Choosing To Be Depressed?
 

Oh I hate it too
 

I hate it when people way things like, "Smile, it's not so bad," to someone who's depressed.

And "choosing" to be depressed? Not quite so simple. As someone who has suffered from depression in various forms for 30 years and has spent some serious time in therapy, let me just add:

1. You can control your thoughts and your thoughts can control your moods. But a person in the depths of depression cannot just "think happy thoughts" at that moment and begin to feel better.

2. You need medication, prescribed and monitored by good psychiatrist montly (just taking zoloft prescribed by your GP is NOT sufficient!!).

3. You need cognitive behavior therapy. This type of therapy is key; It helps you to change your learned behaviors.

But, you have to be willing to examine your behavior honestly and be willing to admit there may be room for improvement.

After 30 years I continue on a hi-dose of anti-ds, but have finished therapy. My depression, which had been deep and constant for almost 3 years has totally lifted and I only have occasional low days.

Changing my thinking patterns did make a huge difference in my life, but it wasn't as simple as thinking good thoughts. It was a long, hard, drawn out process. But it was worth the effort!

I've never had chronic depression, but I have been depressed. After a relative died, and after my dog TinyMonsters died, when discovering that I possibly had MS...after finding out for sure I had MS. During a time last spring when I had some fairly serious numbness that varied in intensity and location a lot.

Being told to smile is irritating to someone who's depressed. Smiling will not miraculously suck you out of a depression.

It makes you annoyed at the person telling you to smile. So then you're annoyed and depressed.

Before I knew for sure I had MS. My aunt kept telling me that I didnt have MS. (she's a nurse, but occasionally a little clueless) She was positive that I was either making it up, or I was blowing things out of proportion.

Kept telling me that I needed to get out. At the time, I had optic neuritis, and bright lights hurt me. I didnt need to get out, I needed to live in my basement like a mole with most of the lights turned off.

What drove me nuts, was that after I got diagnosed, I was told by several people that now I know that I have MS. I can stop thinking about it, and get on with my life.

Ummm...Just how do you "stop thinking" about a life changing diagnosis that requires daily treatment and "get on" with life. Yes, I am getting on with my life now...because I'm participating in the treatment for the MS. Since I'm participating in my treatment for MS. I'm being CONSTANTLY REMINDED that I have MS everytime I have to play darts on my thighs and stomach with the Copaxone needle.

There's no way to stop thinking about it. At least I can calm down about things a bit because not knowing for sure is worse than knowing for sure.

I'm not depressed now, but I'm annoyed as heck because people read that depression is associated with MS, so a lot of people who know I have MS are assuming that I'm permanently depressed because depression is associated with MS.