[akaky]

I've suffered from depression (typically major depression) for as long as I can remember, and something I've found out in the last year is how often I respond to depression with fantasy -- in order to help myself feel better.

When I'm feeling depressed and overwhelmed by the world I slip into a pattern that says "Everything is really okay." Some of my triggers are money, health, insurance, thoughts of career and future, etc. When "everything's really okay", I "don't need" to pay attention to the stuff that sets me off; and this can have some unpleasant reality-based effects.

When I was single, it was bad enough, but now that I have a house and family (and am the "bread-winner"), my instant-comfort method really doesn't work.

This escape is so basic to my "self-medicating" my depression that I'm having a very hard time telling when this reflex kicks in.

How can I get better at recognizing when this is happening?

[silver_queen]

yeah i do that kind of daydreaming a lot as well. would be interesting to read any good replies.

i can't answer that.......i do it occasionally and i never know when it's going to hit me.......xoxopat

[Wants2Fly]

Hmmm -- this is an interesting idea. I don't quite understand what it is. Not sure if I do it or not.

How can we tell when fantasy is actually a more accurate view of reality -- if depression distorts our thinking into believing that situations are not as dire as we believe? Does that sentence make any sense?

[Wants2Fly]

I'd like to see more explanation and discussion of this idea. I do fantasize -- but I'm not exactly sure what it meant by the process described here.

So I'm worrying like crazy whether I do this -- and I don't even know what "it" is.

Your occasionally friendly neighborhood hypochondriac, Wants2Fly