Depression Discussion

[motithy]

Realised that there are little to no forums in which people can freely discuss about their depression or other disorders.

Therefore, I thought to try and start something and hope that it can help myself as well as others. Hope that there is some support for this thread!

[JR8]

Morning Motithy, and welcome to the forum.

Hmmm... it's a small country, a small forum, and if you're taking about clinical depression, rather than the day-to-day blues that we all get now and again, then it can be a serious matter.

If you believe it's something along the lines of clinical depression then there are a couple of things you could do. You could go and chat with your friendly neighbourhood doctor. It's a far more common (but stigmatised) condition than many think, so it's no big deal (as such) to them. They might have some suggestions that would help lift you from your groove.

If you aren't quite ready for that and just want a way of informally discussing it with others, there are plenty of health-orientated fora out there. Yahoo Groups alone must have thousands. Given how widespread 'depression' is considered to be, I'm sure there are scores of places you can find via a Google-search, where it is being discussed.

From what I know of it, I don't think it's a location-specific issue, so if in your shoes I'd simply looking for a group on the internet likely to get the most traffic.

Good luck!

[motithy]

Hey JR8 good morning to you too.

Perhaps I was not clear with regards to my post. I was referring to clinical depression rather than just a general low mood sort of depression (day to day variety).

I am already visiting both a psychiatrist and a psychologist on a regular basis, but felt that maybe an anonymised discussion would be helpful.

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually forgot the existence of yahoo. Lol.

I will go search for a bit and see what I can find.

Thanks once again!

[the lynx]

Hey JR8 good morning to you too.

Perhaps I was not clear with regards to my post. I was referring to clinical depression rather than just a general low mood sort of depression (day to day variety).

I am already visiting both a psychiatrist and a psychologist on a regular basis, but felt that maybe an anonymised discussion would be helpful.

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually forgot the existence of yahoo. Lol.

I will go search for a bit and see what I can find.

Thanks once again!

One thing about anonymous discussion on things clinical is that it is not only stifling, it can be downright dangerous. One could have a random stranger pretending to be "one of the flock", comes in, and the mindf*cks the vulnerable members of the group down the spiral. Internet can be a vicious place, especially when irresponsible people, who are insensitive to other people's needs and problems, hide behind computer screen and keyboard and toy around with legit depressed people for their sick sense of fun. It has been reported before in some self-help groups that are unregulated. In fact, even regulated groups like AA-equivalents have reports problems of "rogue" members, despite having professional help listed to facilitate the groups.

Nevertheless, we are a bunch of friendly people. We can talk about what makes us blue, or generally the topic of depression with light-hearted objectivity. But we can't protect you from trolls.

[JR8]

Hey JR8 good morning to you too.
Perhaps I was not clear with regards to my post. I was referring to clinical depression rather than just a general low mood sort of depression (day to day variety).
I am already visiting both a psychiatrist and a psychologist on a regular basis, but felt that maybe an anonymised discussion would be helpful. Thanks for the suggestion. I actually forgot the existence of yahoo. Lol. I will go search for a bit and see what I can find. Thanks once again!

You have the advantage of knowing what you're dealing with, rather than facing a situation and trying to figure out what it is from step-1.

I had a situation years back where I was living with someone who had... something of a parallel condition. On Yahoo Groups I was able to find several Groups that covered it, including a forum specifically for 'people living with another person who has condition X', their groups really do go down to a very micro level! I was living in a foreign country and facing an unknown situation and that group proved something of a lifeline of support at the time. It also pointed out other resources etc., so all in all, very helpful.

Best of luck finding what you need

[I know other ways of trying to track down such a resource but I'd hope that, assuming Y-Groups hasn't changed, that it might be all that you need]

@Lynx. IME the forum I used on YG was self-moderated in much the same way as this one is. I don't recall there being any trolling. You pretty quickly got to figure out who was who, dealing with what circumstances. Your caution is a useful 'heads-up' though, to highlight the potential for coming upon that kind of environment.

[PNGMK]

For what it's worth; there are cases of depression following bouts of Malaria, Chikungunya (sp?) and Dengue. I had a severe bout of physioligal depression following http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya which my doc refused to acknowledge. It was only some missionary friends from West Papua who told me about this.

All I could do to combat it for 8 weeks was sit in front of the TV 18 hours a day. If I tried anything else my mind would spiral into an infinite loop of horror.

[taxico]

i'm not sure if my remarks help or not... but most GPs are not really equipped to treat psychiatric problems...

it's a good first step, but i recommend dropping by a psychiatric clinic eventually. the GP will make such a referral as well...

if you are unsure about medication/psychotherapy, please at least find someone to talk to.

many churches/quasi-christian orgs have "qualified" counselors... you do not need to be part of their flock to see a counselor. it is also free. to start, google methodist church counseling.

there's always SOS hotlines... talk to someone before doing ANYTHING drastic.

[motithy]

I am seeing a psychiatrist and a psychologist right now.

The psychiatrist is prescribing meds and is being helpful, but I got a newbie psychologist. And it wasn't helpful at all.

I'm a till trying my best to get by day by day.

All I can do is hope for the best I guess..


Thanks for the replies everyone.