A question on depression

Fern_Merkin

absolutebounder wrote: »

There is if you are a man. Cold = Flu and Flu = imminent death.:D

:rotfl: :rotfl: :T :rotfl: :rotfl:

absolutebounder

Fern_Merkin wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :T :rotfl: :rotfl:

Men are not as good as women with colds and flu. It is a genetic thing. We have a gene that is more easily upset by the coryza virus.

But men are not all wimpy. At least not real men. Women and Gay men are more likely to suffer from depression so perhaps all this chemical imballance theory is rubbish. It is just down to the human feminine side:rotfl:

absolutebounder

One thing I forgot about drugs. We have all heard of a placebo effect where people are given dummy drugs and told they will work and in some cases they do. Now what is not so commonly known is a condition known as nocebo where real drugs are given with a negative spin from the doc telling patient they are unlikely to work. Strangely the nocebo effect diminishes the results of the drug giving rise to my belief that its all in the mind.

BallandChain

Thanks guys that was really food for thought! I've not heard of the nocebo approach before. Interesting, as I was going to bring up the subject that maybe negative thoughts can lead to depression. Maybe not as simple as that but the mind is very powerful.

I just wanted to touch on the subject of schizophrenia as that was brought up. This might sound weird but when people suffering with the illness say they can hear voices in their head, I wonder if they are tuning into spirit voices? I told you that was going to sound weird but mediums hear voices and maybe they are tuning into them but the more negative spirits.It's just a theory of mine and I would be interested on your feed back. :A

keelyjrs

BallandChain wrote: »

Thanks guys that was really food for thought! I've not heard of the nocebo approach before. Interesting, as I was going to bring up the subject that maybe negative thoughts can lead to depression. Maybe not as simple as that but the mind is very powerful.

I just wanted to touch on the subject of schizophrenia as that was brought up. This might sound weird but when people suffering with the illness say they can hear voices in their head, I wonder if they are tuning into spirit voices? I told you that was going to sound weird but mediums hear voices and maybe they are tuning into them but the more negative spirits.It's just a theory of mine and I would be interested on your feed back. :A

Bet I can sound weirder lol:D I used to work with people with mental illness and am also a natural born sensitive so can pretty much differentiate between the two. With psychosis the voices often say hurtful and disturbing things or tell the sufferer to do things (more often in paranoid cases) whereas spirit just give loving messages iyswim

bringmeshoes

i have suffered from depression all my life...litterally. i have been happy on occasions but have never had a whole period in my life where i have been happy, this was not diagnosed until i was 19 ( i cut my wrist with a razor blade i found when i was 5 but even at that young age i knew it wanst normal so i told my mum it was an accident) i have been on many medications most of them i tend to get side effects from so i try not to be on them. i have been to all kinds of counselling and seen psychatrists, pschotherapists etc....
one psychatrist i saw said that sometimes depression can comeout of nowhere and sometimes a traumatic event can trigger this such as bereavement. both of my father's brothers are mentally handicapped (one so bad he has always lived in care homes) and he thinks this could be linked somehow. i was told that i will probably be on and off medication for the rest of my life and if i ever got pregnant then i would have 75% chance of PND.
at the moment my depression is one of thew worst its ever been but i am not on medication as my dr sais last time if it didn't improve she would sign me off work , i do not want to be off work sick and it uses all of my energy just to leave the house each day but i am really worried that asi have tried almost everything if the dr thinks i'm getting worse she will putme into a hospital...thats my biggest fear at the moment.
i must sound like a right miserable cow but i'm really not!! only a few close fiends know about my depression the way i am most people would never guess.
as for the alcohol thing, i know alcohol is supposed to be a deppressant but i never feel worse for drinking ( i dont drink a lot anyway) it tends to have the opposite effect on me (never have been normal lol )

BallandChain

Thank you Bringmeshoes for being so brave to post about your depression. Your story is the first I've come across that mentions having mental illness since a very young age. This was the reason I started this thread as I have never heard anyone say they have suffered with depression since being young. I've read that children can suffer with it, but you are the first person I've come across who has had it from childhood.

Do you know what triggered the episode at age 5? I only ask because one of my theories was negative thoughts preceding the depression. At that age it could still be a factor, but I'm thinking if mental illness runs in the family there might be a genetic link?

I'm not too clued up and I'm thinking have people with mental illness ever been brain scanned and their brains compared to those of a 'happy' person. Is happy the right word? Do you recognise a pattern to when the depression hits you, Bringmeshoes?

I am not of much help and I know you don't want to take medication, so what are the alternatives? Maybe the drink relaxes you and gives you more confidence? Try not to drink too much though!

BallandChain

keelyjrs wrote: »

Bet I can sound weirder lol:D I used to work with people with mental illness and am also a natural born sensitive so can pretty much differentiate between the two. With psychosis the voices often say hurtful and disturbing things or tell the sufferer to do things (more often in paranoid cases) whereas spirit just give loving messages iyswim

lol I thought I'd get laughed at! You probably know what I'm talking about (hopefully!) as there are spirits (both 'good' and 'bad') that can come through even with mediums. Oh God I sound so far out there! I'm wondering if people suffering with hearing the more negative voices, that they aren't mentally ill as such but channelling 'bad' spirit, if you know what I mean.Maybe they are sensitive but because they have negative thoughts it attracts the wrong type of spirit?

To anyone reading this and not into mediums etc I am not belittling your illness. I am very open to the idea of seeking alternative answers. I hope I haven't offended anyone but just felt compelled to put this idea/theory forward.

bringmeshoes

i don't know what triggered the event when i was 5 only that i found one of my dad's razor blades and that it seemed like the'right' thing to do at the time as i was so young i can't comprehend why i did that but i do know that it put me off ever doing it again...i realised i have a very low pain threshold
i have taken a couple of overdoses but when ive bee on my own, i have a sensitive upchuck reflex as i have always started throwing up before i could take enough , the last time i took about 20 pills with a bottle of malibu before i was throwing up so badly that i couldn't move from the toilet, due to this nobody has found out about this apart from a select couple of people that i told. now i won't even keep painkillers in the house as they a) generally don't work anymore for the pain and b) i don't want to get tempted with them again
as i said i don't drink too much, i see drinking alcohol as a social thing so never drink in the house on my own (unless its getting ready for a night out) so maybe this is why it makes me feel better as i associate it with having a good time, as i say even when my depression is bad i can still have agood time and enjoy myself.
i don't recognise a pattern of when my depression gets worse (its always a bit worse in winter bt most people feel like that anyway about winter)
the one thing that is guranteed to always make me feel better (even if its only a little bit) is watching friends, i love it, i have been known to spend days in bed watching it

keelyjrs

It's tricky ground really, I wouldn't want to mislead anyone into thinking they are hearing spirit when it may be their illness. In truth there are very few low entities or "evil"spirits that come forward unless invited by silly bu***rs using ouija boards etc :rolleyes: I have been on a few paranormal investigations and had the misfortune of communicating with a particularly nasty piece of work, luckily we were able to perform some rescue work and he was sent over to the light.

Can I just ask that to cover our bums that we make it implicit that none of us are advocating the use of alcohol in depression or implying that it can be a good self medicator.. I'm not a mod or anything but I thought I'd get in quick before one sees it and possibly closes what could be a useful and interesting thread, also I wouldn't want tanyone to see one person feels it helpful and then tries it themself only to experience a worsening of mood;)