OK, I was just tuning into the news, and I saw Nathan Thompson's (Vice-Captain of the Hawthorn Hawks, AFL) press conference - in it, he "came out" and said that he has been suffering from depression for a number of years. Good stuff Thomo for having the balls to get the message out there about the illness. I had a bitch of a time just trying to get up the courage to tell my parents, let alone the entire nation...
I've had to deal with my depression ever since the end of high school, so that's been about 4 years. Whilst I'm not manic, or anything like that, I am very, very depressed most of the time. This doesn't mean that I don't go out and have fun or anything like that (it's easy to put on a guise) but when I'm alone in my thoughts I do get completely down-and-out.
Depression extends way past trauma - it can pop up when you're feeling pretty damn good. It's a bitch, and bloody hard to overcome.
The other thing is that it's so easy to hide. The warning signs aren't always there. I'd say that none of my mates really know about my depression.
My main problem is that I keep far too much shit to myself, and don't tell those who are close to me.

It's an illness that lacks considerable exposure in our country, so, yeah, like I said, good one Thomo!

So anybody else finding things tough? Thoughts, tips...anything!

I've been finding things exremely tough since finishing Year 12 last year. High school was a key ingredient in keeping me continuely in touch with a relativitely small, but nice group of friends, thus forming regular social outings, etc. Ever since last year though I have completely gone into a shell and rarely bother socialing with anyone, I just like being alone and dwelling in my own little world of thoughts and wailing in my own self pity. Consequently I don't keep in touch with previous school buddies who have moved on, school essentially was a vital link in keeping me active and positive. The major communication I have with people now is at work, which is kind of sad...

I agree, hello: The status of the person really does help elevate its presence, making it in a sense, more "beleivable" by some: "Even Footballers get down in the shitter, too".

Good on him.

This is my belief, so I'm not expecting many to agree.

Personally, I think depression is one of tons of signs that your life is missing something vital. Hell, there are signs all over the place, but people really don't want to accept the idea that these signs exist for a reason. Depression usually comes from the fact that your life feels hollow, meaningless, and/or is going crap. I personally believe everyone has a spirit, and that this spirit is our driving force, it is our spiritual need. If your life is being lived, ignoring that spiritual need, your motivation and meaning decays. Your spiritual need is more important than anything else in your life, but if you deny the existence of your spirit, it will never be quenched.

I believe we are beings created to be with God, to love him and be loved by him in return. We are meant to depend on something greater than us, rely on something that will not fail us. All those tales of mighty heroes who defeat evil and save nations exist because it is our spiritual need in another form, as is depression. I believe that depression says loud and clear your life isn't working. Perhaps if you are suffering depression, even if you don't believe in God, put aisde your pride and pray to him. Find somewhere to be alone and just pray, honestly, from the heart. Say what you feel. You just might find the answer you're looking for.

I take depression very seriously, it's a dangerous state. And people always view it simply as a "condition". They look at it as a scientific state. I believe it is far more than that.



Sorry if any of this post was worded poorly, kinda tired, and too lazy to fix it up like an essay. :P :thumbsup:

Film Guru, whilst I understand that they are your thoughts, I have to strongly oppose 'em.
Depression doesn't just happen because your life is shit. I've got a great group of friends, a rewarding university course, an amazing family and I've got a great future to look forward to. However, because of my depression, I turn all this good stuff completely up-side down and mainly focus on the bad. In my opinion, you get depressed because of your depression, not because of how things aregoing.
And dude, I think some of my depression stems from my near-walking away from the Christian faith. It hurts like hell to admit it, but my faith has been going down the drain for quite some time. Too much shit has gone under the bridge for me to get back to how I used to be, so now I've gotta completely start anew/reintroduce myself. It's a challenging bastard, and hopefully once I find the ability to begin again, I'll feel a shit load better. So, yeah, I concur with the second part of your post quite a bit...

~DC, I too found the transition from high school to "real life" an absolute bitch. Some people make the transition very smooth-like, whilst others struggle a shit load. All I can say is, 4 years after finishing I am starting to feel better about myself, so hang-in there, things will get better - it just takes a shit load of time.

Edit - I didn't mean to say shit-load that much! Sorry! Can't be shagged editing...

Ah, I should make myself more clear. I don't believe depression has anything to do with how well things are going, but from a spiritual emptiness. You can have everything going for you, but that doesn't matter, you can still be depressed. I believe depression is a result of spiritual hollowness.

Things that you'd never bother you after short consulting really get you down when you think about them seriously: I beleive depression is the concentration of negative energy straining your thought, and impacting on your "wanting to need".

I have had my share of down* times but I pull myself out and try and conquer the issues that depress me, rather then let them conquer me. Not an easy task, but one that need's to be done.






*I won't call it depression based on Syt's post.

I've let depression take over my life. Now I avoid school whenever I can and just sit around the house like a bum, wallowing in self pity. Cool.

I know you mean well, but suggestions like that to non believers is like telling someone suicidal to 'believe in Santa Claus' and all will be okay.

Isn't suicide considered sin in Christianity? Do you believe that's 'fair'?


Im glad some people here who are depressed are able to talk about it. Sad thing is most dudes (and dudettes) that kill themselves never mention how they feel to anyone. There's an overwhelming sense of shame that accompanies deperession and suicide -not something you talk about. It's something you do so you don't have to talk about it.

Im sure those that have really considered suicide have looked at sites online that offer info on how best to end it. Yes it is a bit sick, but then again if youre going to kill yourself wouldnt you rather know that overdosing on Panadol is NOT a good idea? I read thru one site and some of teh stuff is truly terrifying. Definately makes you think twice.

Those 'dont suicide because your valued and loved more than you know' sites are friggin useless. Same with 'pray and you'll be okay' pages. I feel the authors of these websites dont really understand the mind set of those they think theyre helping. Its one thing to tell someone theyre of value and loved, its another to get them to believe it.

It comes down to friends and family. If noone around you senses something is wrong and tries to intervene, then it really is a case russian roulette. Only takes one really bad 3am....

I could say I have had depression for over a year now. Life's tough, boring and stupid. I have thought about ending it a large number of times, but I seem to come clear and stop it.

Besides, and this is true, whenever I am just about to end it all (usually with a knife or something), I chicken out, because I'm not strong enough. There are good parts of life, too.

Syt: Check your PM box, sonny.

You'd be mad to use a knife. Highly unlikely that you'd be successful and very very painful ...and messy (and if you're a neat freak that can be the worst part :P )

Killing yourself shouldnt be viewed as a 'challenge' or a 'test of 'will'.

First and foremost; very few of you are depressed. No, I'm not kidding. When we say we are depressed we must remember that depression is a psychological disorder. People 'suffer' from depression. This means that we cannot speculate about what we feel and think depression is, nor can any of us speculate about some 'cureall' that works for everyone.

It is important to understand that clinical depression is not simply feeling sad. When someone is depressed, the world is seen through somewhat of a dark filter; you interpret the world very differently. Depressed people are absolutely convinced of their low self-image, which tends to feedback and confirm a person's negative self-concept. Depressed people do not simply focus on the bad, rather, everything is seen as bad. This creates a worry cycle and hence, depression only manifests itself.

If you think you're depressed, see a doctor and get a prescription for anti-depressants. Here's a 'checklist' for clinical depression, people are typically considered depressed if they have suffered most of these for roughly two weeks:
1) Depressed (Sad/Melancholy/Worrysome) mood most of the day.
2) Loss of interest in normal daily activities.
3) A significant change in weight.
4) Difficulty sleeping or a desire to sleep all the time.
5) A change of activity level (either lethargy or extreme restlessness)
6) Daily fatigue or loss of energy
7) Feelings of worthlessness and excessive guilt (a negative self-concept)
8) Trouble concentrating
9) Thoughts of suicide

Which brings me back to my first point, we cannot speculate about what we 'feel' that depression is, or how we feel it should be solved. The solutions to depression are quite varied and very different depending on each person. The only real common factor to treating depression is to try and alter a person's thought cycle, help them realise that their negative thoughts are irrational and that life is rosier than they see it. Aside from that, family, friends, and religious spirituality are often quite useful - but certainly the problem with everyone.

That's all I know on depression. It is very common in society, unfortunately, but when people still self-diagnose they tend to exaggerate their sadness. My two cents. =)

Wow. Problem solved. No more suicides :rolleyes:

PROZAC ROCKS!!

My Mother bought me a book called "Taming the Black Dog" or something like that, which aims at people who are feeling depressed. It basically tells you why you could be depressed, what it means for you and ways to overcome it. Those things that Sytadel mentioned, amongst others, are the kind of stuff it was talking about. Originally I thought I was just going through a bad phase, but after reading this book I eventually had to 'admit' to suffering from depression. Dr appointment tomorrow to what's really up..

I'm gonna be different to the rest of you and say LIFE IS GREAT!!

That is not a stab at any of you but the way this thread is going anyone would think we are all depressed.

There is a difference between depression and just occassionally getting down on yourself. I can't understand depression because I have never had it so I'm not sure what to say except good luck to all of you who genuinely have depression. Things get better give it time....

*heads off to anti bitch board*

I often bemoan the shitfulness of my life and the shitfulness of, well, me, but that's mostly simple self pity and not clinical depression or anything. I can only imagine how horrible life could be if you truly were suffering from depression.

As for spiritual hollowness, I believe that religion is merely a way many people attempt to create meaning in their lives, and I believe it's a rather insufficient way at that. Apart from the obvious philosophical arguments against religion (which won't interest most believers anyway), I have known enoguh troubled Christians to realise that most of their troubles stem from the repression and the guilt that their religion has instilled in them. That is not true of all Christians or probably even most Christians obviously, I'm not attempting to generalise, I'm just stating my experiences. It is clear to me that the troubled Christians I have known have latched onto Christianity as a means of guidance, and with only a few exceptions they have not been satisfied with that guidance.

Ultimately I believe that mankind holds all the answers necessary for its own happiness.

As Karl Marx said "Religion is the opiate for the masses"

Spirituality is good and all, FG, but it's not the most important thing in the world. Spirituality also doesn't strictly involve praying to God. Things like meditation also fall under spirituality. All it consists of is that you find some way to relax your mind, whether it be praying to God, performing a meditation or beating shit with a hammer (kidding). What do I do if I feel down? Go for a nice long walk. And I'm actually quite the optimist, despite my anti-religious/God leanings.

As for using spirituality as a solution to depression (in Syt's definition of the term)... well, no. The chances of it working are slim. A person I know closely suffered from depression, a very extreme case of it too. My family brought over an Islamic priest (called a "hoja") to help out. The priest helped this person "connect with God," through teaching the person to pray and stuff. They did this for weeks and it did shit all. In the end, the person took some anti-depressants, which cleared the head enough so that the person could willingly pull out of the condition. That's what anti-depressants do: they get rid of all the negative emotions (and emotions are simply chemical reactions in the brain) so that YOU can pull yourself together. The second part (pulling yourself together) is where effort is required of you, only it's made a whole lot easier with the anti-depressants.

Another suggestion is to get out and do some sports and then start on a healthy diet. "A healthy body sustains a healthy mind." I can tell you that in my experience with seeing people in this condition, it helps a lot more than connecting with God or whatever. Unless you already do sports, like this Nathan Thompson fella.

you've nailed what clinical depression is like in that paragraph.

as for anti-depressants whilst the make you 'happy' in a way, they (for me anyway) screw with your emotions making them feel compressed, its hard to explain.

hopefully with the guy 'coming out' (i hate that term) depression can be viewed as an illness in the general public, i found though high school that it seemed people just thought i was whinging.

Well, I wasn't solely talking about clinical depression, or Bi-Polar or whatever. From my understanding, initiatives and campaigns, such as Beyond Blue, are attempting to get the message across that you don't have to be suicidal/see everything in a negative light to be depressive. There are varying levels of depression, and you don't have to be diagnosed as clinical to suffer from it. For me, the simple act of crying, for no particular reason, is a form of depression. Obviously it's not as serious as Bi-Polar (Manic), but it is still depression.

I also disagree with your medication comment. Medication has fucked up one of my best friends pretty badly, and I wouldn't recommend the shit to anybody.

Yeah, and I can't really see praying as helping that much, especially if you're non-religious. I have trouble praying at the best of times, I feel hollow and fake and everything, and I'm a Christian.

I think somebody like Nathan Thompson completely smashes the previous stereotypes about depression. He's a fit, active, popular man, yet he still suffers from depression. And, thus, like some of you have said, I don't think there's any one cure, it's just something you've gotta overcome in your own way.

Sure there are varied levels of depression but they all stem from one thing, its something that is missing in your life... It doesn't matter if your fit, active or popular man, it means nothing if your missing that little something from your life.

Take me for example, yeah I get down or depressed. Why? For me it’s because I don't have an ongoing job nor a car. At the moment I am trying to fix that by applying for UNI to get an education to get ongoing employment. Will that mean the end of my down time or depression? No it won’t because I will likely end up in a job that I don't like and will have to work at it to get a job that has that balance to sustain my happiness.

Until you or I find that happy place in every party of your life, from family, friends, work, leisure and anything else that you interested in people will be depressed. Being depressed is irrelevant its how you deal with it is the key.

If your not strong enough to deal with it rather then dwell on it by not fixing the parts of your life that your not happy with and let it build up, then may the circle of life a have mercy on your soul….

I recently wrote a paper on depression and the role of the school and community in addressing the issue, so while I don't consider myself an expert on the subject I do consider myself well informed.

The biggest problem facing those who suffer from depression today is that the general community is not educated about the issue. There is a widespread belief that depression is not a disorder, but rather a state of mind that the afflicted could alter with a little effort. People with depression may be told to 'snap out of it' or to 'stop feeling sorry for themselves', due to the widespred but incorrect belief that depression is something that a person can control. Not so.

Depression can't be fixed by adding something or even many things to your life, nor can one simply up and decide not to feel depressed anymore. The public needs greater education of the issue, and a major sports star coming out and publically addressing it can only be seen as a positive thing.

I could post more, but I have to bail for class.

Clinical depression is depression. Depression that is not clinical is sadness. Chest pains are not mild heart attacks, pot bellies are not mild obesity, and a cold is not a mild flu (although some people make that mistake too). Depression is not as subjective as you think, it's a condition.

Initiatives and Campaigns are pushing forward the uneducated speculative definition that most people have. They are (most likely) glorifying it to get their point across. An anti-sadness campaign would seem rather pathetic, as sadness is something we all have to accept and live with. It's for that reason alone that I think that those initiatives are rather pointless.

If it didn't work for your friend then it's not necessarily wrong for most people. To be honest I'm a little curious as to how anti-depressants fucked him up... I'm inclined to believe he was mis-diagnosed or took them incorrectly or something. Of course, it is possible they just didn't strike the right chord, medication doesn't work for everybody.

That's sadness again. Most people feel at times that they are missing or lacking something - but most people are not depressed. Depression is seeing everything in a negative light, not simply wanting something that is not readily accessible. Depressed people are discontent with their entire lives, not just one or two small things that they are lacking.

I agree with pretty much everything Jawbreaker said, paticularly the part about educating people on the seriousness of the issue. Most people clearly can't understand what it's like to feel depressed, so it's good to educate people on exactly what it is so that it's not confused with sadness or angst.

I have dated a girl with Manic depression and I have suffered from dpression myself. But to me and I know that experts would disagree with me... But in my opinion depression is not a disorder in the way of a illness. It's like saying being happy is a disorder... Happniess is on the other side of the scale from dpression, so why isn't it called a disorder? Quite simply, because happnies and deprssion are not disorders. It's just an emotion that can be control and it can be used to your advantage to gain sypathy or to get people to leave you alone.

I'm not say that depression isn't hard to deal with, I'm not saying that it can not cause hardship on family, friends and life in general. But but depression can be control by changing things in your live that make you unhappy... It may not snap you out of depression instantly, but over a very short period of time you will see that you become less and less sad or depressed.

It's why I believe that little things matter, getting that job you really wanted rather then a job that you didn't care for can alter your emotions for good or bad. Being around people that are positive and give you complements rather then negative people that give you complaints and more complaints will alter your emotions.

He was more then likely on lithium (I believe that is the right spelling). Cause I doubt Zoloft or Prozac would mess anyone around. Could be wrong tho there are hundred of drugs out there.The quacks (Psychologists)that gave the girl I knew lithium for her manic depression and it put her in a mental institution. Cause it caused her to go suicidal/crazy. But once they moved her to Zoloft she was alright.

On the other point.. Sadness if not fix and change early will build up (just like scum on a pond) and become depression. Its like an assignment, you can start early and lay the foundation for success or you can leave it until the night before and try and get something that might give you good grades. The fact of the matter is that sadness is the start of the depression cycle.

Everyone suffers from depression at one stage or another, and these wild variances in mood and temperament are common to all. Clinical depression, however, (and it is this that we are talking about, it seems) is a disorder that one cannot control at all. And when does depression become clinical? When it gets to the stage that it is affecting all aspects of your life, usually in a destructive manner.

Depression is common, and everyone suffers from it at one stage or another. Clinical depression is a disorder that is a lot less common, and it affects ones life in a destructive manner. Your example about being depressed about your job applies here, as someone who is merely feeling down (that is, depressed) can alter this by getting a 'better' job. Someone who is clinically depressed may hate their job, though a new one in no way guarantees satisfaction, as they will generally find something about it that they also hate.

Eh, I don't think I did a great job describing it, but in defence, my brain is fried from uni, plus I had a few at the pub, but I hope my point is clear.

The point I was trying to make.
Sytadel, we obviously come from two different schools of thought - one being medical, and the other being social workey. Social work/welfare debates whether the medical definition of something is the be-all-and-end-all. Anyways, the point of my original post was to say that being a sad sack, most of the time, is a problem. To place it under an "umbrella-term" boosts its seriousness, and thus somebody is more likely to consider telling somebody and not letting things get out-of-hand. It's too early to get out my thoughts anymore than that...