Depression

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I had it for years, probably due to my lifestyle. Ok now though touch wood.

It transcended really physically, could barely get out of bed and had to have a drink just to leave the house. Bad crack.

Tried counselling, only went a couple of times and didn't think it was working, though in the long term it probably did.
 
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Been to the docs today. Seemed like he listened, but now found I might have high blood pressure, so I have blood tests to look forward to. If I didnt have high blood pressure before, a week of thinking about a needle will certainly do the trick!

I think once that's out the way, I'm to make an appointment again and potential see a "pyschiatric nurse" or something. Filled out some chart with 0-3 scores, was only in there ten minutes but it felt like a week.
 
Unfortunately can't read through all this but was always amazed to learn that 1 in 3 people have had or will have serious mental health problems in their lives.

Be that depression or similar serious is classed as needing long term clinical care. I.e. Regular trips to your doctor and medication/counselling.

Scary when you look around a group of mates or even the pub and think that 33 % of those people will be on the verge of such seriousness that they have significant mental health issues
 
Dog number 1 (number 2 came later but I love her to bits too) is the only reason I stayed sane through the last bout of depression I had - when the GP was playing mind games and lying to me and I had zero quality of life and was just existing. Mind you - helps that the dog is the stupidest-looking bastard you'd ever hope to see and you can't look at his face without bursting into giggles - but he seriously did keep me from topping myself on more than one occasion through the lowest of it all.

The toxic farts proved a massive distraction from everything as well - but one I could do without. He's very very emotionally astute though - head will be in your lap within seconds of you starting to feel wobbly - cracking lil dude that one.

Always find animals brilliant in that respect. They definitely have additional sense in terms of judging emotion and feelings. Can't hide anything from the little bastards
 
This is a timely thread for me. I'm currently going through my worst bout of depression since 1991. This is my second really bad bout, I also suffer from mild very short term depression sporadically. The difficulty I have is that whereas that time, I spent 6 - 12 months in total gloom, even though there was no reason to (objectively speaking), this time it is all confused and mixed up with very real problems like likely redundancy, finance, other personal stuff that I dont want to go into here. So Im confused as to whether it is stress, and by sorting out a new job, etc, I can beat it, or not.

Things came to a bit of a head at the weekend when my wife made a comment about the fact that I had dropped the hoover and the contents had gone all over the place, and Im ashamed to say I absolutely lost it with her, and with our two lovely sons. No violence I should stress.

Im not really sure why I am typing this - I suppose answering the OP point about what to do, how to know, what I would say is if someone says something like 'Im not having the best of times at the moment', 'Im just a bit fed up', 'Im not in a great place at the moment' (all things Ive found myself saying recently), they may mean 'I dont really want to bother you with this, but I can barely function, Im in total despair, and I cant see a way out, please will you help me, even just by listening and showing an interest'?

Talking, and being listened to, always, always, helps.

Always remember around 2 year ago, I had a particulary bad night and came on here told everyone (I was Magnifico) and you were one of the few ones who had pm'ed me and it was much appreciated! Hope you feel better soon mate.
 
Unfortunately can't read through all this but was always amazed to learn that 1 in 3 people have had or will have serious mental health problems in their lives.

Be that depression or similar serious is classed as needing long term clinical care. I.e. Regular trips to your doctor and medication/counselling.

Scary when you look around a group of mates or even the pub and think that 33 % of those people will be on the verge of such seriousness that they have significant mental health issues

Off topic I know but years ago when at work someone said that 1 in 5 men are gay. (I doubt that is true as I doubt 1 in 3 people have had serious mental health problems as well).
He said to this lad, 'Think of your 4 best mates, would you say any of them are gay', the lad said. 'No'.
He said, 'It must be you then'. :lol:
 
I don't know if he's posted but Captain Fishpaste was, or is, a fellow sufferer and he's a confident lad, or appears to be. Reasonably sure he once posted about ways to control, or at least live with a stammer. Drop him a PM I'm sure he'll be only too pleased to help if he can.

Only just found the time to thoroughly read this thread fully (was on my to-do list all week but just such a monster). I do indeed stutter and anyone who needs a chat about it is more than welcome to contact me. Sometimes just sharing a few experiences is all it takes to find some huge relief as you realise it is a lot more common than you think.
 
For those who have asked about CBT, there's a 'cognitive behavioural therapy for dummies' audiobook available from iTunes for less than £7. Could be a good introduction into it and help people figure out whether they want to talk to their GP about getting them started on it. :)

For those who have asked about CBT, there's a 'cognitive behavioural therapy for dummies' audiobook available from iTunes for less than £7. Could be a good introduction into it and help people figure out whether they want to talk to their GP about getting them started on it. :)

Edit: it's only £2.95. I've just started listening to it and it's really good. I'd recommend it to anyone intrigued by it.
 
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Unfortunately can't read through all this but was always amazed to learn that 1 in 3 people have had or will have serious mental health problems in their lives.

Be that depression or similar serious is classed as needing long term clinical care. I.e. Regular trips to your doctor and medication/counselling.

Scary when you look around a group of mates or even the pub and think that 33 % of those people will be on the verge of such seriousness that they have significant mental health issues

Or will do at some point in their lives - I think that is the thing that I have learned over the years, from both myself and others, that mental health is not a permanent state of health any more than your weight, your fitness, or any other kind of health.
 
I've suffered from depression and have had bouts of stress and anxiety over a period of 12 years now. This has been on and off and often caused by work and relationship issues but wasn't helped by drug taking and drinking when I was younger. I've been on anti-depressants twice now which did work but I prefer non drug resolution.

My tips would be:

Stay off alcohol or cut down on drinking - alcohol is a downer and won't help your state of mind;

Exercise and be active - very hard if you don't even want to get out of bed - this raises serotonin levels and the fitter you are the better you are able to deal with stressful situations;

Slow down if you need to - if you are feeling overwhelmed then push back on commitments and make time for yourself;

Meditation and hypnosis - when you are relaxed you cannot worry. You need to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Your mind is very powerful and hypnosis can be a fantastic experience. There are even some videos on youtube that work quite well for me;

See a therapist or a councillor - confronting your issues and reaching out for help is a key step;

Supportive friends and family can make all the difference;

Seeing a path out to something better is the most important thing for me.

All this is easier said than done of course. When people say "pull yourself together" as, indeed, my own mother said to me, it really doesn't help. However, at the same time, it does require bravery and determination to tackle it.
 
I've suffered from depression and have had bouts of stress and anxiety over a period of 12 years now. This has been on and off and often caused by work and relationship issues but wasn't helped by drug taking and drinking when I was younger. I've been on anti-depressants twice now which did work but I prefer non drug resolution.

My tips would be:

Stay off alcohol or cut down on drinking - alcohol is a downer and won't help your state of mind;

Exercise and be active - very hard if you don't even want to get out of bed - this raises serotonin levels and the fitter you are the better you are able to deal with stressful situations;

Slow down if you need to - if you are feeling overwhelmed then push back on commitments and make time for yourself;

Meditation and hypnosis - when you are relaxed you cannot worry. You need to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Your mind is very powerful and hypnosis can be a fantastic experience. There are even some videos on youtube that work quite well for me;

See a therapist or a councillor - confronting your issues and reaching out for help is a key step;

Supportive friends and family can make all the difference;

Seeing a path out to something better is the most important thing for me.

All this is easier said than done of course. When people say "pull yourself together" as, indeed, my own mother said to me, it really doesn't help. However, at the same time, it does require bravery and determination to tackle it.

Brilliant post
 
I'm not ashamed to say that I often get quite stressed/depressed. I train for over 15hours a week and most of the training is great for stopping me feeling like shit.

The problem is, whenever I stop and at some point I have to, I can feel very, very 'down' and stressed. Can go weeks/months without feeling like that, then I can go days/weeks feeling like it. f***ing horrible.
 
I'm not pointing any fingers here (well I am a bit), but I think some posts on this thread illustrate the social problem of not accepting depression as a disease, which it is. It's not just feeling down, and once it takes hold its very hard to shake off, even if circumstances in that person's life improve. Views like these aren't just ignorant, they're dangerous:

everyone has mate, it's how you handle it.
 
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I'm not pointing any fingers here (well I am a bit), but I think some posts on this thread illustrate the social problem of not accepting depression as a disease, which it is. It's not just feeling down, and once it takes hold its very hard to shake off, even if circumstances in that person's life improve. Views like these aren't just ignorant, but they're dangerous:

Agreed.
 
I'm not pointing any fingers here (well I am a bit), but I think some posts on this thread illustrate the social problem of not accepting depression as a disease, which it is. It's not just feeling down, and once it takes hold its very hard to shake off, even if circumstances in that person's life improve. Views like these aren't just ignorant, they're dangerous:

Agree with this. Despite pretty big life changes, I still have the same problems.

Think I'm going to do what I should of probably done a while ago and get myself along the doctors, see what they say.
 
Agree with this. Despite pretty big life changes, I still have the same problems.

Think I'm going to do what I should of probably done a while ago and get myself along the doctors, see what they say.

Miss Robinson likes this a lot

My mate has finally admitted the problem , the change in her is breathtaking - one life , make it count
 
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