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The Depression Thing

zachholman.com

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Re: The Depression Thing

#331

Post by andrewjl »

Our society puts a strong onus on people suffering from depression to seek out treatment. Which, don't get me wrong, oftentimes works and can genuinely improve people's lives.

But what if depression is a sign of a deeper societal / cultural / teleological incompatibilities with what naturally makes us happy or fulfilled? What if the real solution isn't to (just) treat individuals but to build the kind of world where depression is less prevalent. I'll repeat myself to avoid misunderstanding, every person should seek out and has the right to be provided with best possible treatment if that's what they need, my point is that it's a start but not enough to address the root cause. There are statistical relationships between rates of depression and modern "developed world" lifestyles.

Re: The Depression Thing

#332

Post by andrewjl »

K0SM0S wrote: post #255

It's anecdotal, but I've found my cure for depression: it's called Stoicism. I hear it's been useful to people for a couple thousand years, and is pretty much 'confirmed' by modern cognitive psychology. I experienced depression on and off for about 20 years, between 12ish and 34 (2016). Then shit really hit the fan, the perfect storm so to speak, and I was shattered to the core of my being and my values. Honestly it…

I'm curious about how you've come to realize you've changed as profoundly as you did, was it an instantaneous observation or something that revealed itself over time?

Re: The Depression Thing

#333

Post by Simulacra »

Depression is a killer, and that's even without stress. My husband works in politics and he goes through this depression and happiness cycle. The less stress he has (read: The more stress I can take off his plate) the better he performs and is able to manage his depression.

Re: The Depression Thing

#334

Post by argot_preen »

hhh wrote: post #305
6nf wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really good advice. Anyone strugging with depression should definitely start with the basics: - Regular good sleep. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. - Good exercise every day. This will help with the sleep too. - Eat healthy food on a consistent schedule - Avoid alcohol - If you don't get much sun, check your Vit D levels and take supplements if needed These things will almost always make big…

CBR wasn't helpful for me at all. The only thing I really do on that list is avoid alcohol. If I am in a good swing, I can sleep at regular times, but I don't exercise. I eat whatever is around really, and in severe down times I've been kicked out of college or lost jobs because I couldn't leave bed to eat or use the bathroom until it was unbearable, let alone leave my house. I also normally ate around a meal a day,…

Sounds a lot like my mom's condition. I don't know the specifics of her treatment, but she made it through. Don't give up.

Re: The Depression Thing

#335

Post by yters »

_khau wrote: post #326
yters wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking over the list of symptoms, I definitely had that. Very severe in my teens, got better in college, and now it rarely bothers me. Improvement seems to have come from numerous changes to my life, including the whole exercising thing. Being really fit was a big confidence boost, though I don't need to remain at that level of fitness to retain the benefits. But the biggest impact was my worldview and how it has ch…

Then you never had clinical depression.

Sounds like the no true Scotsman fallacy.

For instance my understanding of clinical depression is people often have suicidal ideation. I had that, would imagine throwing myself out a window, down the side of a mountain, etc. But I never would follow through because I noticed how my depression filtered my view of the world, and once the feeling passed things did not seem so bad. It would be horrible to make such a final decision as suicide, since it guaranteed my life would not improve, even though my depression told me it never would. Plus, believing I could go to hell for suicide helped keep me from doing it, and concern for how it would affect those I love. Finally, it seemed like such a selfish decision.

Re: The Depression Thing

#336

Post by Kenji »

PeterisP wrote: post #313
Kenji wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who can just sleep, diet and exercise and the depression simply goes away, that's not real major depression. I really hate how people spread this stuff so condescendingly. No, it might have worked for you, but it does not work for millions of people who suffer from it.

People aren't saying that depression goes away, but sleep, diet and exercise are known to improve the symptoms of serious clinic depression, and would be recommended no matter if you're doing therapy and medication or not.

That's like saying I should tell everyone who has cancer to eat more salad because it's healthy, even though there is little hope that salad makes the cancer disappear or affects it at all. Got cancer? Just eat more salad!

Re: The Depression Thing

#337

Post by bionoid »

projektir wrote: post #210
bionoid wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Careful with that advice. [...] Whatever you do to counter your depression, have a trustworthy, knowledgeable aid at your side: a therapist. Quoting the UiA, "One [1988] study indicates that 70% of therapists had seen for treatment at least one patient who had had sex with a previous therapist. Of the latter, 96% were male." [1] I guess the moral of my comment is - be careful giving advice (period) 1: http://encycl…

I'm not sure how this page is meant to work but I can't find the study this claim came from? It's linking to a book?

I assumed the study is referenced in the book (and that the quote is from the book) -- but honestly I have no idea

Re: The Depression Thing

#338

Post by d10r »

bobfromhuddle wrote: post #304
ElatedOwl wrote: post #15

I was diagnosed with "major depression" when I was 14, did the medication and therapy thing for a bit but the medication made me a zombie. Therapy helped me learn to cope a little better, but I was never "cured" of my depression. My 20s have been pretty bad, but in the last year and a half I've lost 100+lbs and have been running and lifting. It turns out the common sense advice to depression was really what I needed…

I had issues with depression when I was younger. Self-harm, severe depression, suicide attempts, the whole gamut. Wasn't hospitalised, but that was the next step. Looking back on it from my thirties, I've come to the conclusion that most of my problem was disturbed sleep patterns, and the rest was unhealthy thought patterns that became self-perpetuating. Medication didn't help me in the slightest, just made me worse.…

Can you elaborate on "disturbed sleep patterns"? In my case lack of sleep actually results in better mood, but is not a sustainable strategy.

Re: The Depression Thing

#340

Post by Scea91 »

nitrogen wrote: post #26
salqadri wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd add one more to that list: * Meditation / Prayer

Just note that prayer can be a cause of depression if you find yourself in a religion that turns out not to work for you, so maybe try stopping praying, too.

That is probably why parent is dividing with Prayer and not multiplying with it.
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