Comics and Depression!

[nmtg9]

Engineer - good luck with your road back.

 

I have worked in mental health all my life and am now a trainer in it. Going to different types of organisations running awareness sessions you realise just how many people are affected by depression. We don't talk about it enough and too many people don't realise what they can do to help themselves.

 

You seem to have good insight and I hope you continue to so.

 

Neil

[thehumantorch]

Engineer. Sounds like you are on the road to recovery. You've figured out what

is wrong, no small task, and you've started to make positive changes.

[passion4comics]

P.s. Try reading "Chew", pretty awesome.

 

Except for the art, which is depressing to know that people like it.

 

I just read Chew #1. I understand it, but I don't get why it's so popular (story). Does it develop over the next few issues? Edit: $500 in 9.8?

[Lebowski]

Edit: $500 $200 in 9.8?

[passion4comics]

Edit: $500 $200 in 9.8?

 

Was looking through Ebay. May have been the 9.9 I was looking at. Nope, 9.8 $499. I doubt he'll be selling it.

[cpannell]

 

Word of warning...biased post ahead

 

As a boardie, I want to congratulate you on finding the courage to acknowledge the problem, seek out resources, and take steps to help alleviate your difficulties. These are all incredibly difficult steps to take individually, and to truly walk such a path is more difficult than most know.

 

As a psychologist, and speaking much more generally, it still dismays me that in this era there is still so much stigma placed upon mental illness and difficulty in admitting such symptoms in order to seek care. Mental health is really not that different from physical health (in fact the boardie that mentioned chemical imbalance is correct in that we increasingly find genetic predispositions for mental illnesses, structural differences in the brain, and neurotransmitter imbalances that account for many symptoms). Small analogy...if we had high blood pressure or the flu, most folks would readily admit this and seek care...not so much with periods of hopelessness, panic attacks, or perceptual oddities/distortions

 

There are many that have no great love or trust for folks working in my field. Believe me, I understand this and take no personal offense. But to argue that because doctors differ in opinion or suggested treatment regimen means that such care should not be sought is a treacherous path to take. For example, see a physician sometime with migraines or back pain...there will often be many opinions as to why you are symptomatic. The key is to be honest with yourself and if a particular plan of care is not working...seek out an alternative. Just like there are many medicines to control blood pressure, there are also many antidepressants and anxiolytics. Many times when I have seen patients fail to improve, it is because they fail to see gains in the first line of treatment and assume that everything is guesswork and they are wasting their time.

 

On a more conversational level (and bringing it back around from my rant to the topic at hand)...this thread really serves as some good preventative medicine. Depression really is quite insidious sometimes...creeping up on us by degrees until one day you notice all the pleasure is gone. If you find yourself losing pleasure in previously enjoyable things, this does not mean you have depression. But it certainly can be a warning sign...take a moment to do a personal accounting of other changes you might have been experiencing (appetite and energy level fluctuations, avoiding social contact, sleeplessness, etc., etc.) and decide if seeking assistance/advice might be helpful.

 

My two cents,

SE

 

I just wanted to say . . . since no one else responded to your carefully worded post, which was informed with context and professional experience . . . THANKS!

 

Very well said.

[Snake Eyes]

Wow two for the price of one.

 

Although it pleases me greatly to see that I've offeneded you bores, I guess I have to clearly state that I was being facetious.

 

Heath can attest to the fact that I would'nt be purposefully disrespectful.

 

Thanks for ruining my perfectly timed post, and continue being the model forumites you have displayed yourselves to be.

 

Sorry buddy, just noticed this (more of a sales forum watcher than general)...and yes my estimate is in context he was calling me the windbag...I do tend to ramble on sometimes and I think he was just giving me a to remind me that it is a message board and not a seminar presentation

[Snake Eyes]

 

 

I just wanted to say . . . since no one else responded to your carefully worded post, which was informed with context and professional experience . . . THANKS!

 

Very well said.

 

Deleted the wall of text from the nested quote Thanks so much for the kind words

[mikenyc]

Wow two for the price of one.

 

Although it pleases me greatly to see that I've offeneded you bores, I guess I have to clearly state that I was being facetious.

 

Heath can attest to the fact that I would'nt be purposefully disrespectful.

 

Thanks for ruining my perfectly timed post, and continue being the model forumites you have displayed yourselves to be.

 

Sorry buddy, just noticed this (more of a sales forum watcher than general)...and yes my estimate is in context he was calling me the windbag...I do tend to ramble on sometimes and I think he was just giving me a to remind me that it is a message board and not a seminar presentation

 

Actually Heath it was quite the opposite. For once it's nice to see such a thorough observation from an expert in a particular field, in this case psychology.

 

After such a well thought out post, I assumed the timing of my graemlin would seem that much more ironic.

 

Oh well can't please everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.s. Stop bloviating, we get it your smarter than us!

 

[Dano]

Wow two for the price of one.

 

Although it pleases me greatly to see that I've offeneded you bores, I guess I have to clearly state that I was being facetious.

 

Heath can attest to the fact that I would'nt be purposefully disrespectful.

 

Thanks for ruining my perfectly timed post, and continue being the model forumites you have displayed yourselves to be.

 

Sorry buddy, just noticed this (more of a sales forum watcher than general)...and yes my estimate is in context he was calling me the windbag...I do tend to ramble on sometimes and I think he was just giving me a to remind me that it is a message board and not a seminar presentation

 

Actually Heath it was quite the opposite. For once it's nice to see such a thorough observation from an expert in a particular field, in this case psychology.

 

After such a well thought out post, I assumed the timing of my graemlin would seem that much more ironic.

 

Oh well can't please everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.s. Stop bloviating, we get it your smarter than us!

 

Ahhhhh, bloviating! Got it.

 

Dan

[Inhuman Fiend]

Wow two for the price of one.

 

Although it pleases me greatly to see that I've offeneded you bores, I guess I have to clearly state that I was being facetious.

 

Heath can attest to the fact that I would'nt be purposefully disrespectful.

 

Thanks for ruining my perfectly timed post, and continue being the model forumites you have displayed yourselves to be.

 

Sorry buddy, just noticed this (more of a sales forum watcher than general)...and yes my estimate is in context he was calling me the windbag...I do tend to ramble on sometimes and I think he was just giving me a to remind me that it is a message board and not a seminar presentation

 

Actually Heath it was quite the opposite. For once it's nice to see such a thorough observation from an expert in a particular field, in this case psychology.

 

After such a well thought out post, I assumed the timing of my graemlin would seem that much more ironic.

 

Oh well can't please everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.s. Stop bloviating, we get it your smarter than us!

 

Ahhhhh, bloviating! Got it.

 

Dan

 

My thoughts exactly...you steal that word from Ayn Rand?

[Ken Aldred]

 

Word of warning...biased post ahead

 

As a boardie, I want to congratulate you on finding the courage to acknowledge the problem, seek out resources, and take steps to help alleviate your difficulties. These are all incredibly difficult steps to take individually, and to truly walk such a path is more difficult than most know.

 

As a psychologist, and speaking much more generally, it still dismays me that in this era there is still so much stigma placed upon mental illness and difficulty in admitting such symptoms in order to seek care. Mental health is really not that different from physical health (in fact the boardie that mentioned chemical imbalance is correct in that we increasingly find genetic predispositions for mental illnesses, structural differences in the brain, and neurotransmitter imbalances that account for many symptoms). Small analogy...if we had high blood pressure or the flu, most folks would readily admit this and seek care...not so much with periods of hopelessness, panic attacks, or perceptual oddities/distortions

 

There are many that have no great love or trust for folks working in my field. Believe me, I understand this and take no personal offense. But to argue that because doctors differ in opinion or suggested treatment regimen means that such care should not be sought is a treacherous path to take. For example, see a physician sometime with migraines or back pain...there will often be many opinions as to why you are symptomatic. The key is to be honest with yourself and if a particular plan of care is not working...seek out an alternative. Just like there are many medicines to control blood pressure, there are also many antidepressants and anxiolytics. Many times when I have seen patients fail to improve, it is because they fail to see gains in the first line of treatment and assume that everything is guesswork and they are wasting their time.

 

On a more conversational level (and bringing it back around from my rant to the topic at hand)...this thread really serves as some good preventative medicine. Depression really is quite insidious sometimes...creeping up on us by degrees until one day you notice all the pleasure is gone. If you find yourself losing pleasure in previously enjoyable things, this does not mean you have depression. But it certainly can be a warning sign...take a moment to do a personal accounting of other changes you might have been experiencing (appetite and energy level fluctuations, avoiding social contact, sleeplessness, etc., etc.) and decide if seeking assistance/advice might be helpful.

 

My two cents,

SE

 

 

Nice to see a post like this - clear, constructive, positive advice which boardies can always refer back to for some guidance on the condition. The level of detail you included made it an enjoyable read, at least from my perspective, anyway. It touched on a couple of my favourite subjects in the field - stigma, and the very different, sadly prejudicial attitudes towards visible and non-overt illnesses and disabilities.

 

Many thanks.

 

[Ken Aldred]

I often go for a walk in park and see what there is to see.

 

Taking in a breath of fresh clean air, focusing at the river rolling off the rocks,

watching the clouds and most of all looking at my boy that I decided to bring into this world.

+1

 

Sounds too simple, but going out for a long walk in the countryside has a marked calming effect and, if you suffer from an anxiety state or insomnia, it's a form of exercise that's definitely worth a try. (thumbs u