Posted by Susan J on October 17, 2003, at 10:28:29
In reply to Thank you, SusanJ fallsfall, posted by Zarah78 on October 17, 2003, at 10:11:51
Zarah,
Cool name, by the way. What does it mean, I didn't read all those posts where people explained their screen names....
> Thank you both for the positive support and reminding me that just because she's my mom, doesn't mean she controls my life anymore. A lot of people just do not want to deal with depression and many still don't believe that it is for real.
<<No, she doesn't run your life. But I think it's *always* hard, and certainly not supportive, when someone so close to you kind of dismisses the reality of what you are going through...> Sometimes I wonder about the sudden increase in diagnosed (and undiagnosed, sometimes) cases of depression and BP disorder in recent times.
<<Funny, I was just wondering this myself recently. My theory is that some people (like me) are just chemically prone to depression and no matter how wonderful/healthy/fullfilling/safe our lives are, we still will get hit by depression from time to time. Of course, add on big life problems, and it's a recipe for disaster. *This* type of case I think is up because it's being diagnosed properly now...Other people get hit by depression because of really rough life circumstances, and I think we can all thank our crazy high-speed lives for that, and a culture that doesn't seem to value self-knowledge and introspection as much as I think it should.
I *also* believe that a lot of people who have no experience with true depression don't understand its extreme impact on the people who suffer from it, and the loved ones who care about people who suffer from it.
People just go around saying, "I'm so depressed, such and such happened today." It devalues the word and condition *depression.* Normal sadness sucks, too, and I don't wish it on anyone. But true depression is all-encompassing and affects every physical, mental, and emotional component of *me* so I'm sure it does the same to so many others...It's *not* just the everyday blues, and so many people don't understand that....
>Its real, its here and society needs to learn to deal with us as human beings, not nutcases.
<Yeah, I'm not so sure how to handle that one. When I discuss being depressed with my mother just recently (I've been going through a bad spot of it for almost 2 years), she told me to *get over it.* Basically, she was tired of seeing me depressed for so long and didn't want me to stay that way.A person's lack of empathy for a depressed person they care about quite often comes back to that person's own emotional unhealthiness. In my mother's case, she feels like a failure because she has a depressed daughter and it's a social stigma for her. She wants me better because she cares about me, but also because my depression's not a good reflection on *her.*
Tough for me, but so sad for her.....
Even the so-called *healthy* people should get a dose of therapy here and there to better fine-tune their own emotional health....
S.
poster:Susan J
thread:270012
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031011/msgs/270198.html