Depression. It's back.

[TheDoctor]

And talk about it. Talk to your partner, your friends, us on here or anyone...but talk about it.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

i wont patronise you but i have a lot of experience of this. its easy to give advice but lots of people are talking sense in their replies. remember, keep pushing, do stuff you dont feel like doing but be REALISTIC - 50% not 100% is the way to start functioning again. most importantly 'give youself a break' all that feeling crap about yourself, its all distorted thinking caused by wonky brain chemistry.
And i always knew physical activity was good therapy but cycling has turned out to be far and away the best form of this i have EVER known,the gym just bored me.
personally i think meds have their place to kick start you out of the worst of it, but i will NEVER take any of that again.....(some of) the professional contact i had years ago was useful but ultimately its you who will regain control and become comfortable in your own skin - hard work but you'll get there,on your own terms and with your own strengths. but always make sure
to get help BEFORE it gets to the stage where its crippling you, wether that be friends, family, professionals or whatever.
Is it seasonal ? just wondered, because i am convinced that SAD is not an illness as such ; i honestly believe that anyone who DOESNT experience a significant lowering of mood through our horrible long, grey british winter must be bloody lucky, i'd emmigrate if i could.
good luck, its worth the fight to beat this horrible thing.

 

[Kirstie]

I'm just at the end of my second bout of depression and just want to wish all the best to other fellow sufferers out there! It does get better eventually, and can give you some amazing insight as well...

 

[ColinJ]

Is it seasonal ? just wondered, because i am convinced that SAD is not an illness as such ; i honestly believe that anyone who DOESNT experience a significant lowering of mood through our horrible long, grey british winter must be bloody lucky, i'd emmigrate if i could.

SAD is a genuine condition, whether you choose to call it an illness or something else. I suffer really badly from it and have to use a light box to get through the winter in even a vaguely functioning state. It's not just the psychologically depressing effects of the UK climate. For acute sufferers, SAD can also create a state of chronic physical fatigue. For me, it makes it difficult to do the exercise which I know would make me feel better.

In autumn 2006 I was pretty fit and was managing to do hilly 200 km audax rides in the Yorkshire Dales comfortably in 10 hours. Two months later I'd been reduced to a jelly-legged weakling who couldn't carry a couple of bags of shopping 300 metres back from the local market without stopping for a rest. My sister bought me a light box and an hour a day with that sorted me out in about a week even though it was still a long, grey, British winter outside the house!

The weather has been very gloomy in Yorkshire recently and I've spent so much time indoors that my symptoms have arrived early this year. I usually don't use the box until late October or early November but I had to switch the box on today. I was falling asleep within two hours of getting up after 8 hours sleep.

There is a very good book on SAD which is well worth reading - Winter Blues by Dr. Norman Rosenthal.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

Sorry if i came across like i was questioning the condition, theres no doubting it is real and unfortunatley misunderstood ; like other depressive illnesses unfortunately theres still ignorance out there, people talk about 'depression' when theyre just 'blue' etc and have no idea how crippling it can be.
what i was trying to say is that depressive symptoms are like extreme / horrible versions of normal feelings and emotions, except in depression its way outside the 'normal' human mood fluctuations and negtive thoughts, like you say to a degree whereby people really cant function.
And i think theres no doubt that sunshine and daylight are good for everyones mental well being, i for one get lethargic and demotivated and gloomy when the weathers grey - i think thats normal, and i didnt mean to confuse this with SAD which is something much worse. apologies for any misunderstanding i may have caused with my size 12's

 

[LLB]

Knowing a few people who have suffered with this, I am glad I've never been afflicted by it. In the lack of anything really constructive to add to this I hope all who have posted of their illness are on the way back up

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry if i came across like i was questioning the condition, theres no doubting it is real and unfortunatley misunderstood ; like other depressive illnesses unfortunately theres still ignorance out there, people talk about 'depression' when theyre just 'blue' etc and have no idea how crippling it can be.
what i was trying to say is that depressive symptoms are like extreme / horrible versions of normal feelings and emotions, except in depression its way outside the 'normal' human mood fluctuations and negtive thoughts, like you say to a degree whereby people really cant function.
And i think theres no doubt that sunshine and daylight are good for everyones mental well being, i for one get lethargic and demotivated and gloomy when the weathers grey - i think thats normal, and i didnt mean to confuse this with SAD which is something much worse. apologies for any misunderstanding i may have caused with my size 12's

I wasn't offended. I just wanted to describe the effects of SAD because I suffered from it for a number of years before I heard about the condition and realised that was what I had. I was sceptical about using a light box until I tried mine out, so it definitely wasn't a placebo effect - I didn't believe that it would work!

There are probably a lot of people out there suffering from SAD without even realising it. That's why I recommended the Rosenthal book. There are some really grim stories in there of people who had their lives ruined by the condition. The good thing is that a high percentage of people can be helped by light box therapy. If anybody reading this only tends to suffer from depression in the wintertime, I'd say get a light box ASAP and start using it in October or even sooner (that's for people in the northern hemisphere). Start with an hour a day around lunch time and see how you get on. It might take a week or two to take effect (with me it is only a few days, and full effects in about a week). If you use a box too much you can suffer from eyestrain and headaches. Too late in the day, and it can cause sleep disruption.

What we tend to forget is that the UK is at quite a high northern latitude (Birmingham, UK is further north than Vancouver, Canada for example) so the effects of SAD are worse here than they would be in somewhere like France. What you said about emigrating actually makes sense - I'm sure that I wouldn't suffer from SAD if I lived in the Canary Isles! Mind you, I'd then start suffering from the heat...

 

[Kirstie]

what i was trying to say is that depressive symptoms are like extreme / horrible versions of normal feelings and emotions, except in depression its way outside the 'normal' human mood fluctuations and negtive thoughts, like you say to a degree whereby people really cant function.

No. It really isn't like this.

Depression is a complete and utter detachment from the outside world, other people, things and yourself. It physically feels like you're looking at everything from inside a glass cube. Like there is a physical barrier around you obscuring your perception. It is the worst kind of emotional numbness and a complete indifference to anything. Imagine what it feels like to replace the core of your body with a big, heavy lump of stone, and the physical and mental effect that would have on your abiliy to do anything, and that will give you an idea of what it's like.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I have suffered from depression ever since my major injury ten years ago, I tried the drugs route but that just makes me flat, problem is I am on a fairly constant cocktail of pain killers as well, I find cycling helps if I can stay motivated enough to do it, but everything else slips, like accounts and keeping in touch with people, then I kind of emerge out the other side and the preceding month/s seem as if they existed in a fog, nothing is clear from that time, I just want to sleep all the time and the days disappear.

 

[wafflycat]

That sounds quite awful Catrike.

 

[Riding in Circles]

That sounds quite awful Catrike.

It feels odd to share it, I have to say the worst part is when I feel it starting to come on and know there is very little I can do about it, it is like looking down a hole, knowing that you are going to fall into it and not being able to prevent it, it is the one thing that truly scares me.

 

[Riding in Circles]

It physically feels like you're looking at everything from inside a glass cube.

This is a really accurate description. You are detached and everything is outside of your world but even though you notice it, you cannot interact with it and don't really want to.

 

[wafflycat]

A small positive though Catrike, is that if you feel it start to happen, you can get thee to a doc (hopefully) and ask for help early on. Have you had any luck with alternatives to drugs, such as CBT?

 

[Riding in Circles]

A small positive though Catrike, is that if you feel it start to happen, you can get thee to a doc (hopefully) and ask for help early on. Have you had any luck with alternatives to drugs, such as CBT?

CBT does not work for me, it can add to the triggers for me.

The best solution I have found has been to really isolate myself during, so a trip to the desert or mountains, me and a horse or a motorcycle, but this country is no good for that, to many people, I function fine alone and after a few days it lifts completely, it is just not practical to do most of the time.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I have not had a really bad one since last year btw.