depression [open]

[Tenebrae]

Does anyone hear suffer from depression?

How do you deal?

I hear all the stuff about eating right, getting sleep, etc and they are good pieces of advice. I have found after cutting out coke for over a week, am starting to feel better in all that

However when I hear someone who talks about throw away your antidepressants, praise God, and it that doesnt work then do it again... Praising God is an awesome thing, however when.......


Can I hide here for a while, I'm done with trying to fit up to other peoples standards, I try to follow their rules and get kicked in the teeth for my efforts

Do people not understand that at times the most powerful and aiding thing they can do for a person is to allow them to simply be, rather than a human doing and can they not stop spreading their nauseating well intentioned, but ill timed advice. Or basically learn when to talk, and when to shut the heck up

 

[thallon]

when i get depressed i do one of two things,
its either physically based or spiritual.
1. drink a couple cups of water to rehydrate,
2. step outside and take a deep breath,
lift your eyes to heaven and say 'father help me'.

and He will.

 

[RedneckAnglican]

My breath of fresh air generally involes a Marlboro...but the rest is pretty much right...

I suffer from Chronic Clinical Depression and a Generalized Anxiety Disorder...what I loving refer to as Alphabet soup...

I really can't tell you what I did...I wish I could...but I have been of meds for about a year and a half and am in pretty good shape...not that I don't still have episodes (esp. with the GAD)...all I can say is that I'll pray for you sister...and I love you...

 

[amused]

Yeah its hard sometimes to talk about depression on christian forums sometimes because of the well meaning cliched highly opinionate people. I mean telling someone its an attack from the enemy or you arent living in victory or just say these words or name it and claim it or whatever, it just doesnt help.

I visited the depression part on cf and posted one thing about the way I deal with it and I got a very long winded private message saying those things above pretty much. It didnt help me at all. I have come across some very closed minded uneducated bible bashing christians who mean well and think they are doing the right thing in trying to set you free or whatever, when all they do is make my brain feel more squeezier than ever.

I dont take medication although I should. I just have to go back to the doc again I really should get back on the medication, I just had a bad reaction to the last lot I couldnt function on it so I stopped and didnt bother going back.

I have a really close friend who copes with depression too. We ring each other up and when either of us says "all week I just wanted to die" We will say something like poo hey that sucks. we dont try and solve it for each other, we just ackowledge we are in a low place. We felt heard and out of that we feel better.

I tend to get out of the house and try not to focus on myself so much. If I can find a movie or a band or the beach and take in the view. I know if I got my toosh to the docs and tried to find a medication that worked it would be much better for me, but here I am taking each day at a time.

I hope you can find the help and support you need. If you ever want to chat feel free to pm me. I understand what its like to just need to be heard, no matter how wow off you think it is. I hope I havent typed any well meaning cliched bovine excrement.

cheers

 

[Im_A]

i've seriously wondered, still do, if i do battle with depression.

i've never been clinically diagnosed. the closest i was, was back in college and the doctor told me i had temporary insomnia.

but the signs have been there for a long time.

in myself, my parents who both battle with it.

so for me, especially after some recent events, i just want to exist and be. if i'm depressed, i'll be depressed. if i'm not, i won't be. i'll go through my depressional moments and i'll move on, or i will fail and will have to change my course of action with that issue. it's a part of life and i have realized that i can be happy even still.

plus i've tried to fix it. not with legal medication, well one could termed as legal medication but it was with alcohol and pot. how numb i was to everything. i've heard similiar things with anti-depressants. they make not feel, i've heard that.

but i'll never forget the day, i was 20, and i was in college and i dropped out of college. one of my lifelong best friends offered to let me live with him. he had a one bedroom apartment, i'd sleep on the couch and we were crammed to say the least, and two guys...enough said ha.

but i remember one day, sitting on the concrete steps, smoking a cigarette and looking around and thinking, "wow i can feel again."

i'd rather be depressed than to not feel anything. that's such a scary place because you begin to question if your a human being and wonder if your just a drone.

so the way i deal with it now is, if i am depressed or suffer from depression, is to accept it, welcome it, but remember how it was not to feel anything and be numb. that for me at least, and i'm no counselor or a professional but for me it was the start to finally be happy, even if i have/had problems with this issue of depression. i finally saw it in action form here quite a few months ago. it was a slow progress over the my short years of being alive tho i've asked God from my recollection to heal me from depression nor will i ever. i figure, God commanded Adam in the Genesis story to tend the garden. i'm no different than Adam

Does anyone hear suffer from depression?

How do you deal?

I hear all the stuff about eating right, getting sleep, etc and they are good pieces of advice. I have found after cutting out coke for over a week, am starting to feel better in all that

However when I hear someone who talks about throw away your antidepressants, praise God, and it that doesnt work then do it again... Praising God is an awesome thing, however when.......


Can I hide here for a while, I'm done with trying to fit up to other peoples standards, I try to follow their rules and get kicked in the teeth for my efforts

Do people not understand that at times the most powerful and aiding thing they can do for a person is to allow them to simply be, rather than a human doing and can they not stop spreading their nauseating well intentioned, but ill timed advice. Or basically learn when to talk, and when to shut the heck up

 

[112657]

I have suffered from depression my whole life. From as far back as I can remember, I have not felt like I belong here, and have lived my life with suicide as a plan "B".

Sometimes you really do just have to ride it out. I hated the pills. I may not have had the big lows anymore, but I didn't feel the highs either.

I am sure that God pulled me back this time last year. But in my lows, I am resentful of it. I guess all we can do is pray for more highs.

 

[Buttermilk]

You might want to check out the Recovery Forums - you will find us near the bottom of the main page

 

[Tenebrae]

I need to stay out of word of faith forums.....

 

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Does wanting to stay in bed all day with a pint of ice cream crying because you're a freak who can't get pregnant count?

Yes. Depression runs rampant in my family. I'm on amitriptiline for it to help me sleep at night- If not I start having horrible anxiety attacks.

The depression comes and goes. The pills help- I find myself abusing my bottle of vicodin once and awhile because it makes me so sleepy- and sometimes I might not be the least bit tired but I'll take a few because all I want to do is sleep the day away.



Hang in there hon It's so hard.

 

[Martin^^]

Sorry you are feeling so low, Wizeone.

With people I have known, getting the right meds made the biggest difference. 'Self-medicating' with your legal or illegal drug of choice usually makes the situation worse, long term. (I'm assuming the coke you refer to is not Coke...)
Getting someone understanding to talk to can also be important, if they are knowledgable about depression, though not necessarily a trained counsellor. Simply listening is often more useful than giving 'advice'. Sounds like you have had too much of that sort already.
Personally, I find exercise is good for lifting my mood. Sometimes it is hard to make a start, but it is worth the effort.
Hope you start to feel better soon.

 

[setmefree]

I too have battled the Twin Beasts of depression and anxiety over the years.
Like others have said exercise is a big help. Also forcing yourself to get "busy" rather than concentrating on your predicament helps.

You are in my prayers.

Keith

 

[Moriah_Conquering_Wind]

What you said about "getting busy" made me think, Keith.

It seems to me that those with severe depression and/or chronic free-floating anxiety, and/or both, are most susceptible to what I term "treadmill" ministries or "hamster wheel" deliverance -- seeking a healing or deliverance from God to get them out of that icky mess and falling readily for those who get them doing "busy work" with endless repetitive introspective confessions and renunciations and repudiations of every little thing under the sun. The good part (if there is one) is, it gets them busy and keeps them busy, which might be a helpful exercise in and of itself, but the BAD part (and boy is it BAD) is that it sets up false hope over & over again only to dash it to pieces time & again and then justify itself to the detriment of the suffering person by saying it must be their fault somehow, they failed to confess specific occult dabbling X done by the great-great-great-uncle of their third cousin Ernie who was related by second marriage to their great-great-grandma Petunia which he did on the third of November in 1872 ... blah blah blah blah BLAH ad infinitum ad NAUSEUM. And since you can't KNOW such things cuz you have no idea these ppl even EXIST in your family tree let alone got up to some sorta mischief, you are totally dependent upon the supposedly "clear" (nice Scientology term there, eh?) "deliverance minister" who tells you what the Holy Spirit supposedly "revealed" to them in this regard and keeps you running endlessly the hamster wheel or treadmill with the "carrot" of false hope dangled in front of your nose and the whip of false guilt chasing your smarting behind forward.

Problem is, it's all kack. No one will ever get free that way..... but watching this ilk constantly preying upon the "least of these", the weaker brethren who most need our support and a glimpse of Jesus' love "with skin on" in us, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... really gets to me.

 

[Tenebrae]

A very wise lady encouraged tme to take refuge in God

Satan fights when one of his changes camps. I am learning that God fights harder.

For all of you who have spoken words in this thread, thankyou. Words dont go far enough to expressing it at the moment, but thanks

 

[The Princess Bride]

I've dealt with depression myself, and it is a long and exhausting road back to mental/physical/and emotional recovery, but God is good and faithful, and He promises that when we call on Him, He will answer us.

Just hang in there

 

[Crazy Liz]

I've been on antidepressants for nearly 2 years & expect to be for a while. When I finally saw a psychiatrist because I cancelled a book promotion trip at the last minute because I just couldn't face the hopelessness of what I'd spent all that time writing about, he said he thought I'd been depressed for a long time. I always look for the reasons for things & try to solve problems, so every time my depression got bad before that, I came up with a reason - something going on in my life, that I would be OK when I fixed. But it was always one thing or another.

It takes a combination of meds, therapy & the right lifestyle changes - sometimes just a temporary change at the right time after starting meds. For me it was a trip a few weeks after taking the meds, that got me out of my routine & away from the people I was usually with, going where someone else planned for me to go & just being responsible for being nice to people & caring about who I was with at the moment. It made me remember what it was like to feel good.

I don't know what will help you, but I'll gladly tell my story in case it might possibly be of some help.

 

[Abiel]

Checking in as a depressive. SAD GAD and general 'what am I doing here-ness'. MEds help (prozac). Occupation helps- though sometimes i simply defer it to my bowels. Strange things bodies. Never been suicidal. More often 'wish I had never been born'

 

[tryingtobeagain]

I have suffered from depression for many years now. I first was diagnosed at about 17 when it hit me hard and I stopped speaking and eating for a long time. Meds helped and when I started feeling like myself again I got on the routine of ealthy eating, and activity. Now (many many moons later) I don't need the meds regularily but I know when I feel myself going down and I am able to get help before things spin out of control. I keep my faith by telling myself that even though I don't know why htings are happening to me, God has a plan. This also has helped me to be more receiving of help when I need it. God can work through others and I accept that help.

I don't often like the "you don't need meds" theory because I felt I needed something to be able to get to the point where diet and exercise could help. You need to figure out what works for you and do that. Talk to your doctor about your options and if you ever want to caht about it feel free to pm me.

 

[The Julikenz]

As a long term sufferer of fatigue and Auto-Immune related illness, I have gone through bouts of depression over the years, particularly during times of spiritual crisis. I don't really know how to deal with it mentally, but physically I've found keeping a healthy diet and active lifestyle to be the keys to staying on track, and not spending all day in bed, crying over a bag of M&Ms.

 

[none the wiser]

I've never been diagnosed, but I wouldn't be surprised. Like you Julikenz, I went through a spiritual crisis this past year, and that wore on me. Combine that with my best friend being in another state, and a generally low self esteem...

Keeping busy does help. I felt better after I went down to the lab today and tested some Staphylococcus aureus Something about being productive...I don't know if someone's mentioned this, but it's really hard to get motivated while you're depressed, but I always feel so better if I work on something when I'm sad. It's like a Catch 22.

 

[UberLutheran]

Does anyone hear suffer from depression?

How do you deal?

I hear all the stuff about eating right, getting sleep, etc and they are good pieces of advice. I have found after cutting out coke for over a week, am starting to feel better in all that

However when I hear someone who talks about throw away your antidepressants, praise God, and it that doesnt work then do it again... Praising God is an awesome thing, however when.......


Can I hide here for a while, I'm done with trying to fit up to other peoples standards, I try to follow their rules and get kicked in the teeth for my efforts

Do people not understand that at times the most powerful and aiding thing they can do for a person is to allow them to simply be, rather than a human doing and can they not stop spreading their nauseating well intentioned, but ill timed advice. Or basically learn when to talk, and when to shut the heck up

ABSOLUTELY you can hide in here -- for as long as you want!

This is my main posting forum. Occasionally, I may post in other forums, usually to respond to something or to add to a conversation (classical music, storm chasing, the Democratic Forum, etc.) but this is the forum where I do most of my real "sharing".

I've been through having depression ride me like a monkey on my back. I found a combination of antidepressants which finally got that monkey off my back, and when well-meaning but ill-informed people suggest I get off the antidepressants and "just praise Jesus" -- I run (not walk) away from those people.

And I know what you mean about trying to follow peoples' rules and getting kicked in the teeth for it: I'm a gay Christian, and I am perfectly happy living in my own skin as a gay Christian -- and I have it on good authority that I'm not the first gay Christian to appear and I certainly won't be the last, and God does work with gay Christians because I know very well, and very distinctly that God has worked in my life and on occasion, done for me what I could not do for myself. (And I'm still gay, and in a 17 year relationship!)

ABSOLUTELY you're welcome to stay here -- and if you want, make this your "home" forum!