LETS ALL LAUGH AT PEOPLE WITH DEPRESSION!!

lighthouse

KyussBishop wrote: »

It's good that you've achieved success in recovery, it's just the hyperventilation with holotropic stuff is a known potential danger; perhaps the treatment is helpful (though it could do with scientific study backing it), it just seems important to disclaimerize the potential danger, just so people have fair warning.

I'm curious where you have got that information about it being dangerous and feel ther need to tell others, yet haven't tried it. I have done numerous workshops and on the odd occasion someone (who has never done it before) will ask if it's dangerous and they are always assured by the facilitators that it is not and I have NEVER seen anyone have a bad experience like what you are talking about.
There are certain people that it is not suitable for but everyone is required to fill out a medical form prior to a workshop. From the HB website :
"Because this workshop can promote strong physical and emotional release, it is not advised for
persons with a history of cardiovascular disease, including angina or heart attack, high blood
pressure, glaucoma, retinal detachment, osteoporosis, significant recent physical injuries or surgery."

RossFixxxed

A few points worth reiterating:

1) Depression will tell you there's no point going for help. Nothing will work for you etc. That is all false and a part of the illness. There IS help and many do get better.

2) There are free mental health services. John of Gods run Cluain Mhuire in Dublin (for example) and everything is free, even medication where relevant.

3) Medications CAN work but are only ONE of many, many tools that can be used. Usually a multi faceted approach is best. You can discuss these options, keeping in mind these are professionals that do this daily.

4) Diagnosing yourself on the Internet is a HUGE mistake. I tried it a few days ago out of curiosity and I am: A psychopath (nope), autistic (definite nope), and bi polar, and PTSD and it goes on. A medical site diagonsed me with 'lactation issues and milk duct blockage' which is weird for a man (and no I'm not lactating).


Ultimately my point is: DEPRESSION LIES TO YOU and you can end up lying to yourself. YOUR CASE IS NOT HOPELESS. It is not different from everyone else. You just feel that way. You won't believe me, you will find some cognative dissonance reason to show me how I'm wrong. You will only see this as true once the fog begins to clear.

If you don't trust me, find someone who has been through this (there are LOADS) and listen to them, listen to the boardsies here, listen to the professionals who do this all the time.

OR just go do it anyway. What have you got to lose? Sitting around depressed isn't working is it?

Please, please remember there is always help and support. You are not hopeless, nor are you alone in this. Nobody suffers alone.

Just as an aside, if you ever tried to quit smoking you get to see the kind of ways you lie to yourself to justify going back on it. It's analogous to the way depression starts to trick you. It is an insidious bastard of a disease and I hope anyone suffering goes and cuts it out of their life like the tumour it is.

Drumpot

DeVore wrote: »

I had a great xmas and a horrible New Year. No reason, just started feeling down and decided I was "past that" and would "walk it off" so instead of facing it and dealing with it, I said "nope, not doing that" and then remembered you cant just do that. You need to process how you are feeling even if its "irrational".

So, the first serious "set back" in a long time but in truth it wasnt a set back, it was actually pretty good for clarifying how to handle my head in those situations and I wont make that mistake again. (I'll make other, new and wonderful mistakes )

New Year was just horrible and kinda lonely even though I had people around. Just had that nasty "everything is grey and it'll stay grey for the rest of your life" feeling. Luckily I grabbed a really good friend and more or less forced myself to explain to him I was feeling awful and after a good chat and a sniffle, I suddenly felt like I was on the mend. It takes me a day or two to spin back up but I know when I'm heading towards the light.

So, 2013 ... gonna be a great year for us all I hope

Ha, I sort of had the opposite christmas. . I didnt enjoy christmas at all and it wasnt until after New years day could I relax and enjoy the break (took a few extra days off ). .

Im going back to my CBT next week and will be meeting with my GP afterwards to see how I am progressing but its really been a topsey turvey month (to say the least). . Im not overly excited about some side effects of my meds and not sure exactly how much they are helping so expect to review that. . I think that its important for me to try and be active in my involvement in diagnosis and therapy (including what meds to take and when to try them).

Also have noticed personal changes and sporadic moments of euphoria followed by feelings of "normality" (best word I can think of to describe what I think it is!) and then the inevitable feeling of anxiety, lack of self worth and just feeling all round down . .

Im posting here as much as a diary for myself as I am for others who follow this thread to show that its not necessarily about finding an all conquering solution (not saying its impossible, perhaps I will find it), but its about persevering and just trying to pick yourself up and deal with each day at a time. I have to stop myself thinking about how everything looks so bad (when I am feeling bad) and that there is nothing bright on the horizon. . But I remind myself of the things I have learned to truely enjoy in the last few weeks (walking my dogs listening to a specific podcast that is enlightening, playing with my children, connecting more with my wife in a social manner etc). .

Seeing Devore in the likes of the video posted on the previous page reminds me of strong people like him who are a great example to us all and oddly enough the post of Devores that I have quoted (above) here gives me hope that I am doing something right and that feeling down even happens to strong people who are directly taking on this illness.

One thing I am trying to teach myself is to give myself time to work on my mental health and to commit my time to it. This doesnt just involve reading a book, listening to advice or watching a video/clip, it involves me trying to give myself time to digest the information in whatever way I feel is best. It might be by doing something I enjoy after reading a bit or going for a walk to think about what I might learn from a specific piece of information. I dont do it that regularly to be honest but i am trying to commit to my mental health and I dont believe its just a case of talking about it (which is a vital start), but its also about allowing yourself time to ingest the new things you are trying to learn.

KyussBishop

lighthouse wrote: »

I'm curious where you have got that information about it being dangerous and feel ther need to tell others, yet haven't tried it. I have done numerous workshops and on the odd occasion someone (who has never done it before) will ask if it's dangerous and they are always assured by the facilitators that it is not and I have NEVER seen anyone have a bad experience like what you are talking about.
There are certain people that it is not suitable for but everyone is required to fill out a medical form prior to a workshop. From the HB website :
"Because this workshop can promote strong physical and emotional release, it is not advised for
persons with a history of cardiovascular disease, including angina or heart attack, high blood
pressure, glaucoma, retinal detachment, osteoporosis, significant recent physical injuries or surgery."

I'm skeptical of it from reading up on it online; the hyperventilation involved can cause seizures in some people susceptible to them, and potentially expose other underlying health problems, and the actual experience of holotropic stuff can retraumatize some patients that e.g. experienced PTSD, and other similar problems from susceptible people.

The qualifications of people running this stuff, do not seem to be medically backed either; there is no standardization.

That said, I think it can still be useful and beneficial for some people, but it needs better research and scientific backing, practiced by people with proper regulated medical qualifications.

RossFixxxed

KyussBishop wrote: »

I'm skeptical of it from reading up on it online; the hyperventilation involved can cause seizures in some people susceptible to them, and potentially expose other underlying health problems, and the actual experience of holotropic stuff can retraumatize some patients that e.g. experienced PTSD, and other similar problems from susceptible people.

The qualifications of people running this stuff, do not seem to be medically backed either; there is no standardization.

That said, I think it can still be useful and beneficial for some people, but it needs better research and scientific backing, practiced by people with proper regulated medical qualifications.

This is NOT medical advice from me (I'm not a medical professional), but it has to be said (trust me) PTSD is incredibly serious and the mechanism is very different from other things. If you even think you have it go see a professional and be slow and cautious with it. It can destroy people.

I don't know about the therapy you guys are discussing, but it should be said: NEVER TAKE UP ANY COURSE FOR AN ILLNESS WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

Suceed

Interesting results from a study in the US...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20943509

DeVore

The Black Oil wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttUW_lCBbcQ

Spot the boardsie - 1.45 on. Kudos.

Very proud of being involved with that. Not so proud of the Muay Thai... in my defense all the footage is from the end of a session (and boy do I looked exhausted!).

Also, googlie-eyes... not a good look for me.

herisson

Today went ok. I talked about one main issue that i needed to clear and it was ok. I dont know what i was so nervous about

TeddyTedson

The thing I really don't understand is how I can go to bed feeling fantastic and wake up the next day after a good sleep being back in a haze for the day.
It seems to illogical.

I've had great days in work when I love it and am chatting to everyone and then the next day I might not want to talk to anyone. I go as far as not going for lunch just because I don't want to have to make conversation, or even hear anyone.

Its a feeling I think Id describe as feeling soulless, if that makes any sense.

Drumpot

DeVore wrote: »

Very proud of being involved with that. Not so proud of the Muay Thai... in my defense all the footage is from the end of a session (and boy do I looked exhausted!).

Also, googlie-eyes... not a good look for me.

Always had a picture of you with a beard and long hair on a keyboard. . (did that used to be your picture or am I confusing you with another mod?!)

Drumpot

Pixie-Fairy wrote: »

Today went ok. I talked about one main issue that i needed to clear and it was ok. I dont know what i was so nervous about

Good for you . .

I think one of the things I get nervous about is trying something (that gives me hope) and it not working . . For example, if I heard that excercise (or councelling) may help me feel alot better, I would get excited and wait a few months before even trying it. The idea being that if I have something to look forward to, I can actually pick myself up and get excited about it. But if I actually try to take up excercise (or councelling) and it doesnt give me the results I was hoping for, it will mean I have nothing else to look forward to . .

TeddyTedson wrote: »

The thing I really don't understand is how I can go to bed feeling fantastic and wake up the next day after a good sleep being back in a haze for the day.

It seems to illogical.

I've had great days in work when I love it and am chatting to everyone and then the next day I might not want to talk to anyone. I go as far as not going for lunch just because I don't want to have to make conversation, or even hear anyone.

Its a feeling I think Id describe as feeling soulless, if that makes any sense.

Im hearing you buddy . . I know exactly what you mean . .Sometimes I feel like I just wasnt meant to be in this world and struggle to relate to the human race. If you can get past how crazy that sounds, it can highlight how lonely a person can get . .


Then like you said, its as if a completely differant person goes to bed to the one that wakes up . . I sometimes feel like life is sometimes passing me by and Im just a passenger in a body ! !

DeVore

Drumpot wrote: »

Always had a picture of you with a beard and long hair on a keyboard. . (did that used to be your picture or am I confusing you with another mod?!)

Never had long hair... in fact none of the Boards founders had!

Drumpot

DeVore wrote: »

Never had long hair... in fact none of the Boards founders had!

Not sure how that happened, better get my dosage changed ! !

lighthouse

KyussBishop wrote: »

I'm skeptical of it from reading up on it online; the hyperventilation involved can cause seizures in some people susceptible to them, and potentially expose other underlying health problems, and the actual experience of holotropic stuff can retraumatize some patients that e.g. experienced PTSD, and other similar problems from susceptible people.

The qualifications of people running this stuff, do not seem to be medically backed either; there is no standardization.

That said, I think it can still be useful and beneficial for some people, but it needs better research and scientific backing, practiced by people with proper regulated medical qualifications.

I am not here to defend HB but I will make a few comments on your piece. You are basing your opinions on "stuff" you have read on the internet. I am basing mine on many years experience of doing HB. Yes I believe there is potential for HB to re-traumatize people just as in any other therapeutic intervention that is dealing with trauma.
Regarding the qualifications of practitioners, not sure what you mean by medically backed. Are psychotherapists and counsellore medically backed? Does medically backed mean you have to be a doctor or have other "medical" qualifications. Yes there is standardisation. The 3 places where I have undergone HB in Ireland;Westport,Wicklow and Dunderry are run by fully certified practioners, certified by Stan Grof who devised this technique. They cannot use the Holotropic breathwork name if they are not fully trained and certified.
Thank you for acknowledging it's usefulness.

KyussBishop

That qualifications come from Stan Grof, shows why they are lacking in credibility; the guy believes in astrology (something that is 100% scientifically debunked, so its invalidity is not a matter of opinion), and uses that to underpin some of his work; he has also experimented with using LSD for psychological treatment in the past.

Here is some of his writing:
http://www.stanislavgrof.com/pdf/05_Archai_Grof_Holotropic_Research.pdf

This work has shown that astrology, particularly the study of planetary transits, can predict and illuminate both the archetypal content of non-ordinary states of consciousness and the timing of when particular states are most likely to occur.

This is the guy that developed holotropic breathwork; the methods used to get people into a state of mind that is therapeutically useful, are probably worth researching scientifically and may be useful as part of properly regulated psychological treatment, but this holotropic stuff, where people get their qualifications from Stan Grof, deserves maximum skepticism.

DeVore

Ok lets leave that there....

ANY treatment should be over seen by a professional. The internet should not be considered a primary source of diagnosis, prognosis or treatment for mental or indeed physical health!

Morag

Too many smart young people are dying due to depression and mental health issues

http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html

delthedriver

stop animal cruelty wrote: »

been a really few tough days. today was really bad. lm so lonely. all my friends are gone back to college & have stuff to do. lm at home everyday with nothing to do. lv tryed hard for a job but nothing. having social anixety doesn't help came really close today just ending it all l was so low.

so fed up.

Hey,
Hold on in there!
You may feel very lonely at the moment, this will pass.
Please, you are very special, you are very important.
By your name SAC , you are obviously keen on animals, which is a very special and wonderful gift .
Please hang on to the positives.
Have you spoken with anyone about how you feel? Fiend, Gp, or PM another Boardsie, or talk with Samaritans?
Please try and take lots of rest and be kind to yourself.
Promise you will not do anything silly.
Stay with us, by talking it is a start and it helps

James.M

Friend of mine from high school passed away last Saturday(not around here). told his folks the previous night(/evening) he was going to get his phone repaired. next day morning his body is found on a railway track. There is no report from the police as of now if its suicide or if it was an accident(if he fell of the train). Some of the friends speculating it might be suicide.
I haven't been such a good friend to him in school(except the occational 'hi how are you' ) or after school for that matter( almost never kept in touch). I wish i had when he was alive.I wish i was more genuine. I wish i was a better person. rip Amith.

I haven't posted on here for a while but I thought I might post some positive news, hope you don't mind. This time last year I was posting on here in a bad state - I had no friends nearby so was terribly lonely and was also way too hard on myself. Anything that didn't go the way I hoped would compound the hard feelings and made me worse.

However, I've actually been doing really well these past few months. Last year was quite a good year for me, especially the second half. I made some new friends (thanks to Boards in fact) and that extra social contact has helped keep me in check. Knowing that I have some friends of my own who know and respect me has worked wonders for me. I can still be a bit hard on myself at times but I'm not as bad as I was.

Also, while I did lose my job in October I wasn't out of work for long and now I have an even better job than I had, so that's added to it too.

I know this is the depression thread, but I just posted this to say "hang in there." This time last year I never thought I'd have friends and be in good form a year later, but here I am. Lets hope it keeps up.

delthedriver

James.M wrote: »

Friend of mine from high school passed away last Saturday(not around here). told his folks the previous night(/evening) he was going to get his phone repaired. next day morning his body is found on a railway track. There is no report from the police as of now if its suicide or if it was an accident(if he fell of the train). Some of the friends speculating it might be suicide.
I haven't been such a good friend to him in school(except the occational 'hi how are you' ) or after school for that matter( almost never kept in touch). I wish i had when he was alive.I wish i was more genuine. I wish i was a better person. rip Amith.

James,
Condolences on the loss of your friend, in such tragic circumstances.
It is important for you to realise that there is nothing whatsoever you could have done for this lad. You are being very hard on yourself.You are a good and genuine person.
At this moment you are in a state of shock.
For what it is worth I was friendly with my classmates at school,however some more friendly than others. Perhaps we had similar interests. It does not mean that I thought less of my other classmates.
Life moves on , people go in different directions,it is not always possible to keep in touch for people get distracted by new environments, work and so on.
Please hold on to the positive memories you had of this chap. It may be a funny story from the playing field or a joke shared.
It is important that you keep calm and positive about yourself.
James take good care of yourself at this time.
Sincerely

James.M

delthedriver wrote: »

James,
Condolences on the loss of your friend, in such tragic circumstances.
It is important for you to realise that there is nothing whatsoever you could have done for this lad. You are being very hard on yourself.You are a good and genuine person.
At this moment you are in a state of shock.
For what it is worth I was friendly with my classmates at school,however some more friendly than others. Perhaps we had similar interests. It does not mean that I thought less of my other classmates.
Life moves on , people go in different directions,it is not always possible to keep in touch for people get distracted by new environments, work and so on.
Please hold on to the positive memories you had of this chap. It may be a funny story from the playing field or a joke shared.
It is important that you keep calm and positive about yourself.
James take good care of yourself at this time.
Sincerely

Thanks del
but wasn't quite the case.
- 'You are being very hard on yourself.You are a good and genuine person'
i don't think so. We had three divisions in my 12th grade (12a, 12b, 12c). I was in grade 12c and we used to treat almost everyone else in 12a & 12b indifferently.like they were of a lower standard, but that was how it was.

'It does not mean that I thought less of my other classmates.' - but unfortunately i did, that was the way the social structure in school was at that time. and that was the way i thought it was. i wish i thought better.
I have a lot to change.

I will keep calm and positive about myself. Thanks Del


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3bleXWaCk&list=PLhzvOsHWs4j7AdePNDCn8OhWsjUgIXRW3

RossFixxxed

It's absolutely brilliant to see positive stories here. Never underestimate the kindness and value of strangers. So many people out there have gone through similar things, sharing their stories and actually seeing improvements happen is pretty damn inspiring. You guys are absolutely fantastic, fair play for taking steps to sort things out!

You may not know it now, but what you are doing takes incredible strength \m/

DeVore

James, in Philsophy they say "There can be no us without them". every single time throughout history that humans have broken or been broken into groups, those groups will start to see the others as "them" because it binds "us" together and humans want and need that binding-together.

So, yeah, you might be being a bit hard on yourself kiddo
Every one here was in a class in school who were rivals with other classes, or football teams or neighbourhoods. We've had it here lots of times between forums even!!

There was nothing you could do for your schoolmate. No one can help unless the person lets them in.

Bench Press

lads I am in unbearble pressure, stress and sadness, I am still drinking to fight it. I have 3 problems, 1, my ex partner is extremely ill mentally and I had to get her totally out of my life, 2, I am under serious financial pressure and 3, my mother is dying in hosptial. It is very hard to keep fighting off the bad thoughts about you know what. I would never do it though for the sake of the rest of my family. Just try and keep positive

delthedriver

Bench Press wrote: »

lads I am in unbearble pressure, stress and sadness, I am still drinking to fight it. I have 3 problems, 1, my ex partner is extremely ill mentally and I had to get her totally out of my life, 2, I am under serious financial pressure and 3, my mother is dying in hosptial. It is very hard to keep fighting off the bad thoughts about you know what. I would never do it though for the sake of the rest of my family. Just try and keep positive

You have made the 1st step to improving your lot by identifying the issues and talking about them. My recommendation is to stop drinking, diving into the bottle solves nothing.
You need to live in the Now, one day at a time. Try and spend some precious time with your mother.
Your ex partner is out of your life , so no longer on your radar.
Money issues face the majority of people so you are no alone there, work daily on trying to get some resolution.
Please keep talking, concentrate on positives like spending time with your Mum.
Remember life is full of ups and downs, life for you will improve.
You must take great care of yourself and deal with issues as they arise.
Sincerest wishes

James.M

Thanks for the replies del and devore. made me realise a few things and some of those i should change.

Wattle

Lads does anybody have any tips about dealing with pressure? I'm doing a FAS course which is pretty intensive. We work hard during the day and have lots of upcoming assignments. A lot of evenings I either have work to do on assignments or I'll be thinking of work that's coming up. I'm finding that it's hard for me to switch off and I get worried that I'm just not good enough and aren't going to do well. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist which makes it hard for me to relax. Today I stayed in bed rather than go in and I feel a little bit pissed off with myself as I type this. I will go in tomorrow but I feel like a bit of a coward for not showing up today. Also long term it's not going to be good for me as it makes it harder for me to succeed. I wouldn't say I'm depressed about it just worried and a bit ashamed. Anybody have any idea how I can stop self destructing like this? I genuinely want to do well and move forward but sometimes the pressure just gets to me.

Call Me Jimmy

Had a couple of weeks without even looking in the mirror. I stupidly did today (in the middle of exam week) and every time it's like the bottom falls out of me. Every time it's like my whole brain just switches off to anything good possibly happening and as the years go by I become genuinely unimpressed with what's in store for me in life. It is what you make it and all that but there's something about my configuration of neurons that doesn't even want to make anything of it given the ****ing state of me. Sickening.

Bench Press

Lads, where is the best place to get help for depression without everyone knowing? every minute of every day is a living nightmare for me at the moment, I don't really connect with my gp on a personal level when trying to discuss mental help problems and always end up downplaying it and pretending something else is wrong with me. I haven't been at peace for at least 3 years now. It is no way to live for anyone.