I really apologize for posting this, but...I hate life.

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, FairreLilette said:

To me, a mental illness is saying to your kids "you are a disgrace... or you will amount to nothing....etc."  

Unfortunately, too many people believe this same way.  Until such attitudes change, way too many people will not seek help and may end up as just another statistic, in the wrong way.

[Seicher Rae]

2 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Unfortunately, too many people believe this same way.  Until such attitudes change, way too many people will not seek help and may end up as just another statistic, in the wrong way.

Exactly. Battling the stigmas is still unfortunately as necessary as treating the disorders.

I had a couple of recent conversations with folks, and they were all asserting that the stigmas associated with mental illness are going away and that people are "much more" enlightened than they used to be. While we as a society no longer toss people into the horrors of 18th and early 19th C lunatic asylums, we still have a long way to go.

[FairreLilette]

1 hour ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Unfortunately, too many people believe this same way.  Until such attitudes change, way too many people will not seek help and may end up as just another statistic, in the wrong way.

Well, I disagree about this condition called Seasonal Depression that it's a mental illness.  I think psychological traumas, abuse, abandonment, drugs and alcohol cause the majority of mental illness.   

And...since the time change...it's happening to me now and it's not even 3 in the afternoon yet...I feel like I could just curl up and go to sleep.   

I've had this for decades and if it's happening in the Fall Winter months only (starts after the time change)...it's physiological rather than psychological.

I need to help myself too...so I got up and went walking in the sunshine.  In the Winter when it's cold, I find a sunny spot to stand in. 

I do not think that challenging the FDA is unfortunate at all and I will not change my mind on that ever nor do I think American's should rush into every pill there is.  A lot of pills do more harm than good as medicines can damage the liver and kidneys.     

You have to try and help yourself too.   And, a lot of American's are looking for a pill answer rather than exercise.  Exercise is an incredible life-changing tool that is so under-used and under-valued. 

And, my success story:  I went off pain medication and sleeping medication by exercising and weight lifting (though for me weight lifting is 1-3 pounds - worked up to 3 lbs and that's all I need; even 2 lbs is sufficient).   Yeah, I went through a bad bought of insomnia too which exercise cured completely.  Found the weight lifting videos on YouTube; slowly cut down the pain pills until I was taking none.  Exercise truly changed my life.  I did it by myself without my doctor even suggesting it.  But, my doctor told me he was proud of me and my doctor still is.   My doctor said it was "a miracle".  I said "yes...yes, it is."  And, we both smiled a long smile.   But, don't forget that doctor's more or less have to do what the FDA says.  Though my doctor doesn't believe medicines that cause liver damage should be prescribed.   Only in absolute "have no choice" routes or for a short duration.  

 

As long as we are copying and pasting - here's some stuff on the internet about the benefits of exercise:

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life.  

Amen to that!  It's true...exercise can improve your quality of life...it can make you happier, elevate your mood.  It's on the internet in the link below:  

My next quest is giving up sugar.  I've been off sugar for about a month now.  Although I never was a big sugar eater...I decided it's better to go off of it.  But, I agree with whomever mentioned tacos in this thread!  

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=what+are+the+benefits+of+exercise

Edited November 10, 2019 by FairreLilette

[Selene Gregoire]

2 hours ago, FairreLilette said:

that doctor's more or less have to do what the FDA says. 

The FDA does not govern physicians. You are confusing the FDA with something else. The FDA controls what drugs and food are safe for human consumption. It does not control physicians. The FDA is the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the U. S. federal government. The FDA’s modern regulatory functions began with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, a law a quarter-century in the making that prohibited interstate commerce in adulterated and misbranded food and drugs. The agency regulates products, not people.

https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/history-fdas-fight-consumer-protection-and-public-health/histories-product-regulation

Edited November 10, 2019 by Selene Gregoire

[roseelvira]

Reaching out to give you many many many huge hugs hugs hugs. And proud of you for the courage to share. I as well have walked the path and every day  ,,, i would be repeating what everyone else wrote.  here is a song that gets me through every day  and Know that you are loved and cherished and valued precious one .  we are family here in sl and will be your soft place to land when the world throws mud at you . we will carry you when you are in pain and sorrow and alway be here to comfort you and help you get strenght back in your wings so you may fly high   eagles wings ,,,, 

  this is a beautiful song with a lot of meaning  LOVE WILL FIND A WAY SUNG BY 

LIONEL RICHIE  ,,, AND THIS SONG HAS HELPED ME OVER AND OVER  , ,  HUGS HUGS  HUGS  

Edited November 10, 2019 by roseelvira
SPELLING

[roseelvira]

WORDS TO THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG

Are you feeling down, and lonely.
Feeling like you can't go on.
Just remember love will find a way.

Tell me are you going through changes.
Time seems like it's passing by.
Just believe that love will find a way.
I see the tears you cry.
I see the pain that's in your eyes.
So many times you were so lonely.
And no one seemed to care.
But if your hopes, for your tomorrows.
Are drowning in your sorrows.
Know your heart will show you the way.

Are you trying to find a beginning.
Or something just to hold on to.
Always know that love will find a way.

Is it hard this life you're living.
Does the world seem so unkind.
Don't you worry love will find a way.

Some say we've lost, our way.
Some say the world has gone astray.
But if you know where you're going.
There's nothing you can't do.
'cause problems will come.
And they will leave you.
The world will try to deceive you.
But the truth will always be in your soul.

[Outro]

Do you want some joy in your time?
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
All you need to know is
Love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
All you need to say is
Love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Do you want some joy in your time?Outro]
Do you want some joy in your time?
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
All you need to know is
Love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
All you need to say is
Love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Do you want some joy in your time?
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
All you need to know is
Love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Do you want some joy in your time?
(Are you looking, baby?)
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
(Hard to find)
All you need to know is
Love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
(See the changes you're going through)
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
(Trying to find yourself but you need a clue)
All you need to say is
Just remember that love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Do you want some joy in your time?
(Just a little joy)
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
(A little peace, baby)
All you need to know isLove will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
(See the changes you're going through)
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
(Trying to find yourself but you need a clue)
All you need to say is
Just remember that love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Do you want some joy in your time?
(Just a little joy)
Are you trying to find some piece of mind?
(A little peace, baby)
All you need to know is
Love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
(Are you looking?)
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
(Say you're trying to find it, baby)
All you need to say is
Love, love will find a way (Ooh, ooh)
Are you looking for that place to go
Where the truth is all you'll ever know?
All you need to say is LOVE LOVE WILL FIND A WAY 

Edited November 10, 2019 by roseelvira

[betsybb]

Look towards the Lord sweetie.  Study up on His word and I believe that you will find peace there.  I will pray for you, because you are important!!!!  Much love and hugs

[Seicher Rae]

[Selene Gregoire]

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.

[Tari Landar]

I lied, I'm not going to shut up...sue me

Who the ach eee double hockey stix .....wooooosah, woooosah self, woooosah...

Ok, I'm going to pretend to be a calm adult and I'm going to do my very best to be nice. I'd like to apologize in advance if I ruffle feathers, but....I'm not that nice, so I won't, rubber-band your feathers  

Exercise doesn't fix (I wouldn't prepare a rebuttal just yet, that word's important..)...clears throat....: broken bones, visual impairments, chemical imbalances, the flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, infections, cuts, scrapes, bloody noses, skin tags, muscle problems, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, COPD, bone spurs, paper cuts, bruised ribs, broken teeth, whiplash, dental issues, mental illnesses,  anxiety, chapped lips, UTIs,  chicken pox, measles, polio, MS, ALS, cancer,high blood pressure, low blood pressure, indigestion, nausea, heartburn, blood clots, liver disease, kidney disease, hearing loss, obesity, constipation, PICA, sinusitis, CFS, sunburn, road rash, hangnails,  headaches, migraines, earaches, backaches, muscle strains/tears/pulls, any syndrome at all, and a few trillion trillion other things I am not about to type out because now my hands already hurt and I only just got started.

What exercise CAN do, is help in some of these situations, nearly always combined with some other method(s). However in MANY cases, exercise will actually make problems worse, so using it as a crutch without consulting a doctor because some quack online told you to, is stupid, please no one do that, please. Suggesting that others follow your quack advice, is even more stupid. It is VERY dangerous and it needs to stop being the go to answer. Exercise, like anything else, is a tool, a method available for many people, but it is not now, nor has it ever been an actual cure.  If it helps someone...wonderful, that is awesome...but it's still not magic, if it were, we'd have way less sick people in the world.  

Exercise won't make my eyes magically say "gee, let's work right today". It won't make my left eye functional at all, in fact, nothing ever will, it's never BEEN functional, it's a literal impossibility (which can be hard to come by). My left eye merely serves as a not so lovely face ornament that happens to fill what would otherwise be a freaky looking (to me) hole in my face. My left eye does whatever the hell my left eye wants to do, no questions asked (though I'm also convinced it speaks a language I don't). Exercise won't fix my bum heart, it won't tell all my bits and pieces they need to work in tandem, not against one another, it won't fix actual chemical imbalances, it wont't fix.....I don't think I need to continue that statement, there's more it won't ix than there is stuff it can even aid, let alone fix.  Telling someone to exercise and they'll feel and be better, or their mental illness will magically vanish is the same thing as saying exercise will magically make a non-functioning body part start to function. That's not even a sound idea in theory, let alone practice, it's asinine to say the least.  Negating the idea that something is, in fact, a mental illness is arrogant and asinine, no matter who is doing it. You may not want to qualify your own illness, issue, whatever...as a mental illness issue, but that doesn't actually make it true across the board. THIS is where the stigma is caused..by people that cannot, no...they refuse, to recognize mental illness for what it is. That's such a harmful thing to do and it takes us back CENTURIES not just decades in advancements. It makes it VERY hard for people who need treatment and need help to get it. "oh just go outside, or get off your butt, you'll be fine", I can't describe how that kind of attitude towards mental illness makes me feel in a nice way, so I won't. In early 2017 I buried my step father,  a week after we buried his brother. If exercise solved mental illness....that never would've happened. Considering how very active those two were, their entire lives...just, no, stfu with that crap right now, so absolutely disrespectful it's not even funny.

 

Listen, I don't fully trust the FDA any further than I can throw them. I also don't trust the CDC entirely (for completely different reason actually, related directly to CP, but no one wants that novel, ftr, I'm a CDC guinea pig, so, they know my opinion about them quite well, I tell them off all the time). But that doesn't make them all bad, it just means...I question everything, I research, I study, I ask people, I find answers. If in the end I still think I'm right and they're wrong, so be it, I am and I may use that knowledge to help myself and help others (hence the guinea pig thing). If I am not, however, then I'm not, I'll still use that knowledge to help myself and others. Even I'm not stupid enough to suggest that forgoing treatment for things, and replacing it with exercise, is smart. If I start exercising to try and fix my vision, I' going to run into walls, more than I already do. I know, because that's a huge part of patch therapy for both kids and adults(and I did it for many years), it's part of the re-training process used for LOTS of things, especially after/during an illness or issue. But it is never used as a single methodology to fix anything at all. It's merely a tool in the arsenal. 

Medication is on this planet because we need it, not just to stuff big pharma's pocket. I don't like big pharma at all, actually, despite the fact that I am only alive today by the very grace offered me through scientific research. Big pharma can suck a rat's....., as far as I'm concerned, most of the time (speaking purely from a greed for revenue sort of place versus "I hate the government" place). But big pharma has its place too, and discounting it entirely because you don't understand one government body, or one issue, or you have a problem with how things are defined is, well...

(someone else finish that thought for me, I really am trying to be somewhat of an adult and nice here)

Stop hating on the people that have kept me alive my entire life because you feel better when you get up off your butt and move around. I'm GLAD it works for you, I truly am, but that's not going to fix everyone and there ARE non-medication methodologies that work too, no one here has suggested there aren't. One person seems hell bent on believing exercise fixes all, and the rest of us can go kick rocks. I do exercise too (all the time actually, the closest business to my house is over a mile away, and since blind people aren't allowed to drive...grumbles...I have to walk there or ride my bike -how that's any safer, I do not know, lol), but that exercise doesn't negate the million other things I do, to feel better, when something's not quite right. Going for a bike ride, walking, in place exercising, it all has its place...but so do my heart medications, my eye drops, my migraine medications, my asthma medications, antibiotics if I've got an infection..and every other friggen thing I take, or even do. Do you think I WANT to take medications, especially the sheer number I was on for a long while there? Don't you think if it were as simple as getting off my not-so-little rump and moving around a bit to make things all better, I would? Actually too much exercise has the opposite effect sometimes and my lungs and heart would disagree with the belief that it's a cure-all. I still do it, because it's good for me and I actually enjoy it sometimes, but it's not a friggen magic wand

Oy

This is not going as planned. I think I'm getting angrier typing, lmao, which means there's gonna be lots of typos here. -that I do apologize for but I can't see the squiggly under my typos, so...sorry readers

I'm feeling a nonsensical phrase coming on here, so I shall say, good day.....

I said good day

[roseelvira]

ok ,,,,, a person reached out for love and understanding      QUESTION FOR YOU ALL

   HAS HOW YOU HANDLED YOUR RESPONSES AND REPLIES TO EACH OTHER   HELP SHOW  THE  PERSON  WHO STARTED THE THREAD  FORUMS CAN BE A SOFT SAFE PLACE TO COME AND FEEL SAFE

OR  HAS IT MADE  THINGS  WORSE     ,,,,, seriously   it went from all good and loving to wooo what happend and i am in tears reading this.  When a person is so depressed the last thing they need is to see people who  at first were together and loving and supportive  now hissing at each other ,,,,, this poor person right about now may be wishing they never started the thread ,

       

   

     

[roseelvira]

 

i keep reading and re reading to see how this went off the tracks of love and kindness to  what just happened . Some times we may mis interpert what one writes  ,  after rereading what i see  is she was  stating  FOR HER it worked   and that is an OPTION,   just as medication is an option or seeing a dr is an option,   

    a kinder way of disagreeing would be to say i see your point  and for you that may work and  but for me  this worked ,,,, 

i know people here are very passionate about things

but in a case as this,  we need to put the  person emotional well being first and for most with love .kindness  to the poster and   each other and respect each others  views  , and options they presented

   note  she stated  it was her opinion  about the mental health  and the fda ,,,,, so it was an opinion  and opinions are never commandments    just be kind to each other please please please   ,,,,still in tears 

Edited November 10, 2019 by roseelvira

[Seicher Rae]

4 minutes ago, Tari Landar said:

Listen, I don't fully trust the FDA any further than I can throw them. I also don't trust the CDC entirely (for completely different reason actually, related directly to CP, but no one wants that novel, ftr, I'm a CDC guinea pig, so, they know my opinion about them quite well, I tell them off all the time). But that doesn't make them all bad, it just means...I question everything, I research, I study, I ask people, I find answers. If in the end I still think I'm right and they're wrong, so be it, I am and I may use that knowledge to help myself and help others (hence the guinea pig thing). If I am not, however, then I'm not, I'll still use that knowledge to help myself and others. Even I'm not stupid enough to suggest that forgoing treatment for things, and replacing it with exercise, is smart. If I start exercising to try and fix my vision, I' going to run into walls, more than I already do. I know, because that's a huge part of patch therapy for both kids and adults(and I did it for many years), it's part of the re-training process used for LOTS of things, especially after/during an illness or issue. But it is never used as a single methodology to fix anything at all. It's merely a tool in the arsenal. 

Medication is on this planet because we need it, not just to stuff big pharma's pocket. I don't like big pharma at all, actually, despite the fact that I am only alive today by the very grace offered me through scientific research. Big pharma can suck a rat's....., as far as I'm concerned, most of the time (speaking purely from a greed for revenue sort of place versus "I hate the government" place). But big pharma has its place too, and discounting it entirely because you don't understand one government body, or one issue, or you have a problem with how things are defined is, well...

I loved your post. I can't believe that I'm up at almost midnight reading posts, but yeah, I'm kinda amped up too, and not in a good way. I have edited down your post in the quote to hit the points I want to address.

I wasn't really kidding about the Scientology remark I made...

Thank you for what you said about the FDA, CDC and Big Pharma. I'm not a fan either, but at least I know how the FDA works and what its function is supposed to be. It is ridiculous to just say it's all a bunch of conspiracy theories, and no one should avail themselves of the resources. I'm jaded, but I'm not that jaded.

The whole either this treatment OR that treatment is such a false dichotomy.

You made me laugh with your ending words, so:

 

 

[Beth Macbain]

@roseelvira Honey, you know I love you, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand down on this one. I am putting the emotional well-being of all those who may read this thread and, because of her words, not reach out for help when they are in a suicidal ideation crisis.

Let me put it this way - My earliest memories of my depression would be when I was around 7 years old. I didn't seek help until I was 36. That is 29 years... years... that I woke up every single day angry because I woke up alive. The only reason I lived to be 36 was because I had a brother who killed himself, and I saw how badly that hurt my parents, and I wasn't going to put them through that again. I had a plan. I was going to take care of my folks, and when they died, I was going to kill myself. I had myself convinced - no, my brain had lied to me and convinced me that I was a burden on my siblings, and everyone else in my life, and they wouldn't be hurt like my parents would have been. They'd have been relieved. That's all a bunch of BS, of course, but if i hadn't been put on medication, I would have never been able to see that it was BS.

For more than 29 years I wanted to be dead. For more than 29 years I was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anyone I wanted to be dead. That is what the stigma surrounding mental health does to people.

Depression left untreated is a terminal, fatal disease.  

No amount of exercise made my depression go away. It helped me for a few minutes because the rush of endorphins is lovely, but it cannot be sustained if the underlying conditions aren't dealt with. The truth is that when the endorphin high wore off, I felt even worse because I'd had a glimmer of what feeling good might be like, but couldn't grasp it and hold on to it, and that just made me feel like more of a failure. 

I wasted three decades of my life that I can never get back because of uneducated opinions like the ones stated here today. Fighting against the stigma that mental health conditions are nothing but weaknesses that should be hidden away is the mountain I will die on. 

I got help. I take medication every single day and will for the rest of my life. At 36, I finally experienced what true joy felt like - the joy that comes from a puppy, or a butterfly, or a rainbow, or a ladybug, or any of a billion other simple things that I'd never been able to see because my depression hid the beauty of those things from me. I take a pill every day, I go talk to a therapist when I feel I need to, and now I get to feel that beauty of a flipping falling leaf or some other silly thing every single day and it's glorious. 

I had no idea it could be glorious. There is still pain, and sadness, and a whole host of other completely normal emotions that I feel when the situation warrants it, but I don't live a life wavering between bleakness, numbness, and anger anymore. 

So, yes, I will continue to shout anyone down who rails against medication, or psychiatry, or seeking help in any way possible. It's not a one-size-fits-all disease. 

hugs you tight

Stop crying. I have a beautiful life now. I want others to have beautiful lives, too. 

[Seicher Rae]

2 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

@roseelvira Honey, you know I love you, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand down on this one. I am putting the emotional well-being of all those who may read this thread and, because of her words, not reach out for help when they are in a suicidal ideation crisis.

Let me put it this way - My earliest memories of my depression would be when I was around 7 years old. I didn't seek help until I was 36. That is 29 years... years... that I woke up every single day angry because I woke up alive. The only reason I lived to be 36 was because I had a brother who killed himself, and I saw how badly that hurt my parents, and I wasn't going to put them through that again. I had a plan. I was going to take care of my folks, and when they died, I was going to kill myself. I had myself convinced - no, my brain had lied to me and convinced me that I was a burden on my siblings, and everyone else in my life, and they wouldn't be hurt like my parents would have been. They'd have been relieved. That's all a bunch of BS, of course, but if i hadn't been put on medication, I would have never been able to see that it was BS.

For more than 29 years I wanted to be dead. For more than 29 years I was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anyone I wanted to be dead. That is what the stigma surrounding mental health does to people.

Depression left untreated is a terminal, fatal disease.  

No amount of exercise made my depression go away. It helped me for a few minutes because the rush of endorphins is lovely, but it cannot be sustained if the underlying conditions aren't dealt with. The truth is that when the endorphin high wore off, I felt even worse because I'd had a glimmer of what feeling good might be like, but couldn't grasp it and hold on to it, and that just made me feel like more of a failure. 

I wasted three decades of my life that I can never get back because of uneducated opinions like the ones stated here today. Fighting against the stigma that mental health conditions are nothing but weaknesses that should be hidden away is the mountain I will die on. 

I got help. I take medication every single day and will for the rest of my life. At 36, I finally experienced what true joy felt like - the joy that comes from a puppy, or a butterfly, or a rainbow, or a ladybug, or any of a billion other simple things that I'd never been able to see because my depression hid the beauty of those things from me. I take a pill every day, I go talk to a therapist when I feel I need to, and now I get to feel that beauty of a flipping falling leaf or some other silly thing every single day and it's glorious. 

I had no idea it could be glorious. There is still pain, and sadness, and a whole host of other completely normal emotions that I feel when the situation warrants it, but I don't live a life wavering between bleakness, numbness, and anger anymore. 

So, yes, I will continue to shout anyone down who rails against medication, or psychiatry, or seeking help in any way possible. It's not a one-size-fits-all disease. 

hugs you tight

Stop crying. I have a beautiful life now. I want others to have beautiful lives, too. 

This. ^^^^ Very much this.

I'm also sad that this thread got a little bent, but it is still on topic for the OP. Because of that it is important, literally life and death important, to say "not true!" to people who say hurtful, uneducated remarks about mental health. Keeping quiet when people say "none should take medication" or "To me, a mental illness is saying to your kids "you are a disgrace... or you will amount to nothing....etc." " is bad. It keeps the stigma going. I say "no" to that. I would hate the OP to believe really bad advice and pay for it in a horrible way.

[Selene Gregoire]

32 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

it is important, literally life and death important, to say "not true!" to people who say hurtful, uneducated remarks about mental health. Keeping quiet when people say "none should take medication" or "To me, a mental illness is saying to your kids "you are a disgrace... or you will amount to nothing....etc." [...] keeps the stigma going.

All this and much more.

Rose, there those of us who have been diagnosed with a disease/illness/life threatening condition who are unable to do even the most simple of exercises because we just do not have the energy to do them. I'm one of them. I am always exhausted because of my life threatening condition, my heart can start pounding just walking 50 feet or just sitting doing absolutely nothing more strenuous than watching tv and my head has been spinning for 4 weeks now. I have no desire to die a horribly painful death because I listened to someone who is not a physician who insists that if I just got off my butt and exercised I'd feel better and my illness will be cured as if exercising is the be all and end all of cures. That is what is being insisted upon in this thread and if someone does take that advice it could very well cost them their life. Those of us who have been trying to get that person to see the damage/stigma they are causing do not want that on our consciences. Do you? I don't believe you do. In trying to shut us up, you are, inadvertently, possibly contributing to someone dying because they took advice from  someone who quite obviously to us does not know what they are saying/talking about.

There is a reason medical researchers develop more than one treatment for illnesses and that reason is because no singular treatment is going to work for every human being on the planet. We are all different, physically, mentally and emotionally. What works for one, won't necessarily work for another and may even be fatal. Misinformation can be fatal. And that is why we are so adamant about refuting the misinformation that is being touted in this thread. Full stop.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Selene Gregoire

[Seicher Rae]

PS to the "why" this thread took a turn. If that person would have simply stated that exercise, diet and sunshine have helped her with SAD for many years, not one person would have blinked. There probably would have been ♥s given that she found something that worked for her. But that was not what she kept saying, as several of us have now stated, she kept going with hurtful, incorrect, offensive words and opinions about mental illness and its treatment. THAT is what has our backs up. She can run around the neighborhood at noon all she wants, and no one has a problem with that. The same respect for others coming from her would also have alleviated at least some of the issues.

[Evah Baxton]

Whether you believe in good or evil, afterlife or nothing after death, heaven or hell, flat or spherical Earth, big bang or 'let there be light' ... you are physically, spiritually and mentally part of the unexplained world around you.  Like an asteroid floating aimless through the cosmos, but with the gift of inspiration. Shut down your thoughts and allow inspiration to flow through you. The infinity of the cosmos are jealous of your privilege.

[Amanda Crisp]

I’m not a mental health professional, but after my government was done with me I got to talk to a few of them 🙂 

 My heart bleeds for anyone dealing with Issues, regardless of what caused them. I know how complicated this stuff can be and that there *is* no magic cure.

I was lucky enough that the things bothering me were of a sort that could be repurposed into something that could keep me moving forward. When you take your demons and use them as fuel, it can be life-changing - but in my case it wasn’t really “healing”.

Far too many are not as fortunate as me; I was able to stop taking pills from the VA Pez Dispenser and use the things that pain me towards a higher purpose. I work too much and have zero “life” - but my hope is that it will mean something to the people I care about.

I raised two children who grew up to be good people *after* I had my issues.

My point is this; its very possible that there can be an “after”. It sucks and maybe the pain never really goes away, but if you’re determined and very lucky - it can be made worth the trip.

Believing in “After” is a good start on those days when Bad Ideas come easily.

 

[Amina Sopwith]

I feel partly responsible for the way this thread turned out, as I was the first to mention exercise, so I hope people don't mind if I clarify a bit.

I certainly never meant to imply that exercise was the one solution for all mental health conditions, or that it's even an option for everyone; I explicitly made the point that it's not always possible and it's not a problem solver. I certainly hope nobody thought that I meant one shouldn't ever take antidepressants or other medication either. I've taken them myself in the past; found citalopram to be excellent and whatever it is they give you when you're breastfeeding because it's safer for the baby to be horrendous. (My regular doctor huffed and muttered when he saw the postnatal depression outpatient clinic had prescribed it for me, but they were trying to help. I was in a very bad way.)

The reason I mentioned exercise and clean eating on this thread was twofold. Firstly, OP mentioned he was angry. I do think that, if it's possible for you, pounding the pavement, cross trainer or punchbag while listening to Bonfire by Knife Party or the Hercules Mulligan rap from Hamilton is very therapeutic for expressing anger. Secondly, going by the OP's posting history, it looks to me s though he has a lot invested in SL, as I think most people posting on here either have or have had in the past. SL can be an incredible place and I owe a lot to it, but if one is spending many hours a day on it - as I have done in the past, sitting sedentary and alone in a not very well lit room - and still experiencing black moods, then I would suggest, as gently and kindly as possible, that it is worth taking an hour or so out of it every day, and going outside and moving around. If, of course, that is possible, which it might not be. That's not to say you shouldn't also see your counsellor, take your medicine or use your light box, obviously. I do remember knowing some people in SL, back in the day, who were so addicted that they wouldn't see their therapists because they'd rather be in SL. That's an extreme example, but it does happen and it isn't wise. 

Does that sound obvious, or trite? Maybe. But one of the cruelties of depression is how hard it makes it to do the things that would help, and to think clearly. Sleep would help, but depression gives you insomnia. Eating well would help, but depression makes you either lose your appetite or overstuff yourself with things that are terrible for you. Exercise would help but depression makes you exhausted and trapped behind a mental wall that can feel as real as a metal one. You might not even be able to think of those things as possibilities, if you're in very deep. So I do believe that a small suggestion for a little activity, preferably outside, can be helpful, and might be the only thing that seems even vaguely possible in that moment. I certainly know a number of dog owners who swear by it. No, it's not the full solution. It's a possible step that might be the easiest one to take, but not so easy to think of when you're in the pit.

Like eating disorders and addiction, depression isn't generally something you have once and get over. It's more likely to be a lifelong condition that requires management, and people should manage it in whatever way works best for them, which very much includes medication.

And obviously being fit and healthy won't help every single condition. If it did, I'd have a complete family. It's just that maintaining your physical health as best you can can be helpful for setting you up to handle depression when it next comes for you. The link between physical and mental health is very real.
 

Edited November 10, 2019 by Amina Sopwith

[Drake1 Nightfire]

8 hours ago, Beth Macbain said:

@roseelvira Honey, you know I love you, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand down on this one. I am putting the emotional well-being of all those who may read this thread and, because of her words, not reach out for help when they are in a suicidal ideation crisis.

Let me put it this way - My earliest memories of my depression would be when I was around 7 years old. I didn't seek help until I was 36. That is 29 years... years... that I woke up every single day angry because I woke up alive. The only reason I lived to be 36 was because I had a brother who killed himself, and I saw how badly that hurt my parents, and I wasn't going to put them through that again. I had a plan. I was going to take care of my folks, and when they died, I was going to kill myself. I had myself convinced - no, my brain had lied to me and convinced me that I was a burden on my siblings, and everyone else in my life, and they wouldn't be hurt like my parents would have been. They'd have been relieved. That's all a bunch of BS, of course, but if i hadn't been put on medication, I would have never been able to see that it was BS.

For more than 29 years I wanted to be dead. For more than 29 years I was too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anyone I wanted to be dead. That is what the stigma surrounding mental health does to people.

Depression left untreated is a terminal, fatal disease.  

No amount of exercise made my depression go away. It helped me for a few minutes because the rush of endorphins is lovely, but it cannot be sustained if the underlying conditions aren't dealt with. The truth is that when the endorphin high wore off, I felt even worse because I'd had a glimmer of what feeling good might be like, but couldn't grasp it and hold on to it, and that just made me feel like more of a failure. 

I wasted three decades of my life that I can never get back because of uneducated opinions like the ones stated here today. Fighting against the stigma that mental health conditions are nothing but weaknesses that should be hidden away is the mountain I will die on. 

I got help. I take medication every single day and will for the rest of my life. At 36, I finally experienced what true joy felt like - the joy that comes from a puppy, or a butterfly, or a rainbow, or a ladybug, or any of a billion other simple things that I'd never been able to see because my depression hid the beauty of those things from me. I take a pill every day, I go talk to a therapist when I feel I need to, and now I get to feel that beauty of a flipping falling leaf or some other silly thing every single day and it's glorious. 

I had no idea it could be glorious. There is still pain, and sadness, and a whole host of other completely normal emotions that I feel when the situation warrants it, but I don't live a life wavering between bleakness, numbness, and anger anymore. 

So, yes, I will continue to shout anyone down who rails against medication, or psychiatry, or seeking help in any way possible. It's not a one-size-fits-all disease. 

hugs you tight

Stop crying. I have a beautiful life now. I want others to have beautiful lives, too. 

My oldest daughter woke up everyday crying that she woke up. We tried for years to get her PCP to help, her therapist said she was just going through puberty and it would go away. We got her a new therapist and she was diagnosed with childhood Bi-polar disorder. She started on a couple of different medications and soon woke up ready to take on the day with joy. Yes she still has bad days, we all do, hers are just a bit worse. My wife also has Bi-polar which is why they made that diagnosis on my daughter. My other daughter has ADHD just like  do. Thankfully there are medications that work now, unlike when i was a kid.

also wraps his arms tightly around you. 

We all could use a hug. Never be afraid to ask for one.

@FairreLilette Until you spend an hour every morning holding your child in your arms as they cry because they want to die rather than face life, you have no business telling others that exercise will fix it. 

[Scottmerrick Oh]

Gopi, I just want to share a cherished quote, written by James Vonnegut to his father, Kurt. Not sure if I'm getting the exact words but I recall it as "We are all on this earth to help on another get through this, whatever 'this' is..."

The comment thread demonstrates that many of us earthlings, even in this absurd world, agree.

Hang in there. Maybe reach out to help someone. But hang in there.

[FairreLilette]

1 hour ago, Drake1 Nightfire said:

My oldest daughter woke up everyday crying that she woke up. We tried for years to get her PCP to help, her therapist said she was just going through puberty and it would go away. We got her a new therapist and she was diagnosed with childhood Bi-polar disorder. She started on a couple of different medications and soon woke up ready to take on the day with joy. Yes she still has bad days, we all do, hers are just a bit worse. My wife also has Bi-polar which is why they made that diagnosis on my daughter. My other daughter has ADHD just like  do. Thankfully there are medications that work now, unlike when i was a kid.

also wraps his arms tightly around you. 

We all could use a hug. Never be afraid to ask for one.

@FairreLilette Until you spend an hour every morning holding your child in your arms as they cry because they want to die rather than face life, you have no business telling others that exercise will fix it. 

I said it helped me and it still helps me..because what happens in Seasonal Depression when the light dims upon the earth is our Serotonin levels dip or diminish.  I said there are others way to increase Serotonin without medication because what the medication is supposed to do for people with Seasonal Depression is increase Serotonin.  That's the medications purpose.  Exercise increases it also.  

All my suggestions were aimed at the OP who said they have Seasonal Depression and if you read through the thread, the OP liked my posts AND the post about the exercise....so the OP is capable of doing exercise if they liked my post about exercise.  

I never said anything about bi-polar and medication.  

Though it is quite true that the Western culture jumps at medication a lot first and sometimes only medication while not taking care of their physical health.  Mind, Body, Spirit...it's all connected.  

But, also, I do not feel that anyone in this thread should be recommending medication as they do not know this person.  I also said medication is between an individual and their doctor.  

Edited November 10, 2019 by FairreLilette

[rasterscan]

On 11/6/2019 at 6:15 AM, Gopi Passiflora said:

Not Second Life. Just...life in general. Right now, I'm just trying to vent out my anger....

I'm so different from other people. I feel like my beliefs and ideas don't fit in with the rest of society.

I know some of you will say kind words, and I really appreciate it and thank you for that, but nobody really knows how I feel....

Aww. All of us who have fought depression and managed to crawl back out that dreadful pit, the journey sometimes painfully slow, will understand its trying to grab you right now. Fight it off if you can, going down the pit of despair is 'orrible. I dare to suggest anyone who has suffered / suffers depression  knows just how you feel right now HUG

[MrsSeren]

1 hour ago, Drake1 Nightfire said:

My oldest daughter woke up everyday crying that she woke up. We tried for years to get her PCP to help, her therapist said she was just going through puberty and it would go away. We got her a new therapist and she was diagnosed with childhood Bi-polar disorder. She started on a couple of different medications and soon woke up ready to take on the day with joy. Yes she still has bad days, we all do, hers are just a bit worse. My wife also has Bi-polar which is why they made that diagnosis on my daughter. My other daughter has ADHD just like  do. Thankfully there are medications that work now, unlike when i was a kid.

also wraps his arms tightly around you. 

We all could use a hug. Never be afraid to ask for one.

@FairreLilette Until you spend an hour every morning holding your child in your arms as they cry because they want to die rather than face life, you have no business telling others that exercise will fix it. 

 

This what I went through too Drake, I am still dismissed as hormonal but I have few trusted friends I can talk too when I hit low however if I crash to ultra low then I hide away and refuse to come out and my mom has to deal with her daughter aka me with what you have dealt with your own child so HUGS!!! Thank you for being a good dad, trying to support them in their low moments as I know I appreciated my mom efforts now but took me ages to open up and talk.  

However on my bipolar; I take each day as it arrives because frankly I can't see past the end of the current day; exercise helps maybe a little but I know for sure if got my doctors to actually listen to me, that would help but in meantime I talk to those I can and do trust.  

I'm out of this thread as I don't want to say more for my own sanity and personal reasons. 

Hugs and love to all who need right now!  

Edited November 10, 2019 by MrsSeren