Question:
[snip - sorry - good stuff] I’m rambling. Sorry. Question: do any of you believe that there is such a thing as "philosophical depression" and, if you do and if you have it, how do you handle it? (And yes, I have depression; clinical depression, next-to-worst kind and slipping towards the worst. I take wellbutrin but various things contribute to the depression and wellbutrin only allows me to hold things together, barely. I’ve tried other medications and they are no better.)
Yes. I believe it is possible and some doctors say so, too. We know that our physical environment effects our body and brain chemistry. The thought environment can and does effect the brain chemistry. I think this has even been clinically verified. Happy thoughts and mental imagery cause "happy" brain chemicals to circulate. Sad, angry and axious thoughts and images cause the unhappy chemicals to zoom around in there. It stands to reason (in my mind anyway) that prolonged/habitual depressing thoughts and feelings and mental images can produce semi-permantent (or perhaps "persistant" would be a better word) brain chemistry imbalances over time. I think "situational depression" is an example of this, too. Situations that are sadenning and make a "normal" person feel depressed can cause "real" depression (complete with the brain chemistry imbalances) when there are just too many of them to handle. Same sort of thing applies to victims of "shell shock" sort of things – Post traumatic whateveritis disorder. You get my drift. Several years ago I went through a prolonged depressive period that I could directly attribute to my current state of belief and philosophy – I was depressed because (as I saw it anyway) I was trying so very hard for so very long to attain spirituality and enlightenment and nothing was happening at all. I felt abandoned by God, Life, the universe and everything. The terms "philosophical depression" could easy describe that. But then, who is to say that I did not already have a brain chemistry related predisposition for the depression? There is just so much we do not know. That’s part of why we’re here. We are helping each other find out. And no, I don’t think anyone is going to try to chase you off for your thoughts and questions. Hell, even if they do – you have as much right to be here as any of us do. So…… WELCOME!!!! Simply Stevie "Ignorance is bliss, but if you know that you’re out of luck."
Response:
Dr. Peter Breggin’s work supports this view. He is an anti prozac psychologist. while i agree with you and him, i dont quite know how to handle it. i’ve sought shelter in both God and antidepressants.
Response:
[[[[[Did I do that "archive" thing right??? Not bad for a Newbie trying to see the world through the sludge of depression and that was really confused just a few minutes ago.]]]] I may be making a mistake posting here; I’ve looked over the last 1700+ messages and found some bickering going on, and I may be violating some form of protocol, but I’ll trying posting and if people object I’ll leave. (anon)
Dear Anon, please don’t leave! I love your philosophy and haven’t quite finished your post yet!…..Octavia I believe there may be another cause/form of depression, though, and that is philosophical depression. I would define this as the way a person views, virtually, everything. Definitely not through rose-colored glasses. (anon)
Outside of actual brain chemistry, I think that is EXACTLY what depression really is. I think it REALLY starts out with the way we PERCEIVE things (rather real or imagined, it sure seems real at the time). THEN I think it messes with the body’s cells, causing the "imbalance." …. Octavia I know when I look at the world, at the world’s history, at its philosophical/religious systems, and at the savage behavior of many people today and the relatively uncaring behavior of most of the rest I am not, should we say, encouraged to be happy.
ME NEITHER!!! …. Octavia Some people say "you need to change the way you look at things", but I just don’t see how that is possible. Looking at things does not change fact, either present or historical. (anon)
NOPE, doesn’t change the past no matter WHICH way you look at it now….Octavia Brief examples: the incredible hatred of people because they have an "alternative" sexuality; the hatred of people because of their skin color, or religous background, or country of origin… I think the human race has far, far more ways to hate people than to love them. (anon)
You are talking about one of my BIG pet peeves regarding humans: The inability to see another human as another human as another human as another human as another human…..Octavia I’m rambling. Sorry. Question: do any of you believe that there is such a thing as "philosophical depression" and, if you do and if you have it, how do you handle it? (anon)
Self-therapy type books (and stuff on the Net) that make you think about what your own innards are trying to tell you…NOT what someone else is trying to convince you of….Really hard…requires lots of listening and lots of thought….Octavia (And yes, I have depression; clinical depression, next-to-worst kind and slipping towards the worst. I take wellbutrin but various things contribute to the depression and wellbutrin only allows me to hold things together, barely. I’ve tried other medications and they are no better.) (anon)
Not currently on meds. Not just the money factor, but also because I somehow started realizing that all this crap is within me. If I had the money and had to choose between either all varieties of Therapy and meds, I’d choose the all varieties of Therapy. — But meds did help when I first fell down….Octavia
Response:
: stop me if you’ve heard this one before… : " why don’t you DO something with I wanna rock, and : some people call me the spacecowboy : aka the Hermit : or just jeff What happened to Maurice? Rah-rah! Just shittin… Stevie V — I’d rather hide – than fight you stealing my soul a marbled ocean of steaming ghosts they bare what’s tavernous and told a haunted ocean is cavernous and cold - Delirium
Response:
ME! ME!! ME!! I’ve learned that it is closely tied to existentialism — the old "Why do I exist? Why is the world the way it is?" kind of questions. If you can believe it, I was really really concerned with these questions from age 8 or 10 and it only got worse. (I’m almost 40 now). I was finally diagnosed with depression and put on medication 11 years ago. It wasn’t until I checked myself into a hospital, was changed to zoloft 150 mg/day & trazadone 75-150mg/day, and pursued LOTS more therapy that I now am concerned but not CONSUMED. If you want to write back we can talk in more detail. Cindy ps. This may sound nuts, but 12-step therapy really helped me get a grip: Is this something I have control over? What part of it CAN I have control over without controlling someone or something else?
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