

Anyone else? I'm open to ideas to try for a change.:o

writing (the main one!)
preparing for things (like xmas etc. it keeps me going, always somethign to look forward to iyswim)
making stuff
looking after my pup and my mums
doing as much work as i am possibly able to do

i go to a drop in too for young people and i help the charity by being a trustee and making speeches at events etc.

Unity

LameWolf wrote: »

In my case, a major over-indulgence in PC and PlayStation2 gaming. Also, dog-sitting when possible (need to have a dog needing to be "sat" iyswim), baking, cross-stitch and other handicrafts when the paws permit, and FAR too much time on the internet.:o

Anyone else? I'm open to ideas to try for a change.:o

Lame Wolf I would never have guessed! Computer games are something I haven't played in years. Truth to tell I used to love Sonic on the old Sega Megadrive and I think I once played Halo with my son on his XBox. Addictive personalities run in my family - so it is something that I know I would become addicted to if I got involved and it would be really easy to do that if only for the excellent computer graphics these days. I used to play Dungeons and Dragons the old fashioned way with dice and little characters, in fact a group of friends once took a game on holiday and we played solid for around 36 hours :eek:. I do have a Nintendo DS with Brain Training :rolleyes: and everyone else in the family has tried it - but with my current problems I think I'd get the lowest score .

dmg24 wrote: »

I love cross stitch too. Unfortunately I have hit a brick wall with it, I have so many unfinished peices that I feel a tad demotivated? If I can ever get myself organised in other areas, I might get them all out and try to get some finished!

How clever! My attempts at this have always failed miserably - my stitching never looks tidy . My DD2 who also suffers from depression, does cross stitch too - the really huge ones - and has done since she was little (amazing attention span :rolleyes:). She's done a couple of the famous ones - the dragon with it's tail wrapped around a castle on a hill and an alphabet sampler with a set of wrought iron gates and a peacock. She also knits and has already made six outfits for children in her extended family for Yule/Christmas presents.

My other hobby is photography and I love to mess around with digital imaging software after doing a course one morning a week earlier this year. My next job is to move all my images to an external hard drive to keep them altogether and free up space elsewhere.

I know that some doctors feel that depression causes pain rather than pain causing depression especially in FMS/CFS. I would disagree, but what do others think?

There's a new Midsomer Murders on tonight :T so I am looking forward to seeing all the lovely properties they use. It's like being on holiday . Simple pleasures .

Unity

crazy_girl wrote: »

writing (the main one!)
preparing for things (like xmas etc. it keeps me going, always somethign to look forward to iyswim)
making stuff
looking after my pup and my mums
doing as much work as i am possibly able to do

i go to a drop in too for young people and i help the charity by being a trustee and making speeches at events etc.

We posted at the same time , what do you write? The most I have managed just lately is keeping a pain diary , but i did a creative writing course on distance learning and I really enjoyed it. It was fun and yet also quite disciplined by having to write about specific subjects set by the course tutor.

crazy_girl

Unity wrote: »

We posted at the same time , what do you write? The most I have managed just lately is keeping a pain diary , but i did a creative writing course on distance learning and I really enjoyed it. It was fun and yet also quite disciplined by having to write about specific subjects set by the course tutor.

yeah i really enjoyed that on my degree, i write performance poetry and kids stories mainly and ive had one short film made

im impressed with teh photography, i did it at college but im pretty pap at it

LameWolf

Unity wrote: »

I used to play Dungeons and Dragons the old fashioned way with dice and little characters, in fact a group of friends once took a game on holiday and we played solid for around 36 hours :eek:.

LOL That's how Mr LW and I met..... the D&D group he was already a member of was advertised in the Mensa magazine; I joined, and the rest, as they say, is history.

We do also paint our own figures to use; here's some of mine (the one on the right is a work in progress).
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/LameWolf/Craftystuff002.jpg
I also devise fairly comprehensive backgrounds for the characters Mr LW and I use.

Unity wrote: »

I know that some doctors feel that depression causes pain rather than pain causing depression especially in FMS/CFS. I would disagree, but what do others think?

I think it's a load of billy bullsh*t. I was suffering depression to the degree of being zonked out on valium for 5 years without suffering any physical pain beyond the immediate results of beatings; the chronic pain came later, as the auto-immune stuff kicked in. I can readily distinguish between the two, and (I know I'm preaching to the coven here:o) anyone in chronic, unabated pain is gonna feel at least a degree of depression. *gets off soapbox*:o

black_paw

i think myself , for me depression causes stress of not being able to do things you want too.....and if you try the pain from ailments kick in....bit like spoons therpy...if.i do hardly anything for few days. rest like..i can go out to at least two shops..as long i lay down and rest on my return....but some days i want to be normal ..then over do it...then the pain starts ..then i start to worry ...then find im trapped in house as i start to count things before i go out..takes hours or so to get it right...so i need to be calm and hardly do anything then i seem to be ok..but i just can't accept that ! living like a snail ..when i have been so active..i use to paint figures like lamewolf good fun ..but not anymore as my hands go numb when holding things....even controler for playstation too...oh well ! happy days

dane-katie

Hi, how is everyone doing today? im a little down but depression seems to be under control (thank god for anti psychotic meds) been hearing a few things but not as many as i used to, glad meds help me with my hallucinations

Hope everyone is ok xx

Unity

It's great to see the diverse ways we all have of coping with depression. Distraction Therapy was always strongly promoted at the Pain Clinic course I went to, together of course with pacing.

Crazy_Girl - The writing sounds like fun and good therapy. Creativity always helps me keep the demons at bay.

Lame Wolf - Sounds like a good way to meet someone, having something in common . I always knew it would be impossible to meet someone just by going out clubbing, especially since I didn't particularly like it myself . I met DH via an SF group where we found we liked the same authors.

Black Paw - I know what you mean about not being able to do the things you want to. I used to say I would give my right arm for a game of squash..........Good job I'm left handed :rotfl:.I can only imagine what it must be like to be trapped by the counting thing, but it seems very frightening. I never got the hang of the 'pacing' thing either.

dmg24 - For me, photography is a way of creating the art I would like to do - if I could draw . I remember years ago I used to have a Kodak Instamatic - and took some great pictures despite it's limited capabilities. These days with digital it is a lot easier to experiment since of course you can bin what you don't like and need never print a bad shot. Once you start playing around in Photoshop or better still Irfanview (since it is free :T) the possibilities are endless.

I've spent an inconclusive morning at the hospital - left an armful of blood in four large different coloured tubes and come away with more questions than answers - but hey, life is like that.:o