[noneedtoknow]

Greetings good people,
I have a few questions in my mind and thought this forum would be a good venue for me to ask.

First of all, can you have SI and not be depressed?
What is the difference between depressive thoughts and true depression?

I find if I am really engaged at work or with other people, I can be fine, but if I am not really involved, I have been thinking SI alot. Or just negative and hopeless. Yet, When I get to work, I get into it and so Im not having those other thoughts. So can I just not be depressed, just have sucky thinking? Sometimes, can change my thoughts around to being more positive. So then I think I must not really be depressed. Maybe I need to be more focused on gratitude, helping others, those kinds of things.

I will say thought that when the SI thinking is there, its pretty powerful. I don't have alot of hope feelings and thoughts are pretty gruesome and grafic. Anyway, I'm not trying to cause alarm or anything. I am just asking questions and noting how my thinking has been. I am not threatening anything, just to let you guys know.
Thank you for your thoughts/

[dismantle.repair]

Originally Posted by noneedtoknow

Greetings good people,
I have a few questions in my mind and thought this forum would be a good venue for me to ask.

First of all, can you have SI and not be depressed?
What is the difference between depressive thoughts and true depression?

I find if I am really engaged at work or with other people, I can be fine, but if I am not really involved, I have been thinking SI alot. Or just negative and hopeless. Yet, When I get to work, I get into it and so Im not having those other thoughts. So can I just not be depressed, just have sucky thinking? Sometimes, can change my thoughts around to being more positive. So then I think I must not really be depressed. Maybe I need to be more focused on gratitude, helping others, those kinds of things.

I will say thought that when the SI thinking is there, its pretty powerful. I don't have alot of hope feelings and thoughts are pretty gruesome and grafic. Anyway, I'm not trying to cause alarm or anything. I am just asking questions and noting how my thinking has been. I am not threatening anything, just to let you guys know.
Thank you for your thoughts/

1) Yep, you can SI without being depressed. But usually, it's a sign that you aren't coping with something well.

2) Depressive thoughts are transient. I've never really thought about it, but I guess though depressive thoughts are a PART of depression... You can have thoughts about depression without actually being depressed.
Remember, depression really interferes with your daily functioning.

You actually sound like you're depressed hun. Sorry

[turquoisesea]

hi and nice to meet you

I'm not a therapist but...

First of all, can you have SI and not be depressed?

Absolutely. Though I THINK it's most common to have SI and be depressed too, or bipolar or have some mood disorder. there are a lot of reasons for SI, and not all relate to depression.

What is the difference between depressive thoughts and true depression?

Well. Even true depression varies. It gets all technical but basically there are many different types of depression, the way we exerience it varies from person to person. Some people become depressed for a while after a loved one dies for instance. Some people are chronically depressed for over a year... some people have depression that goes in and out. The list goes on.

Depressive thoughts are often a symptom of depression.


I agree that it also sounds like you are depressed. It might be helpful to do some reading on the subject. There are a lot of free resources online.

Here's PC's article on it:http://psychcentral.com/disorders/depression/
you can also take tests on here that could help you get an idea of what's going on.

[noneedtoknow]

Thank you dismantle.repair and turquoisesea for responding. I appreciate your thoughts. and for the resources. I hope all is well with you both!

[Charlie_J]

Originally Posted by noneedtoknow

What is the difference between depressive thoughts and true depression?

First off, your thoughts of SI show something isn't right, so please see a doctor and tell them what's going on with you.

Regarding your question, depression varies, as already said. For me, as bipolar, it's as if I've suddenly been placed into a vat of slow setting concrete that no one else can see. Everything I do requires a massive amount of physical effort. I go to sleep and don't wake up. I drop about a hundred IQ points. I begin to put weight on fast, in excess of fourteen pounds a month.

Once that's underway, then my mood follows, and all the things that come with it (depressive thinking, self-isolation, thoughts of suicide).

But... I don't SI, so you see how it's subtly different for everyone. Get help and advice now, not later. Give yourself every chance to recover.

Hope that helps

[noneedtoknow]

Thanks Charlie_J for your responce,
I actually saw a counsilor today and she thought I was having depression and anxiety at this time. So we are adding something to my medication regime to help. I really appreciate that you took the time to respond-it helped until I could get in today. And I did mention about the SI.
Thank you all for posting and giving me some hope and direction. I hope that the same comes back to you all!!!!