Category: Health and Wellness
Hi,
As many of u know, I am Jess. I suffer from cronic depression and anxiety. I have my days where I am super happy, and then I can change in an instant. I also think I suffer from bipolar and I might have MS, but I'm not letting these things stop me. I just hate the fact that i'm always upset for no reason, and I don't know how to control it.
Jess, I would say two things are in order, if they are at all possible for you. One is meds. If you can find the right medication, or combination of medications, that would at least allow you to get the swings under control, so you can function in daily life better. The second, and equally important thing I'd recommend is counseling, again if you can find a way. Usually there are reasons for people suffering with depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc, and counseling can help you find them, as well as learn skills to deal with the change of emotions when they do happen. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just giving suggestions.
i am a member of 3 email lists that help me deal with being depressed, and although for me it's not really the best method, it's nice to talk to someone who goes through the same thing as me, even if it's a bit quiet at times.
Yeah I have had a counseler for a while, and it's sort of helping, and I am trying to get on meds but thanks guys
I have depression as well. Just now I am on trazodone but I don't think it is working. Some medications or all of them give you side affects. Yes counselling, medication or other therapies might work. What ever is best for you.
It's hard for me right now. My mom is thinking about holding off on my counseling appointments for a while until we can get our bills straightened out, and it sucks cause now i dont know what to do..
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I suffer from chronic depression as well. I've been to counseling before, I had like 4 different counselors but the only one who was really helpful was basically fired (she was a school psychologist) because she had some health problems that caused her to miss a lot of days...And when she left I was told by some teachers that it was good that she was gone because she never helped anyone because she talked too much. That really hurt me, and the guy who replaced her...well, let's just say he was the most arrogant jerk I ever met. And I'm not just saying that because I was biased. He really just made me feel uncomfortable in general.
Now that I've graduated, it's harder, cause my mom would rather just turn the other cheek. I think she's worried about financial issues, but also because she's so busy working all the time, she might not be able to drive me to appointments either. And i live in the middle of nowhere, so there's no public transportation for me to take. So I'm basically stuck with this on my own. My mom is also uncomfortable with me taking medications, and seeing as how I'm on her insurance, that's out of the question too. I think it's because she's depressed herself but wants to run away from it, it's really what she does best as bad as that sounds.
Something I've always been interested in is what's the ratio of blind people suffering from depression to sighted? Would it be disproportionate because we're a smaller group, or because certain experiences that come along with blindness are more likely to cause depression? I know there was a website called "blindness in depth" that talked about some of these issues, but its in the internet archive now, and you can't access most of it.
What are those email lists you're part of? Do they focus specifically on blind people suffering from depression? Either way, I'd be interested to look at them.
yeah i have often wondered if there is a higher incidence of depression among the blind community.
I have always had at least a low grade depression since I can remember. It got much worse after losing a great deal of vision. Years ago I was on many diferent meds. Finally one worked for a number of years. Then I didn't need them for a long time but when I needed them again they did not work as wel and had other side effects that made life difficult. It is for that reason I am reluctant to try any new meds now. I find that being in the sunlight helps - even when not deliberate such as the sunlight one gets just by riding around in a car.
I definitely think depression is situational for some and biochemical for others.
I would say that blind people have a greater chance of being depressed. there's just so much more to deal with when you're blind. I'm in counsiling now, there's a community outreach program here that accepts medicaid thank God. counsiling sort of helps, but any real progress I've made, I feel like has come internally, from my own thoughts or realizations. I'm also taking a herbal mood enhancement called st. John's wort. I don't know that it helps but....
Sunlight does make me feel better, just having the window open lifts my mood too. And I agree with the last poster.