How Do You Know if You're Depressed?
Dini responded to an SHM Forum discussion about recognizing the signs of depression. He said:
Hi Jessica,
I too would like to welcome you to this site. And am piping in here because in reading this thread I think the fact that you came here looking for help/support/advice may have gotten a bit lost in the "debate."
THIS THREAD IS YOURS. IT IS ABOUT YOU. It is about you seeking help here and we doing the best we can to provide help and support. Please don't be sidetracked by the "debate". Sometimes people, myself included, I'm no saint, have strong points of view about something and express them, which is fine. BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS IS YOUR "HOME" – THIS "PLACE" you have created when you created this thread and asked for help is YOURS.
As far as your question goes, the "definition" given above is that of clinical (severe and ongoing) depression and accurate; there are also milder forms (dysthymia, or a sort of melancholy, is a milder form). As far as the debate over meds goes, let's just say I fall in the middle and am a "moderate" – I believe I have been helped tremendously by meds, but also agree that one must pay attention, ASK QUESTIONS of your doctor – and if your doctor doesn't like being questioned and you have the ability, find another doctor – if you have the option DO NOT stick around one who doesn't listen to you. I also think that you can't have it both ways, as far as certain statements about laziness made above go, but will leave that alone except to say to you Jessica, just in case those statements were confusing to you and you misread them, that DEPRESSION IS NOT LAZINESS. That is a common misperception people have, and I hope you realize that depression is not laziness at all; somebody who is not at all depressed can be the laziest person on the planet, and the most active people around can become lethargic with depression, it's one of the symptoms of the disease.
I have experienced both clinical and situational depression and they are different animals, as Annette has pointed out. I think the best advice here is that which Joanne has given you: keep an open mind, be willing to try different things, if they do work great, and if they don't work say so immediately and try something else. I would include meds and everything else in that "try different things." And those different things can include more than one thing at one time. Among the non-med things that do assist with depression in my experience are the simple things like exercise, taking a walk, talking to a friend or family member, trying to stay active and trying to continue to engage in those activities you always enjoyed (even when you don't feel like it, which you often don't when you are depressed), simply getting outdoors. Sunlight itself is a very positive "medication" for depression.
Someone once described depression to me as a disease of "amnesia" – when you are in the middle of it you forget you ever felt better before, and you forget what feeling better feels like and you feel that you will never feel better again. I have found that to be true. Sometimes one has to remind oneself that those are the "voices" of depression, and not the voices of truth.
I hope you are doing OK and I hope you have not been put off by the philosophical debate; please check in and let us know how you are doing and if any of this has been helpful to you and how we might be or continue to be helpful to you.
THIS THREAD IS ABOUT YOU. IT IS YOURS. YOU CREATED IT AND YOU OWN IT. Please use it for yourself. I would really like to know how you are doing, what you are doing, and how we might help you and be supportive.
Take care Jessica, and again welcome. And please I truly hope you check in and let us know how you are doing and use us in any way that works for you as support. Though there may have been a little debating going on, I know that each person in YOUR thread chimed in because they wanted to help and provide support to you. I hope you know that too.
Please allow us the chance to continue to do that for you, in any way you want.
Be well Jessica, again, welcome, and I hope we hear from you very soon.
Spread the Word!
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