Mental Illness

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Originally Posted by la_la

T D and Andrew Jr.

Thank you so very much for your kind and caring words. I think one of the reasons I am still struggling in this area is I do not talk about it at all.
With everything else in my life I am a complete open book but there are aspects of this time in my life that I absolutely refuse to open the door and talk about.
Perhaps this is the reason I posted. Maybe its time to talk and admit what I went through.
I can tell you reading all your posts here for the last few weeks has given me a comfort level I have never known with respect to honesty. This is not to say that I am dishonest but, I use humour to hide the bad stuff and rarely open myself in this way.
I thank everyones' posting that has touched me and helped me talk about this.

Peace,
'iz

Talking about things seems to help alot of people, there are lots of us who will listen and talk, don't be afraid to say how you feel.

[la_la]

Originally Posted by NotAnAverageGuy

Talking about things seems to help alot of people, there are lots of us who will listen and talk, don't be afraid to say how you feel.

Thanks so much NotAnAverageGuy. It helps so much to know that there is someone listening and helping if they can.

Peace,
'iz

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Originally Posted by la_la

Thanks so much NotAnAverageGuy. It helps so much to know that there is someone listening and helping if they can.

Peace,
'iz

No problem hun

[Andrew, Jr.]

We are all here for each other. I just hope and pray for miracles every day for those who suffer, and for caregivers.

Nobody is an island. Nobody.

[Andrew, Jr.]

La_La,

I am sorry I missed your question to me yesterday. I never saw it.

My bio-father is mentally ill. One minute he can be like a lamb, and the next a vicious shark. His moods change at the drop of a hat. It is something all of my siblings and I had to deal with growing up. The only thing I can compare it with - it would be an alcoholic. Even being terminally ill, he still creates havoc. It just shows his nature. He loves to create chaos.

Does this help?

Andrew

[Soon]

Depression's Upside

[Apocalipstic]

I just wanted to bump the thread an see who is still around and how everone is feeling?

I am working on my boundaries and how to know when something is OK or not for me...I struggle with that. My therapist says if something does not seem right to me (for me) then it is not right for me.

It seems so simple.

Can it be?

[Darth Denkay]

Depression's Upside??? Nope, not buying it.

I live with major depressive disorder. This means that regardless of how wonderful every single aspect of my life is, I have a chemical imbalance which, if not managed, will render me unable to survive. There is no upside to this. There is no upside to taking medication every day so that I don't slip into the deep abyss.

Throughout their life, most folks will experience sadness, perhaps even depression, in response to significant life stressors. Sadness/depression allow/help us to 1) know that something has happened that we need to deal with, 2)slow us down so that we can focus, and 3) helps us know when we are overcoming sadness (among many other roles that basic sadness serves). This is normal, and though not pleasant, it is healthy and helpful. Major Depressive Disorder - major depression that is not linked to an exterior event, is not healthy or helpful.

I like Darwin. I think he had a lot of really grand ideas and I do buy some of his theory. However, he was in a position where his own circumstance (apparently living with a clinical mental disorder) went against the very focus of his theory. Because depression is prevalent, then it must be useful, because if it isn't it goes against survival of the fittest and makes his grand plan moot.

We can't say for certain what Darwin's situation was. We can conjecture on what diagnosis/es he might have had, but we can't know. Finally, we can't look at his life as some sort of evidence that actually, depression can have a good side. Normal sadness - yes. Clinical depression - oh hell no.

Originally Posted by HowSoonIsNow

Depression's Upside