Posted by Racer on June 12, 2007, at 0:51:50
In reply to I have no excuse for being depressed, posted by peddidle on June 12, 2007, at 0:26:52
I don't know if that helps, but you have my permission to be depressed, or dysthymic, without any justification of any sort. You don't need any traumas to bring it on, and my bet is that you have had traumas that just don't seem particularly traumatic to you.
Here's an example: when I was four and a half, I was hit by a car and spent a month in the hospital, months in a cast, then physical therapy, etc. It took until I was 40 to realize that that really and truly did constitute a trauma! It didn't "feel" traumatic to me, so it never occurred to me that it was a legitimate trauma. My guess is that you probably have some similar things in your background somewhere.
And even if you don't, even if you had a totally charmed life, with robins singing and flowers blooming -- you can still be depressed.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating: there is no hierarchy of suffering. And there's no limit to the amount of suffering allowed at any one time. Just because one person suffers [x], doesn't mean that someone else can't also suffer [x] amount, too. You're not preventing someone else from having their rightful suffering. (Though wouldn't it be nice if we could do that? I know people whose suffering I'd take on if I could.) And just because I suffered by being hit by a car, doesn't mean my suffering is more real than that of someone who sprained an ankle, or who felt lonely on a holiday, or lost a friend. It's all real, and it's all important.
I don't suppose any of that helps. I hope it does, though.
Good luck to you. And I hope you learn that it's OK to feel what you feel, and that it never needs a reason.
poster:Racer
thread:762540
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070525/msgs/762546.html