Depression.... What do you think?

[Jake]

I have no idea what you're talking about, Sweetie. Depression is a terrible disease caused by a chemical imbalance, it has nothing to do with weakness or strength.

You have no idea because you didn't READ, that's what clearly happens when someone just burst into a post not reading and responding only as per their emotion dictates them to react. Go back read again and perhaps you'll get that this wasn't a STATEMENT but a QUESTION. No wonder you don't get it. I believe that it's quite clear to many people here that depression is a sickness and not a weakness... however I beg to differ in some people who self-proclaims themselves to be depressive. So far Mike gave the clinical explanation, I could further it up but I don't have that much time to waste as it clears that you and some others who will come after you will see the the word WEAKNESS and jump right up to conclusion.

[WolfEyes300]

Maybe.... I was silly...
I put this under the category "Debates" Yet no one is discussing anything... Thank you to those who actually did read my post, then answer accordingly. All I wanted was to know what you guys thought... I was NOT, claiming that Depression is a weakness. I was merely stating an opinion, and I wanted to know yer opinions on the matter. When I first came to this forum, I was looking for advice, That was a few months ago... and now, I wondered If I could get a few opinions, on this topic, I didn't ask for the definition of Depression, Or a personal attack, I just wanted yer opinions.
I would have liked to see both sides of the argument, but as far as this thread goes... this debate is one sided, and I believe if anyone said anything that they disagree with the other posts in here, they would also be attacked. Bombarded with Biased arguments... Everyone has an opinion... They have a right to that opinion...
Thanks....

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Depression is a sign of weakness and depressed people should just kill themselves....

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

To classify depression as a strength or weakness is missing the fact that depressed people don't all act and behave the same way under depression.

And to be perfectly clear, suicides are often called 'weak' - trust me, it takes a great strength to end your life since the species is evolved to survive at all costs and to counter that takes incredible willpower and hidden levels of strength.

Depression in and of itself is neither weak nor strong... It is how the person faces it, deals with it, copes with it and manages their life that determines if they are 'strong' or 'weak'.

True, some depressed people cave in and give up, whilst others soldier on, and many hide their depression so well you don't even know they are depressed.

The same holds true with people who are not depressed, giving up and caving in happens to all sorts of people.

It is how one deals with whatever they have that determines strength or weakness. I have seen big grown men be brought down by a paper cut, and I have seen weak children struggle with end stage cancer and keep on the happy face.

[MisterLove]

Maybe.... I was silly...
I put this under the category "Debates" Yet no one is discussing anything... [...]

Don't be upset, Honey. Nobody is passing any judgement and I'm sure you didn't mean to offend anyone. Depression is always a controversial subject and people tend to get touchy, that's all.

[Steve]

Of course I'm going to reply to this one.

Most people here know that I suffer bipolar disorder, specifically diagnosed bipolar 1 (the last specific number I was given), which means a variety of things. For the purposes of your question Pup, I will confine my answer to depression and whether or not I consider it a weakness.

Generally speaking I really try not to consider my depression a weakness. I try to look at it as I look at being gay: I have an inside perspective about an aspect of the human condition that few people are privy to and that perspective has made me more open to the human condition, strengthens my conviction that diversity is good for humanity, and sympathetic to people like me.

That's the Pollyanna, politically correct, best case scenario way of looking at it and what I'll say when I'm not dragging on the bottom of the sea, hook in my mouth and bleeding emotionally. If I'm wrung out, devoid of anything and totally numb I have to be honest and say I feel weak. Let me qualify this...

Anyone who has ever attempted suicide and known the absolute idyllic peace one feels when falling that far down the rabbit hole will probably agree and call that bottom of depression a weakness. The kind of peace that is borne from the relief of not having to keep living in pain could not be considered a strength. That may be the only kind of peace in regards to the human race that isn't considered a strength, I think. Letting go and sinking into the peace of oblivion isn't a strength, it's a weakness.

So its only when I'm dead in the middle of the worst part of a depressive episode that I consider depression a weakness.

The most important thing to remember Wolf, is that feeling weak when I'm in the midst of a bad place is different from being weak. The condition of depression breeds feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and uselessness. But you have to remember, those are only feelings. Feelings are important and should not be ignored, but not they're not solely the way with which to steer your life. Feelings can be illusions, or projections of how your mind wants to perceive something. If you really think about it, you'll remember times when your feelings have turned out completely different from reality.

Feelings are the rabbit hole for me Pup. If I'm "living in my head" too much, or over thinking an issue (even if it happens to be some innocent remark said offhand to me by someone wishing me no ill will), I can (and have) succumbed to paranoia, anxiety, indecisiveness, and been paralyzed by my emotions. One person at this forum has received an e mail from me in which I was in a near complete state of paranoia, and while it embarrasses me, there's nothing I can do about it. If I dwell on the feeling of embarrassment, the negativity will drag me down the rabbit hole of a full blown episode of depression. I have gotten better over time in choosing not to dwell on the details of life too much. That's difficult, because I love the details of life, the specifics of people. That specific information about people, places, things, actions... they make life interesting to me. Sometimes though, I just have to let some ideas, some details, go. If I start living in my head, lost in over examination of some (usually minor, more often than not insignificant) moment of time, I lose perspective of real life.

Often I don't get a choice in the matter. Sometimes I just slip down the hole whether I want to or not, sometimes no matter how hard I try not to. That's just the nature of mental illness darlin'.

The best way to view depression is as a strength. Yes, people can take advantage of you and play you against your illness. But the same may be said of anyone, not just those people suffering from depression. Some of the smartest, strongest, most secure people in the world have been taken advantage of without the malady of depression.

Case in point:

On Sunday, October 30, 1938, millions of radio listeners were shocked when radio news alerts announced the arrival of Martians. They panicked when they learned of the Martians' ferocious and seemingly unstoppable attack on Earth. Many ran out of their homes screaming while others packed up their cars and fled.
------quote via War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

Thousands of people were taken advantage of by something more common than severe depression... fear.

The trick in dealing with depression is to remember that one must wait it out. Sometimes even when I have no control about how I fall into depression, I know that I must give myself time to get past the blackest moments. After all these years I pretty much know that as dead as I may feel inside, if I wait it out, eventually I'll feel better. Maybe not great, or even good enough, but I know I'll feel better, bit by bit. Sometimes I fall right back in the hole and the whole thing starts all over again. But given time, I'll begin to feel better.

Staying ahead of depression, surviving it, means strength, not weakness. It's easy to quit. It takes a lot more strength to keep going. (Just seeing your smile is enough to help me out Pup!)

[CellarDweller]

I don't think that depression is a 'weakness', that (to me) is an outdated way of thinking, like saying a man crying is a show of weakness.

depression is a medical condition that needs to be treated.

[Cuddly]

It is my opinion that those who are depressed, but keep going and maybe even get better, are "stronger" then regular happy people.

What bothers me is that depression is taboo stained. I guess those who haven't tried being depressed, to some extent, cannot understand it.

[Virge]

Hi Junior!
I was wondering if you would ever get out of gaol. Hahahaha!
Glad to see you're out.

Let me make an absurd analogy to show you how absurd the question is.

Are all people named Smith stupid?

Off the top of my head I can think of at least fives types of depression and most people have experienced one or two of them if not more.

I know because I've been through depression from grief, from war trauma and from situations. Those are the small varieties of depression but when you're down in the black hole of one of them they never seem small. Because of my experiences with depression I do everything I can to help others with it. I really hurt for people who deal with the type of depression that dominates their lives and can only be partially treated with medications.

As for it being a form of weakness --- NO. In fact I'd really be reluctant to trust anyone who said they'd never experienced depression or hadn't thought of suicide. You never know how strong you can be until you fight your own demons. And no one ever completely defeats their demons. They just become stronger every time they fight. No weakness involved.

[MakeDigitalLove]

No, it is not a weakness of any sort, especially in the sense of being a "weak" person. People who see it that way are very ignorant and are a part of the problem when it comes to individuals who are depressed.

[East]

I see depression as a weakness but there is a distinction I suppose as we each might define weakness differently.

My first diagnosis was when I was 22 I think...it sucked. I had severe anxiety and depression...one called it Epstein Barr....

The doctor creeped me out. When I went in he didn't even look up and he told me I was suffering from depression and gave me meds. I wouldn't take them the first time. The reason...I know he had been dishing out that diagnosis all day/week/month...pretty much everyone through the 1980s came down with one of these diseases: ADHD/BI-POLAR/DEPRESSION/OCD...one by one...everyone I knew had one of the four...or a combination of a few of them.....

How did a whole generation of people suddenly all have the same problems? ...and they tried to drug all of us to death.....

So I found different methods to overcome what I could...and cope with what I couldn't overcome. I do struggle sometimes still but I know what is happening and I am used to it...and it's not that bad really....I have lessened the effects...and hope to lessen it even more....

So...back to the question...I think it is a weakness as it impairs me but it also gave me an opportunity to utilize my strengths in how I deal with it....

I do know one thing...the drugs are not an option for me as taking pills makes me feel like I am dead inside....I would rather have the highs and lows and feel what I feel versus feeling nothing at all. I have been prescribed meds over the years many times and the last few times I just took them and gave them away....

My youngest brother killed himself...he had depression as well. Depression was definitely a weakness for him.

I don't see weakness as anything bad...we all have weaknesses. It doesn't define you unless you let it. I think understanding and owning our weaknesses is a strength....