May 8, 2016 at 8:22 am

As a teenager and into my early 20’s I suffered depression.  As a child growing up, my parents told me “it was all in my head!”  Boy, were they right..depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain.  It is also known to possibly be hereditary.  I tend to believe that it is hereditary as my father suffered from it, I suffered from it and my oldest son suffered from it.  I don’t know if you can truly get rid of depression, but you can certainly manage it.

I was on anti-depressant pills on several different occasions.  I finally realized that I was the only one that could change my  situation.  I then began to think positive thoughts and try to change my lifestyle to not get where I get depressed.  Of course in the winter time it’s a real struggle, because the lack of sunshine, but I try not to let it get to me.

Do you suffer from depression?  Do you take any medication or have you changed your lifestyle habits?

May 8, 2016 at 12:13 pm

I know at present I am depressed but I am not seeking any help from psychiatrists nor under medication. I do not have any knowledge what kind of depression is this, if this is mild or severe or if there is anything like that. All I know is that there is a certain time that I feel depressed. When I was young, it happened to me too. At the early age of 16, I know I was suffering from it because of family situation. I only got to escape it when I became with school. I let myself be drawn into school activities and applying for jobs at inside the school to occupy my mind for thinking a lot of things. I really want to sleep at night really tired so that I will not able to think of anything about problems at home. Not that I was escaping to be part of the problem solving, but because I need to survive myself as a daughter first because it is hard to help your parents when you know you can’t help yourself at all.

May 9, 2016 at 11:30 am

I understand you guys completely. I believe I suffered depression when I was younger as well. At 11 years old I can’t stop thinking about death. I wanted to kill myself or hurt myself because I think my family don’t care enough about me. But prior to turning 11, I always hide from everybody by hiding under the bed cover myself with the boxes under the bed so when someone will look they will not see me,. I can stay under the bed for half a day just waiting if someone will come looking for me – no one ever does. I would sleep there until I think its time to come out. When I started reaching puberty it got worst, I skip school, I lie and I couldn’t sleep for days on end. I have erratic behavior and I cannot control my temper. I started taking different types of pills – I don’t even know most of it. I would just fall asleep. I’ve outgrown it when I reached college. But I still am a little sensitive. I get overwhelmed easily and I am anxious still about a lot of things. I’m in my 30’s now and I learned to love my life better than I did before. I was able to surpass it without medication, just self motivation. Also, I went away from home. I guess, my depression was triggered by my family because of our situation so I build the courage to  live somewhere else and start over.

May 9, 2016 at 11:50 am

@slayer08 if you did not do those who shared to us, you might not know the difference now. I guess you are now more matured on accepting the life isn’t good and happy all the time. I did not able to do the things you did when you were young because when I was young, I know I need to work hard with studies and to look for part time jobs just to help my parents to survived. I felt depress when I get tired and was wishing that God will not able to wake me up in the morning because I can’t do it anymore, but look I am still here. I am still struggling, though.

May 9, 2016 at 11:59 am

I believe so. We also had some hard times growing up and I also experienced working (only during Summer) to help our family. But those summer jobs were actually one of the best experiences of my life. It was difficult for my sisters and I to go to our school every summer to work (clean the school and be summer librarians) but they were the good times. We met a lot of people when we were younger some have worst situations than we do and maybe that was also the reason why I outgrow my depression because I realized I wanted to see how my life would turn out to be. Also, i practiced making myself realize that there are people whose life are worst so I should not complain. It helps me a lot and that’s also the reason why I love working with ordinary people like myself – they are the real ones.

May 9, 2016 at 1:56 pm

 @Grecy Garcia I don’t think there is a single person on this earth who does not suffer fro depression but some of have the power to get over it while some others fall prey of it. The best way to get rid of depression is to stay busy and positive.

@JoDee Stout  the moment you feel you are under the clutches of depression do something that you love doing most. I am sure you will feel better if not entirely relieved. 

May 9, 2016 at 7:21 pm

@slayer, yes, I too when I was younger thought about killing myself.  I think in ways, that I was seeking help/attention for someone just to listen to how I was feeling.  When you have people around you, that acknowledge you and realize that you DO have a purpose in life, it gets easier.  When I had children I knew I had a purpose .  Not saying, you should have a child..lol  Just saying if you have some one/some thing that appreciates you, could be even a pet you’re life will be worthwhile.

@grecy095, you work too much and take on too much responsibilty…you feel like you’re letting your family down when you’re not making money…I’m sure they appreciate every thing that you do!! 😉  You too are worthwhile!!

@suny, yes, I know when I’m getting down and I do things I love to do or I spend extra time worth our dog..she uplifts me,and will always be there for me no matter what!!

I hope this post will eb for people to come and know that they’re NOT alone with they are feeling depressed and that they’ll come here for support!!

May 9, 2016 at 8:00 pm

@JoDee  I can completely relate to this topic. I have suffered with depression pretty much my whole life and yes, it is hereditary. Children of parents with depression have a great chance of being depressed. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and many people do need medication to balance the chemicals properly so that you can feel better. I also have anxiety and this is sometimes typical in people who have depression. With all three of my pregnancies, I suffered from postpartum depression which increased in severity with each one. I had a miscarriage with my first pregnancy and that was the first experience with the postpartum although it was not until after the second one that I recognized it for what it was. I was lucky to have my sister around me to help me through it. But even so I was in it for nearly 3 years since I had another child and after the birth of my son, my depression was pretty bad.

It has been something that is hard to talk about because it brings back bad memories, but I have a better understanding for those women who have gone through this without proper help and have harmed their babies. I try to educate people on depression and especially to help those who could be possibly prone to postpartum depression. I want to let people that they do not have to go it alone and there is no shame in seeking help for their problems.

My children both have depression and anxiety although they are both different in the way the condition manifests. My daughter also has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and this also makes her depression and anxiety worse. They are both on medication and I also have to be their advocate in school to make sure that the school and the teachers are aware of their conditions in case of any problems in school and for the teachers to understand better about them as people. I tell anyone who is interested in learning about childhood depression since many people do not realize that children can suffer from depression.

May 9, 2016 at 8:33 pm

@morgoodie, ah bless your heart for educating and I’m sure being a support for people who suffer depression.  I did have some depression after giving birth to my children as well, but I knew that they had me to depend on..so I made it through.  Also when through a bout of depression when my children all moved out of the home, “empty nest” syndrome, but I managed that as well. 😉

I thought about that..the relationship to depression and anxiety.  I suffer from anxiety as well.  But with a change of attitude I have them under control as well.  I don’t think you can ever cure depression or anxiety, you might be able to control them.

May 11, 2016 at 3:40 am

I have bipolar disorder and one aspect of it is depression.  I take a medication to prevent this but I think it might be causing me too much anxiety, I may be coming off of it soon.

May 11, 2016 at 4:39 am

@JoDee  I do not believe that you can cure depression or anxiety, but it definitely can be controlled. There are many methods that people can use to decrease the severity of their depression and anxiety. A lot of people use meditation as one method to do this.

@lola  I hope you are able to figure out what is making your anxiety worse and are able to fix it. It definitely is not fun to go through that especially if it is caused by medication. Good to hear from you on this topic.

May 11, 2016 at 6:05 pm

that was also my own problem especially when puberty hits you first thin g that was in my mind was “death”

June 17, 2016 at 3:32 pm

@JoDee Stout, No, I never had suffered depression. I always think severally if the cause is at the extreme. Also, I have so many best friends I can talk to and enjoy all the moment. It is not a good deal to combat depression.

June 17, 2016 at 3:34 pm

@morgoodie, That is correct, depression can be controlled,Let the mind cure it.

June 17, 2016 at 3:36 pm

@lola, How do you feel having a bipolar disorder?