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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
I can often feel depressed and not know why. My family can't understand that. Heck, I can't understand it either. Does anybody else go through this?
AG
Posted by KaraS on December 24, 2004, at 22:11:09
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
> I can often feel depressed and not know why. My family can't understand that. Heck, I can't understand it either. Does anybody else go through this?
>
> AGI used to think that the depression was specific to things happening (or not happening) in my life but now I realize that it's much more than that. For some people, going through a lot of stress or a difficult time - this will throw them into depression. For me, the depression is there all of the time. I'm convinced it's my genetic make-up.
I remember reading an article about a study on people and happiness. The authors said that people have happiness setpoints. They followed people when really good things happened (winning the lottery, great new job, new marriage etc.) as well as following people who had gone through some horrible experiences. These things affected people's moods profoundly but after about 6 months, the people would be back at their natural setpoints - regardless of whether they went throught the horrible times or the great times.
K
Posted by Susan47 on December 24, 2004, at 23:55:27
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
A feeling of wanting to die
a feeling of no hope
a feeling of complete disinterest
will suddenly grab me and suck the life out of everything I'm looking at, thinking about, or doing.
It's horrifying.It's very hard work to pull all the mental strings
in order to get the hope back,
and it requires me stepping backwards
before the horrid feeling
to what was I thinking about
just before that occurred.Sometimes I can do it, sometimes I can't.
If I'm successful, I may be able to formulate a cause and therefore come up with a mental solution.Otherwise, I have a few tokes. In any case, I have a few tokes. And at those times, lots of people around can really help, in two ways.
Sometimes the presence of people will make me cry, and that will release me from the desperation of feeling nothing.
Other times, the presence of people will draw me into interactions with them, and I'm usually okay at that, which puts the ghost of disinterest to rest.... until the next time.
Posted by partlycloudy on December 25, 2004, at 10:25:53
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
Well, let's see. Last night we went to see a great movie. On the way home I started weeping. This was not a sad movie. I *think* I was sad about living so far from my family, but I really don't always enjoy our dynamics: we siblings fall very easily into old childhood patterns of critisizing and taunting. So I definitely can't always say what is making me depressed.
Posted by AuntieMel on December 28, 2004, at 8:00:54
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
No. I never know why - I have a "great" life by most standards.
I think depression is a constant down-ness *without* a reason. If there is a reason to be down then it's normal, not depression.
Posted by ghost on December 28, 2004, at 12:54:43
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
if i knew why...i could fix it.
Posted by Angel Girl on December 28, 2004, at 18:36:51
In reply to Re: Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by ghost on December 28, 2004, at 12:54:43
I was just curious. I mean, I'm *always* depressed, that's my normal state but there are times when it hits harder and I fall deeper in my depression. Sometimes, like now, I know why, but other times, I have absolutely no reason to what deepened my depression.
AG
Posted by Shortelise on January 1, 2005, at 12:38:45
In reply to Do you always know WHY you're depressed?, posted by Angel Girl on December 24, 2004, at 18:12:08
but I am getting better at figuring it out. Not always, but sometimes, whcih is way better than it used to be.
ShortE
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