Depression and how I overcame it

Alandavies

I actually set up an account just to say, well done mate!!! Great story and really appreciate you sharing it.

Al

Photoman

Thanks for sharing this story Greg

IR1SH RANG3R

Fair fcukin play man! That story has just lifted a weight from me and you are amazing! Thank you, sincerely!

shalalala

Thank you for writing this. You might have bad days but even in those times, be aware that you have helped many people feel less alone.

Pawwed Rig

Here is a good cartoon from the World Health Org on depression

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

Ave Sodalis

Hi Gregg!
I loved your post for so many reason. I too, overcame depression through a different means. Being honest, I was reluctant to open the thread when I seen it just there. So often, I am met (like the one in AH) with "you can't cure depression, you just have to learn to deal with it" and it honestly makes me sad to hear it, because if you keep telling people you can't do something, then they aren't going to be able to do it, and most won't bother trying. Your post just furthers the point that depression is something that can be overcome. It doesn't have to be a life long disease. People just need to find what works and completely dedicate themselves to the idea that depression can be overcome! It may take a while, it may not be easy but it can be done. Once you're on the other side of it, it's so much easier to see it for what it is. It's like you're suddenly looking at it from above. The best way I've found of explaining it is if you never had it, it's like you're looking at the entrance of a maze. When you have it, it's like being trapped inside the maze. When you overcome it, it's like looking at the maze from above and seeing all the paths that you took, and all the ones you could have took.

It's not something I would wish on anybody. However, it's a life experience that I don't think I would change, even if I could.

LegacyUser

Have been down in the dumps recently. A friend, last night, mentioned this post to me.

It really did help.

Thanks you Gregg!

sfarrell123

I stumbled across this last night and I felt compelled to write something.

Thank you Gregg!!

lazeedaisy

Well done for sharing your story,

It's not easy in rural areas to get onto CBT courses, at last look the list was 3 years long,

It's good to see the service can be available and work.

guitarzero

Having worked all day, drained by persistent anxiety and heavy thoughts, I came home just to look for some hope online through a vid or article (as I often do). This has given me hope.

m1two3four

Hi Gregg and thanks for sharing your experience.

Just to let you know. I read your post about 10 months ago and decided to sign up for CBT straight away. Now, months later and I can't believe how much it has helped me. I'm pretty much back to to the person I once was and everything just seems to be falling into place.

CBT has turned my life around, I wish I had known about this years ago. I can only hope people will read this and give CBT a try

Thank you!!

crumlin j

Hi can anyone recommend a cbt therapist in the dublin area,thanks so much

Pawwed Rig

crumlin j wrote: »

Hi can anyone recommend a cbt therapist in the dublin area,thanks so much

This thread might help

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055169338

LegacyUser

Thank you for this post,

Reading this has been such a help. Knowing there is someone else out there that has dealt with this and come out the other side. I have been battling with this since I was 16-17 myself without fully realising or comprehending it.

It has effect so many aspects of my life, from relationships to my education and work, mainly because I have let it fester or be the issue.

I'm not really sure what I should do or where I should turn right now but reading your story has made a massive difference...again, thank you.

smcqueen

mbyrne777 wrote: »

walkinmyshoes.ie brought me here

The more and more people open up with their personal experiences of dealing with depression, the easier it becomes for others to do so and ultimately begin to seek help.

walkinmyshoes.ie, endorsed by celebrities and followed by eejits, these reviews are closer to the truth:

dublin.ratemyarea.com/places/st-patrick-s-hospital-5679#show_reviews

LegacyUser

smcqueen wrote: »

walkinmyshoes.ie, endorsed by celebrities and followed by eejits, these reviews are closer to the truth:

dublin.ratemyarea.com/places/st-patrick-s-hospital-5679#show_reviews

SO TRUE!

roro1990

This was a fantastic post to read. So much of what you said resonated with me. In fact, you sound very similar to me. Although I'd say I fall more along the lines of anxiety than depression. But definitely suffer with elements of both and have done for years.

What I don't understand is how your transformation was so instant. From being the way you were to standing in front of loads of people on Grafton Street within a day, that's amazing. I've only started to understand lately that my anxiety and depression are caused by learned thought patterns - neurons that fire together wire together and all that stuff. But understanding it and overcoming it are completely different. For me the process of overcoming it is proving difficult.

Is it just about forced exposure therapy? As in your situation, you seemed to just force yourself to do things that you thought would cause anxiety. I suffer from severe shyness and was thinking maybe a similar approach could work. Force myself to talk to 5 strangers a day or something. But even the thought of that in my head seems impossible.

Ave Sodalis

roro1990 wrote: »

This was a fantastic post to read. So much of what you said resonated with me. In fact, you sound very similar to me. Although I'd say I fall more along the lines of anxiety than depression. But definitely suffer with elements of both and have done for years.

What I don't understand is how your transformation was so instant. From being the way you were to standing in front of loads of people on Grafton Street within a day, that's amazing. I've only started to understand lately that my anxiety and depression are caused by learned thought patterns - neurons that fire together wire together and all that stuff. But understanding it and overcoming it are completely different. For me the process of overcoming it is proving difficult.

Is it just about forced exposure therapy? As in your situation, you seemed to just force yourself to do things that you thought would cause anxiety. I suffer from severe shyness and was thinking maybe a similar approach could work. Force myself to talk to 5 strangers a day or something. But even the thought of that in my head seems impossible.

For depression, a variety of things work for different people. It just depends on the person.
For anxiety, personally speaking, forced exposure really is the best way to get over it. Anxiety is common but, for the most part, quite irrational. The best way to get over it (again, just from personal experience and other stories) is to make yourself do something like talk to a random person. The more you prove to yourself that there is nothing in a social situation that warrants fear, the more confident you gain and the easier it becomes. Me personally, I'll never be comfortable surrounded by people I'm expected to talk to but I'm okay with that. It's not crippling anymore.

LegacyUser

Well done Gregg

Very inspirational. Fair play to you for taking the time to write it all down, in the hope of helping someone else.

vanran01

Sitting here trawlnig through the internet to see if I can find something that could help with my confidence before I head on a night out with my new work coleagues. Have been dreading this since starting my job due to my depressoin.

I stumbled across this post and I can't express how much it has inspired me

Thanks Greg for sharing your story

joollyparo

That is so emotional and inspirational

patrickmrogan

I saw this earlier and wanted to say thanks, it's Very motivating.

kunst nugget

smcqueen wrote: »

walkinmyshoes.ie, endorsed by celebrities and followed by eejits, these reviews are closer to the truth:

dublin.ratemyarea.com/places/st-patrick-s-hospital-5679#show_reviews

I'll be honest, those reviews are nothing like what I saw of the place. I know depression doesn't have a one size fits all cure but I have a close family member and several friends that wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for St. Pat's and I never dealt with any doctors or nurses that were anything but helpful.

LegacyUser

Just brilliant. Beautiful piece and very well written. You should be so proud.

LegacyUser

Well done Gregg

I was truly inspired after reading this. I hope this inspiration will push me to open up to my family and seek help

Aileen

grumpynerd

depression is perfectly natural. life is great if you're quite rough around the edges and you're set up for a life of drugs, booze, police records etc...or if you're talented and set up or a life of achievements and friends and children and relationships and careers

so for the feckless and the high achievers, life can be a great platform for all sorts of experiences.

but for anyone prone to logic or clear thinking life is pretty grim. depression is a natural reaction to the tedious futility of most of life's journey. The first 30 years are the only ones worth a damn but most of us don't realise it at the time.

thereafter it's a case of working hard for rewards which don't add up, declining health, dying family, and a worsening world.

there's no cure for realism....maybe Im just depressed

Pawwed Rig

grumpynerd wrote: »

but for anyone prone to logic or clear thinking life is pretty grim. depression is a natural reaction to the tedious futility of most of life's journey. The first 30 years are the only ones worth a damn but most of us don't realise it at the time.

That is utter nonsense. Personally I was a much happier person and achieved more in my 30s than I did in my 20s and teens

kunst nugget

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

That is utter nonsense. Personally I was a much happier person and achieved more in my 30s than I did in my 20s and teens

Agreed, I'm in my late thirties and I'm enjoying them more than my twenties or teens. You know, at this age, I find it much easier to accept the knowledge of the inevitable futility of my existence and just enjoy the ride with the people I love.

strelok

i think there have been several surveys done over the years asking people to rate their favourite decades of their lives and they almost always descend from the persons current age downwards.

hardly surprising, assuming you don't hate yourself you can only grow more comfortable in your own skin.

LegacyUser

Well done man

Thanks for Sharing

Anon