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dkersten:

--- Quote from: leapinlew on June 02, 2015, 12:48:14 pm ---This is a very well written piece. Good job. I wanted you to know that even if others do not hear what you are saying, it reached me loud and clear. Well done.

--- End quote ---
Thank you. :)

yotsuya:
Well said, Dave. I hope Steve sees your advice for what it is.

Oh, and I take it your wrist is better? >:D

Howard_Casto:
I just need to interject here and point out that depression, at least the majority of the time is NOT caused by feeling sorry for yourself and anyone who says that has never been truly depressed. There are a myriad of physical and psychological causes for clinical depression and the most common one is a chemical imbalance. Long story short feeling sorry for yourself doesn't cause a chemical imbalance... you have a chemical imbalance, which causes you to feel sorry for yourself, which can often worsen your chemical imbalance and make you feel even more sorry for yourself. Could emotional or psychological issues have initially caused the imbalance? That is completely irrelevant. Once it's a chemical imbalance then it becomes a medical issue, which requires medical treatment.

So yes, having a positive outlook on life is certainly good advice, but in most cases it has to be coupled with a buttload of drugs, at least initially, to have any real effect.

I just hope things get better for you man.

dkersten:

--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on June 02, 2015, 01:47:32 pm ---I just need to interject here and point out that depression, at least the majority of the time is NOT caused by feeling sorry for yourself and anyone who says that has never been truly depressed. There are a myriad of physical and psychological causes for clinical depression and the most common one is a chemical imbalance. Long story short feeling sorry for yourself doesn't cause a chemical imbalance... you have a chemical imbalance, which causes you to feel sorry for yourself, which can often worsen your chemical imbalance and make you feel even more sorry for yourself. Could emotional or psychological issues have initially caused the imbalance? That is completely irrelevant. Once it's a chemical imbalance then it becomes a medical issue, which requires medical treatment.

So yes, having a positive outlook on life is certainly good advice, but in most cases it has to be coupled with a buttload of drugs, at least initially, to have any real effect.

--- End quote ---
I don't mean to make it sound like everyone with clinical depression got that way from feeling sorry for themselves. That is not the case at all. Clinical depression is a chemical issue and not one that can simply be corrected with a change of attitude. But those chemical imbalances come from many different sources. You can become chemically imbalanced from being in a constantly depressed state (ie from feeling emotionally down). Stay in that depressed state long enough and your brain will just not recover back to a "normal" emotional state. Once in that chemically imbalanced state, it is difficult to get out of it, and your depression just makes you want to sink lower and lower. It usually takes therapy of some kind. Antidepressants can help with symptoms, but usually once you go off them you will revert back to being imbalanced, they just help pass the time that is required (along with therapy) to achieve long term relief.

But "feeling sorry for yourself" is when you put yourself in a depressed state over more trivial and avoidable situations, and if you do that enough, the results can be the same - a chemical imbalance that requires therapy and maybe even antidepressants to overcome. Furthermore, if you are prone to becoming clinically depressed, having a negative outlook on life can make for a higher risk of becoming clinically depressed again.

Yes, I had a breakdown that led to clinical depression. I have always been someone who could pull myself out of a depressed state, but once I was in that hole, there was no coming out of it without help. I had always thought psychiatrists were just con artists who preyed on people with depression and other mental illnesses. I was wrong, and I found myself reaching for help, probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I used antidepressants for several months, along with over a year of therapy before I felt normal again. I get down days like anyone else, and I know there will be more emotionally traumatic times in my life that will push me to the edge, and I just hope that I can keep myself from getting caught in the cycle that leads me down that hole. I have little doubt that my current physical issues could easily push me over that edge, but I am just pushing forward instead, taking measures to minimize the chronic pain and get my life back to a place where I can function somewhat normally again.

spoot:
   To be honest I thought you were just gunna spew some crazy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and segway into Kung-Fu or sumthing. However, I see if fact that you’ve opened up a bit. That first step is a ---smurfette---……took me nearly 30 years to finally do that one myself.
   Do not do what I did. After the murder of my mother in front of me and the nonstop bullying at school and such my first suicidal thoughts were early teen years and I did nothing about it. College I discovered booze…..and fell in love with it to where I was awake I was drinking to drown the sorrows so to speak and did this for 20 years. Of course it just made everything worse…….then I got a phone call one night where a very good friend of mine was arrested for child porn. The bad stuff…not just 16yo or sumthing…….the little stability I had left in my brain exploded into nothingness and March 21rst of 2013 I woke up with two thoughts in my head. Walk out to boulevard and shoot myself in the head or go into work and “quit” everything.
   Obviously I chose the second option. Ended up in the ER for alcoholism and suicide watch. My liver was ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- into oblivion and my heart was erratic and had to more or less be restarted. Ended up in rehab and kicked the booze…..which helped tremendously but I was still in “whoa is me” mode and everything sucked no matter what. Even though logic dictated a lot of the bad things were certainly first world issues that really just didn’t matter. Due to the fact I’m a stubborn ---fudgesicle--- it took me another ER visit of my heart freaking out to realize this had to stop.
   I finally broke down and saw a psychologist and got put on some meds to help me get much needed sleep and some anti-anxiety/depression meds. Honestly I saw this as a defeat and not a victory as I should’ve been able to handle it myself. But I couldn’t. I’ve been on the meds for awhile now and it’s helped me a lot. Am I truly happy? No. But more importantly I’m not sulking 100% of the time anymore and the whoa is me has quieted down. I made it very clear to the Dr that I didn’t want to take meds and become sumthing that I wasn’t………so I’m on a rather low dosage…..just enough to level me out more or less. While I’m still the stereotypical AIX admin greybeard who bitches at people to RTFM I don’t totally flip out anymore.
   Ok, I’m babbling……and not sure where I’m going with this anymore cept this……..get professional help. I hate the fact I had too………but I’m glad I did.

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