Depression and what it's really like

YES YES YES. I *hate* when people say "things do get better*. To begin with, it's a loaded platitude - the person making the statement has no way of knowing that things will actually get better (as this isn't an inherent truth - life is random, sometimes shit just keeps happening). So if that prognostication goes south, now you have the depressed dude wondering why things didn't get better for them when they do for everybody else (which isn't the case, but is how it can be processed when you overuse that phrase).

and then of course the main reason - it's insulting. it's telling you "well, ok, you feel awful right now, but just sit idly by, it'll blow over soon". that's great - even if true, how about now, when I can't motivate myself to get out of bed or stop crying? People get so worked up over trying to solve folks' problems they forget how to be a friend.

I chalk it up to most people just not understanding depression, that it is not what most people think of sadness.

One anecdote I tend to remember is how people can understand a certain set of numbers - (1, 10, 100, so on) but once you get to certain point, numbers are just too big for people to visualize and they don't understand the real difference between, say, 250,000 and 1,000,000, because you rarely ever see actual visual representations of that in real life. So people can for instance, easily see the impact of a mugger robbing you for $200, but the white-collar criminal who steals billions and destroys countless lives is not correctly, proportionally seen.

I think of this when I've tried, countless times, to explain to friends and loved ones that for roughly 17 years, or about half my lifetime, I wake up every day and think about hurting and killing myself. It doesn't really get easier, but there is a difference between thinking about it every hour and just once or twice a day. The degree of suffering may change, but it doesn't matter what day it is, or why. My brain is fucked up, and I can treat this with medication and therapy, but it's not going to go away. The bulk of my efforts are just to try to live some kind of normal life.

"Those feelings have to suck, sorry you're feeling bad" has been my default comment for when people share shitty feelings with me (or some variation thereof). It's funny, some people really respond well to it, and others are like, "UH...", which I also enjoy.

My brother is very good to talk to when I am depressed, he just says, "It's ok to cry. There's nothing wrong with crying," in a very sincere way, while I cry. I am lucky he's around.

Some people are very good at this sort of listening but most just aren't. Most people don't have a clue how to helpfully respond when a friend tells them of the nightmare they're living through. People genuinely want to help though so they'll just spout out some platitude - not necessarily because they actually believe it (eg, that things will get better, etc) but just because they want to say something. I think we should be quite forgiving of our friends when they say things like this, even though they can irritate more than help.

Where I would draw the line though is if someone is simply trying to minimize one's feelings. I think much depends on tone and context though. I can easily picture "things will get better" as an expression of dismissal or minimizing as of awkward, but genuine support.

I went to one therapy session but I've cancelled my follow-up because I realized I really don't have the money or time. I don't know what I can do.

i think i am not as good at listening as i think i am. i've been depressed before, and treated for it, but nothing like what one person i know is facing and when i talk to them i can't help but spew out advice and reassurance. it's hard to sit there and hear someone you care about say negative things about themselves though. just sitting there in that case would seem, i don't know, negligent, but i'm not a therapist.

xp do you really not have the time?

all due respect Treesh sometimes just listening, and nodding, and making the odd sympathetic noise, is the best you can do. you can't solve everybody. which is hard i know.

xp i have a full time job with a 45 minute commute. also i would have to have my work schedule shifted one day every week which i don't think can happen.

I have the same (full-time job, 45 minute commute) and I was able to see a therapist once a week. Not trying to make you feel bad - it was tough to swing but IMO worth having one day a week with basically no free time. I was lucky that my therapist was close to my office and offered evening hours. The money is a harder nut to crack but some therapists work on a sliding scale. My ex wasn't making much when she was seeing her therapist, and the therapist gave her a super low rate. Good luck crut, hope you are able to work something out

I also have a full time job and a similar commute and I'm seeing someone 2x a week right now. It's exhausting and there are many many nights when I don't want to go but I just keep telling myself it's going to be worth it in the end. Good luck crut.

Has anyone else who uses SSRIs - specifically either sertraline or Lexapro - had any experience with nightmares/bad dreams as a side effect?

xp i have tended to have rapidly diminishing returns from therapy and i totally hear u cluckin re: time (and money!), but if things are really bad then making the time is probably pretty important? cause it's your ~lyfe~

and maybe you can find someone with evening sessions or whatever works for your schedule

xp anecdotally i very rarely have/remember dreams of any sort, then dream very vividly when skipping doses or running out. which is kind of disconcerting all the way around

it was an evening session. i still have to shift my work schedule. it's the only place i know of in the city that does evening sessions & it's not anywhere near my house or workplace.

Maybe you could look and see if there is a therapist (anywhere in the world) who you vibe with that does skype?

Anyway crut you got mad emapthiez from me; figuring that shit out with no kinks when you're feeling a-ok is quite the hoop-jumping ordeal. If you are already depressed it is so fucking overwhelming. So good on you for having the courage to not just straight up give up.

have a question I'd like your opinions on.

have a good friend of mine who suffers from Crohn's, which physically knocks him out of commission a lot. Likewise he's newly married, but although he and his wife are getting along great, they're both saddled with health and financial issues, and as a result, he often gets depressed over it.

Due to the fund issues, he often declines invites due to not having the money. On occasion, I've offered to pay his way if I can tell he'd be bummed at missing the event, but I am always nervous about offering this too often. Mostly because it can be interpreted as me flinging money in his face (which to be fair, I mostly have cuz I'm not married and have no kids), but also because it can hurt someone's pride if they feel like they're often depending on others too much.

It's his birthday this weekend, and I invited him and a few others to see a movie tonight, and he wants to go but mentioned specifically he's low on funds. Would it be a bad gesture to offer to pay for his ticket as an early birthday gift? I want to do it but he seems to be depressed lately according to his wife (who I'm friends with), and I don't want to inadvertently make him feel bad.

also crut, my sympathies as well. Work makes it very difficult for sure (which is why I went for years without needed therapy -- wasn't able to work it in). how far is the drive to the not nearby therapist?

xp you can't affect how someone chooses to perceive something, is kinda my feeling? But from his point of view, if a friend wants to give you a gift because your presence in their life is valuable and they feel it benefits them to spend the time together and be supportive of you, the thing to do is accept and appreciate that you are cared for. Whether or not he can see it that way (or be convinced to), we can't really know?

think thta's a fair response (I struggle w/ attempting to control things I can't control overall!)

You could maybe help by phrasing it like that, that you feel his friendship is a benefit and the cost of a lunch or a ticket or etc is inconsequential to enjoying his company and wellness. I mean as distinguished from being A FAVOR or something.

sorry crut, i wasn't trying to be judgy; shit is hard. i hope u feel better

i dunno, it's the friend's birthday, why not just say, happy birthday, the exact date isn't crucial

Crohn's/colitis and chronic depression go hand on hand. It's a deep body mind thing and it sucks.

yes it is.

like looking back it's hilariously obvious how depression became a fixture of my psyche starting the exact time I got sick (1985, a fine year nonetheless)

don't make excuses for the '80s

Has anyone else who uses SSRIs - specifically either sertraline or Lexapro - had any experience with nightmares/bad dreams as a side effect?

My dreams were really weird on sertraline, but then they'd been really weird in the couple of months before I started on it too so I'm not totally sure how much was depression and how much was SSRI. But there was definitely an extra layer of weird/mundane yet creepy/strange sense of deja vu like I'd dreamed about the setting before and completely forgotten until it happened again.

I dunno if I'd say they were outright bad dreams but they were unsettling. I'd also keep dreaming I was waking up and not actually waking up, which was p. frustrating, especially given that I had a lot of guilt about how much I was sleeping at the time.

for a while when I first started citalopram (Celexa), my dreams were vivid and weird in a way I hadn't experienced before, but that was some years ago now and it hasn't really stayed that way. My dreams tend to be exceedingly mundane.

I've had friends have really intense bad dreams in the early stages of sertraline, but they've faded.

I've been on sertraline for several months, and recently switched to lexapro, but on both I seem to have constant dreams characterized by feelings of paranoia, chaos, disorder, panic, etc.

crut i hope u can find someone to talk to <3 don't give up

This isn't the funnest or best topic to reply to when I'm in a good mood, so sorry if I missed some responses.

Neanderthal, it's a nice gesture, and I would mention that you could pay if he's low on funds, but if he still says no you should drop it.

I mean, him saying he 'wants to go' could just be him being nice to you and not trying to hurt your feelings for reaching out to him. I do this all the time with my friends and make excuses.

I've been taking sertraline for about a year now. I do seem to recall that when I started, I would have really weird dreams, in particular, these unpleasant gory dreams that weren't exactly nightmares--they didn't have the level of fear and anxiety that a nightmare usually brings, but like I said, they were not pleasant. But I don't get them any more. Aside from that, I haven't really experienced any side-effects, but on days when I miss a dose, I sometimes get this weird floaty dizzy feeling. Overall the pros have outweighed the cons for me. ymmv.

"not great, bob!"

seeing a therapist wednesday. probably going to ask for meds for the first time.

hope it goes well for you dude

^

good luck

Good luck

+

thanks everyone. therapist is going to be good i think.

R Williams thing is triggering some deep D over here. I hate being reminded of how high the stakes can get.

it's been weighing on me, too

yeah, it came after i'd been having some lousy thoughts for a couple of weeks

i could do without all the concerned facebook intonations.

Stars: they're just like us! One weird trick that cures depression guaranteed!

ppl and their unseen struggles that we must all remember