Posted by ELA on January 8, 2002, at 14:35:14
In reply to fear of depression, posted by pedr on January 8, 2002, at 9:06:53
Hi Pete,
I've recently been put on antidepressants following a serious illness which left me shocked, withdrawn and unable to cope with daily life again. I was very sceptical at first thinking that crying all the time for no reason and withdrawing into myself wasn't "proper" depression - ie, suicidal thoughts, no support/friends/family etc.
However, I am learning that this is not the case and that even though my depression is relatively mild compared to many others, it is by no means not a real illness. Everyone experiences things in different ways and depression is no different.
I'm lucky that I've got great mates around me so I'm starting to get through this. I am only 20 and nowhere remotely near an expert but I reckon that a good place to start for you would be to remember that we are in dividual and, therefore, our reactions to and experiences of things are often very different. This site is brilliant, I can't begin to say how much it has helped me and I've only been using it for about a week!
The way I think of it is that if I want to run around laughing insanely one day and having a good time then I can and it doesn't mean that I'm not depressed anymore. And also that just because I'm not sitting in dark rooms with dark thoughts doesn't mean that I'm not depressed either.
Good luck, hope it gets easier for you.
Emma.
poster:ELA
thread:16440
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020102/msgs/16474.html