Depression

uae

How does someone know if they are suffering from it? When should medication become involved?

esmufc07

I wouldn't take medication, that just covers up the problem without actually treating it.

Best to go and talk to a psychologist mate who would know how to treat and cure it.

Reddevil1971

When you start reaching for the razor blades

KingEric7

Was going to open the same thread yesterday funnily enough.

These are the symptoms, pasted from another website:

You feel miserable and sad.
You feel exhausted a lot of the time with no energy .
You feel as if even the smallest tasks are sometimes impossible.
You seldom enjoy the things that you used to enjoy-you may be off sex or food or may 'comfort eat' to excess.
You feel very anxious sometimes.

You don't want to see people or are scared to be left alone. Social activity may feel hard or impossible.

You find it difficult to think clearly.

You feel like a failure and/or feel guilty a lot of the time.

You feel a burden to others.

You sometimes feel that life isn't worth living.

You can see no future. There is a loss of hope. You feel all you've ever done is make mistakes and that's all that you ever will do.
You feel irritable or angry more than usual.

You feel you have no confidence.

You spend a lot of time thinking about what has gone wrong, what will go wrong or what is wrong about yourself as a person. You may also feel guilty sometimes about being critical of others (or even thinking critically about them).
You feel that life is unfair.

You have difficulty sleeping or wake up very early in the morning and can't sleep again. You seem to dream all night long and sometimes have disturbing dreams.

You feel that life has/is 'passing you by.'

You may have physical aches and pains which appear to have no physical cause, such as back pain.

uae

i'd say i'm depressed then

Reddevil1971

Do you have the uncontrollable urge to shit in handbags?

esmufc07

What's brought it on, the recent move to University or has this been boiling over for a while?

jgraham

I've been through many of them symptoms and didn't once consider medication. The most i used were some herbal sleeping tablets.

As esmufc says medication can mask issues, you need to confront what is causing the depression and attempt to overcome it. Whether this is done by yourself or with professional help is entirely your choice. I found i was able to work through it bey myself.

KingEric7

Take consolation in the fact that depression and other mental illnesses prove the possibility of mind over matter (substance without form over substance with form), and therefore open up the possibility of the soul's existence.

This probably won't help...

uae

probably the move Smurf. Was never much of crier, and might sound soft saying this, but it's all i seem to be doing these days

esmufc07

If it is just the move then it is probably just home sickness. Moving away from all your relatives and friends and living in a different country cannot be easy, so it probably will take a few weeks to settle in and meet new friends.

And crying is not soft at all. It takes a bigger man to cry than for one not to.

ThatOldRedMagic

Actually reading your list of symptoms I feel certain I suffer from depression. I've thought so for some time actually. I have to force myself to go fishing (something I've always got such a thrill out of) and can't sleep, wake early , feel a failure, feel inadequate, guilty - OMG I am. And that prozac can fuck off - it takes away your ability to get an erection.

What's the cure (it's not god, I'm a devout atheist)?

SmashedHombre

uae, aht you need is to set aside a day, sit yourself down and watch 12 hours straight of scrubs. There isn't one of lifes problems that can not be answered by that show. Trust me, it's television for the soul

SmashedHombre

Decotron

Are you a stoner by any chance?

KingEric7

If i knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be worried either!

Dr. Dwayne

talk to a doctor uae, medication isn't always the answer but depression can be a result of a chemical imbalance in your brain, sometimes you do need the meds to straighten things out.

KingEric7

Depression is only a subsidiary reaction that some regular bud smokers experience. In reality, it's a very minute proportion.

Broo

There's something in that. I read an article that said that exercise and watching comedy are two solutions that have equal if not better results than medication.

esmufc07

What's so good about the third season?

SmashedHombre

Well to be honest, I wasn't entirely joking. It got me out of a rut when I felt like everything had fallen apart and I didn't know what I was doing with my life.

SmashedHombre

It's the first one that came up on my amazon page?

SiYuan

You'll post your reason on an internet forum.

Then it'll get expanded to a five pager and everyone will think you're a gimp.

Scholesgoals

I suffered from depression at uni, only in the second year, right in the thick of it. I went from the fifth best school in the country to the 23rd best uni because instead of doing year 13 i just kind of wandered around the country. It felt like someone was holding onto the back of my collar and i was desperately trying to run away. I slept for 20hours a day, had £3.60 to live on (i bought a 5kilo bag of rice and frozen peas and used the pan after my housemates for flavour) and i grew my hair really long. It was horrible, but looking back its an incredibly galvanising experience. I came to the conclusion that as we arent prophets, we dont know our future, looking back, sometimes its necessary to have the lows to make the highs seem more succint.

I can actually quite clearly remember coming out of it and the feeling was fantastic. One day it just lifted, i think it was the coming of spring that did it, mixed with a new loan which i spent on probably the best holiday ever. since then i've always felt more happy in march-september than october-february

rimaldo

when you are close to slitting your wrists but then decide to peel an apple instead is probably it.

Red Hand Devil

Very good question man

Smoking too much Mary Jane can really fuck your head up. Your head will be fuzzy in the morning & mistakes are made throughout the day, leading to beating yourself up a little too much. Then you'll only be thinkin about the happy place you were last & want to be there asap - Escapism!

Been there many times, but thankfully finding a balance right now - phew!!!

Psmith

Exactly John Terry cried and men don't come bigger than him.

Seriously though uae, it's probably homesickness. No harm in crying as well, let it all out. It could be also sheer boredom. Find something interesting to do (not the Caf) go for a run or something like that. Or watch the Treble DVD that should cheer you up.

tyrone red

Depression has become a major problem in young people these days. I know everyone can have a joke about it but it is a serious medical disease that can only be treated if the person talks openly about what issues they are having.

I suggest you have a look at this forum (serious Link)

http://lifewithoutlimits.myfreeforum.org/index.php

KingEric7

Hmm. I once heard of someone on LSD who thought he was an orange and tried to peel himself.

I think that state of mind is something slightly more complex than depression, though.

UnitedRed

It's all gone downhill since lolibfascon went under...


But yea, talk to someone (that isn't on RedCafe).

rimaldo