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Depression..being Down.. and how to get out of those funks!!


Do u have some times were u feel really down on everything, and though so many thing could be going right in ur life u still very miserable!?
What affects ur life most? is it if ur down on the social level or it is worse if it is on the professional level? How to get out of these negative spells, what are the best ways?
 

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Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 10:58pm)
Prayer followed by a nice high speed bicycle ride in downtown philadelphia traffic, if its raining video games or cooking.
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 9:23pm)
depression is a mental state, that is caused by the brain leeding to think for you, yourself. Selfishness gives birth to depression. Thus the cure also needs to be within. By sharing, by thinking for others, by being inviting you can get away from depression, no shrinks, no meds, no loss. Self estheim, confidence, and higher morals are to gain.
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 5:01pm)
I think that in general, there is a stigma against people with mental health issues... and in the muslim/desi community, it is 100 times worse. This makes me really sad. I will admit openly that I went to physical therapy when I hurt my shoulder... but how many people do you know admit when they had to seek help for depression (for example). I don't know any in my community. And i think this is dangerous. Are people really not getting the help that they need because they are afraid of being labelled? Or are they just hiding it? I take medicine when I have strep to make my sore throat go away, so why should someone who needs medication to help them in life be afraid to take it? and how can people tell them that they shouldn't take their meds because they "arent convinced of the merits". That seems like a really insensitve comment to me... sure some meds have side effects, but what if they can help a person lead a happy normal life that they otherwise couldn't? i think that should count as some sort of merit, don't you? I am not a doctor, but I do know a few people who either have been helped by their counseling/meds OR should have gotten help. it makes me so sad when i see people who don't seek the help that they need because of what they have heard or what other people have said or the simple fact that they are afraid of what other people might think of them. that is so sad.
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 4:49pm)
yooamir...also very good points...totally agree 100%
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 4:47pm)
shirin...i think working out, talking to people, all those things are the way that 90% of people should deal with depression. Those are the way you start and usually are enough to get over having a "depressed" mood or adjusting to something. However, for some people, this isn't enough to get through the acute stressor and in those cases, medication shouldn't be frowned upon as some other people have suggested. Medication used without cognitive therapy i.e. the talking/support network/coping strats...is doomed to fail and definitely the wrong way to go. However, in conjunction with these things and in cases where these fail, meds are useful.
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 4:35pm)
labs...the reason why you see fewer people dxed in england is the same reason there were fewer dxed in the past in the u.s. One, there is less screening/awareness. Lots of these kids are labeled as "oppositional-defiant disorder" (basically, a$$hole kid) or antisocial personality disorder. Some of these kids are in fact just personality disorder but often they are also acting out due to an inability to focus/concentrate in school. How would you feel if everytime you sat in class and tried to "be good and pay attention to the teacher", your mind was racing this way and that. Then, when you're not paying attention and the teacher calls you out, what do you do? You act out, or you become more withdrawn, or you do something to draw attention to yourself. Trust me, if you've seen the difference between an ADHD kid on meds and off, it's remarkable. We're talking kids turning their lives around. My mom always shares a story about one of her patients. This was about 10 years ago and ADHD was a pretty controversial subject...she treated this kid who was failing his classes, disrupting class, getting in fights, and about to be suspended from junior high. 4 years later, she reads about the kid in the paper, class valedictorian, class president, going to an Ivy league school...obviously, the turnaround won't be that dramatic in all kids but the point is, if your kid had a broken leg, you'd put a cast on it, wouldn't you? If your kid was blind, you'd let him/her learn braille, right? Why would you not treat a child with an easily fixable problem and allow him/her to succeed?
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 4:26pm)
wildchild...there's a harvard study...don't have the journal handy...that basically gave addicts the choice of shooting up with cocaine/methamphetamines and ritalin (methylphenidate) as often as they wanted. What they found was that with the illegal substances, people kept shooting up, because the attachment to the neurotransmitter receptor was on and off, thereby allowing for new and greater "highs" With ritalin, there wasn't that euphoria and addicts stopped after 1-2 injections because they said they stopped getting a buzz (due to the converse, long receptor half life). Therefore, I think most of the arguments about addiction are crap...secondly, you're right, if every fp/internist prescribes ritalin to an "unruly child", you have problems. However, there's a reason why it takes 13 years to be a child psychiatrist.
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 4:02pm)
not convinced about the merits of these various drugs.. only heard of a few of these in the uk, i don't think they're as widespread here.. i realise counsellors/ shrinks can be useful but isn't it also possible that seeing a psychiatrist in the long run might become addictive (ie. becoming reliant on the psychiatrist rather than using them/ friends/ family as a way of helping you get out of the state you're in)...also we have less people here who are diagnosed with psychological problems.. eg. bi-polar.. not sure why, i don't think it's just because we have a smaller population
 
Login to find out (May 9, 2005 at 2:01am)
This is a good journal...i like the discussion. I suppose adderall can help a person significantly, but I think the diagnosis criteria for adhd is very generalized. Ritalin and Adderall are amphetamines, basically same class as crystal meth and cocaine. I agree there are benefits...but is it worth it to mess with the brain of a developing child? Even if ADHD is a genuine condition , the criteria for it is so broad that basically any active kid who is not docile in class can be diagnosed as such, and then subjected to a childhood of having something like COCAINE put in their mouths every morning.
 
Login to find out (May 8, 2005 at 12:10pm)
Everyone deals with depression differently. I know that there has been a few times that I have been depressed where I didnt want to get out of my bed and almost failed out of school. But I made it through and at that time, all I did, was pray and talk it out with my friends. It took me awhile but I did come out of it. The other time when I was depressed, I was working full time, so I couldnt take time off. But what I did was WORK out all the time. Seriously excercising really helped me get through it and I must say I felt amazing after a hard work out. And the best thing is that, it has become a habit. I would have to say, working out and praying helps!! And I am totally okay with people taking anti-depressent medication if they have to.
 
Login to find out (May 8, 2005 at 11:53am)
leena77, i respectfully disagree, although i may be wrong. bottling it up inside you and letting it fester over time is what makes it worse. letting it out usually makes you feel better. as long as you're talking to someone relatively neutral-minded and trustworthy about your situation, the feedback from that person could shed some light on a different (and enlightening) perspective that you otherwise may not have thought of.
 
Login to find out (May 8, 2005 at 1:01am)
get out of your daily routine and/or environment. go somewhere you haven't been to in a while, or you haven't been to at all. spend time with a good friend or relative, someone you're comfortable talking to. as others have mentioned here, it's important to talk about your problems and not keep them bottled inside you. hit them head on when you're ready to, and don't avoid the issue(s) for too long.
 
Login to find out (May 7, 2005 at 1:13pm)
leena..haha...jasmine...lithium is a pretty "dirty" drug...i.e lots of side effects...not really first line tx for most people anymore. The newer mood stabilizers are much better, though each does have its set of side effects...just a matter of balancing good vs harm.
 
Login to find out (May 7, 2005 at 12:45pm)
there are reports of incredible productivity when a bipolar patient is manic, but these are few and far between. More common is the person who suddenly becomes sexually promiscuous, starts using drugs, spends insane amounts of money, becomes hyperreligious, etc, etc...very destructive behaviors. There is an entity known as hypomania, however, which is basically a state of increased activity, alertness, etc that isn't as pathological as full fledged mania. Many people are incredibly productive during these states and the toll isn't as bad so they don't want medication which prevents the swings...however, like i said, the people for whom this feeling is beneficial are few and far between...

As far as adderall...most kids that are started on meds for adhd aren't very high functioning...they tend to have poor grades and poor social functioning and when put on the medication, have a dramatic turnaround in grades/attention/behavior. There are a select few who are high functioning enough to overcome their adhd, at least to a certain extent, but even those people notice a dramatic improvement in several facets of their life when placed on ritalin or ritalin analogues.
 
Login to find out (May 7, 2005 at 11:42am)
jasminephool, it's interesting like that...many geniuses from the past were noted for their unusual mental states. i'm sure they would've been put on adderall if they were born today!
 
Login to find out (May 6, 2005 at 11:20pm)
i really hate this public stigma against anti-depressants. Anti-depressants have documented neurochemical effects which allow one to break the cycle of depression. Should everyone be on them? No. Are they sometimes inappropriately prescribed, especially by internists and family practice docs? Yes. Are they a replacement for cognitive therapy i.e. talking about your problems, developing coping skills? No. Are they a replacement for having a good social support network? No. However, do casually dismiss them as causing people to "be zombies", especially if you're a pharmacist, is reprehensible. There are many people I know and/or have treated that would be dead today if they'd not been on antidepressants.
 
Login to find out (May 6, 2005 at 10:51pm)
prayer, quranic reading, spending time with friends/family, taking up a project and doing somethjing which you really enjoy all take you out of depression one small step at a time. I'd like to say that the most potent anti-depressant is the unshakable faith in Allah Almighty that He would provide you with comfort after hardship (provided you are punctual with your resonsibilities of salat etc). Allah says in numerous places in the Quran that there is no one but Allah who can help you!
 
Login to find out (May 6, 2005 at 8:49pm)
Amirlondon, I hope you were joking abt the prozac. I work in a pharmacy, and I see all these rich people on antidepressants. after a while, they just become like zombies and it seems that instead of getting better, they end up with 5 or 6 rxs by the end of the year.
 
Login to find out (May 4, 2005 at 6:01pm)
Mamad, I agree with the talking cure.. I saw a relationship counsellor when I separated.. spoke for 10 minutes then ran out of things to say! All she said in return was one sentence but it helped immensely..
 
Login to find out (May 3, 2005 at 4:03am)
The main thing to do is not to shut everyone out. Talk to friends and family and tell them exactly how you feel. Eventhough I write this, I personally am a very private person and at times very shy, so its not easy. The 'talking cure' as freud called it seems to work best. Also, people shouldn't be put off by ati-depressants. They do work, and in order to function one needs to be at equilibrium rather than minus 10 if you know what i mean.