Posted by cybercafe on May 27, 2003, at 16:18:09
In reply to Re: Depressed people don't smile » cybercafe, posted by shar on May 27, 2003, at 1:07:55
> I smiled with delight when I finally found, after much research, the method of suicide right for me. And, I *was* delighted because it was a lot of hard work. My therapist understood that my smile did not mean I was not "truly" depressed.
Wow. That sounds terrible. I hope you're doing much better now?
> I smile and laugh. Many smiles are perfunctory, part of my learning how to survive when I was young (smiling was better than the alternative though seething was just below). Many smiles are from delight, and a good joke always brings a laugh. There is, for example, much good humor from the people here at PSB, many of whom are severely depressed.
Thanks for replying bro :) I'm glad to know I'm not alone or totally off base.
I remember an unusually large number of people in support groups IRL were doing stand up comedy. I don't know what to think of that...
> Has this person ever treated depressed people before? How many? Does this therapist not know that smiles might not be expressions of happiness, but serve many other purposes (some mundane, and some critically important to making it through the family alive or keeping a job?).This guy is really really competent. Probably one of the best in the city.
I had a strange experience the last time I was there. I used to have some idealistic notion of doctors as always being right. But at that moment I clued into the fact that this guy was too busy to remember what meds I was on. And after the smile comment I smiled again because it again brought on the .... earth-shattering idea that.... even though docs are very smart and very knowledgable... ultimately whether or not you are going to make it through this depends on yourself. (because they are too damn busy!) ...
that... you can do better for yourself if you put in a tiny bit of time and effort to organize and research and contemplate... your case
very scary... but very empowering too
> Sorry for the intensity of my response, but that is simply not to be tolerated. I don't believe 'not smiling' is a diagnostic criterion from the DSM IV or V or whatever we're up to at this point..... i think when your self-esteem is really low you tend to look up to and idealize other people. So my interactions with my doc are very intense and my standards are very high because I idealize other people so much! So I certainly understand where you're coming from
It just blows my mind to finally realize that ... hey... we're actually pretty smart ourselves :)
Which is incredible to think... considering how much these guys learn in med school
> Is this therapist extremely young and inexperienced?
No. I have had some very prestigious doctors do some very dumb things :)
poster:cybercafe
thread:229308
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030517/msgs/229495.html