Depression (the disease, not the economy)

[libramunoz]

Doc, you said that there is a time and place for talking about the pink elephant in the room. Well, since Hot Damn brought it to the place, I just found that it was the time.
Having depression is a bitch if someone hasn't had it and if you have it or are suffering from it, only you and those that have it know what you're talking about.
When you find yourself having bad days, weeks, months, and eventually years, you begin to experience SERIOUS bouts of insomnia, have SEVERE weight gain/loss, begin to THINK, PLAN, DAYDREAM about suicide, and FEEL completely hopeless, HELL talking about it with ANYONE who is experiencing the same thing as you is the BEGINNING of a break for you!
You don't begin to feel like you are truly in a room filled with people screaming at the top of your lungs, yet you seem, feel, think, and believe that you are invisible. Having been there, right after my Grandfather died, in college, after one of my aunts died, having an uncle die, having my mom in the hospital, having another grandparent die, and losing a job or 2, hell it was amazing that I didn't jump, throw, put the bullet in the gun, etc during those times in my life. THAT'S what DEPRESSION does to you! If you can have someone begin to talk about it, then they tell you what they did to help them, that's how you begin to get the help for yourself that you need.
Yes, sometimes, you need someone to pull you aside and say, "hey (fill in the name) you ain't looking, thinking, acting right. What's wrong?" That may be a person who has been there before and KNOWS what you are going through and can help to guide you along with path of getting yourself help.
I wish that after my Grandfather had died, I would have gotten professional help at that time. My help came from God one dreadful day. Yes, when my thoughts lead my down a crazy ass path. But in the time and place, it's about being able to say, hey this is what happened to me, and before you get there, this is what I think that you should do because it may/might begin to help you.
It's just like when people go to see a psychologist, psychiatrist (?), social worker, therapist, they go unwillingly at first because someone noticed something was wrong with them. They go because someone helped in getting them there.
People might think that I'm embarrassed about what my depression has lead me to think, no I'm not. Because if someone reading this can say, hey, I'm feeling/I've felt that way, and they can see that they can get the help for themselves, then I am all for telling my story.
If you can come to a board and talk about everything else under the sun, then why can't depression be a part of that discussion as well.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Originally Posted by libramunoz

... HELL talking about it with ANYONE who is experiencing the same thing as you is the BEGINNING of a break for you!

...If you can have someone begin to talk about it, then they tell you what they did to help them, that's how you begin to get the help for yourself that you need.

...Because if someone reading this can say, hey, I'm feeling/I've felt that way, and they can see that they can get the help for themselves, then I am all for telling my story.

If you can come to a board and talk about everything else under the sun, then why can't depression be a part of that discussion as well.

Thank you so much for knowing what I was trying to do (and not making me feel like a little girl who doesn't understand about posting TMI on the innernets.)

Seriously, I want to marry you.

[libramunoz]

Originally Posted by HotDamnImAPhiMu

Thank you so much for knowing what I was trying to do (and not making me feel like a little girl who doesn't understand about posting TMI on the innernets.)

Hot Damn, I understand what you are trying to do and I am all for it. It helps when people have been there and know what you're going through.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by libramunoz

Doc, you said that there is a time and place for talking about the pink elephant in the room.

You called it a pink elephant in the room. I did not.

I said there's a time and place.

You all want this to be the time and place, that's on you. The rest of us will read and comment as we see fit.

[libramunoz]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

You called it a pink elephant in the room. I did not.

I said there's a time and place.

You all want this to be the time and place, that's on you. The rest of us will read and comment as we see fit.

Doc, it is the pink elephant.
Depression is something that most people aren't comfortable in talking about. But if someone presents it and wants to have an open discussion about it, then cool. If it's something that I know about because I've been there and am willing to discuss it, then that's cool.
This is the time and place. I'm not the only one whose been there, knows that, and have read the books about it.
Depression can be found everywhere that a person chooses to look. You could have a co-worker, child, parent, friend sitting there right next to you and by reading what others have said, begin to notice some of the same symptoms, and think to yourself, SO THAT'S what they were talking about. From there you can begin to TRY and help the person because, hey, let's be honest, you know if someone that you love "ain't acting right." You know if someone is bullshitting or geuninely talking out the side of their ass and beginning to talk nutty and KNOW that SOMETHING isn't right with that person. Sometimes, when talking about depression and knowing a person, you can be the ONE person that can help them get the help that they need.
If you don't know what depression is or what the EXACT symptoms are, look up or look in the DSM-IV TR and it will tell you exactly what it is.