been there padre. sometime when i think everything's going alright.. this damn bug wants to turn it all down.

Depression.. perhaps a state of mind.. if we can be always happy.. turns out we can always be sad.

its no fun.

..

It's interesting to me that your dr. said that you are ok to go off your meds. going off meds for something like depression can be tricky because it's all about chemical balances, and removing the thing that is giving you that chemical balance means, not only could it put things back to being off balance, but going back on the same medication may not restore that chemical balance. This is information I have heard anecdotally from other people who have been on depression medication and gone off it.

As to work...I know from experience that stress from work can I have a big influence on one's personality. Perhaps you can compromise and just take some time off? Or maybe there is some way to make work less stressful.

Although I have never actually followed this saying or piece of advice, I feel like there is a lot of value in it: "You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others". As a mom, this goes against every natural instinct I have and it's just really never been the type of person I am anyway. Taking care of others always seemed easier. But you do have to take care of yourself in order to be able to give anything of value to another and Im only now realizing how important this is. Don't wait too long and get to a point of exhaustion and resentment. It's ok to take a break and it's ok to focus on your own well being. It will benefit everyone in the long run.

Praying for you Padre. When we don't have the answers, He does. Always has. Always will.

You've been doing great. Is it time to get back on some meds, at least for a little while until the darkness is pushed back?

Did you slowly reduce the dosage of the meds?

Most depression meds replace chemicals in the brain that are lacking, so when you come off, you have to be sure that the chemicals are being produced, otherwise you slip back.

Having suffered depression for many years too, I know that the only way to beat it is to take care of yourself.

You MUST have a good diet with all of your vitamins and minerals. Iron, Vitamin D are the biggest ones for me. You would be surprised how much lack of certain minerals and vitamins can really affect your energy and mood.

You MUST find something that makes you happy, a hobby, exercise, games night with the family, anything that you can focus and look forward to. You need down time.

And finally, you MUST have a goal in mind.

I really believe that depression can take hold when we dont have anything to work towards, whether thats changing jobs, getting paid for a job youre not currently being paid for, saving x amount of money, having a family trip. However, small it is, we all need something to work and focus on.

Most people have depression to some degree

I occasionally get upset. Down. Angry and even pissed. I would not consider that depression.

I'm sorry you're going through that. Maybe cut back your work a bit and spend more time on a new hobby or with family? Something that keeps your mind busy?

I fight depression with ignoring myself, I know it's weird I just straight up push it out of my head.. also I smoke lots of pot.

Fighting cancer for the last two years also, it's a pain in my literal ***ass

NOW I'm depressed....
Sorry Jebus-Zeus.

Over 370 million people worldwide suffer from depression.
Ill let the statistics speak for themselves.

It's a dark time of year. I realize this might sound dismissive, but have you tried making a point of getting enough sunlight and exercise?

Hang in there. This, too, shall pass.

I'm not sure how much spare time you have Padre but the fastest way to get negative thoughts out of your head is to volunteer to help someone else. I have a good feeling you could do this without the need of additional medications.

H

I tried killing myself many times Padre, it's useless, suicide man you never can get it right because your heart's not in it, same as mine.

The psychological condition known as depression doesn't exist.

Psychologists, whether they know it or not are lying, by telling you your depression is a psychological abnormality. A "mood disorder." "Chronic depression."

You sir, simply wake up every day and look around, and see how much life sucks and you get 'depressed.'

I believe that's normal. That should be normal.

I think if folks weren't so apathetic we'd all have "depression"

Life sucks. Psychologists just want you to think it's somehow unique to you.

Over 30% of the global population 'has depression'

Why can't we just admit that it's because life sucks? And most of the time life sucks, because of other people. So "depression" is really just realizing that life sucks - that it's full of dumb f*cks that only make it worse because they let their psyc docs talk them into thinking that accepting BULLSHIT is actually supposed to be normal.

Focus on what would make you happy and demand it. If you don't get it, be mad at other people. You're not broken. It's not normal to accept everyone's bullshit and excuses as your life. It's not. And so many of us have done it.

We're not mentally disordered at all. These psycho dicks are so wrapped up in their cognitive dissonance thinking being angry or sad about some total bullshit is somehow a mental disease.

The truth is more likely to be:
You're surrounded by a bunch of bullsh*t. People or circumstances are unfair. You feel the stress, strife and sadness of those people or circumstances being full of bullsh*t.

You don't have depression. You're just being ******fucked by life.

If there were a way to eliminate the bullsh*t - the abnormalities of your life they want you to make normal - you wouldn't be depressed I promise.

It's not some weird "mental disorder's" fault that you think your life sucks. Your life sucks, all our lives suck, and it's not a mental disorder friend, they made that ****shit up.

The fact is our lives suck. A made up mental disease didn't make that happen. This species made that happen. And then made up a mental disease and claim you have it. BULLSH*T!

Stop blaming your brain. Your brain is calling bullshit when it sees it. Your brain is fine. Blame the bullshit and the piece of ****shit PEOPLE that cause it.

This doesn't work for me. More stupid people taking from me what I'm only offering in the first place to try to make myself feel better?

Letting others take my help when I feel like I need help more makes me hate them even more.

I hear people saying this to people about depression and it just pisses me off. Maybe it works for everyone else but for me it just makes it worse LOL

I've never seen it work.

Asking someone who has had enough of doing stupid ****shit/putting up with bullshit, to do more stupid ****shit/put up with even more bullshit, in the hope that it makes them feel better, just doesn't even make sense really imo.

I'll be honest with you, I am open to being completely wrong here. But NEVER have I seen anyone take anti-depressants or anti-psychotics and have told me it fixed their bad feelings. NEVER NOT ONCE! And ALLLLLLLL my friends and everyone I know is suffering from "depression." (including me, life long)

Well we're all part of the same system of government. I know that for a fact. And while even psychologists have sat there and told me to my face this is all theory. Which would you rather bet on? The facts or the theories?

Sure the pills might make them feel better. But take them away and life still sucks. They'll get depressed again.

If you made it so their life didn't suck though, they wouldn't need a pill to make them feel better. Their life just wouldn't suck anymore and they wouldn't be as depressed.

If depression were real(it is real but I don't accept the standard definitions), then you could get depressed and murder someone and not be held accountable. Because you would actually literally not have been in control of yourself when you murdered someone.

If it's a real disorder of the brain then that should be to blame no?

But we don't look at it like that do we.

I think there's a very good reason for that.

I was lumping all mental disorders into one category. A brain malfunction that would leave the offender blameless if we really want to call it a physical defect.

I, however, wasn't born with depression. It happened because life sucks, people suck, and thus almost all of my experiences while I've been alive, have sucked.

That caused the depression. The pills never made me feel better, and even if they did you're right they're not a cure. They're glossing over the cause just to make you feel better and cope with having a shitty life.

At what point do we all stand up and just demand that a shitty life is not good enough? Maybe that's just not realistic to think possible.

It'd be different if it were like this for everyone, but it's not. And "mental disorders" are as much of an excuse for those who have them, as they are for those who would diagnose someone with them.

EXCUSES.

Can you sit there right now and say that you are any different from someone who has a better life? NO. You're not. Specialized training aside, you could become anything.

So, I've told you I think it's your experiences that caused you to feel like ****shit in the first place. What do you think?

Did you pop out and start breathing already being depressed?

Or did people do it to you? (intentional or not)

I dare you to answer honestly.

Saying depression is an illness is like saying your skinned knee is an illness because you fell off a bike.

Don't let them trick you!

Good point. And good plan. But if your house is infested with termites, will rebuilding the rooms they destroy over and over actually accomplish anything?

No, they'll just keep eating the new rooms and you'll never be rid of the cause.

Until something happens, which is sadly beyond your control or mine, until we actually change why we are depressed in the first place, there will be no hope of keeping that house in once piece.

Sometimes when houses are infested with termites, they destroy the house and rebuild it.

Something needs to be rebuilt. But it's not us my friend.

...I don't believe you did this to yourself.
And I don't believe you were born to exist with these feelings.

So if it's not you, what is it?

Shes right y know. Wih i had earnt this earlier.

You cant pour from an empty glass. Perhaps you could try woking only half the ime you do and see hw you feel?

Becuse if you burn out completed and lave 100% hen everyone would be worse than if you only did half the work?

My moto now is, dont live to work, work to live.

Its so nice that u care about those you work with.

But yo deserve to have time for yoursef too. In the end if you sacrific al of yourself then you will have nothing left to give to people.

Have u tried anything natural? Netual remedies like valarian root? That can be helpful for some people although i think it is mostly for anxiety and helping with sleep. Think its only for milkd anxety.

Aldo theres this other one i tried called ashwaganda ginseng.. oh dear i cant remember the full nae. Btut t is supposed to help wth mood. There are so many contributing factors with myself its hard to know what causes what to then say if it helps much or not. But i know it helps others.

Also i dont reliably take my supplements :/

My private Dr suggests that a lack of ATP can affect mental health because neurotransmitters need a molecle of ATP to work. ATP works as a co-neurotransmitter.

So without a molecule of ATP, dopamine and oxytocin and other feel good neurotransmitters cannot work.

Eating a Paleo ketogenic diet uses fat for energy and using a molecule of fat creates more molecules of ATP than a molecule of glucose produces.

But becoming pk adapted is tricky and people who try really need to know more detail and be careful and know what theyre doing.

If you google Dr Myhill depression lots of things will come up on her website. I find her stff to be interesting.