Chris Rifkin wrote:
Oh and happiness factor is at a 2 today
mainly because my seasonal allergies(which hit me harder
than most) have confined me indoors on a rare day off,where
not a cloud in the sky and 83 degrees....

But,I know this will be over in a week or so,but unfortunately
due to my job I hit every allergy seasonacross the US

not sure if I should lol at the coincidence and inconvenience of what happens with your job

anyway, hug

Faith EnFire wrote:

not sure if I should lol at the coincidence and inconvenience of what happens with your job

anyway, hug

it basicly means my body gets used to every allergy medicine
out there as its only effective for me (each one)for only a few
weeks.
For example,ClaritinD will be useless to me in another 2 weeks,
just as I head into the Mid Atlantic allergy season

Chris Rifkin wrote:

it basicly means my body gets used to every allergy medicine
out there as its only effective for me (each one)for only a few
weeks.
For example,ClaritinD will be useless to me in another 2 weeks,
just as I head into the Mid Atlantic allergy season

aww

Chris Rifkin wrote:

Haz a 50D
wait till you start shooting with it,your happiness will be x100

One thing,the files will be HUGE!
I shoot in Jpeg(ducks from all the peeps here who say you have to shoot in
RAW),and these files are humungous

Eeehehe!

Faith EnFire wrote:

aww

Ever hear of cutting of your nose to spite your face?
Right now cutting off my nose would make my face infinitely happy

RL_11214 wrote:
I am not the biggest Billy Joel fan, but this cheers me up when I feel down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhxjNYvJbgM

Thank you for letting me share.

The issue is you need to learn the difference between "Down in the dumps" and depression.

Star Child wrote:
A simple word "damaged"
This ain't about dancin' in the sun. I've been on both sides of that track and was on them when the train came callin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjD2AApTj2I

Yeah, I know those feelings. I will never turn my back on those who suffer.

Me either. And I thank God every day for you and others who care.

Thank you.

Natasha240 wrote:
So WIN:

I've really gotten into the vintage/retro/swing scene. I LOVE to dance, but no one else I know does, plus because of my GAD and Social anxiety I don't go out anyway. I found a swing club very close to my house, and they offer CHEAP swing dance lessons for the first hour every friday night, and a general dance after that until midnight. I worked up the courage and went! I even told myself "Tash, even if you have to go ALONE (oh, the horror!), do it. You can do this, and you just may end up having a good time."

It was great!

Now didnt that do more for you than any pill or therapy session ever could?

RL_11214 wrote:

Now didnt that do more for you than any pill or therapy session ever could?

-Depression doesn't mean you can't do things
-Depression isn't a constant feeling.  There are ups and downs
-Band-aids are no substitute for treatment

Since you are trying to get into the medical field (EMT I believe) Print out your comments in both threads and take them to as many educated medical professional as you can and see what they say.

RL_11214 wrote:
Now didnt that do more for you than any pill or therapy session ever could?

Seriously, dude, when it comes to depression you are a fucking idiot. Please go back to your own thread and play there. You aren't helping. In fact, your advice may make things worse for someone.

JLC Images wrote:
-Depression doesn't mean you can't do things
-Depression isn't a constant feeling.  There are ups and downs
-Band-aids are no substitute for treatment

Since you are trying to get into the medical field (EMT I believe) Print out your comments in both threads and take them to as many educated medical professional as you can and see what they say.

This is good advice. I doubt he'll take it. He already knows everything.

RL_11214 wrote:
I should not have replied.

For what it is worth, everyone can get depressed, just deal, find something to distract yourself. Why make a pharmo company rich ?

Epressing one-self in a message forum does no good to help. Going out and getting fresh air does.

Just by reading your posts it is obvious you have no idea what true depression really is, or that it is a chemical imbalance.  It has nothing to do with making a pharmacy rich.

And this forum has helped quite a lot of people from going down the road of no return..myself included.

This isn't a thread for you to come in and cause arguments. This is a support thread.

Keep your uneducated armchair psychiatric opinions to yourself.  Unless you have actually walked in our shoes you really don't have a leg to stand on in this thread.

Natasha240 wrote:
So WIN:

I've really gotten into the vintage/retro/swing scene. I LOVE to dance, but no one else I know does, plus because of my GAD and Social anxiety I don't go out anyway. I found a swing club very close to my house, and they offer CHEAP swing dance lessons for the first hour every friday night, and a general dance after that until midnight. I worked up the courage and went! I even told myself "Tash, even if you have to go ALONE (oh, the horror!), do it. You can do this, and you just may end up having a good time."

It was great!

Sweeet!! Okay, so when I come out there are you gonna take me dancin?

RL_11214 wrote:

Now didnt that do more for you than any pill or therapy session ever could?

Star Child wrote:

Sweeet!! Okay, so when I come out there are you gonna take me dancin?

Anytime!

Natasha240 wrote:

Anytime!

I wanna come too! ;_;
But i'm far away lol.

Miss Murder Photography wrote:

I wanna come too! ;_;
But i'm far away lol.

Well, if you ever find yourself down this way, consider it a standing date

Natasha240 wrote:

Well, if you ever find yourself down this way, consider it a standing date

Natasha240 wrote:
So WIN:

I've really gotten into the vintage/retro/swing scene. I LOVE to dance, but no one else I know does, plus because of my GAD and Social anxiety I don't go out anyway. I found a swing club very close to my house, and they offer CHEAP swing dance lessons for the first hour every friday night, and a general dance after that until midnight. I worked up the courage and went! I even told myself "Tash, even if you have to go ALONE (oh, the horror!), do it. You can do this, and you just may end up having a good time."

It was great!

I so want to swing dance with you.  Now I've gotta learn how.

Taboo Nudes wrote:
Just by reading your posts it is obvious you have no idea what true depression really is, or that it is a chemical imbalance.  It has nothing to do with making a pharmacy rich.

And this forum has helped quite a lot of people from going down the road of no return..myself included.

This isn't a thread for you to come in and cause arguments. This is a support thread.

Keep your uneducated armchair psychiatric opinions to yourself.  Unless you have actually walked in our shoes you really don't have a leg to stand on in this thread.

this upsets me

edit: not this post...i agree...the one that it was referring too...and how people come into a support thread and demean people's way of dealing with something so crippling

Chris Rifkin wrote:
so I decided to "just go out and do somthing" and "suck it up"
today...


Went to 7-11 and got a Super Big Gulp (Coke Zero of course)


does this count?

yes! totally does.

you got up got dressed left the house got in the car turned it on put it in gear pushed petals with your feet parked turned off the car got out locked door opened door walked in fond the big gulp station chose a glass size pushed a button caught some ice pushed a button filled er up walked to the cash wrap pulled out some change gave it to the cashier opened door shut door unlocked car opened door sat down placed cup in holder started car pushed petals pulled in driveway parked turned car off opened door got out shut door walked to house opened door closed door sat on couch enjoyed your big gulp.

look at all you did!

Chris Rifkin wrote:
so I decided to "just go out and do somthing" and "suck it up"
today...


Went to 7-11 and got a Super Big Gulp (Coke Zero of course)


does this count?

Now i'm hungry!

ArunaDiesPretty wrote:
So today my mom says, "When you go online, wish _____ Happy Birthday on my behalf." (We have relatives on FB). So I said, "You can do it yourself."

"I don't go on the computer."

"Then call her."

"No. I don't call anybody." Said with indignant pride.

She also likes to tell her friends, "No, I don't want to go out. I am like a living dead person. My life is over, and I am only living for my daughter."

Yay! Lucky me. .

If you can't be bothered to make a phone call to say Happy Birthday, then WTF should I do it for you! Especially now that you're cutting me off! 

I love how she wants me to communicate online when it serves her purposes, but if I try to communicate or meet someone for myself then all hell breaks loose. She threatens to have me dragged off to a nursing home, and says that I'm "exposing myself", and "going down the wrong path" and "not letting her live in peace."

Stupid old hypocrite! xx(

I guess I should be grateful to her for tolerating my "new toy" modeling hobby for the two years I did.

I really wish one of the places I applied to would hire me so that I can be out of here for a few hours.

Lots and lots of hugzzz to ya.

Lawrence Guy wrote:

I so want to swing dance with you.  Now I've gotta learn how.

I only took one lesson, so I'm a total newb too. We should all start our own swing club

Natasha240 wrote:

I only took one lesson, so I'm a total newb too. We should all start our own swing club

All right.  We'll do swing-dance-by-mail.  I'll be sending you my first move shortly.

ArunaDiesPretty wrote:
So today my mom says, "When you go online, wish _____ Happy Birthday on my behalf." (We have relatives on FB). So I said, "You can do it yourself."

"I don't go on the computer."

"Then call her."

"No. I don't call anybody." Said with indignant pride.

She also likes to tell her friends, "No, I don't want to go out. I am like a living dead person. My life is over, and I am only living for my daughter."

Yay! Lucky me. .

If you can't be bothered to make a phone call to say Happy Birthday, then WTF should I do it for you! Especially now that you're cutting me off! 

I love how she wants me to communicate online when it serves her purposes, but if I try to communicate or meet someone for myself then all hell breaks loose. She threatens to have me dragged off to a nursing home, and says that I'm "exposing myself", and "going down the wrong path" and "not letting her live in peace."

Stupid old hypocrite! xx(

I guess I should be grateful to her for tolerating my "new toy" modeling hobby for the two years I did.

I really wish one of the places I applied to would hire me so that I can be out of here for a few hours.

All I can do is give you *hugs* and hope that you can find a way to improve your relationship with your mom.  I've found with my parents that things improved dramatically when I opened up to them and showed them affection.  An occasional hug and smile can do wonders.  But that's me.

He is in Canada, and (I told him that I think) the only doctor for his town of 3000 is either too busy to care or plain doesn't care at all, and because of the free healthcare/cheap meds, prescribes him massive amounts of pills instead of suggesting therapy or anything of the sort. Between the doctor and his mother (who has a heart condition and uses a cocktail of pills to get by), he has it pounded into his head that drugs are his only hope. The doctor told him it's a chemical imbalance in his brain that needs to be corrected.

I told him he needs to get the hell out of his mother's house and change his circumstances to absolve his depression. Meds have nothing to do with it, and once you start taking mood-altering drugs you are changing who you are. He replied that he looked up the symptoms of his bipolarity and said they match him to a tee.

My reply?

If I went by what I read about symptoms and what I fit into, I would be a bipolar schizotypal (I exhibit some schizophrenic tendencies but am not actually schizophrenic). Instead of falling on that, however, I firmly believe my symptoms are the result of being in a tough spot in life, not a chemical imbalance in my brain. It's not mental, it's situational, and if I just pull through this hard time my symptoms will vanish. They do come and go depending on how things are going.

I suck it up and refuse to believe I could be bipolar schizotypal. I'm trying to tell HIM to suck it up and stop medicating himself into oblivion, because the doctor told him if they don't medicate him he could be "lost forever". No, you numbnuts, that's what the medication is doing.

...He's been meaning to see a therapist for some time and I wish he would step on it. I saw a therapist for a brief time and it helped my growth immensely to have someone that would listen and could see things objectively.

He's in Canada... so the waiting list to see a specialist is ridiculous. His mother told him to see a psychologist faster, to check himself into a psych ward. I was mortified!

..He sees the only doctor for the town of 3000.... a general practice doctor, at that.

I would love for him to see a therapist if nothing else, but after reading some of the responses in the thread I'm beginning to feel very torn. After all my research on mental diseases and such, I am still a firm believer that the power of will and the power of support of those around you will be far more powerful than any chemical-altering medication. But at the same time I feel I am being unsupportive because I oppose medication so much, when he is so convinced that it is the only thing that can help (thanks to his mom and doctor).

I dunno... please shed some light here... I haven't spoken to him since we had a small argument over it (me being the only one getting upset) on Wednesday, I feel so ashamed, I don't know if I can or what I would say. Yet I feel so sure that if I could just get him out of the house, maybe get him down here with me, he would need the medication less and less. But I know everyone isn't the same and what worked for me may not work for him... but I truly don't believe that pills are the answer either.

Please advise me... I feel totally lost on this...a

Sanguine Jackal wrote:
Hey guys. I am having a bit of a dilemma and was looking for some advice over here... even though it started in the "suck it up" thread.

I have been in and out of deep depression (the kind where you burst into tears for no reason) but this actually isn't about me... it's about my boyfriend. I want to be there for him but frankly I understand very little of what he is going through, and feel I am making matters worse. Having been in a severe depression for much of the last two years, I would think I would understand, but I see things in such a different way from him I fear I'm no help at all.

I copy/pasted from the other thread... because I can.

He is in Canada, and (I told him that I think) the only doctor for his town of 3000 is either too busy to care or plain doesn't care at all, and because of the free healthcare/cheap meds, prescribes him massive amounts of pills instead of suggesting therapy or anything of the sort. Between the doctor and his mother (who has a heart condition and uses a cocktail of pills to get by), he has it pounded into his head that drugs are his only hope. The doctor told him it's a chemical imbalance in his brain that needs to be corrected.

I told him he needs to get the hell out of his mother's house and change his circumstances to absolve his depression. Meds have nothing to do with it, and once you start taking mood-altering drugs you are changing who you are. He replied that he looked up the symptoms of his bipolarity and said they match him to a tee.

My reply?

If I went by what I read about symptoms and what I fit into, I would be a bipolar schizotypal (I exhibit some schizophrenic tendencies but am not actually schizophrenic). Instead of falling on that, however, I firmly believe my symptoms are the result of being in a tough spot in life, not a chemical imbalance in my brain. It's not mental, it's situational, and if I just pull through this hard time my symptoms will vanish. They do come and go depending on how things are going.

I suck it up and refuse to believe I could be bipolar schizotypal. I'm trying to tell HIM to suck it up and stop medicating himself into oblivion, because the doctor told him if they don't medicate him he could be "lost forever". No, you numbnuts, that's what the medication is doing.

I dunno... please shed some light here... I haven't spoken to him since we had a small argument over it (me being the only one getting upset) on Wednesday, I feel so ashamed, I don't know if I can or what I would say. Yet I feel so sure that if I could just get him out of the house, maybe get him down here with me, he would need the medication less and less. But I know everyone isn't the same and what worked for me may not work for him... but I truly don't believe that pills are the answer either.

Please advise me... I feel totally lost on this...a

The best course of treatment can only be figured out by a competent medical practitioner. This usually takes time and a learning curve along with testing various medications to see what is and is not effective.

It could simply be his position in life right now. In which case a knowledgeable therapist would help greatly. However, it could also be a chemical imbalance in which case a therapist would not help so much. At that point, he would need to see someone who can prescribe and monitor medication. It could also be a combination. If this is the case, and it very well could be, he will not "get there" by either method alone.

The bottom line is he needs to see someone who deals with this so they can start a course of treatment as well as monitor his progress to make any adjustments along the way.

ArunaDiesPretty wrote:
So today my mom says, "When you go online, wish _____ Happy Birthday on my behalf." (We have relatives on FB). So I said, "You can do it yourself."

"I don't go on the computer."

"Then call her."

"No. I don't call anybody." Said with indignant pride.

She also likes to tell her friends, "No, I don't want to go out. I am like a living dead person. My life is over, and I am only living for my daughter."

Yay! Lucky me. .

If you can't be bothered to make a phone call to say Happy Birthday, then WTF should I do it for you! Especially now that you're cutting me off! 

I love how she wants me to communicate online when it serves her purposes, but if I try to communicate or meet someone for myself then all hell breaks loose. She threatens to have me dragged off to a nursing home, and says that I'm "exposing myself", and "going down the wrong path" and "not letting her live in peace."

Stupid old hypocrite! xx(

I guess I should be grateful to her for tolerating my "new toy" modeling hobby for the two years I did.

I really wish one of the places I applied to would hire me so that I can be out of here for a few hours.

Is there anyway that you can move out of your mother's house?  This is part of the problem. She is not seeing you as an adult.  From what little I've read it seems that a dysfunctional enmeshment has developed. Your mother will not change, you are the only one that can change the situation.

Sanguine Jackal wrote:
Hey guys. I am having a bit of a dilemma and was looking for some advice over here... even though it started in the "suck it up" thread.

I have been in and out of deep depression (the kind where you burst into tears for no reason) but this actually isn't about me... it's about my boyfriend. I want to be there for him but frankly I understand very little of what he is going through, and feel I am making matters worse. Having been in a severe depression for much of the last two years, I would think I would understand, but I see things in such a different way from him I fear I'm no help at all.

I copy/pasted from the other thread... because I can.

He is in Canada, and (I told him that I think) the only doctor for his town of 3000 is either too busy to care or plain doesn't care at all, and because of the free healthcare/cheap meds, prescribes him massive amounts of pills instead of suggesting therapy or anything of the sort. Between the doctor and his mother (who has a heart condition and uses a cocktail of pills to get by), he has it pounded into his head that drugs are his only hope. The doctor told him it's a chemical imbalance in his brain that needs to be corrected.

I told him he needs to get the hell out of his mother's house and change his circumstances to absolve his depression. Meds have nothing to do with it, and once you start taking mood-altering drugs you are changing who you are. He replied that he looked up the symptoms of his bipolarity and said they match him to a tee.

My reply?

If I went by what I read about symptoms and what I fit into, I would be a bipolar schizotypal (I exhibit some schizophrenic tendencies but am not actually schizophrenic). Instead of falling on that, however, I firmly believe my symptoms are the result of being in a tough spot in life, not a chemical imbalance in my brain. It's not mental, it's situational, and if I just pull through this hard time my symptoms will vanish. They do come and go depending on how things are going.

I suck it up and refuse to believe I could be bipolar schizotypal. I'm trying to tell HIM to suck it up and stop medicating himself into oblivion, because the doctor told him if they don't medicate him he could be "lost forever". No, you numbnuts, that's what the medication is doing.

I dunno... please shed some light here... I haven't spoken to him since we had a small argument over it (me being the only one getting upset) on Wednesday, I feel so ashamed, I don't know if I can or what I would say. Yet I feel so sure that if I could just get him out of the house, maybe get him down here with me, he would need the medication less and less. But I know everyone isn't the same and what worked for me may not work for him... but I truly don't believe that pills are the answer either.

Please advise me... I feel totally lost on this...a

As another poster mentioned, he needs to see a qualified professional, both medical and emotional.  If there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, that can be tested and proven.  If that is the case, then medication does help.  If it is purely emotional then therapy is the way to go. Actually, therapy and medication if he is really chemically imbalanced.

Taboo Nudes wrote:
As another poster mentioned, he needs to see a qualified professional, both medical and emotional.  If there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, that can be tested and proven.  If that is the case, then medication does help.  If it is purely emotional then therapy is the way to go. Actually, therapy and medication if he is really chemically imbalanced.

That's the only hard part, the waiting list for a specialist is "ridiculous" (I don't know specifically how long, other than that they would rather check him into a psych ward to see one faster). He is Canadian... the waiting lists are long but the meds are cheap and if you're not seeing a specialist, believe you me you WILL be medicated. Frankly, I'm quite happy that if I need to see a specialist I can pay a $50 copay and see them within a week! But he doesn't have that luxury.

I managed to get him to quit smoking marijuana last summer, and am very grateful I did because I've read it can make mental issues more pronounced, or at least the symptoms themselves. He only finally admitted to his doctor that he had been smoking and the doctor said that withdrawal from it was the cause of his anxiety.

He's now back on another medication (Seroquel or something like that?) that he had over the summer but quit because it made him drowsy.

But I'm tired of being unable to do anything, having to sit back while he tries drug after drug to no avail, suffering until they take effect. He is working to get himself in order so as to get down here for a visit at least, because I haven't the time or money to go visit him (full-time job, full-time school). His unemployment has been a huge hindrance and I have helped him with resumes, cover letters, and job-hunting advice but still nothing. It's been a year since we've seen one another and even though I manage to stay so busy it doesn't occupy my thoughts as much as it used to, it's taking a toll on him.

Thankfully he's working on it, so I'm hoping if he just visits down here it will help.

It just gets very hard when I try to talk to him about this subject... I told him that both times I visited (once for a month and then for another week) he was unmedicated the whole time. He was happy! He didn't need them! But he always brushes it off... says that he was manic, the insomnia he had while I was there fit the manic bill perfectly, etcetera. This didn't happen on our first visit, mind you, the month-long on... but he did remember to get back on his then-meds right before I left and THEN suffered insomnia.

As much as I hate to say it, when he brushes it off like that... that he was happy, he was content with me there... I feel useless. And I feel very, very angry because his stupid doctors won't give him the therapy he needs, and would rather medicate him and pound into his skull that there's something wrong with him whether he's happy or sad.

Sanguine Jackal wrote:
But I'm tired of being unable to do anything, having to sit back while he tries drug after drug to no avail, suffering until they take effect.

This is all you can do.  Let them find the correct medication that will help.  It is a long and painful process, but when they find the right combination you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sanguine Jackal wrote:
I told him that both times I visited (once for a month and then for another week) he was unmedicated the whole time. He was happy! He didn't need them!

Look at depression like a broken leg and not a mood.  It doesn't always hurt and you may never know about the problem until he stresses the leg.  If you saw someone with a broken leg sitting without any pain would you tell them they didn't need the cast?

Sanguine Jackal wrote:
As much as I hate to say it, when he brushes it off like that... that he was happy, he was content with me there... I feel useless.

Outside of being supportive you are useless.  You will drive yourself crazy if you think you will be able to cure him.  I have witnessed way too many parents and SO's interfere with people taking meds and therapy because they are:
-scared the doctors don't have their best interest at heart
-scared someone else can help better than their loved ones
-scared that after the treatment they won't be themselves anymore
-scared after the treatment they won't like them anymore or worst yet blame them for their depression

If you want to help get the name of his doctor and call them with your questions and concerns.  Be the support your bf needs and leave the medical advice to the doctors.  Depression isn't a constant feeling so don't be fooled by moments of happiness.