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overcoming depression

ecks

ecks

New Member
Maybe this has been discussed before, and if it is I'm sorry for starting it up again. For a long time, I've been feeling really depressed and don't really know what to do. I haven't really told my family, which is only my father, how I feel, because I know he'll tell me it's my fault. I've been trying to talk to friends and teachers, but who wants to listen to garbage like that? When I get melancholy, they try to ignore me even more. I really don't want to go to a hospital, but I think I might have to. I don't know I might have clinical depression. I know that it is silly to ask online, and noone can really help me, but i just would like to know from other who experienced depression. Is there a natural way to prevent it? Is it possible to do it without taking all kinds of pills or other stuff? Or is there any way to get help anonymously, maybe?
 
ecks said:
Maybe this has been discussed before, and if it is I'm sorry for starting it up again. For a long time, I've been feeling really depressed and don't really know what to do. I haven't really told my family, which is only my father, how I feel, because I know he'll tell me it's my fault. I've been trying to talk to friends and teachers, but who wants to listen to garbage like that? When I get melancholy, they try to ignore me even more. I really don't want to go to a hospital, but I think I might have to. I don't know I might have clinical depression. I know that it is silly to ask online, and noone can really help me, but i just would like to know from other who experienced depression. Is there a natural way to prevent it? Is it possible to do it without taking all kinds of pills or other stuff? Or is there any way to get help anonymously, maybe?
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The thing about depression is that it has many causes. It could be a physical issues like a chemical imbalance or it could be something else, something bothering you for instance. The first thing you have to understand is that it isn't your fault. Finding someone to talk to is a must, but people that have never been through it, or known someone who has been through it might not understand what you're going through. It would be a good idea to find a psychologist or psychiatrist to help you through it.

Feel free to pm or email me if you need an ear to bend. I'm not a doctor or anything, but have listen well. I retire early because I get up 4:30am, but I'm here on and off during the day.
 
hi ecks..sorry to hear you are feeling down. i went thru a small bout of depression this winter and it really shocked me because i am generally a very happy person. sometimes, as robert said, there are circumstances that cause you to feel depressed without actually being clinically depressed. i agree that you should talk to someone for you to help get a perspective on what is going on inside your head. it's takes a lot of courage to admit something is not right and a lot of strength to know when it's time to seek help.
keep well....
 
Sorry to hear this ecks :( I knew of one person who was clinically depressed and he was on anti-depressants. However I think he was told increasing his excercise may help.
 
I had severe clinical depression and anxiety disorder about 5 years ago after a pretty traumatic chain of events. It took me about 2 years of intense therapy & antidepressants to get back to being myself. Feel free to pm me if you like, I am a pretty good listner and can give you some more info on what my treatment was like.
 
thanx a lot, i'm gonna go to my school counselor tomorrow, hopefully he'll be there. i hope it's not a chemical imbalance. i really think it's things that happened in my past life, i've always been nervous about everything, but now I see everything falling apart. hopefully i can fight through it, i think a lot of things are mental, i'm just not sure that i can handle it on my own. maybe i'll call a hotline channel, because they know how to deal with this stuff. i've been depressed a lot before, but not as bad as this. thanx a lot again.
 
Depression is one of my many middle names. I find that excercise and various mentally/physically stimulating activities perk me right up when I'm feeling down. Going to the movies, hitting the batting cages, go-carting... getting out, spending time at theme parks on rollercoasters... good medicine. Stay away from alcohol and pills. Just talking with others can help.
 
ecks said:
i've always been nervous about everything, but now I see everything falling apart. hopefully i can fight through it, i think a lot of things are mental, i'm just not sure that i can handle it on my own.
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You sound like me before I went to stress management. General anxiety is usually characterized by an almost constant feeling that something or everything is on the brink of going disasterously wrong. I went to a Psychologist who practiced Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), and I can't sing REBT's praises enough. It knocked 20 points of my blood pressure on top and bottom. As a matter of fact, I'm about to go back to him; work's a real bitch right now. If you can't get to see a therapist, I can suggest the book that my counselor used with me, How To Make Yourself Happy by Albert Ellis. I would strongly suggest seeing a licensed therapist before going on medication.
 
I agree with all the other members: it's definitely important to seek professional help if talking to those around you (family, friends, peers, etc...) isn't helping. Reading is a great escape (that's what I do) but it can only do so much.

Best wishes.
 
ecks said:
Maybe this has been discussed before, and if it is I'm sorry for starting it up again. For a long time, I've been feeling really depressed and don't really know what to do. I haven't really told my family, which is only my father, how I feel, because I know he'll tell me it's my fault. I've been trying to talk to friends and teachers, but who wants to listen to garbage like that? When I get melancholy, they try to ignore me even more. I really don't want to go to a hospital, but I think I might have to. I don't know I might have clinical depression. I know that it is silly to ask online, and noone can really help me, but i just would like to know from other who experienced depression. Is there a natural way to prevent it? Is it possible to do it without taking all kinds of pills or other stuff? Or is there any way to get help anonymously, maybe?
Click to expand...


some of my own stubborn opinions:

1) Don't take any kind of anti-depressives!
2) I believed that it depends on the person him/herself to get out of the state of depression, which means, it depends on yourself rather than any kind of counsellor or psychologist, to be blunt.
3) Try hard to turn your thoughts to something else, or do exercises.

Not lecturing or what, those were what I obtained from experiences? well you may say so. But, talking with some trustful friends is of great help as well.

ermm, best wishes. :)
 
ecks said:
Maybe this has been discussed before, and if it is I'm sorry for starting it up again. For a long time, I've been feeling really depressed and don't really know what to do. I haven't really told my family, which is only my father, how I feel, because I know he'll tell me it's my fault. I've been trying to talk to friends and teachers, but who wants to listen to garbage like that? When I get melancholy, they try to ignore me even more. I really don't want to go to a hospital, but I think I might have to. I don't know I might have clinical depression. I know that it is silly to ask online, and noone can really help me, but i just would like to know from other who experienced depression. Is there a natural way to prevent it? Is it possible to do it without taking all kinds of pills or other stuff? Or is there any way to get help anonymously, maybe?
Click to expand...

Reaching out like this is a great step. There is help out there. It appears you are 19 years old and obviously a student. I assume you are going to college? There should be a counselor, dean, principle, teacher at your school that could offer some suggestions for help.

Also, don't sell you father completely short. Depending on how you tell him he may actually be helpful. Maybe you could write him a well thought out letter? Describe how you are feeling, and what makes you feel that way. Sometimes the written word can be very powerful. It's hard to ignore. But you know your father better than me, so that's your call. As a father I would want to know my childs true feelings.

When I was 17 years old I lost my father, my dog, and my cat all in about 10 months time. Had I not been so heavily involved in playing music I'm not sure what I would have done. Everybody has some kind of mechanism for dealing with life's issues. You just need to find the "thing" that can drive your creativity, and love for life.

As others have said. If you want/need someone to talk to, or at, or ask questions of, feel free to pm or email.
 
ecks said:
thanx a lot, i'm gonna go to my school counselor tomorrow, hopefully he'll be there. i hope it's not a chemical imbalance. i really think it's things that happened in my past life, i've always been nervous about everything, but now I see everything falling apart. hopefully i can fight through it, i think a lot of things are mental, i'm just not sure that i can handle it on my own. maybe i'll call a hotline channel, because they know how to deal with this stuff. i've been depressed a lot before, but not as bad as this. thanx a lot again.
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That's a great idea, ecks. I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
Hey ecks...what are you into? What fills your sails? Sports, music, acting, girls, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, computers?....What's your escape? Is there one thing, that even the simplest little thought of brings a smile to your face and a warm feeling deep inside?
 
hi, ecks. I have suffered from depression since my early teens. I empathize with you about being shut out by family members. But the truth of the matter is your family probably just doesn't know how to deal with this and wishes you were just happy again. When a person feels depressed they are caught up in their own abyss. Sometimes we forget how difficult our gloom is on the ones we love.

ecks said:
who wants to listen to garbage like that?
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Well, support groups. A group will connect you to a small community of people who understand your problems and know how to listen to you.

I recomend a support group, but it is really your decision. I really hope things start to turn around for you. Send me a private message if you would like more information or just to talk.
 
With regards to Crystal's post:

My immediate family has had a history of mental illness. While I have not had to deal with depression personally, I have had to witness it up close and personal.

There is nothing wrong with seeking professional help, and as long as the anti-depressives are Doctor prescribed, and you follow the doctors orders, they can be very helpful. There are chemical balances within the brain that can change over time if you've been depressed for many years. These chemical changes can make recovery from depression very difficult.
Sort of a symbiotic relationship...With some help from a doctor, and a prescription, the chemical changes can be altered/reversed in a quicker, yet controlled manner. I've seen it happen. This does not mean a lifetime dependancy on drugs. It's just setting the controls back to zero, and starting things from a neutral playing field.

There is certainly nothing to be ashamed about as far as seeking medical help. See your primary care physician first. It's an honest, unbiased (hopefully) medical opinion on where you could/should go for the next step in your overall happiness.

If you don't get help from a school counselor, your regular doctor could be a very important person to see.
 
If you let your doctor know you are adverse to meds they usually try to work with you. I did not want to take antidepressants either but my doctor prescribed them for mild short term use so that I would at least be able to get a good start on recovering. As Moto has just mentioned sometimes you are not able to avoid them fully but you can at least talk these options over with your doctor.
 
Thanks for backin' me up Ronny. While I'm all for going the "no drug" path, there are times when drugs can be a huge help....a lot depends on the depth of the depression, and the length of time in those depths....

I remember a doctor giving the analogy of a train rolling down hill. The longer the train rolls, the faster it goes..getting harder and harder to climb off. The longer one stays depressed, the harder it can be slow down. Sometimes a presription can slow that train enough so that the person can climb off. This was the case in one instance in my family.

Every person, and every mind is different. There should be no shame in using whatever is available to it's maximum advantage.
 
The mind is such a complex part of a human,and when feeling depressed please seek medical help! either with a counseller or your general practioner refering you to a specalist at your local hospital,there are many different opitions open to treat a person with depression.
 
I have struggled and continue to struggle with my depression on a daily basis. For years I was moderately depressed and didn't realize it. Then I took a nose dive and nearly ruined my life. I sought medical help and was on an anti-depressant for one year. I have been off of it for a year and a half now and I am doing well. To those who have never been depressed, let me explain how it can feel. Imagine living in a room lit only with a 20 watt light bulb. It is not very bright, but you can manage and after a while, you get used to it and this is how your world looks. For me, soon after getting on my medication, it was like someone replaced that dim bulb with a nice bright 100 watt lightbulb and it changed my world. I knew how I was supposed to feel. And now that I am off of the medication, I can maintain it myself without medication, with exercise, talking with a loved one, or other behavior.

Sometimes you can't do it yourself. No, we can't snap out of it, because if we could do that we would, its not fun feeling like this. I needed help climbing up out of that hole I was in. I could not do it myself. Now that I am out, I can stay out myself, but getting out myself was impossible.

Get some help, ecks. Please. Whether it is medication, counselling, or some other kind of help. If you want to talk more privately, p.m. me or one of the others that offered. Please, get some help. You don't have to do this on your own. You are not alone.
 
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