Posted on 02/25/2006 8:22:24 AM PST by oxcart
Some new kind of Christian,maybe?
"Lofty perch"?
I lived with severe depression for several years of my life. To the point I attempted suicide... more than once.
I know a lot more about this topic than you might like to give me credit for.
Saying that Jesus tells us to "Be of good cheer" that He has "overcome the world" is "ugly" to you?
Thank you so much for this post!
Aussies never put shrimps on the barbie - they put prawns there. They also liked to "warm the tele and cool the tinnies" (ie, put the TV on, and have a cold beer handy)
Anyway, you're a real Auz, if you can eat Vegemite. Lived there for 14 years. Still can't stand the stuff. Mr Peel, who has never been, can't get enough of it.
I'm happy that you've managed to struggle through your depression wars, but I don't know of anyone who would agree with your harsh assessment of people with depression. Since depression can often manifest itself in despondency and irrationality one who suffers from it cannot always just snap out of it. Being irresponsible or full of self pity are traits unto themselves.
Try reading "Happiness is a Choice" by Mirnirth and Meier.
This book has been a priceless guide in keeping me from falling back into the sort of depressions that plagued me in earlier years.
The "harsh" assessment as you describe it, came basically from their book. I call a great dose of reality.
Since depression can often manifest itself in despondency and irrationality one who suffers from it cannot always just snap out of it. Being irresponsible or full of self pity are traits unto themselves.
Believe me. I know and I agree with you. I experienced it and KNOW how hard it is to just "snap out of it".
You're right. It doesn't work that way.
But as I said, it STARTS with accepting and taking responsibility for yourself.
Until a person gets past this step, they will not truly overcome their depression.
We are in agreement on this and I wish you the best.
J
demkicker
I agree.
I have a former friend (an x-ray technician) who told me my son's asthma was caused by his emotions.
The same friend worked at a state hospital which had a psychiatric ward on a different floor. The patients from the psychiatric ward traveled between floors to grow vegetables in a solarium located in the radiation wing. One of the x-ray technicians thought it was funny to sneakily remove some of the nearly-ripe tomatoes from the vines and then watch the confusion among the psychiatric patients when they arrived to harvest the tomatoes and found they weren't there. My former friend thought it was funny to watch, too.
Great observation!!
I agree with you to a great extent, but would temper my agreement by saying
I think it is the same for some people with depression.
Placebo sure is a strong factor. My mother is elderly and she and her friends are now putting a BAR OF SOAP under their bedsheet to cure leg cramps. She really thinks it helps, thus, it helps. I tried to explain placebo effects to her, but that fell on deaf ears. If she is happy, I am happy. And I guess the bar of soap won't kill her. Sure would be uncomforable, though, that bar of soap lump under the sheets! My husband said she better not tell her boyfriend (81 years old) about this! It might scare him off! LOL Last year she and her friends were all rubbing emu oil on their knees to get rid of pains. I have no idea what they will be doing next year. She said the bar of soap works, got rid of her leg cramps! Then she added that the medication her doctor gives her may be part of the cure, too.
We are trying to get our depressed friend to get up and out and do anything. He hasn't worked or even been out to eat with his wife in FOUR YEARS. He sits at home and watches TV all the time and drinks wine by the box. I don't think he drinks water or anything else, just wine. I don't think he eats anything either. If he would get out, get some Effexor, and some exercise, he might be saved. He is a total recluse now. It came on gradually, but he is really bad now. A wasted life.
You are right that, in any field, there are good and bad folks to deal with.
Some great doctors and nurses, as well as some real clunkers, treated my son through the years. It's too bad that it can takes years of experience to distinguish between the two groups.
Does he sit down to watch TV, or lie down? I think it's harder for people who spend a lot of time "prone," to get going. I've noticed that with my 90 year old mother. Even if she is not going to be doing anything special, even if she is feeling "weakish," I need to make sure she sits upright for at least part of the day.
I think that focussing one's eyes straight ahead for too many hours of the day is can depress one's energy level, too. Sort of the flipside of the doctor who "treated" depressed patients by having them move their eyes.
Extrapolate please. Ref if handy...
http://intelegen.com/nutrients/5hydroxytryptophan.htm
Well, there's one reference on the connection from an article that pushes 5-HTP, which made things worse for me.
I'm going into some detail assuming you have a personal and not abstract interest.
Higher insulin levels allow for serotonin-building molecules to enter the brain more readily. Eating carbs ups the blood sugar and hence the insulin levels. Some people go on carb binges to make themselves feel better. It works for a while.
Most people with depression feel much worse in the morning. Low blood sugar, low insulin, low serotonin levels. Better in the evening - day's highest insulin levels.
One thing that helped me was to eat a couple of slices of whole wheat bread with a little butter before going to bed - so the blood sugar wouldn't be so low in the morning. Also had some bread and maybe a banana handy as soon as I woke, or even if I woke in the night with a panic attack.
Munch, pray, and breathe deeply.
5-HTP didn't work. What does work for me is a high complex carb diet, health food store high dose multivitamin and mineral supplement, with extra D and folic acid, because those are usually not high dose in the multivitamin, and royal jelly, which really does seem to help with energy levels, even though I'm not sure I believe in it.
Different people will respond to different things.
Accupuncture actually helped, but I had a very skilled, very Christian accupuncturist.
Daily exercise, light therapy, sunlight, prayer, social contact, trying to think the way you think when you're not depressed, if you remember how.
Prayers for you or your loved one, if this is indeed a personal interest.
Mrs VS
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