I understand that their our some rare cases of hardcore manic causing Bi-Polar type lows. But now that i'm older i realize most people who take medication for depression do it because their life is not very fun. It seems like 75% of depression in people is do to problems with relationships with a partner. The other 25% comes from lack of money to travel or being inactive when they wan't to be social. It just always seems to be some kind of trigger even in the most bi-polar people. I'm yet to hear anyone say that they are depressed for no reason other then brain chemistry. For instance send a depressed person on a tropical vacation with someone they wan't to have sex with or for older people who don't wan't to be intimate anymore just a person they love. It just makes me sick to see doctors give pills to people that suffer from not having a fun life. This one older lesbian lady i know from the YMCA pool told me she has been taking hardcore depression medicine for the past two years because her girlfriend broke up with her. Well now she is worse off because she still does not have a girlfriend and to make things harder for her the meds the psychiatrist prescribed caused her cognitive problems. Another example would be one of my friends i grew up with that's bi-polar and plays in the NFL. He has millions of dollars and gets to have sex with lots of pretty girls but the only time his depression is triggered happens when his girlfriend catches him cheating and yells at him. I like the idea of science and pharmacy but all these doctors giving pills to people because they are temporarily sad or upset is just ridiculous anymore. I understand why all these people in the conspiracy world complain about the pharmaceutical companies.

I can honestly say that the depression I live with has nothing whatsoever to do with how 'fun' my life is. I cannot deny that when things are not going great the depression may worsen - but no matter how awesome life is there are days when I feel so desperately low and depressed that nothing can make me 'happier'. Today for example - everything is going great - I have an awesome partner - family are not being annoying - financially I am more secure then ever - my craft stuff is going brilliant and the debt advice service I work for has been nominated for an award. I have food in my cupboards - great people in my life and have the most beautiful view from my bedroom window.

And yet there is this feeling - like there is a weight in the bottom of my tummy and this weight is composed entirely of sadness. I have spent almost half the day crying or on the verge of tears - I feel as if I am one breath away from a panic attack at all times - I have an urge to stab myself with something sharp just to let out the hurt - to punch a wall or scream from the top of my lungs. I feel utterly devastated - but have nothing to feel devastated about - there is no reason for my sadness - there doesnt appear to be any end either - the only thing I can be arsed to do as I always seem to is come on here and be opinionated - probably because it distracts me and stops my mind from feeling so bleak and also because it will give me something to worry about as I try and sleep - have I said something offensive or hurtful or stupid or thoughtless - do people think less of me or get the wrong impression because of the things I express....

I do think that some forms of depression are a direct result of circumstance - loss of a job, faiilure, money troubles etc etc - but I also think that there are forms which are lifelong and manifest for no tangible reason other then brain chemistry and fucked up thought patterns.

Thoreau do you think what you feel could be do to cold weather or where you live?

Firstly

Secondly
People are cunts, pay no attention to them. You're the least offensive whilst obviously well thought out poster I know and you come across as more confident than you give yourself credit for.

I much prefer cold to warm weather and live in gorgeous countryside - I am actually at the most content I have ever been - but I am deeply sad often for days or weeks at a time - I have learnt to cope with it - by accepting that my emotional scale is slightly different then most people I know - in a strange way I cope really well with things that others may struggle with as I feel like shit anyways there is not much lower I can go if that makes sense.

I personally think that the longterm depression has been caused by my inability to absorb certain vitamins and minerals - changes in diet have helped a bit but a lot of the damage is irreversible. I think that a lot of the rise in longterm depression is due in part to diet but that is just an opinion/observation and not based on any proper research or scientific study.

I don't claim to have any great understanding of depression but I have some pseudo psychology knowledge brush off on me and I can't help but wonder how much certain mind states become 'hard wired' for whatever reason and become a kind of default state for the mind to slip into as it's, at the very least, 'familiar' territory.

thoreau wrote:
That's exactly why i have been watching alot of documentary movies about food and nutrition.

Just one example would be how people with celiac disease can't eat anything with gluten because it damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. That causes those people to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome which feels like depression.

that is an interesting idea - the hard wiring - like a coping mechanism?

thoreau wrote:
Yep.

We all do it to some extent, withdraw to familiar territory, except not all of us get a 'diagnosis' as a result.

oioioi wrote:
Seconded.

and

.......... wrote:
it cannot be coincedence that the huge changes in diet and exercise over the last 60 odd years has seen an increase in so many diseases and illnesses imho.

thoreau wrote:
In the last 5 years i'm seeing it all over society here in America...

There is no doubt in my mind that diet is a major if not the single biggest factor in depression...

There is alot more examples i will share in this thread when i can focus my mind.

Before I give any real read to the other replies. There are A LOT of reasons for depression.

First time I experienced true depression, not just some minute of sadness, it was after I had my son. Postpartum depression, brought on by the fact that I was 20 and up until then had no idea how hard caring for another being was and being stuck in an environment that made me wanna scream, the stress caused low milk production which ultimately resulted in having to stop breastfeeding which made me feel like a failure... it went on for a year or two. Women who go through postpartum are normally stressed, tired, and feeling like a failure for some reason...combine that all with hormones being all over the place and chemicals in the brain it's a prime combination for something to happen. Not because someone left them or anything else.
Took Lexapro (anti-depressant) a friend gave me, made me feel like I had a lobotomy, withdrawals were bad when I came off it.

Second time I had depression (still dealing with it) it was brought on by a combination of things. Again, failed my son. Left him with his father and basically ran away from my problems to try and get "myself" back. Only I ran into other problems that left me unable to sleep, still fight to sleep to this day, short of shooting me in the ass with a tranq. gun sleep is hard to come by. Stress and fear, lack of sleep, feeling I have failed my child not once but more than once, and having choices taken away from me all added up and I hit bottom, then bottom fell out from under me and I fell even further. Not because someone broke up with me, not because my life was not fun...lack of money I may have but I always find a way to do what I wanna do.
Was on an anti-depressant for that too for a while, apparently made me a really nice person and coherent, but it made me feel again as if I had, had a lobotomy. Street drugs help sometimes, as does alcohol, momentary treatments that don't last.

So it's not always because someone breaks up with someone else, or because they lead a boring life or have no fun. There are always ways to have fun, people just gotta get creative. Yes, I agree, people are over-medicated and aren't looking for the root cause (why are they depressed)...but it's not always because of one thing or another, it's a combination of everything happening around them and to them. And yeah, there are some people out there who aren't bi-polar or depressed that get labeled as such because they are stuck in a rut and can't get out... a lot of factors go into making someone depressed, truly depressed, not some week or two of sadness. Losing the love of your life could do that to some though. I don't really know where I am going with all this, but it is not always because of a partner breaking up with you... and to some, that would be kinda offense for you to assume so R.A. (I don't take offense, just FYI...but some people might because it seemed you assumed a lot of it is caused by losing a partner).

'Fun' is relative.

Warning baited thread alert.

StarsChildren wrote:
I understand it's a multitude of reasons people get depressed but loss of a partner or a pet and drug & alcohol addiction are at the top of the list. Also food addictions and injuries or other health problems. Don't get me wrong i hope science comes up with a pill for everybody's problems, i'm all for that. But some of this stuff these psychiatrist give out have people looking like zombies. Some of these pharmaceutical companies are more dangerous to the world then people in the streets hustling.

"looking like zombies"... you also feel like a zombie.

.......... wrote:
Why does bereavement or substance dependency equal depression?

oioioi wrote:
Well there is certainly a correlating trend in society...

Also the parallel that due to the depression a person might lose a partner and become substance dependent.

So whether it was a cause or symptom is debatable.

The problem with antidepressants probably does come from the fact that they're given to people who aren't depressed. If as you're saying, they are given to people who don't have a fun life, they're feeling shitty because they don't have a fun life. It's not that they're depressed. That does often seem to be the case.

I remember my doctor telling me that there's clinical depression (like brain chemistry stuff) and reactive depression (like when you split up with your partner or lose your job). He said that he didn't think medication was appropriate in most cases of reactive depression, because it's completely normal to feel down when bad things happen to you. If that's the case, you can usually sort it out and work through it perfectly well without any antidepressants. He did say that if someone was feeling suicidal and in danger of harming themselves, that's when medication can be used. He is a good doctor though.