Posted by Nibor on October 17, 2000, at 10:31:56
In reply to Re: Something has invaded and changed us. LONG, posted by noa on October 17, 2000, at 9:38:58
> > it makes intuitive sense to feel that the self has been invaded by something alien. Something very powerful, something from outside us, has invaded and changed us.
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> Thanks, Robin. as I read the above, I had this thought that depression can be seen as somewhat analogous to AIDS, in that the invading alien attacks and changes the very thing inside us that we would otherwise use to combat the invasion, making this self-protective mechanism (immune system) weak, and potentially powerless against this and other invaders.Exactly. "It's the depression itself that makes us feel it's useless to seek help." Here's a little more from Undoing Depression:
The Experience of Depression
Everyone knows what depression feels like. Everyone feels the blues at times. Sadness, disappointment, fatigue are normal parts of life. There is a connection between the blues and clinical depression, but the difference is like the difference between the sniffles and pneumonia.
Depressive disorders are "whole person" illnesses; they affect the body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior. The depression itself can make us feel like it's useless to seek help. The good news is that eighty to ninety percent of people with depression can be treated effectively, but the bad news is that only one sufferer in three seeks treatment. More bad news is that almost half the American public views depression as a character defect, rather than an illness or emotional disorder. Still more bad news is that only half of all cases of depression are accurately diagnosed, and only half of those receive adequate treatment.
We confuse depression, sadness, and grief. But the opposite of depression is not happiness but vitality—the ability to experience a full range of emotion, including happiness, excitement, sadness, and grief. Depression is not an emotion itself. It's not sadness or grief, it's an illness. When we feel our worst, sad, self-absorbed, and helpless, we are experiencing what people with depression experience, but they don't recover from those moods without help.
The hallmark of depression is a persistent sad or "empty" mood, sometimes experienced as tension or anxiety. Life lacks pleasure. People with mild depressions may go through the motions of eating, sex, work, or play but the activities seem hollow; people with more severe depressions withdraw from these activities, feeling too tired, tense, or bitter to participate. There is often a nagging fatigue, a sense of being unable to focus, a feeling of being unproductive.
People with depression usually experience a lowered self-esteem. In a depression, you may feel that you are a helpless victim of fate, but you also feel that you don't deserve any better. Feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness are common.
poster:Nibor
thread:990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001011/msgs/1194.html