I don't feel depression. It is an emotion totally alien to me.

But that's why I'm here! To help you all!

In the end, the only one who decides how far you go is you!

Remember, don't believe in the me that believes in the you...

BELIEVE IN THE YOU THAT BELIEVES IN THE YOU!!!

That is all!

Disregard those downers,
Making your face frown.
They won't believe the powers,
Of a circus clown.

To make one happy in times of need,
And yet stay happy themselves.
They do what they want to do indeed,
And doesn't push it in the shelves.

To believe in oneself is a might power,
A power that anyone can claim.
The stronger you get by the hour,
And throw yourself into the poring rain.

Believe in what you could do,
The achievements one can accomplish.
For the strongest one to help you,
Is the you you did not abolish.

Go forth and be merry,
Or quiet like a butterfly.
The world may seem scary,
But you 'will' soar through the sky.

I feel apathy.

2018267>>2018301
You guys are pretty awesome.

2018378

No, EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS WORLD IS AWESOME!

2018378>>2018395 But I'm especially awesome

2018397

2018424

2018456

2018397

:|

Okie dokie lokie then.

2018267
Sorry to be the party-pooper, really.

As someone who suffered through depression for years and years, before beating it, I can safely say that the most insulting possible sentiment is exemplified in that song.

You've got a good attitude. Kudos!

But... yeah, you don't understand, clearly. That the first thing that goes, when you become badly depressed is your ability to believe in yourself, to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and to 'be a man'.

People always think: "Oh, just pull yourself out of it, man up, and get on with your life!" Not at all getting that the inability to do so is exactly the problem.

2018267
Also... you got that damn song stuck in my head.
Last time it took a week to dislodge.

Yeah buddy! When I get depressed, I just listen to good ass music, and it gets me PUMPED UP, I JUST WANNA RUN AROUND CRAZY! But if it's a deep depression, it usually wears off and you fall back down.

2018341 APATHY...IS...DEATH.

2018573 Well even if you're stuck in a depression, the least you could do is stay active, keep yourself alive, don't sit in one place for too long, that'll just make it worse, you gotta get out and about! I don't know... but maybe lifting weights at the gym, I think that's what i'd do in a depression, that is if I got up and moved in the first place.

2018915

that is if I got up and moved in the first place.

Yeah. That's the rub right there.
All that is totally a great idea at any time! But... working up the ambition and energy to go out and do it?

It would take me weeks to psyche myself up to get a haircut. Nevermind regularly going to the gym to pump iron.

2018922 Well, that's where you start forcing yourself, or pushing as hard as you can. You feel you can't do it, but you can do anything you put your mind to, it might be very hard, but I think that in the end it's all worth it.

2018458

2018951
Yeah, that's the way I thought too, before experiencing it myself. I couldn't get why people couldn't just change. Or think differently.

Being said isn't suffering from Depression, however. When you're sad, you eat some ice cream, hug a loved one, cry a bit, and all is well.

It doesn't make sense, at all, until you're there. Until you essentially lose the ability to force yourself. Or the drive to force yourself. It's not just a mindset, either. The parts of your brain involved in ambition reduce in activity. The production of key neurotransmitters, like dopamine (One of your body's primary reward mechanisms), serotonin (governing happiness and a feeling of well-being), and norepinephrine (concentration, drive) are suppressed. You don't have energy, because you can't sleep. You have full cognizance about what would make you feel better. It's not like you get dumber. You're very, very aware that some kind of failure of personality is involved. But... you can't bring yourself to do it. And that just makes it worse. And deeper. Each perceived personal failing stacking on top of the previous, telling you that it's useless to struggle. Or the problem is insurmountable, and you'll probably fail anyway.

The trap is that the first thing you lose, with clinical depression, is the very mechanism that would cure it.

And until you go through it, it's almost impossible to understand how utterly helpless, out of control, and pathetic that makes you feel.

2018981 Well, I thought I was in a depression once, I layed in bed for a week straight without getting up, just listened to fanfic readings, then I just got up.

2019071
There's rather a world of difference between clinical depression , lasting months or years, and just being in a bad mood for a few days.

One can be fixed by going to a movie with a friend, or eating a tub of Ben and Jerry's. The other can't.

2018267
Oh good. Because clearly what I needed was that song stuck in my head for another month.

2019086 Coming to this blog, it's the first time i've heard about clinical depression. Truly, is there no way that people can help you by talking about it? So why even mention it? Not everyone goes through the same thing, anyway, it can be from a week long to a few years and still be considered a depression, just not a disorder.
Forgive me if I seem rather heartless about this, but I just don't see the point in talking about it.

2019099 I don't see the down side to that...

2019100
Even with a general feeling of malaise, there's really not much point in saying 'Get confident, stupid', or 'be a man'. Because nothing makes people's day like an implication that you do, and should, have self-esteem problems that need to be addressed right now, right?

As for major depression being a lost cause, it isn't. It still helps to have a friendly face, or someone to talk to. Or to offer advice and reassure that things can be done. Or that people with depression aren't worthless, and that it isn't hopeless. And that it can be beaten. And all that jazz. Or hell, just having a distraction, something uplifting, was just about the most valuable thing to me, back when I was suffering.

But you're right, the forum likely isn't just about serious depression. People with that, however, are the ones I'm rather more worried about. People having a bad week don't have a one in thirty chance of killing themselves. Or are having their lives ruined, and relationships destroyed.

I was just worried from the start that people would start to post stuff that are liable to just make people feeling horrid already, all the worse. Here, quoting a post of mine from the thread advertising this place in the writer's group.

>> Fervidor
Well, I don't think the group was really meant to be a suicide help line. Honestly, it sounds more like a general amateur depression support group. A place for people to talk about their problems, and for others to offer sympathy, a proverbial shoulder or hopefully helpful anecdotes.

I would hope that the sort of people who would say things like: "Just shake it off." or "Be a man." or "I don't get why you can't get help." or other absolutely stupid things wouldn't bother to join.

There was nothing more hurtful, at least to me, than to be slapped in the face with the idea that I wasn't living up to what society thought and expected me to do. That I was lacking as a human being. The 'Be a man' sentiment, in other words. Implying that you're weak, and lacking. It's someone parroting back what you're already ripping yourself to shreds about.

2019125
Since that movie came out I haven't been able to go more than maybe three weeks without one of its songs wriggling its way back in. People anesthetize beloved pets for less.

2019171 Well atleast people with major depression can be made to feel better with just a few kind words or someone to talk to, now I feel more assured of myself. I know now how being told to "shake it off" or "be a man", can be really offensive to certain people, shoot if I was in that position, i'd be pissed off!
It helps that you've cleared it up, because now I know.
I'm at a loss for words now, so all i have left to say is, good luck, or may the force be with you. Whichever you like more.

2019200 Will this be batter?

2019569
Never heard of it, so yes. Is it an anime or some such?