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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by girl on July 10, 2003, at 9:42:03
Show of hands here... how many have to deal with spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, family members who are dealing with the knowledge that you are depressed or as bad as it sounds, you have a mental illness?
How do you explain to them why Prozac is good for you and throwing a fit all of a sudden is something out of our control? Asking what's wrong when I'm crying or scared with an anxiety attack is never going to get the kinds of answers from us that our partners need. Mine can't understand why I just can't control it... logic and all that jazz.
Of those whose partners/parents/whatever understand what you're going though, how did you get them to understand?
Posted by avid abulia on July 10, 2003, at 12:29:59
In reply to Love in a time of Depression, posted by girl on July 10, 2003, at 9:42:03
When i first saw your topic heading, it reminded me of that book by Lawrence Ferlenghetti, Love in the Days of Rage, great book if anyone is looking for literature recommendations.
But, uh, aside from that... no, i am constantly losing girlfriends as quickly as i can find them, it is difficult to explain to them... especially the fact that i have an eating disorder (anorexia) doesn't make it easy. I am better with my rage attacks now, clonidine got rid of those and once i broke the thought pattern... or maybe i should say de-kindled the neurological pattern, everyone on here seems to be *way* into biologically-based explanations and i may get flamed for suggesting that any of this is psychological, assuming there is a difference... well, at any rate, i have a difficult time explaining to them what the deal is. My family can understand pretty well, but not in the sense that i would like them to. They are fixated on the notion of biochemical imbalances, and any attempt at describing what has been going on with me in psychological terms, the terms that they as somewhat-more-normals would understand better and might help some, leads inevitably to them being p!ssed at me, because it takes more time than they have patience for. It is a difficult problem, and i think one we all face... and whether biopsychiatry can fix most or any of our other problems, it does not fix that one. That is more of a societal sickness, than a personal one.
~AA
Posted by fallsfall on July 10, 2003, at 16:08:03
In reply to Love in a time of Depression, posted by girl on July 10, 2003, at 9:42:03
I think that it is very hard for people who have not been depressed to understand. Many don't want to understand, they just want you to return to "normal". But even those who do truly want to understand have a hard time realizing why your world is different than theirs.
I go to a depression support group and there have been a couple of times that a significant other has come with someone. I think that seeing that there are a roomfull of people who are all saying the same thing can be helpful.
It's an uphill battle, but one worth trying.
Posted by girl on July 10, 2003, at 16:08:12
In reply to Love in the Days of Rage, posted by avid abulia on July 10, 2003, at 12:29:59
The book I was thinking of was Love in a time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez :)
I'm not into the bio-babble. I flunked Biology. I rely more on what I think and feel. I still am not sure If I'm bipolar, bipersonality or what. I sneaked into my file once and saw "recurrive depressive" All I know there are good days and there are bad days, but we are the kind of people that get very bad days.
There's been a lot of trouble with my fiance and me. My violent tendencies are under control now and I can identify what is going on before I really blow up.
My mother kind of understands what I go through with the medicine and the therapy, but the rest of my family... I might as well be taking pot if I'm already on Prozac etc. What I hate most is when they think I'm pretending or not making much of an effort. Who on earth would want to pretend to feel this way? It's not going to gain you friends or a partner. It's just quite frustrating.But you should be positive. You're doing better so the right girlfriend, the one who will do her best to understand is around the corner somewhere. Sometimes all we need is companionship.
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 11, 2003, at 19:20:14
In reply to Love in the Days of Rage, posted by avid abulia on July 10, 2003, at 12:29:59
> When i first saw your topic heading, it reminded me of that book by Lawrence Ferlenghetti, Love in the Days of Rage, great book if anyone is looking for literature recommendations.
I'd just like to plug the double double quotes feature at this site:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon
The first time anyone refers to a book without using this option, I post this to try to make sure he or she at least knows about it. It's just an option, though, and doesn't *have* to be used. If people *choose* not to use it, I'd be interested why not, but I'd like that redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020918/msgs/7717.html
Thanks!
Bob
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 11, 2003, at 19:23:53
In reply to Love in a time of Depression, posted by girl on July 10, 2003, at 9:42:03
> How do you explain to them why Prozac is good for you and throwing a fit all of a sudden is something out of our control?
Sorry to intrude, but I'd like to redirect this thread to Psycho-Social-Babble. Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030704/msgs/241000.html
Bob
Posted by avid abulia on July 12, 2003, at 22:59:10
In reply to Re: double double quotes » avid abulia, posted by Dr. Bob on July 11, 2003, at 19:20:14
>
> I'd just like to plug the double double quotes feature at this site:
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#amazon
>
> The first time anyone refers to a book without using this option, I post this to try to make sure he or she at least knows about it. It's just an option, though, and doesn't *have* to be used. If people *choose* not to use it, I'd be interested why not, but I'd like that redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration:
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020918/msgs/7717.html
>
> Thanks!
>
> Bob
Ah, sorry doc, ''Love in the Days of Rage'' ... I didn't do it because I think i missed that part of the FAQ (little scatter-brained, sometimes, i am... i might even have read it and forgotten about it).But, really, it doesn't have much of anything to do directly with psychology, psychiatry, or any of that stuff, other than that it was an enjoyable novel, fun to read... having fun is fun, i suppose, and fun things can help ya out now and then, so now i will use the double double quotes in the future.
Thanks for the heads-up, there!
~AA
Posted by avid abulia on July 12, 2003, at 23:01:14
In reply to Re: double double quotes » Dr. Bob, posted by avid abulia on July 12, 2003, at 22:59:10
uh... hope that works...
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 16, 2003, at 11:27:48
In reply to double double quotes: ack, messed up!, posted by avid abulia on July 12, 2003, at 23:01:14
This is the end of the thread.
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