How many want to get better and how many just want to post?

it's a fair question and I'm expecting to take flack for it but I feel compelled to ask it.
Of course, I'm assuming depression is an illness that allows you to get better.
If that's incorrect, please advise me, as I don't suffer from it but I have empathy for the many here who do.

i think its a great question!......i'm not a frequent poster and have never actually posted asking for help.....i came to the forums to offer hope to people with depression and ocd as i would say i am 90% "cured"...........i do have spurts of depression still but i privately access the great friends i've made here and they help me through it........

i think we all want to get better some times it feels hopeless and sometimes we post rather than do other harmful things. i am sure someone out there might just want to post to be the center of attention 9 or something like that) but i would be willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

i have sufffered from depression as far back as i can remember (age 3 or 4) and i can say i have always wanted to get better sometimes in my despair i lose track of that goal but the fact that i am still alive is a clear testimony that i have atleast some shred of hope that i will get better.

I would trade plain, boring annyomous over depressed anyday.

linda

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
gtrplayer said:
it's a fair question and I'm expecting to take flack for it but I feel compelled to ask it.
Of course, I'm assuming depression is an illness that allows you to get better.
If that's incorrect, please advise me, as I don't suffer from it but I have empathy for the many here who do.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

A very good question!. Almost like one of those politically correct questions one is afraid to go near LOL!..

I think until I got into active recovery, I wanted to get my strokes by just posting..I think somedays I still do...but the majority of the time when I'm alone with my head I know the only way to go is forward and sometimes I can stay stuck in a "woe is me" attitude and my wheels are spinning not actually going anywhere, and other times I'm full steam ahead and no stopping me..I also think getting better is a slow process and sometimes just being around others that are recoverying will eventually lead you somewhere...I think?

I've "shared my existence with depression" most of my life.
I've learned how to get along....but I don't control melancholia. I may never know what that is...but I accept this existence cause it's all I have. I do not post much...as it is against my "nature" to do so. I feel that we look for the company of like minded individuals where we may...as a hand on the shoulder from one who doesn't really understand, often feels just faint, or ghostly. They don't begin to touch my soul as a fellow depressive can.
There is a certain camaraderie to this...we seek comfort and closeness where we may. If it means "posting"...so be it.
Take care in your comfort..where ever it may be.
m.b.

well, ok..good...i'm glad to hear positive responses.
my point is, do you just post about your particular feelings and then wake up and live it all over again, or do you take action, real action to make things change in your life.
maybe you need to leave home and move out, maybe you need a change of meds, maybe you need a new job or career...but all those things take action...not wishful thinking.
i have my problems (or i wouldn't be here) but i strive every day to solve them and i just wondered if depression can be helped in a similar way.
No disrespect intended to anyone!!!

when one is in the depths of a depressive episode...it is very difficult to take action.......it took me 11 years to seek help....the driving force for me was family and knowing that if i did not do something.i would not be around much longer.....meds were my answer

I am relatively new here also.

Over the past several years I've visited several msg boards on depression and chronic pain. I've never participated in any because they all made me feel more hopeless than I already did.

I am happy to say that I find Psych Central very different. All I had to do was spend some time reading a variety of posts over the course of a week to figure out that:

1.) this was a supportive environment, no flaming for a change;

2.) while a lot of responses to posts were simply supportive, MANY offered practical advice based on their own experiences;

3.) very often the posters responded by acting on the advice, rather than giving further justification for staying where they were;

4.) humor was frequently used as a coping mechanism, no matter how bad a situation was - this is one of the most 'preferable' coping methods (i.e., compared to denial or avoidance).

As for me personally, I DES*PER*ATE*LY want to get 'better'. I was on a new med (for me) starting 9/6/07, and for the first time in close to 2 years, I was able to get out of bed and do things around the house without it feeling like an almost impossible effort.

I was practically joyful when I found myself cutting onions for a meal and realized it felt NORMAL and not like a huge effort! It felt like finally, finally, finally! I had the piece of the puzzle my brain needed.

But...three days ago, I had to stop taking it because of cardiac side effects from the new med, and shortness of breath from another drug I was put on to control the ridiculously high weight gain from the 'new' med (6 lbs in 12 days while eating 1200 calories a day, no exaggeration).

Yesterday I felt the walls of depression slowly closing in again. I still fought back by doing 30 consecutive minutes of aerobic exercise (still hate it, but am viewing it as a med, which I wouldn't consider skipping), since I keep reading that this has the most consistent positive results for depression, even beyond any med.

AND I also ordered a supplement I read about from one of the members that I found while browsing through one of the forums.

Over and over, I've read posts with responses that provide the poster with specific information about the responder's own struggles which have been similar to the poster's. That in itself provides relief to the poster, since they can realize that they are no longer alone, and that others have survived similar situations.

More importantly, responders frequently detail *how* they recovered. This provides some hope to the poster, as well as practical steps the poster might try to help themselves.

I have yet to find any threads which contain posts and responses which I'd consider whining, self-serving rationalizations for people staying in their particular misery.

I hope this helps.

Mary

I just wanna post...so what...

Those who enjoy being on the train, and those who do not enjoy being on the train, get to the same destination at the same time.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
gtrplayer said:
Of course, I'm assuming depression is an illness that allows you to get better.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
I'm moving away from viewing depression as a pathology and instead a response with some adaptive value. Such a widespread human behavioral response would not exist if it had no evolutionary advantage. If I am depressed, it is part of me, unpleasant or not, and the way I am at that time. I don't view it necessarily as something gone "wrong" with my body, but something that may have adaptive value and be there for a reason (conservation of energy for better times ahead, etc.). Maybe there is some "value" for my mind and body in being depressed at that time. It's almost like I'm shaking hands (warily) with depression instead of viewing it as the enemy. I'm discovering that, for me, viewing depression as a pathology has been a negative way of thinking. There are definitely things I can do to make myself feel better (both for the moment and the long term), and I do. We each have to find what those things are for ourselves, a process that is not always straightforward. The sharing of people's stories in this forum is so helpful for that.

Are you talking about getting better and posting on PC in terms of being related? If so, then I just want to post, but if happens that it helps me get better then that's a bonus.

If you are asking if I want to get better in general, then I would say in some ways, yes, and in some ways, no. This actually requires a much longer answer but speaking of getting better, I have to leave for therapy and perhaps I will add more later.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
gtrplayer said:
well, ok..good...i'm glad to hear positive responses.
my point is, do you just post about your particular feelings and then wake up and live it all over again, or do you take action, real action to make things change in your life.
maybe you need to leave home and move out, maybe you need a change of meds, maybe you need a new job or career...but all those things take action...not wishful thinking.
i have my problems (or i wouldn't be here) but i strive every day to solve them and i just wondered if depression can be helped in a similar way.
No disrespect intended to anyone!!!

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Let me explain something to you. It may be the case since you say that you don't suffer from depression.
When you are depressed you don't simply consider that your life sucks, but your brain generates the absolute certainty that no happy life is possible, and those who ARE happy must be crazy. That is why you don't "take action" and "snap yourself out it".

We know that adversities require reaction, but depression disables the reaction engine in the brain.
When a crisis strikes posting here is already a huge act of courage, because your instinct just tells you to cuddle in a corner and cry until you starve.
Understand?

I understand all too well Stefano and I agree completely.

I don't want to get better because that's not me it's the dease making me think that way. Our desease can lead us to sabotage our own improvement.

I want to get better and I post because I hope my story or comment might help someone else.

If you don't or haven't suffered from depression, how can you understand what getting better means in order to make that judgement or participate in that conversation?

Stefano, very well put regarding your brain 'on depression', so to speak.

It takes effort to believe there's a way I'll ever get better, because I've tried so many things and I'm still not ok. I've told my T I think I'm just defective; she says that's the depression talking, not reality.

But even at my worst, when I believed my brain was not capable of getting ok again, I *still wanted* to get better.

I'm not making any judgement...I'm just asking a question, yes, perhaps to provoke some thinking on the subject in a different way...and thank you for the responses...it has explained a lot about depression to me.
I know you can't just "snap out of it" but on the other hand, not taking any action to change the condition is not much of a solution, and I've always been solution-oriented in my life.
I can definitely see how posting helps, but I can see how forcing oneself to make the admittingly huge effort to change one's life helps more.

For me posting here on PC.. helps my extreme isolation... I find other people that understand depression... that offer me love and support.. that I cannot get IRL.. so since coming to PC.. I actually "feel" loved.. and that makes me feel better... so it is a positive step.. previously in the "grips" of depression, I would sleep for hours.. and now I come here.. and I get wonderful, caring people..

When in the "grips" of depression, I found it hard to "reason" anything out - for help.. my mind.. is "taken over"... very, very difficult to explain...

When "not in the grips" pf depression.. I do try and make changes in my life that improve my life..

I have changed my viewpoint.. in the last 2 years.. my opinion only.. and also from my having such extreme abuse in my background... I feel that my depression will never be "cured".. it is to be managed.. several of my T.. had me looking for this elusive cure.. and I felt I failed everytime I fell into a depression... now I look to manage it.. avoid things that might trigger a depression...if I even know what they are.. and not beating me up when depressed..

But for me I am no longer looking for that magical cure all pill... I have reached the point in my life that I am going to grab all the happiness when I can.. and live life to the fullest.. and know that depression will happen..

But, as far as, self help.. yes.. meds.. major life changes.. selling of house.. downsizing.. different jobs.. no job.. friends.. you try everything and anything... to alleviate depression - no one.. but no one "wants" to be depressed..it takes away functioning, reasoning..

Let there be peace for all of us.. that is my prayer.. my hope.. and in my thoughts.

I myself have to say i found myself like others in a state of shock and wonder and asking why would such a thing happen to me and that noone knew or could even imagine how i feel or what i was going through and with me comeing to this site has really opened my eyes and lifted my spirits and each message i recieve from everyone just seems to help in another form.I found myself yesterday with my T and all of the sudden i wanted to be there for people who are alone and are afraid to amit the depression and anger they may be feeling. Where i live is very isolated with no groups on grief or even anger and when i talked with her yesterday i have come to terms that i am not alone i dont have to deal with this depression alone.There are others like me or even worse for the matter but now i can become the person i once was of being strong and open hearted again to lend a hand and be with people who are alone and let them knowe that i am others will be here for them.and that they will no longer have to dure the life of being alone.I want to be that shoulder to cry on and even cry with them. I am going to live my life the way my daughter has always seen me and her life and spirit will live on in others.Making them strong to go on in their lifes as well for their loved ones.And i myself owe it all the PC and the people who came and cryed with me and helped me along my journey which i am still on but with the faith of god and my daughters spirit and my friends here i can go on.
So always know you have friends here people who will help you concor what ever it is that has to be done to bring you back to a life of happiness.

You think that behavioral changes cure depression.

I say learning more about feelings, naming them, being aware of them, exploreing where they come from now as well as where they originated are important. I think posting helps a person explore, become aware, clarify and define.

Where do you suppose the feelings go when one does something like changes residences?

gtrplyr...what is your dx...if it's not depression...what is it...if I may ask...it just seems to me that this question of action or inaction is a moot point because everyone here has taken the action of coming here to post or to find something...anything that isn't part of the normal everyday feeling of being lost...here we have found a little sanctuary where we can breath...I...myself was at the doorway to eternity and then I found PC...since being here I have reached out...found a Tdoc and been to sessions with others...although the drug thing is good it makes me feel kind of stupid...my point is that posting is a therapy in and of itself...even in the darkest places of my depression a little light shines from my monitor...a whole world right at my fingertips...its good...