Ping: fellow depressives

[Fletch456]

Depressed and pissed off are similar and both are quite different from depression. Having depression is a long term illness where you have amongst other things very little energy.

As the words sound and look virtually identical people take them to mean the same but they certainly don't.

 

[Norm]

How can you tell the difference from being thoroughly pissed off and depressed? I'm certainly a bit pissed off lately.

Sorry for quoting myself but...

IMO, the single worst thing about helping non-sufferers to understand depression is that depression does not mean being depressed.

Being depressed is, for me, a short term feeling brought about from opening the post, listening to the news, waking up on Monday morning etc.

Depression is a long term mental health issue.

There is no equivalence, one does not lead to the other in either direction in that non-depressed people can get pissed off and depressed people can make great company for an evening.

There are as many causes of depression as there are sufferers and many of those sufferers just have a chemical imbalance which drugs can help resolve.

Being thoroughly pissed off is probably a sign that you're not suffering from depression. I usually find depression is accompanied with apathy, a lack of emotion, a lack of awareness of what's going on around and not really caring that much if something does get through to you.

That said, of course, it's a very personal illness and everyone can be affected differently.

 

[The Jogger]

Depressed and pissed off are similar and both are quite different from depression. Having depression is a long term illness where you have amongst other things very little energy.

As the words sound and look virtually identical people take them to mean the same but they certainly don't.

Well I've been pissed off and knackered lately, I'll see if it passes after a few weeks. Thanks for the reply Fletch

 

[pepecat]

Generally (and this is according to ye olde medical websites) symptoms of depression should have lasted for at least two weeks (every day) for it to be classed as depression.
Symptoms include:
Sleeping too much or not enough (early waking is a classic sign of depression)
Loss of appetite and/or weight (but there can be an increase)
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty remembering things (short term stuff). When i was ill i once went to the supermarket repeating the four things i needed to buy, and came out 5 mins later with only three of them cos i'd completely forgotten the fourth....
Tearfulness
Feeling guilty
Feeling lethargic / apathetic / hopeless / worthless
Thoughts of self harm or suicide
Trouble making decisions
Irritation at others

There are others...see: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Depression/Pages/Symptoms.aspx for more.....

If some / all apply and have been going on for more than two weeks, i would gently suggest it might be wise to get thee to a physician....

 

[Fletch456]

Well I've been pissed off and knackered lately, I'll see if it passes after a few weeks. Thanks for the reply Fletch

My tip would be watch you sleep...get good rest. For me it can literally make me ill with depression. I don't value my rest enough.

 

[Dayvo]

Well I've been pissed off and knackered lately, I'll see if it passes after a few weeks. Thanks for the reply Fletch

Could be that you suffer from SAD (winter blues).

Symptoms are apathy, tiredness, over-eating (and weight-gain) etc. I've had it since my teens, but it soon goes with the arrival of spring and warm sunny weather.

 

[The Jogger]

Gosh that was quick, thanks all, I do seem to have a few of the symptoms described, the sleep thing especially. I often wake up at 2 or 3 and find it hard to get back to sleep, then wake up at 6 and find it hard to get up. I use to be a big drinker but packed that up over 20yrs ago, don't know if this could have an effect. Anyway, I'll certainly keep an eye on it.

 

[Fletch456]

Gosh that was quick, thanks all, I do seem to have a few of the symptoms described, the sleep thing especially. I often wake up at 2 or 3 and find it hard to get back to sleep, then wake up at 6 and find it hard to get up. I use to be a big drinker but packed that up over 20yrs ago, don't know if this could have an effect. Anyway, I'll certainly keep an eye on it.

Lots of things can help or hinder sleep. One recommended to me and I use regularly to help me get off to sleep is the radio - usually radio 4 - farily easy sounding voices. With it set to go off 20 mins later. With waking up in the middle of the night - therapists advise one or two things and one is treat that time as if it is the day. Go and do whatever - treat it like its day time - a house hold chore or two can be good here - physically tiring whilst not being brain demanding - then when you begin to feel sleepy only then head back to bed. Being short of sleep for one or two nights is one and a manageable thing - several can be a very different matter. - Don't focus on being asleep. Don't worry about being awake. If lying in bed, relax. - And if you can't get to sleep lying there can be restful and I find it helps me and you often drift off for a little sleep - it may not feel like a lot but it will help.

 

[coffeejo]

Cycling has really helped me start to manage how I feel - and insomnia seems to be both a cause and a consequence of depression, for me anyway.

What Feltch456 said about managing not sleeping rings true for me. I either get up and Do Something or watch a DVD. I find I go to sleep more easily if it's a David Attenborough programme, but my Lovefilm subscription has proved its weight in gold for the nights when sleep won't come, no matter what I do.

 

[The Jogger]

I have no problem getting to sleep, 10 mins on the HTC and CC then my eyes are closing but then I wake up thinking I;ve had a nights sleep, look at the clock and it's 2 am or so.

 

[coffeejo]

I sometimes have that as well. Asleep by 10/11, awake at 1, listen to the dawn chorus, watch the sun come up and then unconscious for about half an hour before the alarm goes off.

When it happens, I get up, have a wee and get a drink of water (to cover all bases) and then as my above post.

Doctors are funny about sleep / lack of but it is worth making an appointment, just to rule stuff out. And be honest with yourself about why you might be feeling pissed off. Sometimes, facing up to the issue can be enough to let you relax.

 

[pepecat]

Its common with me, and usually a sign that the mood is slipping.... i wake up at about 2 or 3 am, can't get back to sleep, have to get up and watch tv, back to bed about 4.30 - 5 ish. Usually takes about an hour and half to two hours before i'm ready for sleeping again. And then, ironically, I sleep like a log until the alarm goes off, and then i'm knackered!

 

[neil earley]

also prescibed citroplan as a anti depressant it does help , dont isolate yourself family and friends can help you through , arrange counselling through your GP it helped me a lot

 

[661-Pete]

Hello I just got back from almost two weeks holiday (off internet), see there's a lot of posts on this thread I need to catch up with, some of them directed at me. Thanks guys: will read properly in due course.

So: did the holiday help? Well I didn't go doolally (as I did on a previous hol. last year), if that's anything. And I was quite happy to be disconnected with you lot (not trying to be rude, but, you know.... ). I shan't really know until I get back to work tomorrow and see if I can do my work. Which may depend on what's in my inbox of course (I can receive work E-mails at home, but I wisely left the only laptop that can access them, on my desk at work.... ).

So: was the holiday a good one? Well, not really, it was pretty lousy. Weather was pretty cr@p, all but the last two days. I only got the 'scope out once. And I somehow contrived to fall off my bike, just outside the house as I was setting off - don't ask! . That hurt a lot - pulled a muscle in the leg or something, but it's easing off now, I have been on the bike since and AOK. And worst of all, last Friday we heard of the passing of a very dear relative of mine. Someone I've known since I was a small child. So we get back to UK and the first thing I have to do is brush off my best suit and get ready for a funeral.

So did this holiday get me down? In a word: no, I don't think so. These are not depression-making things. Bad weather hits everyone alike, you don't feel singled out. And death: well death will come to us all, we all have to know death and I certainly think I do - all too often at my age. Grief and depression are different things.

Anyway that's all I'll say for now.

 

[Fletch456]

For those earlier in this thread generally talking about depression and do they have the symptoms - and anyone else.

From a reputable source - mental health charity Rethink, who I am connected to on facebook.

What is depression and links to other things which those suffering often find it useful to find out about - such as antidepressants and different therapies..... Link