depression?

[Pol Anorl]

Anyone have it? how do you deal with it?

feel free to pm me.
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GOOD GAME BODYGUARD: https://i.imgur.com/8WePGgf.jpg
20:30:37 Pyro.: I don't sort of like men, I take every advantage to choke on dick.
Jewlio Iglesias: You live in Liverpool - Chances are, the front door has already been kicked off the hinges

[WildGoose]

Never diagnosed, but yes. The longer it goes on the more I can recognise when it's happening and start to do something about it.

Lots of threads on it in the past, search for depression.

This was reasonably helpful at the time, long time ago now, so lots has changed since then.

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=213202

Developing a running habit has helped me a lot (despite my reluctance in the above thread) more than I ever thought possible in fact, and it keeps getting better, the fitter I get, the faster I go, the more miles I do etc.

I'm not saying it's a fix all solution for everyone, just seems to be mine. Even if everything else is going to shit, as long as I can keep running I know i'll generally be okay. It's knowing this, that keeps me doing it.

I.e. I know depression saps motivation for everything, but the motivation to make it go away is a stronger one.

I have also made a massive effort to start doing all the things I have wanted to do, and stop finding excuses not to do it. Sounds simple, but it isn't really, has caused a fair few problems, but it's my life.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[temeluchus]

Hobbies and avoiding stress.
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Some shite cruiser. Now with guns and FREEDOM!

[Boxing]

Depends how you want to deal with it really.

Riding the bike clears my mind, and helps me unwind.

But yeah, I found it really hard to deal with talking to them.

They still aren't sure if I have a personality disorder, or just depression and anxiety.

Personally, I'd get referred to a psychiatrist via doctor and just speak about all your problems. And remember to actually speak the truth to them, I couldn't speak to them at first and just pretended everything was fine, now two years later, I'm getting the help I've needed for all this time.

Basically just keeping yourself busy will stop you being depressed or help ease the "pain".

And if you haven't gone for a career choice yet, go for something hands on, if you're on a computer all day or another sitting down job, you'll be thinking constantly about what bothers you.

This will help: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/problems/depression/depression.aspx


Good luck

[P.addy]

Diagnosed a long time ago.

I spend time with bikes to keep my mind busy...it hurts the people around me sometimes as I find it hard to explain why I don't want to be around them..but I need to it otherwise I become all down and have a short temper so I really need to get away for an hour or two.

Assume if I continued my medication, I would be far happier.

Either way... people cope with it in their own ways, I used to just go off the rails. Literally about 4 years ago I was on a path of destruction, could even be 3 years ago

[pike]

I go walking/hiking, head to the local country park where there are less people (still too many though). For me it's better to be out walking utterly depressed than staring at the wall or laying in bed.

Gives my wife a break from my mutancy as well. Sometimes though, it's impossible to move, speak, eat or do anything.


Here's a little something i had published a while back, i might take a ribbing over the content. Oh well, so be it!

[Pol Anorl]

Ive had a few good hobbies that worked i,e shooting and model building but when our guns got confiscated (pending investigation 6 months on) ive lost all motivation to find a new hobby.

I feel useless, ive tried gardening as my garden really needs doing but i always end up getting stressed when it dosen't go to plan.

Decided to ignore my fear of meeting new people and i attended the bbq, it was ok but after the first night i felt so bloody awkward and couldn't do it anymore so i lied to the whole of bcf that where there and told them i had to work just as an excuse to get me away from there.

it feels as if no-one actualy cares about me and couldn't give a shit what i do i feel like a burden to my family and same with my friends who have incidently stopped talking to me and decided to become friends with my ex.

spend most of my time in my room doing nothing just waiting for the moment i fall asleep for the next day to come and repeat the same lonely useless and unwanted feelings the next day.
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GOOD GAME BODYGUARD: https://i.imgur.com/8WePGgf.jpg
20:30:37 Pyro.: I don't sort of like men, I take every advantage to choke on dick.
Jewlio Iglesias: You live in Liverpool - Chances are, the front door has already been kicked off the hinges

[nowhere.elysium]

Dumball, you weren't being ignored at the BBQ, you were being silent.

I'm a diagnosed manic depressive, and have been for a large proportion of my life. The things that I've learned from it are a) the people that stick around are usually the ones worth hanging on to (and vice-versa) and b) if you don't like feeling awkward, make your presence known in a conversation that you can contribute to. We're not all complete bastards; if you're interested in a topic that's being discussed, but don't know much about it, ask.

Try cycling or something. Exercise releases a ton of endorphins, and it also gives you something to occupy yourself with. Learn a programming language, make models out of matchsticks, start drawing - whatever; just do something. You may not enjoy it much at first, but as you get better at it, it'll become more rewarding.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Hetzer]

[Kickstart]

Hi

It covers a wide range of conditions, so how any of those affect different people will vary.

Ways to keep busy probably will help, but might not help if they just make someone feel busy but useless.

[Pol Anorl]

[Pete.]

If you stopped railing against the world you'd find that people would respond to you in a more positive way and you yourself would feel more positive as a result.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[waffles]

A few years back (when I had just started a particularly difficult job) I started to feel gradually more and more down. It got to the point where I would burst into tears if anyone asked me whether I was OK and I would give serious consideration to driving all the way round the roundabout outside and just go home. I went to the doctor and had a good chat about what was going on and why. He told me about the different types of depression, what causes it, and how to deal with it. I went away feeling better equipped to deal with that downer in my life.

I took up a hobby, wakeboarding, and talked it through with my family and later on some close friends. Everyone was supportive and even my workplace helped me through the rough patches. Recently though things have taken a massive nosedive for me but I have learnt to look out for myself and focus on the positives. Its hard sometimes but when life gives you lemons you make lemonade.

If you ignore it, everything will spiral out of control until you really can't get out of bed in the morning and all you will see is the negatives. Whatever you need to do to get out of that mindframe - do it. Go ride your bike, go to the pub (but no alcohol!), take a stroll round town, meet up with a mate and chat shit about stuff. You sound like a fairly introverted person in real life but try to take that step out of your comfort zone and speak to people. Heck, get a dog if you want something thats going to care for you (and your ability to open the food) regardless of who you are and how you feel about yourself.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[bagger]

citalopram 40mg
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sv650s,cb350s

[neatbik]

[cornish]

A trip to the doc's may be a good start because everybody is different and it'd be worth getting some professional advice. Some people report excellent results with some drugs or therapies and others don't get on with them at all.

Don't get put off by all the stigma crap about asking for help. It's b0ll0cks. If you're physical health was in question you'd get medical advice so if your mental health is a concern don't be afraid to ask for advice about it either.

I've had a variety of strenuous circumstances over the last few years that have been one after another. The unsurprising outcome was developing an anxiety problem. It doesn't affect most of my life directly but the bit it does affect is quite full on and affects lots of other bits indirectly.

I was prescribed citalopram to help me wrench my claws out of the ceiling and take a bloody breath But, it was along with CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) to address the issues in question. I'd had CBT previously but it didn't do the trick as it works by reprogramming how you deal with the triggers by gradually approaching them and i was too wound about them to even do the minor stuff. The citalopram was to kind of take the edge off i guess to give the CBT a chance. It has knocked it down a number of notches, but i still can't do the stuff in question and i still find the CBT excruciating.

My personal experience of citalopram has been mixed. It really did knock back the anxiety and give me a chance to separate it off from other bits of my life. This in turn gave me a chance to be mindful of life in general and enjoy some bits of it rather than have it all being a constant blur of raging panic. But i did start to feel more drained and sapped of energy and the last couple of months i've gone markedly from anxious to a lot less anxious to depressed.

It's a bad road so i've cut my dose by half over the last three weeks and i'm already starting to feel a bit less defeated. The most significant improvement for me is (as Wildgoose has wisely pointed out) exercise. Previously i'd lost any will at all to maintain it and had dropped the gym completely. I know how important it is but i just couldn't muster up the desire to do it (or anything else really). The last week i've started back on the cross-trainer and compared to last week i'm already feeling a bit more alive. But i'm aware that dropping the dose/stopping completely is a test process that'll take time.

So it really is horses for courses, different drugs and different therapies work for different people. Hence it's worth asking your doctor about how you're feeling.

The one constant i've had that's worked for me is a group therapy with my local Women's Aid. I wasn't keen on the idea at first but group therapy works for me as on the occasions where you don't want to talk your only obligation is to turn up. One to one therapy, whilst also good, does come with a pressure to speak when you might not always be in the mood. It also gives you the chance to get responses from 'real people' in similar circumstances as well as the counsellors.

This suits me immensely as it basically allows us to swap ideas about how to gain empowerment through the creative use of swearing \o/ Things like. . .don't just tell *insert name of antagonist* to 'f*ck off' and give them the chance to *insert big long list of manipulative crap*. Own the situation and be specific. 'F*ck you. F*ck your sh1t. Get out of my F*cking house/face/life' etc. You can't buy insight like that

But it just works for me in my situation so it's important to find something that works for you. It may involve a bit of trial and error so don't be disheartened if something isn't right for you, it just means something else may help you more.

I agree with Wildgoose tho about exercise. No matter what other things you do, try if you can to include some regular exercise in your routine. It will make a difference to how you feel.

Good Luck
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smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[Nick 50]

What's your diet like out of interest?

Analogy of sorts.

If someone came up to you and gave you a bike and said "this is going to be the one and only bike you will have for the rest of your life", you wouldn't but crappy petrol or crappy oil in it. Also you wouldn't not bother service/maintain the bike as you know it wouldn't last very long.

Well the same applies to the human body. If you fill it with crap and don't exercise it much sooner or later (normally sooner) it will start going wrong.

I kind of sliding down life and then my mother died and pretty much fell off a cliff.
Beforehand, I was self motivating, driven and generally a happy prankster type guy. Afterwards I became withdrawn, walked out on a good job. I shared a house and pretty much walked out leaving loads of stuff. It was kind of I walked out of my life in a way. There was times in the last 6 years I didn't leave the house for weeks on end. Thankfully I have a wonderful gf who has stood by me through it all.

That was about 6 years ago. Since then I have made pretty slow progress to getting back on my feet.

In the last 6 months I have come on leaps and bounds though. My mood swings have calmed right down. I can't remember the last time I had the dark thoughts I used to have on a frequent basis.

My diet was horrendous looking back and rarely did any exercise. My daily diet was pretty much:

Breakfast - If I had some it would be usually cakes or those 1kg trifles
Dinner - usually skipped
Tea - Takeaway or something with chips
Snacks - lots of cake

All topped with about 8 pints a coffee a day.

I took a conscious effort to change and that was pretty much due to the arrival of my son. I was 33y/o going on 50 y/o. I want in the future to do things when my son grows up and know I will need to be in some type of health to do it.

So I have cut out sugar from coffee (which is now de-caffeinated), salt, try to limit ketchup etc etc etc
Basically I have tried to cut as much sugar, fat and salt out of my diet as I could.

My diet still has some way to go but it is much better now. I eat a fair amount of fruit now. So if i'm peckish and want a snack it's usually a banana or grapes.

I lost 1 stone in 10 days when I changed diet. I have more energy (though not really exercising). My moods are much better. I feel more motivated to get up and do stuff even if it just silly little jobs around the house.

The TL;DR version:

Eat healthily. Cut as much crap out of your diet as you can. Exercise even if it just something as simple as going for walks or bike rides (bicycle version).


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Current Bikes: ZX7r 97 (Black Beauty), VFR400 NC24 (The banana)
Previous Bikes: Aprilia Tuono 03 (The Beast), CBR600f (97)
First bike: A GZ125 Lemon.......

[Ste]

Lorazepam is very good.

I didn't find Citaopram to be helpful.

[Tonka]

I've posted in previous threads, so won't repeat myself. However, Nick 50 has raised a really helpful topic and something that I feel quite strongly about for everyone, not just folk feeling poorly.

I got really frustrated on hospital visits when the psychiatrist kept harping on about coffee intake - we're talking a grossly overweight lump of psychiatrist here who eventually went off with ill health! I'm aware that it's easy to give advice and much more tricky to follow it but I think the point here is to note what you do eat and what reaction you get - diarise your life in detail and see if there are any obvious triggers. It's all about helping yourself or asking those closest, nearest and dearest to help identify what might be making the depression worse.

For me poor eating habits and loss of appetite are a sign that I'm heading for a bout of mania and or depression. It's a spiral, as I'll start craving sweets and coffee and before I know that will be all I will survive on. These days I know this, so sweets/chocolate are only after a proper meal to prevent that spike in the body's sugar levels and coffee is proper stuff and only two cups, both before midday. This way I don't feel deprived, but don't risk any self inflicted mood disturbance. I rarely consume any processed foods, take aways, alcohol or fizzy drinks and I'm sure this helps.

Have a think about where in your home you sit when you're feeling depressed and think about changing the furniture around if nothing else. It's very easy to assume position and mope - change the view in more ways than one. If you can't bring yourself to get outside, then make a change indoors. Getting out for some fresh air is so cliched, but it works!! Wildgoose is spot on with the exercise advice and proof it has helped too!

I really feel for you and everyone who suffers, as it's horrid, but there are some great folk on here who can help pick you up when you're down. Remember however alone you might feel, you're not - there are lots of us who do understand and can lend an ear if nothing else.
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[pike]

[Hetzer]

[J0Al1]

I have a bit of a harsh questions about this......


Case 1: At work we had a colleague who was 'fine' (capable nice chap) for years (aprox 10 years here).... 40 ish... then suddenly went off 'sick'. After a year sick (depression) work encouraged him to do some work from home, which he did. But the nature of his job was such that he could not do full time from home. So work gradually encouraged him back to the office, eventually he resigned when the applied pressure...

Apparently something from his childhood popped back to haunt him.


Case 2: I got a new line manager about 4 months ago... she did a week then went on holiday for 2 weeks, then she did another 2 weeks, then she went off on sick leave.... this was 2 months ago...

Apparently, she has depressions too. She has also worked here in another department (bit more laid back dept more up and about), for several years. I have been told not to expect her back this year (this was my boss basing his comments on case 1).



My question . . . .

Should people really be signed off work so readily? I mean, surely with depression, being encouraged and sometimes 'kicked up the ass' to get on with it is better than doctors signing people off ... and companies footing the bill.

I am far from saying that depression is not an issue and that should not be recognised.. but surely keeping something positive in the persons life (ie a job) is in their interest!


I do not think they 'system' is helping these people.


From an outisdeer it looks like....

Case 1: Was stuck in a rut, been here for years (we don’t get pay rises), single, middle aged and fed up.

Case 2: changed department (due to taupe/company contract change) and hated it.

[Kradmelder]

I dont really understand it. I cant figure how people get to that.

Like take a group of people with similar experiences out of those I grew up with: 2 suicides, 1 boarded with post traumatic stress, and the rest of us just keep going.

I used to think WTF is wrong with you, but I learnt it is not a choice, but a chemical imbalance that they cant control. Some people are just more susceptible. But is it all just chemical, emotional, or do they just have thought patterns that always look for the worst and dwell on it? So is medication needed, or a new way to look at things?

Coping mechanisms for dealing with stress or bad experiences:

For me it is riding, thinking back and telling myself my grandfather and family faced far worse and they carried on then so can I, reading, and alone time to regroup my thought processes.

What about things like gardening or playing with your children and thinking about how important you are to fostering new growth. Somehow try and focus on positive things.
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2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS

[cornish]

As Nick50 and Tonka have said, poor eating and high intake of 'bad' foods really don't help. It's something you don't really consider when you're in it but it does make a difference.

Personally i dropped meals altogether and was living on sweets, coffee and cigarettes. As has been said, it's very bad. If you took a happy person and gave them that diet they'd most likely be reporting all sorts of issues in a very short time.

My friend has cut coffee completely, i'm a bit more dependant and frequently have them right up to 4-5pm. . . .but, in total i have 3 or 4 cups a day now whereas it was pretty much continuous previously. Unsurprisingly i didn't sleep much and was up pacing about and stressing when everyone else was getting the sleep they needed.

Tonka's point about changing patterns is also good. I had to keep a diary for a week of how i spent my time. When i went through it with the cousellor vast swathes of my time were being spent simpy stressing and panicking. It was eating up all the time where i could be doing something nice and getting good mental feedback. I had to section it off from the rest of my life and do what she called 'worrytime' once a day only and it couldn't more than 1 hour.

So basically you have to force all the anxiety etc out of your head by delegating it to a specific time which frees your mind up to actually live the rest of your day and not just blat through it mindlessly in a frenzy of panic. This creates a chance to feel good for x amount of time each day which in turn improves your overall mindset.

Personally i have a notebook so thinks i'm worried about and need to sort go in it for that time of the day. So they're out of my head and on the paper which kind of moves them instead of getting rid of them completely (which would be ideal but just isn't realistic).

It sounds easier than it is and if your mind is used to working in a set way it is hard to retrain it, but ultimately extremely worthwhile.

Having said that, i've slipped myself now (school holidays) and am not doing any worrytime at all. I'm kidding myself that this is healthy and i'm enjoying the holidays. . . .but the reality is it's epic avoidance which only leads to problems later that are much harder to deal with. I've still got a way to go with it as my brain still considers avoidance to be it's bestest mate ever. . .which it is - despite what common sense says - but it's finite and the end is never good

So make minor changes as they can make a big difference and be aware that feeling better is an ongoing process that'll have it's own ups and downs too

Edited cos i type really slowly and had to answer the phone so by the time i posted this loads of other people had posted since Tonka - sorry
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smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[Rogerborg]