Depression and feeling like an outsider

Post by jokoon » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:17 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #45

jokoon wrote: post #2

1. try an antidepressant, keep taking it without changing the dosage. try this for at last one year. 2. when you feel down and you're feeling worse and worse, try going out and walking for at least 15 or 45 min, or find something to do. breathe. don't stay in one place. don't let immobility and routine drown you. if you can do something that can make you move and make memories, you should do it. depression is a brain…

Anti depressants are not the first option to treat depression. Try CBT from an experienced practitioner, in combination with medication if needed. 2) exercise is moderately better than nothing for depression. Exercise is not better than anti-depressants, although there aren't many studies. Exercise is not better than talking therapies, although there aren't many studies. When you only look at good quality research th…

> This is unlikely to be helpful and may be harmful.

Yes I agree, that it can depend on how it's told. But it's also nice to sometime take the bad thoughts and turn it into lemonade.

Some people might just be slightly depressed and might exaggerate their situation. I know that I don't really have a severe depression, but in my head I always was very scared about it.

I think you must talk about the good things with someone, directly or indirectly, and don't let them drown in their own bad thoughts. People can be self destructive, so it can be nice to point out the good to save them from themselves.

Post by sramsay » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 9:56 PM UTC

jamesdelaneyie wrote: post #57

sramsay wrote: post #21

The OP actually has an extraordinary amount of what psychiatrists call "insight" concerning his condition. That is to say, he is not only depressed, but knows he is. It might sound utterly implausible that someone could be clinically depressed and not know it, but I think that's the more common circumstance. People experiencing depression very often can't see that depression is the problem. They think the reason they…

How can you help people who don't realize this and would refuse any suggestion to seek advice? I fear my mother might be struggling with this since she was laid off last year but actively refuses to have conversations about how she might feel. 1/4 of my blame lies in Irish culture however :/

It's tough! (And I can relate to you on the Irish cultural issues as well, since my mother is from Ireland and I grew up mainly around Irish people).

Mostly, it's a matter of getting them through the psychiatrist's door. Hearing, "I think you might be depressed" or "Why don't you go see someone" -- however you frame it -- is going to be tough to hear from a son. A therapist, though, knows how to ask the right questions, and since they're a neutral third party, they're much more likely to get a person to admit that there's a problem, and that the lost job may have been merely the catalyst for what is now a medical problem.

Depression is less and less stigmatized in the US (I don't know about the situation in Ireland). But in a sense, that doesn't matter. It's the person's own self-stigmatization that is the problem. They don't think they have a medical problem; they think they're worthless, sad, listless, and perhaps "crazy." Going to a psychiatrist will automatically mean that they are crazy.

I am not a mental health professional, but in my view, it's worth trying any trick you can think of to get them through the door. Maybe that means a group/family intervention (and maybe that means she's angry at the entire family for some period of time). Maybe it means cutting deals ("If you just make this one appointment, I'll never mention it again."). Maybe it means an emotional appeal ("Please, please do this for me.").

Whatever the case, extreme measures sometimes are necessary. Because -- and I don't mean to frighten you -- this is a deadly illness. People commit suicide every year because they see absolutely no reason to go on. A heartbreaking number of those people were suffering from a treatable condition.

Re: Depression and feeling like an outsider

Re: Depression and feeling like an outsider