Have you had a definite diagnosis of the physical cause of the depression or is it not that clear cut in your case?If your moods are affected by hormone swings caused by endocrine imbalances, maybe you just need endocrine treatment to stop the hormone swings rather than having to take any more heavy duty psychotropic drugs.
Putting up with the "think positive at all costs" group-think that dominates Oz and US society must be a pain. It would be infuriating to be told that "positive thinking" is the magic cure that will dispel everything that is bad in your life (from cancer to a lousy spouse) and it is your own fault if bad things happen because you didn't keep the positive vibes flowing. I prefer realism.
There's been no physical testing. When I talk about 'hormones' I really mean 'serotonin', although I guess that's not the right term.
I don't feel like I buy into 'think positive', it's more just something I've always done. I'm realistic as well, and pragmatic, so I just always think, why be miserable if I can be happy instead? The problem with being depressed is that I feel I don't have control of my thoughts anymore. I'm not choosing to be miserable, but I can't choose to be happy instead. I do strongly believe that words control our actions and can affect them in ways we often don't realise, but that's just me. I'd certainly never fault anyone for failing to keep their thoughts in line with some predetermined standard!
Thanks. Realistically, I should have started meds 3+ months ago, but I'm not going to regret that. I wasn't super-low when I went to the doctor, it was more the anxiety that was worrying me than the depression. But of course the two go hand in hand.
I have depression, too. Like you, for a long time I also tried to fight it and pretend that everything was normal. It started in my last year of high school, and even though I tried coping without medication, I missed 49 out of 83 days that semester at school. (How I still managed a B+ average is beyond me, but that's another thing altogether haha
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Thanks for your comment and the offer to talk, I really appreciate that. <333
One annoying thing is that counselling at my school has some kind of arbitrary limit that I've already reached, so I have to go off-campus and pay if I want more ongoing help. I haven't decided yet if i'm going to do that; I feel like I have all the tools to cope now and just need to be reminded to use them. Although that might be a bit optimistic. I haven't eaten properly for a week thanks to a side effect of nausea but I am gonna rectify that this weekend! And go for a long walk, too, if the weather's good.
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Putting up with the "think positive at all costs" group-think that dominates Oz and US society must be a pain. It would be infuriating to be told that "positive thinking" is the magic cure that will dispel everything that is bad in your life (from cancer to a lousy spouse) and it is your own fault if bad things happen because you didn't keep the positive vibes flowing. I prefer realism.
Sending you some cyber hugs.
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I don't feel like I buy into 'think positive', it's more just something I've always done. I'm realistic as well, and pragmatic, so I just always think, why be miserable if I can be happy instead? The problem with being depressed is that I feel I don't have control of my thoughts anymore. I'm not choosing to be miserable, but I can't choose to be happy instead. I do strongly believe that words control our actions and can affect them in ways we often don't realise, but that's just me. I'd certainly never fault anyone for failing to keep their thoughts in line with some predetermined standard!
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Thanks, I really appreciate that.
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One annoying thing is that counselling at my school has some kind of arbitrary limit that I've already reached, so I have to go off-campus and pay if I want more ongoing help. I haven't decided yet if i'm going to do that; I feel like I have all the tools to cope now and just need to be reminded to use them. Although that might be a bit optimistic. I haven't eaten properly for a week thanks to a side effect of nausea but I am gonna rectify that this weekend! And go for a long walk, too, if the weather's good.
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