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I couldnt see that this has been covered already, but it is a very important topic! if anyone you know or its yourself, then feel free to share your views and thoughts. smile

Symptoms of depression

Stress can lead to you to feeling 'down' and 'miserable'. What is different about a depressive illness is that these feelings last for weeks or months, rather than days. In addition to feeling low most or all of the time, many other symptoms can occur in depressive illness (though not everybody has every one).

Being unable to gain pleasure from activities that normally would be pleasurable.
Losing interest in normal activities, hobbies and everyday life.
Feeling tired all of the time and having no energy.
Difficulty sleeping or waking early in the morning (though some feel that they can't get out of bed and 'face the world').
Having a poor appetite, no interest in food and losing weight (though some people overeat and put on weight - 'comfort eating').
Losing interest in sex.
Finding it difficult to concentrate and think straight.
Feeling restless, tense and anxious.
Being irritable.
Losing self-confidence.
Avoiding other people.
Finding it harder than usual to make decisions.
Feeling useless and inadequate - 'a waste of space'.
Feeling guilty about who you are and what you have done.
Feeling hopeless - that nothing will make things better.
Thinking about suicide - this is very common. If you feel this way, talk to somebody about it. If you think somebody else might be thinking this way, ask them about it - IT WILL NOT MAKE THEM MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT SUICIDE

(thankyou netdoctor!)

its evil, nasty and a pain to attempt to get rid of

its not a get rid off overnight sickness it leaves you empty, deflated, broken, cold, worthless, alone, blind, deaf, stupid, miserable, angry, sad, moody, over dramatic, scarcastic, hateful, discusted, destructive, breathless, and don't care about yourself

i been suffering for nearly 2 years i know there are people who are suffering now or been suffering for longer than i have but it feels like a eturnaty

i do have days where i feel like i wish i was dead just to end the pain and make it go away
i been to the doctors and took pills but to me its a waste of time what can they really do to help yoou
best way to beat it is on your own i think then again im no prof at this so i have no clue

I've been fighting on and off with depression for many years now, and the thing I find that is most insidious about it is that it completely saps away your motivation. The sad truth is that the best way to overcome depression is by doing things, and yet depression makes you not want to do anything. It's very difficult to fight those urges, but the things that are most important to do to get over it are very specifically exercise and chores; feeling like you have accomplished something, like your home is clean, like you don't have a list of things to do hanging over you like the Sword of Damacles, make a HUGE impact on fighting depression. Of course, I say all of this and right now I am guilty of not accomplishing hardly any of these things at the moment and have been bogged down so that even taking the first step often seems overwhelming.

My advice (and maybe some day I'll follow it...) is to do something to change your situation that makes you feel better about yourself; get an article of clothing you really like, or a new haircut, something that will make you smile when you look at yourself in the mirror... but DO NOT stop there! Use the high you get from any positive reinforcement and turn that energy into attacking your responsibilities... each time you finish one, you'll feel a little bit better... take a SHORT break, and then GET BACK IN THERE and do more! Don't have anything to do? Get a hobby: Play an instrument, make a craft, cook... whatever! The important thing for fighting depression is to never allow yourself to do nothing... nothing is the worst thing you could do.

You're not really your brain, just like you're not your body. There's a spirit in there that lives on and that's you.

But that's something I just kind of believe. I'm open to other theories and this stuff kind of interests me.

Self-helping ideas:

Sharing experiences (talk to someone!)
Find out more information (dont feel guilty that youre depressed!)
Relaxation (reading, yoga, listening to music, bathing)
Exercise (help make you fell positive)
Eat & sleep well (well try anyways!)
Make a hobby or time for something for you!

the AMG is a lovely place to find friends, someone is always around to chat to. time zones have no restriction here! 3nodding

That's true, but it's worth remembering that sometimes it's the other way round, and being treated for depression when it's only a symptom and not the root of the problem can make things much worse.

Diagnosed with depression at 11... I'm 29 and still in the s**t.

To be honest, talking about it gets very old after a while.

That and no medication has worked in all this time. It's... well... I'm getting a bit fed up with it tbh.

But anyway.

Yes, I have also heard that depression and stress can present as digestive and other seemingly unrelated physiological issues.

update from last post

getting worse i put on weight not doing much except turning up to work and watching football every sat
but now days i just feel like i want to t**t someone who dares piss me off
sympathy has gone out the window and i swear im turning into a monster
thing is with me once i start i never back down if its for good, helping out, attacking, or worse
this saturday i was going to a mate at work 30th b-day party till i found out where its at and what his dad dose i still have a disrespectful rage against vicars, deacons, pastlers, holy men what ever they want to be called and lets just say im not going due to if i was i would end up doing something i might/not regret the only thing i could say my reaction would be like a witch from left 4 dead for a example when someone disturbs her

i don't know how i not turned to the bottle yet but very soon its getting closer