Can you self diagnose depression?

[buggi]

there is a definite difference. fed up is when you have a problem and that is what is causing you to feel down. you usually feel down about this one thing. this is temporary.

depression is an illness. i think there are two types. there is a reactive depression, triggered by a serious situation (such as bereavement/abuse etc) and there is the other type of depression caused by chemical imbalances in the brain (manic depressives). they are treated differently.

when you start feeling suicidal i would say this generally this means you are properly depressed, but people with depression often don't complain about this at the docs, they tell the doc they are tired all the time, no energy, can't see the point of getting up in the morning, loss of appetite etc etc.

i went to the docs once a few years ago and i told her that when driving to work that morning i wished a lorry would come over the central reservation and take me out... not becuase i wanted to die but i just wanted to "go to sleep" for a while for a rest from what was going on in my head. i dunno what the feck i was talking about but she diagnosed depression, reactive kind, and gave me some pills. didn't take the pills coz i was scared of getting hooked.

 

[striker]

great, thanks. Really helped. Good other thread.

My thoughts/questions are

a) can being really seriously fed up about 1 (or 2) things can lead you down the path to a more serious condition if you dont do something about it

is there a point of no return

c) will changing this one thing actually sort the problem out or can it be a classic case of 'the grass is greener' syndrome.

Think I'll get 'my friend' to sort out he thing thats bothering him first

 

[byegad]

great, thanks. Really helped. Good other thread.

My thoughts/questions are

a) can being really seriously fed up about 1 (or 2) things can lead you down the path to a more serious condition if you dont do something about it

is there a point of no return

c) will changing this one thing actually sort the problem out or can it be a classic case of 'the grass is greener' syndrome.

Think I'll get 'my friend' to sort out he thing thats bothering him first

Answers from my experience of my own and others depression.
a) Yes but you need to be predisposed. It's all about chemical balance in the brain which is why you cannot 'snap out of it'.

I think so and you must seek help before you get there.

c) If you are only depressed/fed up/whatever about one thing and it goes on and on and on, I feel it can drive you into a clinical depression. More often it won't but changing that one thing is a good life choice in my opinion. I stuck a job I had once enjoyed for far too long after I had grown to hate it. It certainly was instrumental in my ensuing illness, which has now recurred twice more after te cause was removed.

 

[ACS]

great, thanks. Really helped. Good other thread.

My thoughts/questions are

a) can being really seriously fed up about 1 (or 2) things can lead you down the path to a more serious condition if you dont do something about it

is there a point of no return

c) will changing this one thing actually sort the problem out or can it be a classic case of 'the grass is greener' syndrome.

Think I'll get 'my friend' to sort out he thing thats bothering him first

As I have said before I suffer and have been told that I will for the rest of my days. I take prescribed medication; I am not addicted to the medication I take it because it allows me to be able to make rational decisions and judgements.

Medication is one part of a self management process which also involves being honest with family and friends, exercise, life style options amongst others.

For those who are sceptical, life for me with medication is 100% better than without, reducing vastly the impact my condition has on my family. Simple option medication or darkness and isolation.

Striker if you wish an off forum opinion PM me happy to help if I can
..

Andy

 

[Flying_Monkey]

IMHO, self-diagnosis is probably only really possible if you have already experienced the condition (and probably been properly diagnosed).

I think one thing to bear in mind is that, unlike being a 'bit fed up', depression never really goes away, but you can manage it. I disagree that it is a simple 'illness', it is a fact of my body chemistry and part of who I am. I've learnt not only to anticipate when it is going to get really bad and through self-discipline (particularly attention to diet, exercise, meditation and writing) to prevent the worst. I have also come to appreciate that my depression is bound up with what makes me creative and productive. Having seen others who've gone down the route of prozac and other blunter chemical instruments, I think for me, this is far better.

 

[Stan]

Having had severe bout's of depression over the last couple of years cumulating with a suicide attempt, it was not until I got the help of a proper professional that I have been able to feel better. I had been prescribed different anti-depressants by my GP which didn't seem to help. The psychiatrist told me that the anti-depressants would not help unless the underlying problems were tackled. When I came off the anti-depressants I found I was in a better frame of mind to be able to tackle my problems. I've been relatively lucky as I have had access to excellent care. I suggest that 'your friend' seeks professional help as soon as possible and tries to avoid anti-depressants at all costs. Good Luck!

 

[Kirstie]

They could try to tackle the initial problem if they have the strength to do so, but depression can take hold when problems seem enormous and beyond your control. So getting over depression which is reacting to a particular stimulus is like eating an elephant - one bite at a time.

I've had two bouts of bad reactive depression, didn't medicate either time. Got sorted the problem the first time, but the second time the 'problem' is still ongoing and so I anticipate that it will hit me again in the next couple of years. You can be prone to it as well. Being depressed actually can give you some amazing insight but it's not a pleasant experience.

 

[cchapman]

In my life. sheltered as it has been, I have had friends who were schizophrenic, obsessive, depressive, and others with "difficult to satisfy" needs. I believe they were all born with the condition. Other asb type of behaviour may be a result of life experiences, but those which cause a woman (such as my cousin) to see existance as futile and throw herself off a bridge, or Bert in East Enders who locked himself in the shed on his allotment are a product of nature.
If I then accept that a tendency to depression is innate, then sufferers with a bit of self-examination would be aware at an early age. Given this some medication to alleviate the symptoms would seem sensible.
I don't know why I'm writing this. It's all meaningless or at best childish.
Anybody who reads this will sneer and pass it over. Why can't I express myself so that people will understand what I'm trying to say. My reply doesn't match the topic. What have I come to, alone in my caravan, with a bottle of wine, a laminex table and flaking chipboard and a slow internet connection.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I think that the ability to self diagnose clinical depression as distinct from any other type is difficult but not impossible. I have lived with CD for over 20 years but was only diagnosed around 6 years ago and have been medicated ever since. The key point IMHO is the fact that 'you' are questioning the situation and as such is evidence for CD. GP's are either a/ extremely good or b/ useless at diagnostics. Often a counsellor is a better bet.

 

[spandex]

I think you can as I know I am and no one has told me I am I just know the way I was and the way I am now then if I take that and look at what has happened to me over the last 4 1/2 months I would say I am. But I have good friends and now a new very close friend/? It helps knowing they are there and just having them there.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I have also come to appreciate that my depression is bound up with what makes me creative and productive

I can relate to that.

Depression sucketh big time...I hate it..and I hate what it does to me and to my family. The only winners seem to be the quacks and the manufacturers of the medication...however one good thing about it is the way it manifests itself in creative output. In my case that is songwriting and guitar playing. OK I am carp at it but it is a kind of release...well has been.

The best thing I find for 'regulating' the mood swings is riding my bikes. They above all give me the exercise, fresh air, sunlight I need. Medication may work for some, and the docs keep telling me it works for me...but I disagree...all it does for me is help those around me and feed the drug companies sales targets. [Interestingly the more I ride the less I write music...when i stop riding I get down and then I write again. The pills seem to just stop both and send me into a complete neggie nosedive.

Self diagnosis? Yes...but to get good treatment you need a proper docter to diagnose I think. There are different types of depressive illness...Major, reactive, Bi polar and they have different causes and treatments. Best go to a quack and get reffered to a pshykiatrist (I hate that word!)...to be sure, an ddont just accept the pills without questioning there need and looking at other options.

 

[ColinJ]

I usually write in a fairly jokey manner, but I think I'd better be serious for once...

In my life. sheltered as it has been, I have had friends who were schizophrenic, obsessive, depressive, and others with "difficult to satisfy" needs. I believe they were all born with the condition. Other asb type of behaviour may be a result of life experiences, but those which cause a woman (such as my cousin) to see existance as futile and throw herself off a bridge, or Bert in East Enders who locked himself in the shed on his allotment are a product of nature.

Agreed.

If I then accept that a tendency to depression is innate, then sufferers with a bit of self-examination would be aware at an early age. Given this some medication to alleviate the symptoms would seem sensible.

Yes, but under medical supervision of course. Sufferers shouldn't try and work it out for themselves and buy drugs off the internet.

I don't know why I'm writing this. It's all meaningless or at best childish.
Anybody who reads this will sneer and pass it over. Why can't I express myself so that people will understand what I'm trying to say. My reply doesn't match the topic. What have I come to, alone in my caravan, with a bottle of wine, a laminex table and flaking chipboard and a slow internet connection.

I have a tendency to suffer from stress, and I also feel mildly depressed a lot of the time. A couple of times, I got really bad - during and after my father's terminal illness for example. I tend to drink too much alcohol, a form of self-medication I suppose, but it really isn't a great idea.

What you wrote wasn't meaningless or childish, and no sensitive person would sneer at it or pass it over. You expressed yourself perfectly well.

Your physical circumstances don't sound ideal, but they can be improved with time.

Based on my own experience, I'd suggest to you that the wine isn't really helping you. I know it's tempting to 'drown your sorrows' but in the long run it just makes things worse.

I find exercise really helps to calm me down. Get out on your bike with some mates. If you don't have the mates, find a club to join and try and make some. When my best mate emigrated, I started spending too much time alone so I contacted a few people on the old Cycling Plus forum, then BikeRadar and now here on CycleChat. I've been out on rides with them and they've been a great bunch of people. Most of them are fitter than me, have more money, successful relationships (whatever) but they haven't made me feel stupid or unwelcome. I've even organised some rides myself - this one for example.

Why not start a new thread "Cycling buddies wanted, Melbourne area"? This is a fairly small forum so you might not get any replies here, but you could always go on a bigger forum such as BikeRadar and ask there.

Even if you feel alone, I think the responses in this and the other depression thread show that there are many fellow cyclists in similar situations. We should try to help each other out.

Good luck mate,
ColinJ

 

[buggi]

someone explained it like this to me one time. it's a bit hard to explain without drawing a diagram but i will try.

draw a big U on a piece of paper.

if you imagine the top part of the U is where you are happiest , and the bottom curve of the U is depression .

When people are fed up because of a situation they are usually near the bottom of the U but not quite on the curve .

They know that if they do something about the situation to make it better they will first hit the bottom and quite often they don't want to do that because they can't face it. however, the only way out and up the other side back to happiness is to do the thing that will make it better and that usually means taking yourself into the bottom curve, and then what happens is that the pain hits and then it gets better and you come back up the other side back to

e.g. if you are in a bad relationship you know it will not get better unless you end it, but you know the pain of ending it will be worse. however, things won't get better until you do, as you can't turn back time, so you have to take yourself down a bit further to get back up the other side.

the trick to not getting stuck in the bottom bit of the U and getting yourself out of the situation as fast as possible. If you stay there and don't do anything that is when people start becoming depressed.

It made sense to me at the time when they explained it, and it helped me confront a situation. confronting the situation brought about the ending i dreaded but i did come up the other side after that. i could still be there now if i hadn't confronted the problem

 

[bonj2]

Course it's possible to self-diagnose depression. It's also possible to self-mis-diagnose depression.
I can't imagine a situation where someone thinks of themselves as un-depressed, but someone else thinks they are. In other words I think the subject is always more likely to think of themselves as depressed than anyone else is (without implying that they're necessarily wrong).

 

[bonj2]

Taking anti-depressants from the doctors if you're depressed is just as non-sensical as taking antibiotics if you've got a cold.