Much debate and confusion surround definitions of mental health and unhealthy mental health. How much of our depression is based on a pre-disposition genetically determined from birth, and how much influence such as mental injury exacerbates our depression. I believe it's both.
I do know one thing is for sure... only you can put one foot in front of the other and do the work needed to cope the best you can with depression...no magic pill, no one therapy fits all, and no devine intervention is going to cure it.... you learn to not be defined by it, you learn to live with it. Guilt free, blame free, stigma free, and find the tools you need to work through the downside of it. I know that my depression has a down turn as well as an upturn. I will be fine for many days and then for no reason at all...no reason necessary-it is what it is- I will start circling the drain. That's when my tool box comes out.
Find what works for you...others may have ideas...but they can't fix us....no one can.
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fauxartist
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I don't think there is much debate regarding such matters. Obviously, like other mental conditions, depression is one to which certain people, due to their genetics, etc., may be more susceptible. Having said that, in the current day and age, I think that the toxicity of the environments in which we live (with things like domestic violence, power harassment, racism, sexual harassment, toxic stress, war, social media, religious hatred, human rights abuses, unrealistic expectations, etc., etc. etc. - an endless list) perhaps poses an even greater threat to the general mental health of humankind. Accordingly, upon the shoulders of all of us, there rests the responsibility to always do the right thing by treating others with respect.
I agree 110%.... and certainly those issues are the anxiety of society today...also a contributing factor to an increase in the severity of increased acknowledgement of the mental injury society endures now, as it has always done in times of great distress and turmoil. I know I certainly am very anxious and disturbed at the dramatic turn of the tides in the same society I grew up in, and voted for equal rights to truly be equal....only to watch it be destroyed piece by piece again.
Nature versus nurture is always circling in my head. I'm always trying to find answers to everything. This one sometimes seems obvious but there's always that element of doubt.... the chicken or the egg.
However it happened we own it. We are the only ones that can dig ourselves out.
I had zero tools for most of my life, now my 🧰 is loaded and I use it everyday. There are things in there that keep me from going into a depression.
You are so right, it's not one size fits all. We have to keep working it until we find our own way.
Your a prime example of someone who has run the gauntlet of fighting the good fight and come out swingin.... I've known you for a long time my friend .... and I can attest to the fact you have grown so much and become your own advocate as well as being one for so many others here who are working on learning to live with their stuff.
I try not to blame anyone including myself and even though others have had influence in both nature and nurture and we still have choices we make though don’t have total control. We can do our best to live with what is hard for some to understand. We help each other out along our journeys but have to ultimately keep ourselves afloat without another in ways , by coming to know what tools we need to grab ahold of and when.
Absolutely Star... with depression... there doesn't have to be a reason to be depressed, we just are....I believe for many of us it is part chemical, and part mental injury. That's a double whammy when trying to fight fear and the unknown, it's daunting and some days we just have to nest and take care of our little kid inside.
You are a good heart, and to be a caregiver is a really big job, we can sometimes feel like we are in a mine field and trying to juggle life... but we have to take care of us or we are not able to care for anyone else.
I agree. My mental illness runs in the family. My mother was a depressed narcissist who threatened suicide on a regular basis. I’ve inherited her depression and anxiety disorder. But without the narcissistic and suicidal traits.
I thank the God of my understanding for providing a way out of the sinkhole. I have a toolbox full of tools and a support system always at hand to help me use whatever tool is necessary at the time.
I often try to use a hammer on everything and need help from someone to suggest a screwdriver. My close friends know me and my situation well enough to provide the service.
I can get through the day without killing myself or others. Or taking a drink. Which is a big deal for me. I want to escape reality on a regular basis and need my mindfulness. What is in front of my nose? Deal with it and move on.
Service to others is a tool I find very helpful. If I can get out of my navel and think about someone else’s problems, I am more likely to be grateful. And gratitude is a wonderful, necessary tool.
Living with alcoholism, Major depression and anxiety requires daily treatment. Often spiritual in nature for me. And, yes, it is something I must work on. With love and balance.
I love the 'hammer' metaphor... yeah.... always prepared for battle when everything looks like a nail.... The first time I heard that, I had to really laugh and do some personal inventory and hang up my suit of armor and learn to pick my battles.
No one can say it like you pal... your words of wisdom ring out every time you share, the truth is so clear that it's refreshing to see you again sharing my friend.
I think what a lot of people don't realize is how caught up in our own heads we can get with depression, and how self revolved it can be, all consuming. Sometimes when we get out of our own head and help someone else, without expecting anything in return, we just do it because we want to.... there is a freedom from that simple act that many don't get to experience. It lifts you from the negative....sometimes when you help you may not get any recognition, but if that's why your helping someone....then your doing it for the wrong reasons.
The tool box is crucial for me.... and it does work if you let it...
My grandma had some form of mental health issues. We now have names for them such as social anxiety, postpartum depression, then later on in life agoraphobia and generalized anxiety. I'm pretty sure my grandpa had anxiety but he dealt with it like most men of his time did. He drank.
My mom has anxiety that she got from her parents. But when she was younger was better at handling it then me. She was able to push herself. Now that she is older, anxiety is out in full force. She gets random panic attacks.
Both sisters have bipolar disorder.
Then there's me. I have days where I feel like I am close to being my old self again. Then bam , I'm nervous and anxious about whether or not to go to the store or pick up my mom from the hospital. Then I will get depressed because I couldn't conquer my fear. It's a constant battle and sometimes I get tired.
It is exhausting sometimes to constantly try to find that fulcrum of balance and stay there long enough to be able to take a long deep breath. We are so much farther ahead of the game though when we do acknowledge our stuff..it's the first step in finding ways of coping, and knowing that these crazy days are just part of it all.... and yeah.... what's going on in the world is crazy making....So you have to ask yourself... what's real sometimes. There can be a good reason for us to feel anxious....or depressed... it's not all just the pre-disposition of our mental issues.
Self-medicating is done by many of us, as I had once tried as well, it can be a triple whammy... I am dual diagnosed...and nothing spins me more out of control than falling off the edge of the cliff than trying to numb myself... it's an oxymoron when substance abuse and drinking is a depressant to begin with. Many drugs and booze can use up your system's already depleted serotonin level, and your endorphins are depleted as well, and that can leave you with a hang over from hell. Or worse yet... the battle with addiction.
I think learning to catch that run away train of thought and put the brakes on the rational fears can be key for me... I can let myself spiral down the drain... or realize and accept the fact that I cannot change the past, I don't know the future.... I only have the hear and now, just today to get through... just this moment. If I don't pile on the issues, and simplify my life as much as I can... and accept what I cannot change...I can relax a bit more and learn to let go of what I can.
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What do you enjoy in nature?
Scared of super-natural. Will sleep with the lights on. The world is ending 
sertraline vs citalopram vs fluoxetine 
