Depression Options

[*mona lisa*]

Those with depression cannot always control their emotions so telling them to simply get over it and be happy won't do much, if anything. There are different ways to get help. Not all methods will suit a person but he/she should at least take the first step and try to get help. Though this may be difficult, I think there should be stricter regulations on giving anti-depressants and medication for those who are clinically depressed, midly depressed, etc. It's similar to prescribing antibiotics for trivial things. The bacteria/virus has a high chance of evolving into a resistant form of the virus that can no longer be treated with antibiotics if they are used too frequently.

Isn't putting people on medication that is supposed to make them feel better and telling them that they are getting better giving the patients false hope? Medicine isn't perfect; each body is unique so there can be many, many consequences, and you can't predict their severity. If you're in a position where you help or do make a decision regarding someone's health, it's in your best interest to stay honest (I learned the correct term/explanation for this a while ago but cannot remember it clearly).

[turntabletux]

A couple of days ago on Channel One, there was a segment on growing cases of depression in teens. They showed many examples of teens who had been diagnosed as "clinically depressed", "depressed", or "mildly depressed", and went through the symptoms of depression and behaviors commonly linked with depression. The segment poured a can of gasoline on the part of my brain that controls anger and the teens presented in the segment all contributed to lighting the spark.

Depression is not a disease. More often than not, it is brought on by a traumatic or life-changing experience that the person is unable to cope with. Even if nothing terribly awful has happened to a person, they can still be upset about something, or just be changing their views and opinions on life. Being a teenager is a tough time for anyone. Some have issues with even existing.

Some of the symptoms they discussed on the segment were irritability, antisocial behavior, a lack of motivation, a change in grades, and an unwillingness to participate in activities one once enjoyed. These are all absolutely normal occurrences in a teenager's life. I know that I, myself, have been exhibiting a large amount of antisocial behavior lately, simply because I am becoming more and more critical of human nature and do not enjoy spending time with many people. That does not correlate to depression. The bounds of normality seem to be rapidly imploding in our world and the desperation for everything to be happy and good is getting tiresome.

When one thinks of diagnosing people with mental disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, one must think of prime examples of the destruction that such a thing can cause. Brave New World is a wonderful literary example of this and it was written 40 or so years ago (maybe even 50, I'm not clear on the date of publication). People are supposed to feel sadness and anger, fatigue and doubt. Feeling these emotions and overcoming the effect they have is a large sign of maturity. It's OK to feel sad; the problem comes when one cannot move on from the sadness. But, even if the person is having trouble, there is no call to put the person on medication to make them feel better. They need to cope with sadness, loss, and disappointment in order to grow.

Everyone needs to stop diagnosing and treating.

I believe depression is a disorder, which is why it is hard to cope with sadness and loss.I have lived with it since middle school, and I'm in college now. I do agree, when it comes to diagnosing and treating. It is hard to be a teenager these days. That was my biggest annoyance in high school. Somebody got a bad grade and they'd be "depressed." I hate the commercials where they list small things and say here take this.

People live with depression every single day, with serious symptoms. Giving teens medicine to numb whatever temporary pain they have isn't the answer. A psychiatrist should take the time to assess the situation and find out if there really is a disorder or not.

Happiness? Do you not think those who are depressed laugh or have things cheer them up? Or do you think it's a constant state of sadness? Depression to me is so much more than sadness. It's an uncontrollable state of being where you can be fine one minute and feel like you want to seize the world and the next you're in a 50-foot hole trying to dig yourself out. When I was hospitalized, it came as such a shock to everyone around me--including my own doctor. They all thought I had been doing better, had been happier and then, well.. it hit me very strongly and went past any emotion, as it was completely overwhelming. So sadness? No, no.

Meds increase seratonin levels; those who are depressed have low levels, so to increase it, is thought to help them be more active--it is NOT a miracle fix but a push to their bodies that their mind cannot help. And trust me, telling me a med is working will not make me feel like I'm being fixed. I can feel the difference between them, if they're making me feel different, their side effects, et al.
Having a "bad day" or a "bad week" is normal; feeling depressed and having depression are two different things. One is, as you call it, sadness, and the other is a mental and physical condition that is chronic and gets in the way of living. So yeah, I don't agree with calling it sadness when it goes way past that.

I completely agree!

[RAWRstephishere]

A couple of days ago on Channel One, there was a segment on growing cases of depression in teens. They showed many examples of teens who had been diagnosed as "clinically depressed", "depressed", or "mildly depressed", and went through the symptoms of depression and behaviors commonly linked with depression. The segment poured a can of gasoline on the part of my brain that controls anger and the teens presented in the segment all contributed to lighting the spark.

Depression is not a disease. More often than not, it is brought on by a traumatic or life-changing experience that the person is unable to cope with. Even if nothing terribly awful has happened to a person, they can still be upset about something, or just be changing their views and opinions on life. Being a teenager is a tough time for anyone. Some have issues with even existing.

Some of the symptoms they discussed on the segment were irritability, antisocial behavior, a lack of motivation, a change in grades, and an unwillingness to participate in activities one once enjoyed. These are all absolutely normal occurrences in a teenager's life. I know that I, myself, have been exhibiting a large amount of antisocial behavior lately, simply because I am becoming more and more critical of human nature and do not enjoy spending time with many people. That does not correlate to depression. The bounds of normality seem to be rapidly imploding in our world and the desperation for everything to be happy and good is getting tiresome.

When one thinks of diagnosing people with mental disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, one must think of prime examples of the destruction that such a thing can cause. Brave New World is a wonderful literary example of this and it was written 40 or so years ago (maybe even 50, I'm not clear on the date of publication). People are supposed to feel sadness and anger, fatigue and doubt. Feeling these emotions and overcoming the effect they have is a large sign of maturity. It's OK to feel sad; the problem comes when one cannot move on from the sadness. But, even if the person is having trouble, there is no call to put the person on medication to make them feel better. They need to cope with sadness, loss, and disappointment in order to grow.

Everyone needs to stop diagnosing and treating.

Sounds like my life story

[*incoherent*]

oh how i love channel one

[shortnsweet88]

I really believe in not medicating everything myself. My friend hollie thinks that A.D.D. is some awful illness she has and they have convinced her to take all this medication for it. She isnt even herself...she doesnt like the same things...its weird. I think that giving somebody medication is a short cut that is only going to hurt them in the long run.