Thursday, 28 May 2009
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Is Depression Really a Disease? Or Is it Just a State of Mind?
How do you distinguish between the two? Is it really worth the time and money to see a doctor?
When I was younger and in high school, I had ALOT of drama and bad situations going on. Family, life, friends, weight, health, ect....
The doctors diagnosed me with depression and put me on medication. I don't feel the meds really ever helped.
I was still bulimic and suicidal while on the medication.
I struggled through it and then graduated high school, moved out and stopped taking the meds. My life had been going GREAT for almost the last seven years.
Lately I feel totally lost. Hopeless. Worthless. Like I'm invisible and I don't' matter. I'm in love and in a wonderful relationship with a caring and loving man. I am close with all of my family and have lots of close personal friends.
Why then do I feel this way?I find people getting frustrated with me. Concerned with me.
"What's wrong with you"
"Are you okay?"
"Are your blood sugars off again?"
I feel empty. And just completely spaced out.
It's hard to smile and enjoy anything anymore.
Why would I feel this way? again?
I had been doing so well.Is it just a state of mind?
What makes these feelings come and go? Is it work? I hate my job. It makes me cringe. Ruins my entire day. Week. Month. But I use to LOVE it.Not sure how to get out of this funk. Or if it is even a funk. Maybe it's a disease.
I feel like if I say I'm depressed that it's like I'm saying, I just saw a monster under my bed and they gave me a wedgie. Everyone's going to look at me funny. Think I'm crazy or something.
I've always been the strong one. The supporting one. I don't want to ask for help, because I don't know that there is anything to be done.I guess I just wondered if others feel that way and how do you deal with it?
Is it mental? Is it a state of mind? Or is it depression?
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- From: pinkpeekaboo@xanga
- Name: pinkpeekaboo
- About Me: I don't like my screenname so I'm working on credits to change it. My stupid idea to use my favorite color and pet's name sounded good at the time. As far as blogging goes, sometimes I think I have really great ideas and other times I think I just need to vent.
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Comments (74)
I totally just wrote a post on this. Here ya go. Hope it helps. :)
I feel the way you do. I'm both bulimic and depressed. I'm on medication for my depression. I find that the medication helps. I think it's also a state of mind. The medications lifts the depression up enough so I can function, think about things in a different way, find better ways to cope, and etc.
In my opinion, which may not count for much, if people have to ask whether or not depression is a "state of mind" or if it's a "disease" then they've not really experienced it because once people are diagnosed they understand that, unlike a state of mind, it's not something that is just an outfit put on for the day or the occasion... It bothers me the way depression is misrepresented and misunderstood.
I'm not typically one to self-promote but here you go.
that's a difficult question to answer because there are different kinds of depression. some are caused by life experiences and can be controlled by changing your way of thinking. others are due to chemical imbalances and other pysiological issues and no matter how much you want to change your thinking you cannot.
It's a MENTAL ILLNESS.
There's nothing wrong with getting medicine. It can really help, and there's really no social stigma left anymore about it.
Depression is a symptom... not a disease in itself. As such, it can be caused by all kinds of different things... from thyroid dysfunction to the death of the family dog.
When it lasts for a long time, with no discernible cause, I think that's when it starts to be classified as an illness.
i wonder the same thing myself.. my mom is on depression medication and i hate how it's made her dependent on drugs for her happiness
I think it is both a state of mind and an illness. I have struggled with this question for most of my life now, and it can be a chemical imbalance that is made worse by life problems in some cases, It definitely depends on the person and the situation.
It can be either a state of mind or an illness, only a doctor can tell the difference (in my opinion). Have you tried hypnosis? I never thought it would work, but after 2 sessions I feel a lot better, and I only have 2 or 3 sessions to go. I may still need medication, but the hypnosis has really helped.
girl i am wondering the same thing
it can be a real problem that needs attention, sometimes a chemical imbalance or even out of sync heart rate..
Depression is a real diagnosable disease that requires treatment when it effects & interferes with your life, your job, relationships, health etc. Feeling "blue" is not depression, just a normal thing we all go through, chronic depression or manic depression has symptoms like: loss of interest in personal life (hobbies, goals), change in weight, loss of sex drive, changes in personal grooming, a ongoing feeling of extreme loss or sadness, change in sleep pattern (could be too much or too little)... the list goes on. There is a variety of ways to deal with depression depending on the subject's severity ranging from minor diet adjustments (low serotonin levels cause depression & can easily be raised through diet), cognitive therapy (no drugs) or help from a psychiatrist who may prescribe a medication to quickly re-balance your brain chemistry. Anyone who suspects they have serious problems with depression should seek help, unchecked it can result in more serious manic depression range illness like bi-polar disorder & anxiety disorder.
There are many different kinds of depression:
Mild, moderate, major, severe without psychotic features, severe with psychotic features, single episode, recurrent, in partial or full remission, chronic, postpartum, seasonal-pattern, rapid-cycling, and those with melancholic, atypical and catatonic behaviors.
Then, as someone mentioned above, there are depressive disorders that also involve manic episodes, anxiety, etc.
Get a psychiatrist or other qualified mental healthcare professional to figure out (according to the criteria from the DSM) which one you have.
If it continues beyond 2 weeks and isn't caused only by your environment/circumstances, chances are they aren't your typical blues that everyone experiences. It's an illness.
it is a mental illness, not just a state of mind. i am certain of that.
I have been diagnosed with Clinical Depression, along with Panic Disorder for many years, it is VERY MUCH a disease. I go through good days and bad day, good periods and bad periods. I don't take medicine everyday for it, and haven't for years as I don't want to be dependent on medication for my happiness and as an addict I am unwilling to take any medicine I don't NEED everyday. I take medicine I need to survive, such as for my diabetes but seek other options for treatment of depression.
But sadly, I do think that some people, hopefully not too many, think it is a trendy disorder to have, and claim it when they don't really have it. I have actually known a couple who admitted to doing this.
There are two types of people that annoy me over this, the ones that claim to have depression when they are merely sad/going through a bad time and those that claim that it doesn't exist at all that it is all in our heads and nothing is wrong. People really need to understand what it really is.
I don't know if I understand exactly how you feel, but I definitely don't think I feel "normal." I wouldn't say I feel "invisible" and "empty," but I do feel anxious a lot, for no real reason, I do feel worthless like you said you do, I don't believe I will ever really accomplish anything and simultaneously have no motivation to try, I want to hurt myself, I want everything to end, but like you I don't understand why I feel this way because I don't have any real reasons why I should.
It's a mental illness. People seeking treatment for disorders related to depression like major depressive disorder do best with a combination of medication, therapy, and support from their friends and family. If you feel like you need help, you probably do. It's not a sign of weakness, it is a disorder. It's causes have roots in biology. Depression disorders are pretty common, so I doubt anyone would think you are crazy. By getting help you could be giving someone else who otherwise wouldn't seek help the motivation to seek help. I'm not a psychologist, but the fact that you are wondering if you should seek help, and that you don't know how you could get better yourself, means that you probably do have an issue you need to work out. I wish you the best.
It's not a DISEASE! It's a DISORDER! Get it right.
I have struggled with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember.
It is very difficult and it isn't just a state of mind. There is a such thing as extreme sadness, and real DEPRESSION.
It's a mental illness.
I know the feeling of depression.
Honestly, I won't have anything to be depressed about. My life will be going "fine" and sometimes, I'll get this sinking feeling and everything will seem hopeless.
It sucks, really.
I'll give you my personal story:
I'd been having panic attacks since I was 6. I was 19 when I finally went to a psychiatrist and begged to be looked at... I was suffering from a cycle, crippling panic attacks lead to a state of anxiety and fear for my health which lead to a general depression.
The psychiatrist looked into my past and thought the cause seemed more biological than emotional and perscribed me medicine. The medicine calmed my panic attacks to less than one a month at that (I was having them daily before this), which made me less anxious and less worried, which improved my mood and my depression.
Depression to me was caused by a disease (panic attacks) but wasn't the disease itself, it was my state of mind because of the biological problem.
maybe you suffer bouts of depression.
I know how it feels and its like you've fallen in to a black hole and the lights are dim and you can't really see what's going on.
it is AWFUL. its like being sick everyday.
How do you get out of that mental funk?
well experts have coping tools and drugs
my sister really likes yoga
I get out of it by working out a lot and making myself beautiful, or keeping myself to occupied to think about it
i think anything really physical helps.
you just can't box yourself up from real life and let yourself slip away. remind yourself to be thankful everyday and enjoy what you can. we're here for a good time, not a long time.
it is mental, and while for some i think it is a state of mind, genuine depression is a serious disorder that some people struggle with their whole lives.
I'm not a doctor or anything of the sort, so I'd like to start by making that disclaimer. Now that that's over, you should know that depression can be either a state of mind or a disease. My rule of thumb is that if there are certain events in your life that justify feelings of sadness (drama, health issues, etc), it's a state of mind, and perfectly normal (though still sucky). If there's no reason for you to feel depressed, or if there's a reason but you feel significantly more upset than you should for a prolonged period of time, then it could be a chemical imbalance.
From what you said (and it's hard for me to really make judgements, as I only got a quick clip of your life), it sounds like maybe it was just a state of mind the first time around, and that it could be an imbalance this time. Ask yourself why you feel this way. If you can't answer that, and the feelings persist, maybe you should see a doctor.
Best of luck.
It could be situational. I was diagnosed with depression too, but I was in a shitty relationship with a guy who was super controlling and made me feel really bad about myself.
After I got out of that I was really happy, and now with the recent move (even though it has been six months) I have been depressed, I thought it was because I missed my family and friends back home, so I went back, and I realised I didn't miss them that much, and now I realize I can't find a job that I like, and I can't get enough hours at a job when I do find one, so I am just sad about not having money and sitting home all day.
I think a lot of it depends on how you look at a situation, but some people really are depressed and need medication.
I agree with many that is a difficult question. I know with me at least that I've learned to deal with issues, but I've never been diagnosed as having depression. I don't even know if it is. I have friends and family that have been diagnosed and sometimes I wonder, but I try not to wonder cause then I get in trouble for double guessing their doctors.
I've felt depression though. After the break up with my first ex I did cutting, stopped eating, was sad all the time. The second ex I fought myself for a few weeks telling myself not to fall into that depression again. Now I recently came back to the states from Japan. I've lived there for the past 2 years. Everything is different, the language, the attitudes, the food, you name it. I miss my friends, the people, miss the language, miss the food, you name it. I often feel like I can't go on either, but like everything I know it will pass. I don't know if you are christian, not sure I should even use that word on here. I might get stoned. All I know is that for me I can lay my burdens on my Lord and everything falls into place. It always falls into place as long as I trust and obey.
I don't know if that helps, I can't tell you if it is a true disease or if it is a state of mind. I can only tell you that it IS a state of mind in my case; but perhaps I am not clinically depressed. I hope that you can find peace though, reassurance, and joy.
Always.
I just wanted to address the last part of what you said when you said you've always been the strong one and everyone would look at you like you were insane.
I know how that feels. I got so good at pretending to be ok for the longest time because i felt like that's what people needed or wanted from me. I was worried that people would push me away or mock me if i told them what was really going on. I was afraid that if i told people that i was depressed or let them know what was going on inside me that they would laugh at me and tell me that was ridiculous. That i was completely fine.
but I wasn't. and when i finally realized that i couldn't continue living how I was and talked to someone, they didn't reject me. I got the help that I needed and have been able to address things that I wasn't even aware of. I still don't tell everyone, because there are people who look at me like i'm telling a joke or something, but you cannot let that keep you from getting help.
talking to someone is not signing your life over to a world of shrinks and drugs. Its saying that you realize that you need some help. Don't worry that other people will think you are crazy. I promise that when you take that step, just taking it gets you so much closer to getting out of the funk you're in.