Warning about depression - please read

[Gingermick]

Just a warning about the medications.

Some people have problems with paroxetine (Aropax/Paxtine) there's web sites and support groups for that. They helped me greatly but stopping (or forgetting to take) them was wierd. I would get this tingly, uncomfortable feeling running down the back of my head.
Get the same feeling seeing Al starkers :eek:

[Studley 2436]

Some people have problems with paroxetine (Aropax/Paxtine) there's web sites and support groups for that. They helped me greatly but stopping (or forgetting to take) them was wierd. I would get this tingly, uncomfortable feeling running down the back of my head.
Get the same feeling seeing Al starkers :eek:

Zoloft makes you more stressed for the first couple of days that you take it. You get all fluttery and breathless. After that they do just what you want. Your GP should help you with all of that as with any medication.

Studley

[Daddles]

Let's not start a scare thread about the medications eh? They work and work well. But because they are messing with the brain chemistry, you have to get the right one for you. Unfortunately, the only method at the moment is the suck it and see method ... which is great if you get the right one. The main thing is to see a doctor and to keep seeing him AND to be honest. One of the reasons people don't get help is that they've read the scary stuff, particularly anecdotes about meds and IF YOU ARE DEPRESSED, that is EXACTLY the sort of stuff you lap up.

Cheers
Richard

[Studley 2436]

I found out too late. The thing to do is to go and see your GP and tell them you would like to talk about stress or depression or anxiety. They will most likely chat with you a bit about the subject and give you a test where you just check the boxes about your state of mind. They can use the results from this to decide if you are stressed depressed or anxious or not as the case might be. Could be you just need to talk with someone about things. Either way it won't cost you much and might be worth everything to help you improve your life.

Studley

[Gingermick]

What's different about today, from other era's, that we have an epidemic of depression?
People are under much more pressure, IMO, to do this and earn that and fit a mould and like the same #### everyone else likes and buy the same #### everone else buys and look the same and act the same not rock the boat and particularly don't walk around with a smile on your face in an engineering firm.:mad:
I was a happy, care-free bloke when I got back into engineering after 5 years surveying. I'd lived through something I shouldn't have and was cheery just to be alive. Now the pressure of my job has driven me to become, in the words of an older colleague, a grumpy old man.
But I've now got a lathe.

[Daddles]

But I've now got a lathe.

Okay, you mount yourself in the lathe, then what ... :confused:

Richard

[Gingermick]

then you spin yourself to a care free life. And if you call now, you get free steak knives.

[TassieKiwi]

Once again thanks for the thoughts. My old Principal used to tell a story at assembly that, (abridged), said that if everyone on earth was able to take thier troubles and problems in a sack to a big field, and pour them in a pile, and then take a good look at the size and contents of everyone else's pile....they would be very happy to gather thier own up, put them in the sack and quietly go home.

That still doesn't stop us from mayby trying to handle a few of someone else's pile, especially if they see thiers as huge, and we don't.

That link that I posted covers a lot of the points on this thread - re meds, effects of modern life. We are 10 times more likely to suffer clinical depression than our western equivalents in 1945. 'Primitive' communities, or those with stron values and real community (think Amish) also do not suffer. Makes you think
BTW the family are slowly coming to terms with the big thoughts, and the tears are less.

[dan_tom]

There are a few reputable websites that might help:

www.beyondblue.org.au (the national depression initiative)

There are many links that are found at the "related links" section of their website.

If you would prefer to talk to someone, don't forget organisations like Lifeline that provide a 24 hour telephone based service (13 11 14).

Cheers
Dan

[stolar]

I should have known there would be many of you here on this board affected by anxiety, depression or OCD. Just need to look at some honing techniques advised on this board . "Normal" people don't do that. How do I recognise those symptoms, well, take a guess?

On the other hand this was the last place I expected to find a serious discussion about the depression. Let me add a little bit of personal experience to it.

For those that have not felt it and have no first hand experience with clinical depression, a suicide is not a matter of choice for depressed. It is a solution to get rid of than pain inside your head (and no, it is nothing like a headache). A kind word and a hug can help for as long as the word or a hug last but it cannot cure depression. By all means be kind to anyone you know is depressed and be supportive of them but often that is not enough.
I don't believe there is one solution for depression for everyone. Some mange successfully with medication, some never learn what is wrong with them and lead "interesting" life doing all sorts of things to themselves to "handle" "the blues", some learn to live with it and some unfortunately die of it.

I did not like what medication did to my brain so I decided to learn to live with depression. Sometimes it is not so easy and sometimes I’m not sure I’ll make it, but I made it this far and anything else is a bonus. You learn to enjoy every day as it comes! I made it this far because I seem to have very strong sense of self preservation (although sometimes it may not look that way) and I guess my depression is not quite as bad as some other people have it.

So, if you are depressed do something about it and make sure you survive and most of all don't feel bad or embarrassed about it as you are in excellent company, many of the most brilliant and creative minds in the history of western civilization were affected by depression.

As for OCD, surely some of the finest tools can only be result of a person with an OCD.
BTW, I don't mean to make fun of people with OCD, it is a serious and crippling affliction in its most severe form! I am merely pointing to people with borderline OCD or just OCD tendencies and I count myself as one of those.

And yes, I am a grumpy old man so bite me!

[johna]

Sorry to hear Kiwi.

There is another side to all this that i bet alot of you don't see, and thats the actual suicide.
Been a train driver for connex trains (now don't start abusing me if your tain was ever late)i have spoken to alot of other drivers who have had people throw themselves in front of their train.
I have also seen alot of Train drivers quit the job over it also.
Knock on wood, i haven't experianced it first hand and hope i never have to, but we get at least 1 per week.
So not only dos it leave alot of pain behind for relatives and friend, but also to the unknown party who has to live with it for the rest of his or her life

[dazzler]

Hi tassie,

Sorry to hear of your loss. As a copper I have been to many of these and many more attempts.

I take comfort in the thought that if there is a life after our time here that our loved ones who have gone before us are having a really nice time.

If there isnt a next life then at least they are at peace from the troubles that made life unhappy.

cheers

dazzler

[TassieKiwi]

Hope you are right Dazzler. She left no note but had a journal that had poems and writings that suggest that she really was not happy in this world, and really wanted to leave. We'd like to think that we could have changed that had we known, but maybe for her there really was only one way to end her torment. We will never know.


Thanks again for the kind words fellas. Life goes on - I think that one doesn't get over these things, but gets used to them. We're all OK anyway.

[TassieKiwi]

Another thread prompted me to give an update. The famiily had a memorial service and ash scattering (?) at home which was an open event. Heaps of locals, friends and workmates came. Really nicely done, with 33 red balloons let into the air at the end, and a barbie and a few drinks. The parents and family are dealing with it OK, but it's all a bit surreal still, and sad sad sad. You can't bring them back - life does go on though.

[Ashore]

Tassie condolences
I retirer 11 years ago because of my wife's Bi Polar
we are on top of it now however when it was first diagonised we knew nothing about it or depression , 11 years down the track and numerous medications plus hours on the net we ar more aware than we were
The facts that stand out to me are these
1 in 6 Women will suffer from severe depression
! in 8 Men will suffer from severe depression

Of those who suffer only 20 % will seak treatment

There are many drugs available all have some side affects that affect some worse than others.
There may be no Quick fix some times it may take years to get to the right medication trial and error, in other cases the first is the best , my point is
Don't give up
Don't stop taking the medication because you feel better.
Listen to your DR and if possible go to a specialist to be treated for depression
There is no shame in going to a specialist for any disease and that is what depression is simply a chemical disorder

Rgds