How do you know if you have clinical depression?

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Permalink Reply by RedFear (Holly) on June 26, 2008 at 2:52pm

A few things you might want to consider when trying to figure out if it's 'clinical depression' or 'one of those times in life' is whether it seems to cycle; if you have had times like these before; are you still feeling connected with yourself - do you still do things YOU enjoy whether or not with family/friends; do you feel more grief at loss due to changes or more sad...

Not everyone who suffers from depression bursts into tears, seriously contemplates suicide, or seeks numbness through drugs or alcohol. The best way to know when it's time to seek help is when YOU don't feel your 'normal' self and that feeling has gone on for more than a little while. Of course, everyone's normal self fluctuates and only you can determine what 'more than a little while' is for you but.... perhaps this helps a bit.

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Permalink Reply by Kateet on June 26, 2008 at 3:12pm

Thanks RedFear, A lot is going on at the moment so I am not really sure what I'm feeling these days. I've considered going to an MD to be tested for Hypothyroidism (which has alot of these symptoms) I just need to get motivated to do it.

Thank you for your opinion, I'll give what you said some thought and see where I will go from there.

Blessings,
Kateet

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Permalink Reply by ThunderFeather on July 1, 2008 at 11:40am

Hello . I have struggled with this.....continue to as well. I agree with red fear's comment below. I have cycles when I withdraw. Sometimes being alone can help , sometimes it can hinder and only you can decide this . I identify 2 types of depression than can afflict me. Conditional ( there is something that has happened in ones environment ( loss of a loved one...be it through passing on from this world or the friendship/ relationship has ended, loss of job , loss of anything that causes one to grieve ( that's natural ) and one needs time to process, and that varies from person to person. It doesn't help either when there are people around you who make you feel like something is wrong with you because your grieving ( so they're better at dismissing what causes them pain or they shove it to the back of their heads and it rears up at interesting times. We all handle it in our own way. Its wise and healthy of you not to deal with it by drowning yourself in alcohol or drugs or thoughts of suicide. In time one learns to cope with the 'new' existence and how reality is in the now. I still feel sadness for what has been lost, but I do my best not to let it occupy all my thoughts because our thoughts can give us energy or drain it from us. Somedays are better for me than others and I just try to take life one day at a time. The second type for me is pysiological ( when life seems to be going good but I still feel down. Could be your not taking in enough vitamins ( b vitamin defeciency is common among those who suffer from depression) or could be a chemical imbalance in your neurological pathways in your brain. No I'm not a doctor, but someone who has wrestled with depression since my teens. There are many people I have met who judge me based on their own mental perspectives of depression or how to fix it. We live in a culture where people are so quick to say ' get on Paxil or prozac or something synthetic...and that may be what you need, maybe not. Also the stigma that comes with it. The first moment you get angry or want to be by yourself, you have people in your face asking if your taking your meds. It's ok for them to get angry or seek solitude when they are alone , but that's ok, because they're normal or so they think. People like that automatically throw everything into the you-have-depression-so-your-the-messed-up-one category/perspective. People like that probably drive other people to be depreseed in the first place...LOL! When I first went to see a psychologist ( I did this because I needed someone to talk to and a psycologist can't prescribe medication) and she pointed me to a healthier spiritual path which I am still on . Psychology classes at college also helped me understand somewhat the physiology of the brain and how it can impact mood .Religious conditioning can mold the way we think about ourselves and the world around us and we've had that conditioning from the moment we incarnated here. For me, I still grieve. I still function as a responsible adult to the best of my abilities. I seek activities that will make me feel productive as well as healthy, I try to surround myself with people ( when I feel like being around people ) who are easygoing and are a positive influence-that's a big challenge sometimes ) these things help me to manage the depression without taking synthetic chemicals. I'm not too fond of those and it doesn't help when you learn that a lot of doctors have stock in drug companies so it's in their best intrests more often than not to have you convinced that you need to be on them. I know I've taken up a lot of room here and I hope this helps...do some soulsearching and I hope that you find the way that is most healing and benificial to you. Bright Blessings...tf

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Permalink Reply by Kateet on July 2, 2008 at 7:56am

Thanks TF, I still function as well, but not to my full capacity. I find that being in this state is getting me into trouble at work. I am becoming forgetful, having concentration problems, emotional. I actually cried when my boss was telling me what a piece of dirt I was. (Well not in so many words) I NEVER cry in front of people. I just couldn't stop them. I have been nicely told that I might want to find a new job. I have never in my life ever been treated that way. So that just adds on to the depression that I am feeling. I am currently searching for a new primary MD that participates in the new insurance my carrier turned into. (since my current primary md doesn't) Hopefully I can find some kind of relief to what ever my problems might be.

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Permalink Reply by Kateet on August 11, 2008 at 8:00am

I've have always known I was an empath, but this was FAR different than feeling others emotions. I haven't yet gotten the motivation to find an MD.. (And yes I am still in this job.. still looking for a new one, I had my annual review last month and I got written up for not "Baby sitting" the people I support "EVERYDAY" that and I didn't warrant an annual raise either. These people suck.. LOL

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Permalink Reply by Brenna on August 27, 2008 at 9:19am

Nothing makes me happy anymore. I can't shake the depression no matter how hard I try. People tell me to snap out of it or that spring will make me happier. Why would spring make me happier? It hasn't so far. I'm to the point now where I don't care what happens, nothing matters. The things that were supposed to happen in my life went totally sour and I think that's the base of it. Maybe not.
Whatever it is, it's not going away. I have felt like this going on 10 years now. I just want to be happy.

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