the Bright Side of Being Blue: A New Tool for Assessing Analytical Rumination in Depr

I plan to outline with documentation how and why I got depressed and what happened to me while the Depression was at its Peak. More importantly what I learned in the entire process. I can share this much the depression was nessacary without a doubt not only do I feel like I used to but elevate that 100 times. Everyone always ask why are you depressed, some of the best and brightest doctors in the world still do not know. It's not a disease if it were the treatment's would be pretty much the same with results better than the 30% of people with depression, and most of that is placebo. So stay tuned it will be quite interesting but ask yourself this? Instead of saying why am I depressed, a better question would be what purpose does my depression serve? the body is an amazing living being grounded in nature and everything it does has a reason. I am willing to bet most doctors cant give a better answer than I will later and that is mostly because I lived through it, didn't learn it from a book and that is not a knock. Some would say well you don't have to drive a Ferrari to know it is fast, ya that is true but you certainly don't feel the vibration and that is the biggest lesson I have learned......More to come

Hello Friends hopefully sometime later this week I will have an update and a pretty significant one at that. I plan to outline with documentation how and why I got depressed and what I was able to learn while the Depression was at its peak and most intense. My life has certainly changed what I perceived life was really all about, and just how wrong and judgmental I was of others. My biggest takeaway from the entire experience was don't ever think you can understand someone else's situation or pain without experiencing their plight yourself. A person in my extended family suffered with migraine headaches and at times it became so painful she would see flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea and vomiting. I remember talking about this to her and it hit me. No matter how detailed someone is or no matter how hard I try to envision what that is like I will never be able to fully comprehend what it feels like. Everyone has suggestions about depression, your weak just suck it up oh and I love this one, You have nothing to be depressed about or it will pass. This may shock you but more people die from depression related suicide than car accidents in the US.I used to say like everybody else what could make a person do that, oh they were probably on drugs some will say. Please do yourself a favor and just STFU. I can tell you point blank why so many people commit suicide !! Have you ever wondered why depressed individuals sleep 14 -16 hours a day and are still tired that is because when they are sleeping is the only time the pain is gone, until you wake up and the waves on anxiety take over it is a living hell. There is no such thing as a safe place. I would have gladly given up an arm or leg just to feel so called normal. What is normal, it is the balance between two extremes, you are on either or the other that means no one fits the category of normal but we use the term for everything and chase something that does not exist. This may surprise some but I was an extremely sensitive child then became a messed up teen and ultimately a complete *** as an adult. I know many of you saying see I told he was an ***..LOL. Many of these things I witnessed at a very young age like 5 - 10 I can see vividly even today and these were the kind of things you wanted to forget. I had to survive, adapt became conditioned, hardened built those walls nice and high so no one or nothing could hurt me again. Before you know it you don't even know who you are anymore. You have no identity I like to describe it this way, when I looked in the mirror I forgot what I looked like. I had become something I hated, a product of someone else expectations societies description of what a successful person should be, after all we all want to be loved, accepted to be NORMAL ( God I hate that word) My Depression was nessacary period of life were there was nothing, emptiness, hollow and it marked the end of the lies that I believed all my life. This began a 3 year horrific self inventory, examination of things that I did or did not do and just beat myself senseless to the point I felt like a complete piece of ###### and literally surrendered. I can remember listening to Charles Stanly a Baptist Minister for 8 hours a day. He talked about fear,anxiety,depression from a spiritual perspective. After a few thousand hours I felt the onion layers begin to soften and slowly peel away then slowly I began to feel real emotion and learn to trust and later to be trusted. I know without a doubt my Depression was a nessacary period of adaptation leading to an ascended new life. Yes I have a strong spiritual component and belief in God plus a great church family at N.E.C in Franklin. No I am not turning this into a recruiting tool to get people to church. Anyone can do this, but you have to believe in something and if you suck so bad do it for someone else at least for a while then do it for yourself. The journey of self discovery is an amazing ride and just remember what God or Buddha Ala and if you an Atheist it could be a beautiful beach down the Cape you find spiritual say. The kingdom of god is within us all so look no further than yourself. To all who suffer and reach out for help, you are not the weak ones I used to believe hearing that crap.Sorry I am the strong one because I reached and swallowed that macho ego and had the strength to just get through the day sometimes it was an hour but I did it. People who know me think that I would ever open myself up and talk this way ?? I know some will laugh and and say he is $‪#‎DW‬# crazy. Hey if it makes you feel good putting me down than have at it. At least I can say I helped someone and made them laugh today.. In closing not only do I feel like I used to but elevate that 10 times. Some of the best and brightest doctors in the world still do not know what causes depression. It's not a disease if it were the treatment's would be pretty much the same with results better than the 30% we see today and most of that is placebo. So stay tuned it will be quite interesting what I have to share, but ask yourself this? Instead of asking WHY AM I DEPRESSED, a better question would be WHAT PURPOSE DOES DEPRESSION SERVE ? Friends that is the key the body is an amazing living adaptable being grounded in nature and everything it does has a reason. I am willing to bet most doctors cant give a better answer than I will later and that is mostly because I lived through it, didn't learn it from a book and that is not a knock on doctors. Some would say well you don't have to drive a Ferrari to know it is fast, ya that is true but you certainly don't feel the vibration from one either...

Actual Case Study Results ....

Measuring the Bright Side of Being Blue: A New Tool for Assessing Analytical Rumination in Depression
Skye P. Barbic,
Zachary Durisko,
Paul W. Andrews


Abstract

Background

Diagnosis and management of depression occurs frequently in the primary care setting. Current diagnostic and management of treatment practices across clinical populations focus on eliminating signs and symptoms of depression. However, there is debate that some interventions may pathologize normal, adaptive responses to stressors. Analytical rumination (AR) is an example of an adaptive response of depression that is characterized by enhanced cognitive function to help an individual focus on, analyze, and solve problems. To date, research on AR has been hampered by the lack of theoretically-derived and psychometrically sound instruments. This study developed and tested a clinically meaningful measure of AR.

Methods

Using expert panels and an extensive literature review, we developed a conceptual framework for AR and 22 candidate items. Items were field tested to 579 young adults; 140 of whom completed the items at a second time point. We used Rasch measurement methods to construct and test the item set; and traditional psychometric analyses to compare items to existing rating scales.

Results

Data were high quality (<1% missing; high reliability: Cronbach's alpha  = 0.92, test-retest intraclass correlations >0.81; evidence for divergent validity). Evidence of misfit for 2 items suggested that a 20-item scale with 4-point response categories best captured the concept of AR, fitting the Rasch model (χ2 = 95.26; df  = 76, p = 0.07), with high reliability (rp = 0.86), ordered response scale structure, and no item bias (gender, age, time).

Conclusion

Our study provides evidence for a 20-item Analytical Rumination Questionnaire (ARQ) that can be used to quantify AR in adults who experience symptoms of depression. The ARQ is psychometrically robust and a clinically useful tool for the assessment and improvement of depression in the primary care setting. Future work is needed to establish the validity of this measure in people with major depression.

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PLOS ONE: Measuring the Bright Side of Being Blue: A New Tool for Assessing Analytical Rumination in Depression