Anyone being treated for depression or similiar? What's your story.

[Barks]

I read somewhere that most of anxiety is caused by teachers making you stand up and read in front of the class when you were younger and then criticising your mistakes.

I have real respect for people who have overcome anxiety/depression. Anxious reactions are hardcoded into your subconscious mind and it's extremely difficult to overcome them. I've never suffered anything too bad but I found that throwing yourself into a situation you fear is the only way to learn to overcome it. The trouble is some things like shaking, trembling are automatic defence responses that are in your subconscious and attempting to replace these with positive thoughts is extremely challenging. It's amazing though how with age you can simply shed these, but you have to put up a fight.

For me, the key thing for beating it was laughter. Stop worrying and put a grin on your face, or alternatively aggression. Also believe what doctors say about exercise, it is far more effective than alcohol for curing anxiety. Go for a massive run and then do a task which would trigger anxiety and you won't believe the results.

I think it's crucial that shy children are identified VERY early on and receive adequate help and support to ensure that it does not develop into their teens. At the present people and teachers seem to accept that being shy or confident is almost genetic, when it is far more environmental.

 

[Yamahahahahaha]

I had general anxiety and depression for 2 years.

I received medication for it (Began with an X) and took that for the recommended 6 month course. It helped stabilise me for a bit but didn't really break through the 'greyness' that surrounded my life.
I slip in an out of it, and it's very visable when I do have it to those around me.

Serious life events triggered it, derailed my life etc. and ended up wasting those 2 years when I should have been growing up and having fun (19 - 21).

It all came to a head when I started having panic attacks. After going for ECGs and other various other tests to prove I didn't have a bad heart, the nurse doing the ECG suggested it might be panic attacks. This accounted for all the symptoms and tied neatly into the anxiety and depression I'd been suffering also.

I looked at my life, looked at how I wanted it to be, and worked out a plan of how to make it like that. It seems to be going ok so far, and even though there are hiccups and the occasional roadblock, it's heading in the right direction. It's hard to be depressed when you're busy

 

[Energize]

This is what smoking too much cannabis started doing to me, I know some people spend their whole lives smoking it and never have any mental problems arise from it. But for me this is what started happening, thankfully stopping smoking has pretty much returned me to how I was before the smoking, can't be sure though I forgot how it was to feel normal for a long time.

What I experienced pales in comparison to some of the stories some of you have shared.

I've heard similar stories of people becoming socially anxious with cannabis, interestingly though some people find it relaxing.

 

[salami1212]

This is what smoking too much cannabis started doing to me, I know some people spend their whole lives smoking it and never have any mental problems arise from it. But for me this is what started happening, thankfully stopping smoking has pretty much returned me to how I was before the smoking, can't be sure though I forgot how it was to feel normal for a long time.

What I experienced pales in comparison to some of the stories some of you have shared.

Same thing my man.. I still have part derealization but it doesnt affect me anywhere near as bad as it did before. Just going out and doing all the normal things makes it so much easier to cope with, also door to door sales boosted my confidence no end.. But yea whenever I think about how much it sucks that things dont always look "real" I think at least I have my legs or arent blind or something, it might sound stupid but it works.. Can I ask how long did it take to go away completely, not that it affects my life at all..

 

[The IPB]

Sorry it took so long to reply the thread went off the front page. Well I haven't smoked in about 3 years now and I think im pretty much back to normal.

Still feel awkward around new people and in certain situations, but I may have had a bit of that before the smoking also.

 

[RIZZEE]

Used to suffer from depression when my grandad died, was suicidal for who knows how long, stopped eating, wouldnt talk to anyone, was a horrible time. I eventually came out of it a year and a half later though here and now i do get small episodes, not sure if its me being manic depressive, havent really gone to see a docter about it, or anyone else for that matter.

 

[platypus]

I don't know about others, but reading this puts my life, and its small problems, into perspective.

I don't know how to say thais without is possibly being read as patronising, which is not in any way my intention, but it is an amazing achievement and says a lot about your charachter to deal with this and come out of it a better person. Also those who deal with people who have depression.

Sincerely i wish you all the best.

Every person has their own problems, people judge the importance of those problems subjectively and it is only natural to overstate theit importance, sometimes taking a look around to see what other people are dealing with makes your problem seem all but insignificant.

I do hope this thread always remains on these forums, just to give some people real perspective.

This isn't a go at you - what you've said is a good thing to have done so, and I certainly appreciate it - but whilst it doesn't sound patronising, it does sound uninformed. Which, again I'm not having a go, is good in a way because it means you haven't had to experience it.

I can't speak for others here but personally, I don't deal with it. Don't know how too. I takes my medicine, I talks to my doctor, and all of it passes over me somewhere about 3 feet over my head. I guess sometime I'll have to accept that I'll be on medication for the rest of my life to help maintain the seratonin levels in my brain. Other then that? So what. I can count on my hand the number of people that truly give a **** about me - and that isn't part of the problem - I just have to hope they carry on caring about me enough to help.

I get by. It's enough for me.

 

[linktoinsanity]

I get depressed sometimes, very depressed and it's often brought on by something bad happening, or a lot of bad things happening in a row. I don't even know if it is depression in my case as it's probably perfectly natural to feel bad about these things. Anyway, I can get really down for a few weeks/months and then I'll pick myself up again for another couple of years, or something really good will happen which will lift my spirits up again.

I just live with it as I don't want to waste anybody's time, but I understand that some people can't and need to seek help.

I feel for anyone going through depression in this thread and wish you luck in sorting something out to improve your quality of life.

 

[eggyoke]

I've suffered with it since teen years really, I think its just in my genetic make-up. I thought I was normal but "being weak" so I never let anyone else know how I was feeling and I became so good at persuasion that I even persuaded myself that I was alright.

It wasn't until I was about 17-18 that things really started to go down hill. I was working in a tennis center around the most awful "adults" you'd ever know. They basically bullied me in their own way, and because I trusted them and looked up to a lot of them I kept it inside and just tried to get through the days thinking I was being weak and that I needed to toughen up. Eventually I would come home and just cry at night not knowing why. After a few years I had a breakdown and my confidence was completely crushed. I shut myself away and spiraled into a deep depression, always thinking I could get myself out of it.

When I hit 22 with a previous 3 years of constant suicide ideation, I remember hitting the absolute lowest low possible. I remember it clearly, waking up one morning and staring blankly at the ceiling. I could hear the sounds outside of passing cars and noise of my sisters kids down stairs, but there was "zero" stimulation in my brain and body. I can't describe the feeling, I was literally a walking corpse, just like from the films.

It was that morning however when I felt a strange and dark blanket slowly begin to creep over me. It was just like a shadowed cloud that formed over my laying form and in it I saw myself, my past, my future, everything about me was in it. Then this horribly deep sickening feeling washed over me, I was faced with a reality that meant I would have to die. Thats pretty much my best description.

It was so vivid and strong that it was gut wrenching and I never thought it was possible to feel the way I did that morning. Right then and there I realised finally that I couldn't help myself and for the first time ever I accepted the fact that I needed help.

I went to the GP the very next day and it was all up hill from there. The medication helped relieve the dread feeling I had and for the next 6 months I came on heaps and bounds. If you're given anti-d's its absolutely imperative that you dont sit back on the drug, but that you push forward and notice the negative patterns you created unconsciously over the bad years.

After coming off the meds (my choice) it was tough to lead a blanaced life. There where times when i felt just as low as I did during the worst times, however I was much more able to understand the patterns and thoughts that would lead me down the wrong path. I was much stronger but still a long way away from happiness.

After doing a lot of research when I worked in the hospital, and seeing and reading about patients with mental problems of all kinds, I found out a lot about the disease. I found that I have in imbalance in serotonin levels and started taking supplements to help me, not really expecting to see a difference however... I really did. I feel more happy now than I ever have since I was a child. I still get sad and down at times (just like a normal person), but its nothing I cant get out of or that I dont recognize or understand. I'm much more able to have a great time and have deeper relationships. Basically I feel like the person I'm supposed to be.