I've had it with the ignorant, naive & close-minded people telling me to just pull myself together& be strong.

Question

Must be nice to be oblivious to the harsh reality of life though. Unfortunately Depression is VERY real-and VERY Deadly. Tragically, at least 15% of sufferers end their pain by ending their lives. Suicide. THIS is the reality of Depression. Real enough for them? Sad really.I suppose they deserve our pity.One day, they may just find out just how real it really is, only after losing their own Son or Daughter to Depression.Refusing to get them Professional help, the Child dies as a result.Guilt is also a Life sentence. Depression is a Killer, and rising in epidemic proportions.Our youth in particular are Dying here! What do they say to this? Oh well, if only they'd taken their advice in the first place?Heard this before?"Just pull yourself together""Control yourself"Be Strong""All you need to do is focus on the positive"Who do they think they are...God?

Wake up! This is FACT,not FAIRY-TALE, as so many of them elude to.

Sickening isn't it. LITERALLY...

AuntCook -
No, what your assuming is certainly NOT the case.Your interpretation is way off track here. I'm not into this sort of Childish behaviour. I am not motivated to go out of my way to insult or chastise an individuals opinions & beliefs. I wouldn't waste my time trying to prove one person wrong.That's up to them.

I poured my heart out. Why?I was being Pro-active. Change is not achieved by Bitchin or grizzling about it. It is Society's attitude as a whole I am addresing. To do my little bit to help spread the fact-based truth regarding these perpetuated untruths.A person in Y!/A just happened to remind me.

I needed to express my disgust, and wanted to raise awareness about this sort of toxic mind-set. NOT going to help the problem. In fact, I believe perpetuating this sort of attitude is the last thing a Depressed person needs to deal with.It's bad enough being tormented by the disease itself! I wanted to emphasize the severity of a widely misconstrued, and damaging mind-set.

Oh yes. I have Major Depressive Disorder alright, and I've been battling it for just about 18 years now. I know it only too well. I understand how people could be driven to Suicide just to escape it's the relentless suffering and torment. This is not something easily confused with simply being down in the dumps. I am not "coming out" of my Depression - in fact far from it... I am trying to do something about it. It's either that or die. Which would you choose?
Leaving my bed has been a struggle for most of my life. Sleep is my escape. My Kids can't be parented from my bed-side can they now either. Without them I'd be another Suicide statistic...I'm tired of living this way. So I'll do whatever it takes to survive it the best way I can - to draw awareness to the issue.

Killer-Kitty - (very approprate user-name indeed) And no, you too, didn't seem to grasp the glaringly obvious point I was making here. Gee - and re-iteration is one of my strong pints too. Oh well...

Thanks a bunch for this though - your answer is another example working in well with my argument. Ta. Thanks for doing your bit to help my case. You did very well too. Not such a convincing argument to support your case here Hun. Not surprising...This is precisely why things have got to change.

Answer 1

I absolutely love this post. I could not agree more. I have suffered from severe depression since I was very young. There are people out there who are very ignorant because you have to have this thing to identify with it. I almost killed myself trying to be tough. It did not work for me and I almost ended my life. Thank you for the courage for saying it like it is. Blessings to all.

Answer 2

This is why I think there needs to be far more work done on mental health awareness. Don't get me wrong, there is more information out there these days and that is great but I still think more could be done. It is only by educating people about depression etc that they will ever have a chance of understanding it without experiencing it themselves, which is something I would never wish on anyone. I sympathize with your frustration and irritation as although I try not to let it get to me it does annoy me too when I am told things like this. It makes me really angry when I am told it by Dr's and other professionals who seriously should know better.

I have lost three friends to depression over the years, two suicides and one that may or may not have been a serious attempt to kill herself. Aswell as suffering with depression myself I have watched those I love suffer, thankfully in some cases at least I have been able to help them. It is a terrible and terrifying illness, which is why so many people live in denial about it's existence I guess.

Answer 3

Being angry is more proactive than most depressed people can get. In fact its almost like you are either coming out of it, or while you were depressed, it wasn't clinical depression.
Clinical depression can lead you to spend an hour wondering if its worthwhile to bother rolling over in bed. At eleven in the morning. Clinical depression is a grey fog in all areas of your life, its a grey, colorless, joyless, place. No energy for anger.
Life can go through some very depressing, sad periods and be very unhappy for a while, but then it starts to get better, that's not a fairy tale, its just truth. Recognizing the difference is something the person going through it at the time can't do alone, but working up the interest and energy to see someone about it may be past their capability.
Mental illness is the most difficulty thing for others to understand, they only know they have been depressed and that they came out of it, and they are telling you what worked for them, but that's not what clinical depression is, for that you need professional help.
Not everyone who is depressed is truly mentally ill, try not to condemn those who recognize and speak about their own trials and offer their help for getting through a tough time in life, by offering their own experiences.

Answer 4

It is awful and soul destroying when people say stuff like that. Depression is an illness and needs medical help. You have been very brave and strong, but you can't do it all alone and people should not expect you too. I know I could not cope day to day without the help I am getting.

Depression is the same as any physical illness and needs love, help and the proper treatment to enable the person to get better. I have had it said that I just need to get out and be more positive. It's hard to do when your mind keeps flashing back to traumas and reliving the frightening experiences. Each day is hard just to get up. That in itself becomes an achievement. I think people need to be more understanding as one day it could be them.

Well done for bringing it up and speaking your mind. People should listen its very important.


:-)))

Answer 5

Wow. True story. I suffer from Depression, and it is easier said than done. So what do you do to cope? That is a question that I always ask myself. But Grace, I will tell you this... I will NOT let it get the best of me, or fall victim to suicide. Think about it this way, "You are doing better than some, and worse than others." Which is more important?

Answer 6

After a 20 year drug addiction,a 16 year marriage unable to have children,A brother,whom was an alcoholic whom I was still very close to dying,going from making great money,and supporting my habits,to barely getting by,but sober(2 Years) I believe depression is not a disease,but a by product from decisions we make in life.There is no magic wand,no happy pill,because the minute your out of pills,you are no longer happy.Ive gone through rehab,seen psychologists,therapy etc.and found that though you can get an education from them opening choices you didnt see,its basically bullsh!t.You take what you can use and disregard the rest.when it all comes down to it,depression is normal,thats life,and you are the only one in charge of changing it

Answer 7

Unfortunatly you are right I suffer depression and have been told on more then one occasion I should be able to "keep my chin up" "pull myself together" and a good many other of those magic little sayings thank you for reminding people that it is very real and very much a killer silent or otherwise it is still a killer ... thank you

Answer 8

it sure is real....been there done that...took me a really long tome to "GET OVER IT" almost 3years, but it was obvisous right away,that something was wrong and i had help earlier, i might not have suffered as long......some people dont empathise well, as most can only relate if they have been there....maybe too its the awkwardness of the subject of mental health, only in the last 5yrs people have been made more aware....but there is still a stigma to it......and if you're are going through this my best advice is get some sunlight atleast 10mins a day, that for me was the start of the end ...... iwas holing my self up for days on end,

Answer 9

that's just it there ignorant, people who ha vent lost someone to suicide through depression have no id ear what there talking about. they arnt informed and maybe dont wont to know. so until they experiance a tragic loss of this kind, they are ignorent. there are lots of people out there who understand like me i have experianced such a loss. so i know how you feel. if you feel down and depressed see your doctor tell them how you feel, or contact "" beyond blue"" these are proffecional people and they can help some times i think people are scared to discuss these things as they dont know what to say , so maybe they do come across as ignorant good luck

Answer 10

Wow where did you get your source of info the drug co. You paint a very negative picture besides using fear to scare people into think they need to get on pills. I think Nazi used the same method . I'm not saying depression isn't really , but the truth be known their is no such thing as a chemical imbalance. That is saying happiness and sadness are just chemicals. So can plants feel happy and sad? Do they have complex brains? So is all happiness and sadness is a chemical or maybe their a chance we have been lied to for others to profit. Well the cig. co did why wouldn't the pharm co. Depression is really but you can't take chemicals to feel happy and deal with deep issues in the psyche. Sorry the truth is people need to be taught to find their strength instead of depending upon a pill that is making someone very rich happy. This isn't a head ache your dealing with here your dealing with people's lives . Taking pill is only increasing the idea of chemical dependence. Not helping people deal with their issues. Which I find very disturbing. Professionals are just people like you and me not question what their told just follow the directions. Very dangerous to follow especially a herd. Again where are now giving to much power away for someone else to tell us what's best for us. And remember the medical field is still just a practice same with the psych field