Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ killing myself...

I edited my previous post and expanded on it some.

I need to leave for work soon but can post further upon my return.

Some life events (e.g., divorce, death, to a lesser extent moving, changing jobs) cause what I would call "normal" depression . . . a normal and expected reaction to the environment and the psychological assault. The maddening part of clinical depression is enduring those feelings in absence of such stimuli.

Xanax is an anti anxiety pill but it gives people a false sense of well being hence I informally label it as a "happy" pill. Antidepressents aim to and often succeed in making one fell "normal." One still feels joy and despair as is appropriate to their circumstaces. What is removed is feelings of hopelessness and despair that is inapproriate (and otherwise unexplained) to their circumstances.

Depressed people should NEVER take Exstacy (illicit drug) . . . actually no one should but it is especially dangerous for people who are clinically depressed. Exstacy works similar to a antidepressent but in a harmful way. Antidepressents raise levels of free neurotransmitters by limiting their reabsorbtion. Exstacy causes your body to dump them all at once often leaving you bankrupt of them after the high. Clinically depressed people already have low levels and definitely cannot afford this.

I definitely agree that doing some kind of volunteer work is definitely therapeutic. It might be a hard thing to do when you just want to throw the covers over your head and disappear but if you are like most people, you will be rewarded . . . not just in a nonselfish way but selfishly too. It is surprising just how much people feel better afterwards.

Late for work . . .

hm.. I remember one day at school: a girl smiled for me while passing by (propably it was just for someone else but anyway.. it felt like she smiled for me). this caused me to think about that smile quite a lot. later I came to conclusion that I wanted to smile to others so that they might feel as good as I felt when I saw that smile. for some reason I now have about constant smile on my face.. :rolleyes:
plus, lately, I have been reading one book. one tip it said about smiling is this...

I admit I still get pretty bad depressions sometimes, might be I should see doctors about it but well.. still havent got to do that.hard to take the first step for me I assume. but good thing is that I seem to manage, apart from some moments which usually go off by sleepin.
well, anyway, I wasnt here to rant about my own bad feelings.. I dont know how the h*ll its possible, but yes, helping others helped me too. prolly one reason (along with feeling to be part of something) why I got so addicted to nfm too. I would guess its because of the smiley face others tend to get when one has managed to help them, all the more if its some unknown guy.. :)

This post has been edited by Deepone: Jun 2 2004, 08:26 PM

Amourdevin pointed out:

Amourdevin makes an important point. While taking drugs to control depression (and other life-altering diseases) is by no means ideal, it is a far better choice than attempting to cope with the problem alone.

My next younger brother has dealt with bipolar disorder for more than 25 years. None of the family, including my brother, was aware of the actual problem until he was diagnosed about a decade ago... we only knew that he could go from joy to depression -and back- with no warning at all.

Considering the fact that my brother is a genius by any standards you care to use, and has been described by Tim Berners-Lee (the "Father of the World Wide Web") and other luminaries as one of only perhaps 100 people in the world with such an incredible depth and breadth of knowledge of software systems, it was painful for his friends and family to see him race through bursts of mania-induced productivity - followed by extended periods (sometimes 6 months or more) of depression and self-isolation.

Medication helped for a while (6 or 7 years, as I remember), but eventually my brother decided that he preferred the "natural state" of cyclical mania and depression to the "managed state" his medications induced - mainly because he felt that his creatitive abilities had been muted by the drugs. He has been off the medications for several years now, and though he still suffers from occasional sudden mood swings, he credits the years of managing his disorder with drugs for his ability now to deal with his disease on his own terms.

Given the tremendous stress that disorders such as these can cause, and the emotional impact on the life of those who suffer from them (and the lives of those who love and care about them), there should NEVER be any stigma attached to the use of medications that can help the sufferer live a more satisfying, comfortable, and fulfilling life.

I bear living witness...
-ManX

what music in particular are we talking about, BM?