Depression

nobody's prefect_sl said:

Now now, no reason to mangle a perfectly good pun. Also, I've booked a time with a pretty good therapist for Monday. Fucking tired of living this way.

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Good on you for doing something about it. Keep us updated on how its going

You probably ought to see your physician to rule out any medical causes and/or get started on some medicine. I'd throw the kitchen sink at you if you came into my office.

Vanderhoof_sl said:

You probably ought to see your physician to rule out any medical causes and/or get started on some medicine. I'd throw the kitchen sink at you if you came into my office.

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rp. garlic clove x 3 - 1 1 1.

He's good to go for brain picking. Have at it.

Meh I'm having a relapse. Not really sure how to get out of it and it's making me want to quit my job.

Uncle died today from complications after chemo, was in remission but got pneumonia.

Fuck cancer.

Just found this thread today and I am going to have to start reading through it. I am pretty sure I am suffering from depression. At least enough to research on the internet and check out symptoms, etc. They all seem to match up. General malaise, not happy with anything really, negative thoughts most of the time, escapist behavior (hello wow), etc.

It started around 3 months ago before the holidays. Basically a general feeling of unhappiness. What other folks are posting is...reassuring? Mainly just that I am experiencing similar things.

I was doing some light reading and one of the items mentioned was vitamin D playing a role in helping mood. I used to supplement vitamin D along with a few other vitamins daily. When I traced the timeline, around 3 months ago was when I fell off the vitamin taking wagon. I am trying to get myself back in that habit again.

The biggest problem is the lack of motivation to do anything. That is going to be the toughest cycle to break. Wake up, go to work, play wow, go to bed. That is pretty much the story of my life right now. It is a downward spiral from there as I feel like a complete dunce for not doing anything interesting with my life.

I am working up the will to start a physical hobby at a local gym. If I can make myself go through with it for a month or two it will hopefully help combat the depression and then just make life normal again. Here is to hoping.

It sounds like you are missing social connection. Do you see friends, have a wife/gf, or spend time with other loved ones. MMOs are a poor substitute for real social connection, and we need that in our lives just as much as vitamins or exercise.

Also, see a therapist. It's something you schedule, which means you don't have to rely on motivation which is the acheles heel of depression. And its something that may interrupt the cycle

Dabamf_sl said:

MMOs are a poor substitute for real social connection, and we need that in our lives just as much as vitamins or exercise.

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I agree that physical and mental health are intertwined anatomically and functionally. AD's and counseling go hand in hand for effective treatment of depression. I'm curious how psychs quantify this though. The more we research human health, physically and mentally, the more we realize the underlying mechanisms are biochemical and commissural in nature. What is it a psych thinks he does, physiologically, to alleviate mental health problems? I understand the concept of coping mechanisms and can easily couple it with learned behavior. This does not explain the underlying physiological mechanisms. What is it a psych imagines he compensates or makes a difference by in, say, irreversible neurological damage to the CNS?

Dabamf_sl said:

It sounds like you are missing social connection.

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I hadn't considered this. I am definitely an introvert, so I don't talk much in any social interaction, which can basically be like being alone as you just end up being on the sidelines. I am married, but it is winter and we don't go out much. I think one of the primary problems is that, good or bad, when I play wow, or any game really,that is one of the only things that clears my mind.

I will have to catch up with my friends. I used to play trivia weekly at a bar and that was a good time. The gym would end up being a combat sport so I figure I would make some friends there. Not sure if they would be my speed. Not sure how much a 33 year old IT nerd would connect with today's youth.

Just walk in there and call everyone Fresh.

Also, find some new hobbies/goals. Maybe WOW clears your mind because it gives you a task to complete/achieve. I know it does for me.

Izo_sl said:

I agree that physical and mental health are intertwined anatomically and functionally. AD's and counseling go hand in hand for effective treatment of depression. I'm curious how psychs quantify this though. The more we research human health, physically and mentally, the more we realize the underlying mechanisms are biochemical and commissural in nature. What is it a psych thinks he does, physiologically, to alleviate mental health problems? I understand the concept of coping mechanisms and can easily couple it with learned behavior. This does not explain the underlying physiological mechanisms. What is it a psych imagines he compensates or makes a difference by in, say, irreversible neurological damage to the CNS?

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Those are really good questions, and I'll answer in two ways. First, we know that psychological interventions work, and in many cases have long term benefits equal to or exceeding medication (and in other cases are inferior to medicine). Since all behavior must necessarily come from the brain, if behavior or thoughts are modified, the brain necessarily is also.

As to the question of how it all happens, that's still a pretty new area of research and I'm no way qualified to represent it. However, can give a pretty basic example of pretty simple rational. Skydiving, an environmental event, produces a rush of dopamine in the brain. We also know that many drugs act directly on the dopamine system. And long term drug use has been proven to cause permanent functional changes in the brain, changes which are visible via MRI and other imaging. That's a pretty simple run down and an actual researcher in that realm could give a much better explaination, but the gist is that the mechanism exists.

As for "irreversible neurological damage", no, psychological interventions are not claimed to heal brain damage. If youre referring to the fact that the brains of chronic depressive patients look different than those of non depressed people, there are 2 things to remember: (1)it says nothing of the cause (the brain could have degenerated and caused depression, or long term depression due to environmental factors could have changed the brain itself over time), and (2)over time, psychological interventions may be able to partially or fully reverse that change

The biological perspective has gained lots of ground recently, and for good reason. But no longer is it an "either or" picture between the environmental folks and the biological folks. Everyone now recognizes that both contribute substantially to who we are and what we become (and the environmental factors must necessarily act through the biological)

In psychiatry, we currently use the biopsychosocial model to understand mental illness.

Vanderhoof_sl said:

In psychiatry, we currently use the biopsychosocial model to understand mental illness.

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It's taught in med school here too.

Trollface_sl said:

i keep getting flash back to my past and how i fucked up my entire life since my childhood.

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I think that's normal. No point in wasting time or energy worrying about it IMHO. Live in the present, Trollface

Double post, meh.

Trollface_sl said:

i keep getting flash back to my past and how i fucked up my entire life since my childhood.

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I am not sure of your current situation, but I do what Izo says. The choices you made in the past, good or bad, made you the person you are today. If you made different choices, you would be a different person, and may not have some of the things in your life you enjoy today.

For instance, my parents went through a pretty bad divorce around the time I went to college. I escaped via video games and such and was put on academic probation. I ended up dropping out. All in all, a fairly bad call on my part for that part of my life. However, because I did that, I found my current friend group / best man / wife through the two year college I went through. I don't get down on my past choices as I wouldn't trade my friends / wife for anything and that makes it worth it.