Dr.Seussicide

Well, more like human nature, is all.

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Sansa Stark

What is?

Mojo

Before we go any further here, I would like to know what your definition of depression is?

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Last.FM | Echoes and Dust

Spike*Spiegel

There comes a point, though, when you are left with a choice to either pursue treatment/ change your lifestyle or choose to ignore what's been given to you. You can hardly argue and say "what about those who don't know what to do" because we are bombarded with information about depression, its causes and treatment on a daily basis. If you've had access to a television or the internet within the last 10 years, you've seen countless ads targeted at depression sufferers. This is where I have a huge problem. This is making a conscious decision to ignore treatment. Nobody is going to shove pills down your throat, make you nutritious meals or drive you to the doctor. You need to pull yourself out of your pity party for a few minutes and do something for yourself.

Sansa Stark

Oh sure, I'm bombarded with advertisements for meds like Abilify to manage my bipolar! Guess what, I took Abilify, and it nearly ****ing killed me. Took Depakote, nearly killed myself. I don't think it's ignoring it so much as being afraid to do take that step, and it is scary. It's really scary. Television and the internet also are good at misinforming us on what depression is, and someone who's genuinely suffering from depression and not just unhappiness needs support. Depression is more than not wanting to do anything and thinking about killing yourself, it's not something just eating right and excercising will fix. It's not even just something pills will fix. It's not a magic fix, people like that need support, not someone telling them they need to pull themselves out of their pity party does **** all good for anyone.

Spike*Spiegel

Dictionary.com describes depression as, "Emotional dejection and withdrawal; Sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason."
I mostly agree with this statement; however, it is much deeper than words can really describe accurately. It is more like a loss of interest in EVERYTHING including living. I understand perfectly what it's like-- to my utter embarrassement, I've got the literal scars to prove it. It took a long time and a bit of perspective for me to wake up and realize what I was doing to my family and myself. The information was in front of me the entire time, but I went along with it sort of half-assedly. (I hope that makes sense. ) I showed up to the doc when my family sent me, I took the pills and sought counsel, but the defining moment that motivated me to really do something about it, was when I stepped out of my shoes for a moment and saw what was happening to my life and my family. I'm not trying to be a self-righteous prick, I'm just trying to say that the only way a suicidal/depressed person is going to get better is if they put their self-centered (don't take that the wrong way, because somebody will likely be offended by that word) aside and really think about what's happened to their health, loved ones and life they used to enjoy. You need to help yourself. Even if that just means calling a doctor or just a friend, for perspective. This is just my opinion, though, so don't get all froggy over it.

Mojo

You make a lot of valid points. I think i see where it is you are coming from in that you seem to be saying that a lot of depressed people need to help themselves before anyone else will. However i cant help but think, by reading your posts in this thread that you don't quite get how big depression is, how many different types there are, the many different ways it can affect people, the many different ways to treat it and the many different symptoms those with it can have.

You seem to have said, so far, that if you're depressed you need to stop being so selfish, do something about it and get better. And that you can better by pushing yourself, eating correctly and excercising more frequently. It simply isn't this straight forward.

If you do mean this then i think thats not only incorrect but rather a narrow minded opinion to have about something to vast, varied and difficult to define. If you did not mean this, then the way you have worded things certainly suggests so, just saying.

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Last.FM | Echoes and Dust

Spike*Spiegel

If you go back a bit, you'll see that I did say that I understand that there are more severe cases that warrant a more aggressive treatment than diet and exercise alone. However, I honestly believe the number of those cases to be far fewer than some doctors or drug companies would lead us to believe (conspiracy theory ).

mr dave

don't take this the wrong way but...

why would you take a pill that's advertised on tv that needs more air time to mention potential risks and side effects than what it claims to address?

if you have a chemical imbalance in your brain there should be direct test results that reflect this and existing treatments to handle it. if your doctor is just pushing the newest crap that's on tv then your doctor is worthless. if there is no test result showing abnormal levels of chemical activity then the issue is emotional and pills will NEVER actually fix that.

thing is, like Spike mentioned, we've been getting bombarded with messages about depression and mental illness for years now. to the point where NOT having any sort of head issue makes you the abnormal one. we've all been socially conditioned to think we need to be medicated because 'it's just too much to bear on your own'. a lot of times it's not. most issues can be overcome, it's usually not a pleasant activity, and your ego usually ends up hating you for forcing it to STFU and let you address what you need to do as opposed to what it wants you to do. you might end up losing out on what you initially thought were 'normal' and/or 'loving' relationships because they were in fact abusive and destructive.

ultimately there's no medication that's going to replace your willpower in choosing to side with your wants or your needs; and unless you've got a legitimate brain chemical imbalance that really seems to be the most salient point about depression.

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i am the universe

Sansa Stark

I was prescribed to it when I was in the psych ward, this was years ago though, I'd never heard of it beforeand they didn't tell me or my parents what the side effects were, nor did they have those freaky commercials that are on constantly. Patients were normally there for a week at max, you'd see the doctor, and he'd just write you a script.