LETS ALL LAUGH AT PEOPLE WITH DEPRESSION!!

Princess Peach

Having children is such a fear of mine. When I'm down I can't take care of myself. What would happen if I had a baby to take care of too?

Only thing is its a few years off before I need to think about whether its something I want or not.

Glad you decided your ready Wattle and I wish you the best of luck. Only you know how you are feeling about this, and if it feels right and what you want it will be great for you

Stereomaniac

I believe that we will be able to look after children because we will be able to put their needs first. I have heard many parents say that they don't worry about themselves, because they do not have time to. What is a major source of depression for me is the fact that a love of mine terminated a pregnancy a few years ago. So now I am caught in.....what if.

Princess Peach

But I might be more susceptible to pre and post natal depression because of my history of illness?

I find it so odd that I worry about this when I really don't know where I stand on having children, but I do.

KerryConnor

I d love to see a change in how the medical profession deals with depression. Most GPs don't understand depression/anxiety etc and that it would be fab if there were 'GP's who specialised in depression alone.. working in a specilised 'depression/anxiety' practices who saw only people with depression etc and worked closely with dieticians, cbt, councilors, yoga, fitness instructors, lifestyle coachs etc etc..

Just feel it is such a long winding road for people with depression to find out what works for them with very little in the way of professional guidance

stupidusername

A GP is exactly that,a general practitioner - not specialising in any area.

KerryConnor

Yeah sorry I was aware of that when I was writing .. but I just mean a local doctor's practice not a consultant or physciatrist.. but a 'P' specialising in only depression shall we say.. 'DP's you could call them . Just an idea. I hate the scrambling around to various 'GP's trying to find one who has some idea about depression and an open mind and the interest to suggest things beyond medication

Datsit

Princess Peach
If you decide to have kids you'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about post natal depression, as my sister who has two great kids says....at least i knew how to deal with it. A supportive family goes a long way too. I take her kids when I can, as does my mam to give her a break.
Ironically, after my encounter with the pychiatrist I went on to never having kids! which of course is a sourse of depression in itself. :rolleyes:

nesf

Princess Peach wrote: »

But I might be more susceptible to pre and post natal depression because of my history of illness?

I find it so odd that I worry about this when I really don't know where I stand on having children, but I do.

Well, other people pitch in to help you during the real bad times and during the "normal lows" you just function like a robot and do all the tasks needed and then sit down somewhere and don't move while the kids are at school.

In my experience anyway.

metzengerstein

Great post dev.

I had a few years of very bad depression and anxiety myself,
it took me a while to actually realise myself what was going on with numerous
trips to the doctors so they could tell me its all in my head,(at this time anxiety and depression where looked upon this way).luckily a good friend pulled me aside one day and said look youre not you anymore and things youre doing not good,it was then i broke down and realised that i needed help,otherwise i would have gone to a very dark place.but from that point on i got help and i talked to my frends and family about it and to my surprise they where very willing to listen.also research on the net helped.

to this day i still get a some of both but i have learned to control it and know when its coming,and my brain now seems to automaticaly do something to counteract it.

i have had one or two people close to me that have had it who are not among us any more rip,i know its scary and hard to talk to someone,but it really is easy and it makes a world of diffrence,especially when you realise tha tthere are so many more just like you and they ca nconsole with you and understand.

Pacifist Pigeon

I don't want to sound like Tom Cruise here, but is medication actually necessary to cope with things like depression, social anxiety disorder or mild OCD? I've heard that there are some serious risks taking antidepressants, such as Prozac, and beta blockers, etc..

Can psychotherapy, meditation and group therapy be just as good as pharmacotherapy?

Morag

Princess Peach wrote: »

But I might be more susceptible to pre and post natal depression because of my history of illness?

I find it so odd that I worry about this when I really don't know where I stand on having children, but I do.

Talk to your dr, for some women it does mean that for other's it doesn't.

For me normal 'baby blues' did turn into post natal depression which turned into a massive depressive period in my life. For the sake of my own mental health it's not a good idea for me to have any more kids,this has been told to me by my dr and a shrink thankfully I am happy to quit at two. The second time around was so bad I was asked to consider not breastfeeding so I could be started on anti depressions soon after the birth.

Princess Peach

Pacifist Pigeon wrote: »

I don't want to sound like Tom Cruise here, but is medication actually necessary to cope with things like depression, social anxiety disorder or mild OCD? I've heard that there are some serious risks taking antidepressants, such as Prozac, and beta blockers, etc..

Can psychotherapy, meditation and group therapy be just as good as pharmacotherapy?

Totally depends on the person! I know in the past I tried to come off my medication and I couldn't. Hopefully can try again sometime.

I've had counselling too so I don't just depend on my tablets. Counselling alone may work very well for some, there's no clear answer to this one.

nesf

Pacifist Pigeon wrote: »

I don't want to sound like Tom Cruise here, but is medication actually necessary to cope with things like depression, social anxiety disorder or mild OCD? I've heard that there are some serious risks taking antidepressants, such as Prozac, and beta blockers, etc..

Can psychotherapy, meditation and group therapy be just as good as pharmacotherapy?

From my understanding of this: Sometimes people do fine with just talk therapy or whatever, sometimes they need medication to bring them up enough for talk therapy to work. If you'd ever met someone hospitalised with severe depression you'd know what I'm talking about. Remember, a severely depressed person can believe they deserve to be depressed and refuse to cooperate with talk therapy or do any meditation! Or be completely convinced that both don't work for them and that there's no point in trying them.

It really comes down to a case by case basis though.

CDfm

nesf wrote: »

It really comes down to a case by case basis though.

+1

& I read a chapter

gk5000

Pacifist Pigeon wrote: »

I don't want to sound like Tom Cruise here, but is medication actually necessary to cope with things like depression, social anxiety disorder or mild OCD? I've heard that there are some serious risks taking antidepressants, such as Prozac, and beta blockers, etc..

Can psychotherapy, meditation and group therapy be just as good as pharmacotherapy?

Different stokes for different folks.
Everybody is different, and the cause and cure can vary.
Councilling and non medication may work for some, and probably should be tried first, but for others it needs medication as perscribed by a doctor. And then several meds may need to be tried before finding the right one and the right dose. Many meds just alter the amount of seratonin running around, same as exercise or sunlight can for others.

My personal notion is that depression must have some evolutionary usefulness for it to have survived and to be so prevalent, and some people are born with a predisposition to it (chemically in the brain with less seratonin) or some people's childhood /teen years/events cause the balance to alter.

Passive Depressive

To be honest, most of this post is probably going to be rambling so if you can't be arsed reading an essay, I advise you to skip over it now.

I have been following this thread pretty much from the beginning and it has been an insightful read. There have been times that I wanted to contribute but something always held me back. I guess it's that this is an honest thread and even though the internet is anonymous, part of me doesn't want to be honest, even with strangers. It's much easier to bury things and pretend they don't matter, but really they do.

I have depression. It is something I suffer from and the last few years have been really tough. Mainly because I have tried to deal with it on my own. If I broke my leg, then all my friends would rally round and offer to take me to the hospital/do my weekly shop/anything to help me/make themselves feel useful. With depression, it's not only you who suffers, it's also your family and friends and unfortunately we are not at the stage where your family and friends know how to help you.

I don't need medication to treat my depression. There is a common misconception that if you are depressed, then it is all in your mind and drugs will cure you/make your life better. This is not always the case.

My depression is environmentional. I should note at this stage that I am not a psychologist and everything I say is an opinion and not a fact. I just want to get things off my chest so that they don't seem so bad and this sees the place to do it.

For the last fifteen years I have felt as if I am existing, rather than living. When I was a teenager, I thought that when I became an adult, life would work itself out. Turns out this doesn't happen. When I was a kid, I thought monsters were the scared things on the planet and they were scary things that only came out at night to haunt you.

As an adult in my 30's, I know that I have to make the most of life but I don't know how to. I want to have meaningful relationships and intellectually I know how to do it but in reality I fail.

I have massive trust and commitment issues and unlike a lot of people with depression, I know exactly why I can't function like a normal person. I was sexually abused by four different men when I was younger (two were family members, two were neighbours). One of the family members was a brother, the other was a cousin. Everyone knows about the brother (and it made for huge gossip :rolleyes:) but not even my mother knows about the cousin.

I wish I suffered from clinical depression where I could go and get medication to sort my brain out. Please note at this point that I am not trying to belittle anyone who takes medicine but I am at my withs end. I can't talk about it in my real life. My cousin now has a family and good life. There is no evidence that any abuse ever took place so reporting it would only bring a whole world of trouble on me. He is apparently a good upstanding member of the community and I am just someone with problems with alcohol.

My brother on the other hand is a different story. I haven't spoken to him in years and I doubt I ever will.

I have a very fractured relationship with my family. While on the one hand I love them, on the other, they were never very supportive and I can't be around them. My mother was an abusive alcoholic and while all her kids admit this, they also find it easier to support her than me. As one of my sister's said to me "I love you but I'm not saying anything as I don't want to be treated like you".

Right now I am very lonely and isolated. I try to make new friends and meet potential boyfriends. I know that I have a lot to offer but it kinda sucks that a social norm says that if you don't get on with your family, then the problem must be you.

I don't really know what I am saying. My life goes far beyond what I could condense into a post and I guess what I mean is that if you have depression and it's because of your situation, don't feel guilty. WALK AWAY. This could be applied to many situations but if the people around you are making you feel bad, then it's them, not you.

Ps If you have read to the end of this post then thank you. There was so much more I wanted to say but I couldn't type as fast as I think. All I would ask is that if there is someone in your real life who doesn't have much to do with their family, please don't judge them. There is probably a very good reason for it.

Millicent

Passive Depressive wrote: »

To be honest, most of this post is probably going to be rambling so if you can't be arsed reading an essay, I advise you to skip over it now.

I have been following this thread pretty much from the beginning and it has been an insightful read. There have been times that I wanted to contribute but something always held me back. I guess it's that this is an honest thread and even though the internet is anonymous, part of me doesn't want to be honest, even with strangers. It's much easier to bury things and pretend they don't matter, but really they do.

I have depression. It is something I suffer from and the last few years have been really tough. Mainly because I have tried to deal with it on my own. If I broke my leg, then all my friends would rally round and offer to take me to the hospital/do my weekly shop/anything to help me/make themselves feel useful. With depression, it's not only you who suffers, it's also your family and friends and unfortunately we are not at the stage where your family and friends know how to help you.

I don't need medication to treat my depression. There is a common misconception that if you are depressed, then it is all in your mind and drugs will cure you/make your life better. This is not always the case.

My depression is environmentional. I should note at this stage that I am not a psychologist and everything I say is an opinion and not a fact. I just want to get things off my chest so that they don't seem so bad and this sees the place to do it.

For the last fifteen years I have felt as if I am existing, rather than living. When I was a teenager, I thought that when I became an adult, life would work itself out. Turns out this doesn't happen. When I was a kid, I thought monsters were the scared things on the planet and they were scary things that only came out at night to haunt you.

As an adult in my 30's, I know that I have to make the most of life but I don't know how to. I want to have meaningful relationships and intellectually I know how to do it but in reality I fail.

I have massive trust and commitment issues and unlike a lot of people with depression, I know exactly why I can't function like a normal person. I was sexually abused by four different men when I was younger (two were family members, two were neighbours). One of the family members was a brother, the other was a cousin. Everyone knows about the brother (and it made for huge gossip :rolleyes:) but not even my mother knows about the cousin.

I wish I suffered from clinical depression where I could go and get medication to sort my brain out. Please note at this point that I am not trying to belittle anyone who takes medicine but I am at my withs end. I can't talk about it in my real life. My cousin now has a family and good life. There is no evidence that any abuse ever took place so reporting it would only bring a whole world of trouble on me. He is apparently a good upstanding member of the community and I am just someone with problems with alcohol.

My brother on the other hand is a different story. I haven't spoken to him in years and I doubt I ever will.

I have a very fractured relationship with my family. While on the one hand I love them, on the other, they were never very supportive and I can't be around them. My mother was an abusive alcoholic and while all her kids admit this, they also find it easier to support her than me. As one of my sister's said to me "I love you but I'm not saying anything as I don't want to be treated like you".

Right now I am very lonely and isolated. I try to make new friends and meet potential boyfriends. I know that I have a lot to offer but it kinda sucks that a social norm says that if you don't get on with your family, then the problem must be you.

I don't really know what I am saying. My life goes far beyond what I could condense into a post and I guess what I mean is that if you have depression and it's because of your situation, don't feel guilty. WALK AWAY. This could be applied to many situations but if the people around you are making you feel bad, then it's them, not you.

Ps If you have read to the end of this post then thank you. There was so much more I wanted to say but I couldn't type as fast as I think. All I would ask is that if there is someone in your real life who doesn't have much to do with their family, please don't judge them. There is probably a very good reason for it.

Brilliant post and well said. I would say my depression was environmental too.

And anyone who thinks that if you have difficulty relating/having a relationship with your family then the problem must be you is talking rubbish. Just because we have a biological link to our family, doesn't mean we're in any way similar besides a few genetic traits. You're a person with your own traits, strengths, likes, weaknesses, foibles and character. Anyone who doesn't understand that and sees you simply as an extension of people you happen to be related to, lacks wisdom and insight and is sorely misguided.

Have you sought counselling for the abuse? That's a horrible thing to carry around on your shoulders and not your burden to bear. You deserve to get out from under the shadow of it, to be yourself separate of it.

If it means anything at all, you have my understanding, sympathy and empathy. If you would ever like to talk, send me a PM.

Thanks again for posting.

jaffacakesyum

Going through a really bad patch now If I can't deal with not being with someone I've only been seeing for a few months, I can't imagine what I'd be like after a break up from a serious relationship....not that I'll ever get one but I dunno...maybe I'm just not stable enough to be with someone.


Does anyone know can you make an appointment to see a Psychologist or do you need a GP referral?

nesf

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Does anyone know can you make an appointment to see a Psychologist or do you need a GP referral?

You need a GP referral for public (if I recall correctly), for private you can refer yourself.

jaffacakesyum

nesf wrote: »

You need a GP referral for public (if I recall correctly), for private you can refer yourself.

Thanks. Would waiting lists be long for public psychology services?

nesf

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Thanks. Would waiting lists be long for public psychology services?

Varies county to county. Best off asking here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=604

Someone there might be able to give you a good estimate for your area.

roseybear

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Thanks. Would waiting lists be long for public psychology services?

im in the dublin 7 area and was told 8-10 weeks. got a phonecall a week after the referral was made just to confirm i was interested in the service and was told they'd call again in about 6 weeks to arrange an appointment

woodoo

Just shows that anyone can suffer:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/brad-pitt-goes-public-on-depression-battle-16109606.html

CDfm

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Thanks. Would waiting lists be long for public psychology services?

I went to a GP my friend found who has a reputation for dealing with depression. She made the arrangements and it was her I spoke to about my progress.

For me I was not the best judge in how I was doing and she was.

midlandsmissus

Passive Depressive wrote: »

To be honest, most of this post is probably going to be rambling so if you can't be arsed reading an essay, I advise you to skip over it now.

I have been following this thread pretty much from the beginning and it has been an insightful read. There have been times that I wanted to contribute but something always held me back. I guess it's that this is an honest thread and even though the internet is anonymous, part of me doesn't want to be honest, even with strangers. It's much easier to bury things and pretend they don't matter, but really they do.

I have depression. It is something I suffer from and the last few years have been really tough. Mainly because I have tried to deal with it on my own. If I broke my leg, then all my friends would rally round and offer to take me to the hospital/do my weekly shop/anything to help me/make themselves feel useful. With depression, it's not only you who suffers, it's also your family and friends and unfortunately we are not at the stage where your family and friends know how to help you.

I don't need medication to treat my depression. There is a common misconception that if you are depressed, then it is all in your mind and drugs will cure you/make your life better. This is not always the case.

My depression is environmentional. I should note at this stage that I am not a psychologist and everything I say is an opinion and not a fact. I just want to get things off my chest so that they don't seem so bad and this sees the place to do it.

For the last fifteen years I have felt as if I am existing, rather than living. When I was a teenager, I thought that when I became an adult, life would work itself out. Turns out this doesn't happen. When I was a kid, I thought monsters were the scared things on the planet and they were scary things that only came out at night to haunt you.

As an adult in my 30's, I know that I have to make the most of life but I don't know how to. I want to have meaningful relationships and intellectually I know how to do it but in reality I fail.

I have massive trust and commitment issues and unlike a lot of people with depression, I know exactly why I can't function like a normal person. I was sexually abused by four different men when I was younger (two were family members, two were neighbours). One of the family members was a brother, the other was a cousin. Everyone knows about the brother (and it made for huge gossip :rolleyes:) but not even my mother knows about the cousin.

I wish I suffered from clinical depression where I could go and get medication to sort my brain out. Please note at this point that I am not trying to belittle anyone who takes medicine but I am at my withs end. I can't talk about it in my real life. My cousin now has a family and good life. There is no evidence that any abuse ever took place so reporting it would only bring a whole world of trouble on me. He is apparently a good upstanding member of the community and I am just someone with problems with alcohol.

My brother on the other hand is a different story. I haven't spoken to him in years and I doubt I ever will.

I have a very fractured relationship with my family. While on the one hand I love them, on the other, they were never very supportive and I can't be around them. My mother was an abusive alcoholic and while all her kids admit this, they also find it easier to support her than me. As one of my sister's said to me "I love you but I'm not saying anything as I don't want to be treated like you".

Right now I am very lonely and isolated. I try to make new friends and meet potential boyfriends. I know that I have a lot to offer but it kinda sucks that a social norm says that if you don't get on with your family, then the problem must be you.

I don't really know what I am saying. My life goes far beyond what I could condense into a post and I guess what I mean is that if you have depression and it's because of your situation, don't feel guilty. WALK AWAY. This could be applied to many situations but if the people around you are making you feel bad, then it's them, not you.

Ps If you have read to the end of this post then thank you. There was so much more I wanted to say but I couldn't type as fast as I think. All I would ask is that if there is someone in your real life who doesn't have much to do with their family, please don't judge them. There is probably a very good reason for it.

Hi hun, I also have 'depression' due to life circumstances. I put inverted commas round depression because I debate with myself is it an ilness I have, or is it a normal reaction to extreme life circumstances? Surely nobody would go through really awful stuff without becoming depressed. As I said to my doctor: no amount of medication or counselling can change what happened. And that's what causes my constant awful depression, the thoughts going round and round my head, that I just cant accept what happened. Having said all that I have started a new antidepressant and it has taken the edge off things. I wonder how many people suffering from depression have had external environmental reasons? Is it an illness or is it a response to extreme trauma? Note the higher prevalence now during the recession. Probably both. More research needs to be done into it. It's great that it's being talked about.

Millicent

midlandsmissus wrote: »

Hi hun, I also have 'depression' due to life circumstances. I put inverted commas round depression because I debate with myself is it an ilness I have, or is it a normal reaction to extreme life circumstances? Surely nobody would go through really awful stuff without becoming depressed. As I said to my doctor: no amount of medication or counselling can change what happened. And that's what causes my constant awful depression, the thoughts going round and round my head, that I just cant accept what happened. Having said all that I have started a new antidepressant and it has taken the edge off things. I wonder how many people suffering from depression have had external environmental reasons? Is it an illness or is it a response to extreme trauma? Note the higher prevalence now during the recession. Probably both. More research needs to be done into it. It's great that it's being talked about.

It can't change what's happened, but it can change how you react, deal and cope with it. Never think that your past will follow you around forever. As I said, my depression would have been "environmental" as well, but it changed my thought processes and reasoning enough that I would class it as an illness. However, I attacked the illness and recovered from it.

Recently, a few things have happened that, only this time last year, would have had my lying in bed or tired and listless and disinterested for days, even weeks or months. However, because I learned how to process my past in a new way, it doesn't lurk around the corner any more waiting to bite me in the ass when I have a bad few days or weeks.

I've learned to stop thinking of myself as a victim or even as a survivor of my past. I am myself and am not defined by crappy things that I had no tools to deal with when younger.

ETA: My turning point came when I forced myself to stop rehashing the past, together with counselling, when I decided to be practical about it. "That stuff happened--now what can I do to deal with/fix it".

Don't mean to make it sound like it was easy or anything (it was hell to sort through) but I didn't want my past to keep defining who I am today and in the future, if that makes sense?

Queen-Mise

Princess Peach wrote: »

Having children is such a fear of mine. When I'm down I can't take care of myself. What would happen if I had a baby to take care of too?

Only thing is its a few years off before I need to think about whether its something I want or not.

No rose-tinted glasses here. Children and depression is an fffing nightmare. I was lucky the youngest was about 3 nearly 4 when I went very downhill. Kids ready in the morning for school at 9am - and it would physically impossible for me to get out of the bed, they could get to school anywhere from 9am to 1pm. It was a nightmare.

Kids need attention (just normal stuff) - I found it really hard coping with depression with kids. Life went on around me - husband and kids living their lives with me in the corner or in the bed - and might speak or eat ever so often.

With my depression different things are worse are different times - a bit weird. My sleeping comes and goes (at the moment I have insomnia - haven't slept for three nights now) and then at other times, I could sleep 17/18 hours in a day. For one stage I wasn't able to drive - I could nearly nod off in the car from house to school for example. I was unable essentially to leave the house.


On pregnancy and depression - I decided after my last child that I wasn't having any more kids, so it physically not possible now. But after the depression I have had in the past five years - there isn't an ice-cubes chance in hell of me even considering having a baby. I would not come out of the process severely scarred - being back on psyche units again or even come out of it alive as a worst case scenario (not being melodramatic there - when my mood goes very low - I have to be very careful of urges, thoughts etc).

The last time I was in a psyche ward - there was a woman there, early 30s, I had met here a few times over the past few years. Her range of depression is: when she is up, semi-functioning, and when down - constant repeated hospitalisations. The docs and her were still trying to find a balance in her meds. Anyway the girl was married, about five years, and had begun to accept that she would not be able to have a baby - her illness was too uncontrollable & hence behaviour. She was having a really hard time of it.


Anyway my endnote on depression - I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

nesf

Queen-Mise wrote: »

No rose-tinted glasses here. Children and depression is an fffing nightmare. I was lucky the youngest was about 3 nearly 4 when I went very downhill. Kids ready in the morning for school at 9am - and it would physically impossible for me to get out of the bed, they could get to school anywhere from 9am to 1pm. It was a nightmare.

Kids need attention (just normal stuff) - I found it really hard coping with depression with kids. Life went on around me - husband and kids living their lives with me in the corner or in the bed - and might speak or eat ever so often.

With my depression different things are worse are different times - a bit weird. My sleeping comes and goes (at the moment I have insomnia - haven't slept for three nights now) and then at other times, I could sleep 17/18 hours in a day. For one stage I wasn't able to drive - I could nearly nod off in the car from house to school for example. I was unable essentially to leave the house.


On pregnancy and depression - I decided after my last child that I wasn't having any more kids, so it physically not possible now. But after the depression I have had in the past five years - there isn't an ice-cubes chance in hell of me even considering having a baby. I would not come out of the process severely scarred - being back on psyche units again or even come out of it alive as a worst case scenario (not being melodramatic there - when my mood goes very low - I have to be very careful of urges, thoughts etc).

The last time I was in a psyche ward - there was a woman there, early 30s, I had met here a few times over the past few years. Her range of depression is: when she is up, semi-functioning, and when down - constant repeated hospitalisations. The docs and her were still trying to find a balance in her meds. Anyway the girl was married, about five years, and had begun to accept that she would not be able to have a baby - her illness was too uncontrollable & hence behaviour. She was having a really hard time of it.


Anyway my endnote on depression - I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

It depends on your support network though. I mean we get through it ok because we've very supportive grandparents on both sides that pitch in if I'm in hospital or not doing too well etc (grandmother with house keys = kids up in the morning for school). Same again with friends offering to babysit if needed and so on.

It's obviously not ideal but it is doable if the support is there.

CDfm

Millicent wrote: »

It can't change what's happened, but it can change how you react, deal and cope with it. Never think that your past will follow you around forever. As I said, my depression would have been "environmental" as well, but it changed my thought processes and reasoning enough that I would class it as an illness. However, I attacked the illness and recovered from it.

Recently, a few things have happened that, only this time last year, would have had my lying in bed or tired and listless and disinterested for days, even weeks or months. However, because I learned how to process my past in a new way, it doesn't lurk around the corner any more waiting to bite me in the ass when I have a bad few days or weeks.

I've learned to stop thinking of myself as a victim or even as a survivor of my past. I am myself and am not defined by crappy things that I had no tools to deal with when younger.

ETA: My turning point came when I forced myself to stop rehashing the past, together with counselling, when I decided to be practical about it. "That stuff happened--now what can I do to deal with/fix it".

Don't mean to make it sound like it was easy or anything (it was hell to sort through) but I didn't want my past to keep defining who I am today and in the future, if that makes sense?

It makes perfect sense .

SerialComplaint

roast wrote: »

After being out of work for a week because of it, I was forced to tell the HR lady that I suffered from Depression.
It was probably the worst move I've ever made in my career. Now, I just feel like they're walking on eggshells around me. They clearly think I'm crazy.

Try http://youtu.be/m3MT59zc6Ms to break the ice with them or for a more practical view http://youtu.be/KAKhmxNeWvw

Remember that you have a legal right NOT to be discriminated against as a result of your illness.