Depression: When the Lights Have Truly Gone Out

Guys,

What are people's experiences dealing with depression? Whether it's seasonal, short-term, long-term, how did you deal with it?

[raymck]

GP prescribed Citalopram 10mg per diem for a couple of weeks and it helped me over quite a low spot. Had been off preds for some months by then, so not sure if it would suit with steroids, you would need to check. Not by any means a complete cure, but doubt if such a thing exists! Good luck with it.

[Dadog]

Not easy is it? Two ways - drugs or removal of the cause of depression. I don't mean to make this sound easy - it isn't. The cause can be so many things like loss, pressure and strain, unhappiness with lifestyle, illness, broken relationships - you name it. My major time of real depression was many years ago and caused by huge work strain that seemed insurmountable. I wanted to hide away and sleep to forget. I was a mess.

Despite doctor's efforts it never went away until I got rid of the cause and changed my work patterns. It took a while.

I guess this seems over simple but depression needs to be faced and looked at and talked about. You need to find where it's coming from. A good counsellor will help you find out. They won't cure you but it may help you find the way out. I hope you can get on top pf things, VBEagle.

[johnsmith]

Get more sleep. Study the depression. Deal with what you can deal with one bit at a time.

Take up mindfulness and meditation.

Talking it though requires energy. The exhaustion coming from talking it though can make the effect of depression worse. The talking can trap the talker in developing the energy rut which is causing the depression much deeper and the side effects of the depression worse. This talking also traps the user in a dependency on the counsellor which is not necessarily a good thing.

Much depression I believe from my own experience is caused by the brain needing a rest because it is doing too much. This runs counter to what many psychiatrists believe which is not surprising as all psychiatrists seem to know is what drug to put on the prescription.

There is a hierarchy in the medical profession where those on the bottom instantly accept what those on the top say. This results in many prescriptions for drugs being given out without a doctor checking whether the prescription is appropriate.

For those who are wondering I did counselling courses in the 1980s. When I found I needed help after the effects of a road traffic accident I found that counselling was a total waste of time. What therapy that did help were ones that pointed out to me the skills that had gone walkabout and helped me regain skills that I needed. These therapies also helped me gain new skills to help me with the long term deficits that occurred as a result of the road traffic accident.

Researching the whole issue of counselling further has led me to believe that some of the counselling bodies are deliberately generating streams of information that increase their streams of revenue to the detriment of the people who for one thing or another need help to overcome their difficulties.

[Hidden in reply to johnsmith]

John Smith: Great Points! Definitely agree that a lot of depression is your brain needing a break. When I went through a rough patch a couple of years ago, it was a steady buildup of stress (combined with poor stress management) before one really bad event triggered a breakdown. Took time, but when I came out the other side, I was stronger for it. I've never been diagnosed or anything, but now I know how to deal with rough patches in life as they come. I think one of the toughest thing for guys in particular when it comes to mental illness is asking for help. They fear being given a diagnosis or being told they're crazy by peers when in reality, symptoms does NOT always mean a diagnosable illness. Often, our bodies react negatively from outer stimuli combined with our decision to "motor through" or "man up"

We definitely need to get away from this mindset.

[johnsmith in reply to Hidden]

Brain under siege page 38 of the New Scientist of 27th June 2015 is an interesting read on depression. I think you may find it interesting.

[Hidden in reply to johnsmith]

Thanks johnsmith! I'll give it a read!

[Dadog in reply to johnsmith]

Can't go along with much of what you say here, johnsmith. Unfair to categorise the counselling communities and bodies as charlatans who do it for money. There are many people out there who have benefitted from good counselling. Mindfulness and meditation are simply an awareness which is something a good counsellor will help someone achieve. it doesn't have to be hard or exhausting.

I accept and respect your views on how your approach works for you - but I wouldn't degrade alternative ways of helping depression and its causes. Yes, there are some bad counsellors out there but also some very good ones. I'm not a counsellor, by the way; but did train as one. My experience has shown that most of those who take up counselling for the wrong reasons, are quickly spotted and invariably give it up.

Hope you are receptive to my views, which I needed to express, as I felt your reaction was a direct criticism of my original thoughts .

[johnsmith in reply to Dadog]

Thanks for the reply.

I checked what I said. I did not say all. I said most and some. So your comment implying I said: "counselling communities and bodies as charlatans" is totally untrue.

There is a Gaussian curve of a population needing services. There is a tendency to assume that what hold for the average hold for all. There is an assumption often that quality information is reliable information. Quite often quality information can be highly unreliable when applied to a context without checking if that context is right for the information.

[Dadog in reply to johnsmith]

OK, let's change that to some are charlatans who do it for money. However, you must agree that this applies to many therapies available out there. We all go with what works for us. You don't mention what therapies did help you when you needed them but obviously they did. You would surely react if someone dismissed them as something that makes depression worse.

I do agree with your comment that there is an 'average' approach to treatment giving a 'what works for most has to be applied to all'. I am affected by this at the moment and resisting it by being proactive in my treatment. It works.

Anyway, I've enjoyed your thoughts and input. Take care.

[johnsmith in reply to Dadog]

Thanks for the reply.

The whole issue of therapies is complex. This is because similar symptoms may have multiple causes. So if the therapy is for the wrong cause things can go a bit wrong.

The question I keep asking: what are the skills that I need to handle this health disability, and what skills do I need to develop to handle this particular health disability.

I use multiple therapies because the therapies deal with different aspects of the bodies engineering system. I have also found that as skills are developed the therapy that you need may need to change into order to improve your skill at handling the health disability. There is also a cost factor in each therapy which modifies what therapies I make use of.

I have used yoga, T'ai chi, Alexander Technique, Massage, McTimony Chiropractic, Osteopathic, Reflexology, Spiritual healing, counselling, Mindfulness and meditation and a bit of nero programing. I have also done psychodrama, Gestelt and few others I have long since forgotten the names of.

My present regime is T'ai chi, Alexander Technique, McTimony Chiropractic, Mindfulness and meditation. I abandoned counselling because the counselling regime does not consider the gaining of the relevant skills.

I learnt counselling back in the late 1970s. After my Road traffic accident I found that out of 20 counsellors I approached only 2 were any good and this was because they had other disciplines outside counselling they could draw on.

Hope our discussion has been fruitful.

[Dadog in reply to johnsmith]

Yes, it has been interesting.

Like yourself, but not to the same extent, I have used quite a few different therapies - for physical as well as mental challenges. Osteopathic, chiropractic, as well as regular massage, helped greatly for the physical problems - but also had a good effect on my mental reactions to my problems. (When you get a minute, can you clarify McTimony Chiropractic?). Reiki always released huge amounts of emotive energy.

Counselling is where our discussions started and I agree with you on the point about good counsellors having broader disciplines to draw on. I have always been interested in group dynamics and in the groups I worked within during training, I could fairly easily pick out 2 or 3 of 25 that I felt would make good counsellors.

The counsellor I went to, during a particularly bad time with a PTSD, was good. She followed the 'soft' approach that I always favoured - a Rodgerian person to person approach that didn't dig to deeply into retrospective stuff. That, as you observed earlier, can aggravate and increase confusion. Simply, I was allowed to consider what was happening to me and to turn round a take a good look at was scaring the life out of me! I guess I was guided to a place where I could be proactive and help myself. (I couldn't walk past a hospital without a cold sweat but eventually beat it!). It worked for me.

There are choices out there. Hopefully, like yourself, we can see the choices and find and insist on what works for us. Unhappily, there are many who are given and accept, the 'average, good for you' policy - which might help the medical profession run smoothly and cut down observation and monitoring time - but may not be helping them at all.

Interesting stuff all round. Thanks again.

[johnsmith in reply to Dadog]

You know what Osteopathic, is in relation to chiropractic. Chiropractic is a bit gently than Osteopathic. McTimony Chiropractic is the gentlest of the chiropractic techniques. It relies on the sensitivity of practitioners hands rather than any x-rays.

One of the things I discovered a long time ago was that emotion can be changed by changing the way you move. There is a theory in certain psychological circles that your emotions are centred in the movement centres of the brain. We feel emotion because of the way we move.

The physical treatments you had changed the way you move after the treatment and as a result your emotions changed.

In the history of the Asian Martial arts there is a lot of references to the change in a persons emotional temperament for the better after engaging in them.

Fear is located in the way you breathe. Change the breathing and the fear disappears.

Henry James the physcologist bother to William James the author wrote about this and there have been other more modern psychologists who have put forward the concept that movement is related to emotion

I would be very interested in what you have found in this area.

[Hidden]

Great replies guys! Great ideas all around! When I went through a rough time a couple years ago, exercise and music were two things that I used for coping. Worked really well

[689908]

My depression was triggered by a traumatic event and dealing with someone narcissistic in a relationship.

I like the debate on counselling. I have recently switched counsellors and this has helped. I went from an older lady to someone my own age. The older lady seemed to love me like a son. The younger lady treats me as an equal.

I also exercise a lot , go to the pub to meet friends while keeping the alcohol intake low.

Depression is extremely dark and it has been going on for 5+ years now. I do agree that learning the coping skills needed is a big part of the battle.