Roxxxy

Depression is not real. It is something that exists in people’s minds. It can not be seen or touched or identified by sight or spirit in the real word. It’s all in people’s heads. Psychiatrists, in stereotypical attempts to make what they do look relevant, identify endless causes for depression, and for each cause there is an unnecessarily complex solution. My contention is that there is but one true cause, and it has to do with your centre.

I just feel sad. My career isn’t going well. My kids don’t talk to me. My dad was an alcoholic. I hate my job. I hate my life. I’m fat. I’m ugly. I don’t have many friends. People don’t like me … are the sort of typical comments that we hear from the depressed. Nowhere in there is there a mention of other people. It’s all about you.

As humans we get in this state of sadness over very real psychological issues and we think about them endlessly, feeding them and making them worse than they ever needed to be. This creates emotions and chemical reactions in the body that doctors diagnose as ‘depression’.

Doctors see depression as a chemical imbalance in the brain that causes negative thoughts, but this is not actually the case. There are chemical imbalances, yes, but they are caused by negative thoughts, not the other way around. Doctors will prescribe you medication to correct the chemical imbalances, thinking it will therefore correct your thoughts. What you actually need is to correct your thoughts, and you will in turn correct your chemical imbalances. Think positive and you will feel positive.

Why in poor countries are reported rates of depression significantly less than in western countries? We have everything, they have nothing. You’d think that somebody who doesn’t have food for their family would feel pretty ******* depressed, yet no, it’s the western businessman with everything who feels depressed. The superficial reasons could be many, but ultimately it comes down to one thing: the poor man doesn’t have the time to sit there thinking about himself. The poor man spends his time trying to feed himself and/or his family. This gives his daily life meaning, and it removes that infamous word ‘I‘ from his thoughts.

If you’re depressed my advice to you is to stop thinking about what you want, what you don’t have or what others have. Focus on something greater than yourself, be happy for what you have and what you are and cherish it. Remove the word ‘I’ from your vocabulary and you will find a happiness that you haven’t felt since you were a child.

Cherish the smallest moments that life offers, like sitting under a tree on a beautiful day, the breeze against your skin, with not a thought in the world. Remember that by focussing on yourself and your ‘depression’ you’re making life harder on you and on those who love you. They have to deal with your self-inflicted ******** the same way you do. It’s not fair on you and it’s not fair on them, and at the end of it all, when you do snap yourself out of it and ‘suddenly’ feel better, the truth will come to light. And that truth?

Your depression was all in your head. It wasn’t real. You were never actually depressed. You were just being selfish. And if you refuse to admit that you were simply being selfish, then you still are.

Dee74

Hi Roxxy

I'm wondering if your viewpoint is the result of your own personal experience, or your experience with other people claiming depression?

I'm not sure which it is so I'll stay neutral.

There's many things I don't agree with in what you've said but probably the easiest point to discuss is this one:

It's a cute neatly wrapped up idea that depression is actually due to self indulgence and Western decadence - I've heard it before - but it's just not true

A stunning map of depression rates around the world - The Washington Post

Depression is currently one of the most burdensome diseases in the world according to the World Health Organization - three-quarters of the world’s neuropsychiatric disorders are in low-income or low-middle income countries.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...ype=blogs&_r=0

You're absolutely entitled to your opinion but both those links lead to some pretty significant figures for something that you claim doesn't exist?.


D

Nightswimming

I'm not sure I can agree at all with such a broad brush approach on this issue. To me it's a bit like saying alcoholism isn't a disease, just stop drinking.

Personally, I can't just stop my negative thoughts. Sometimes they are completely pervasive and do not seem to be based on any particular event, they are just there.

I am determined to beat depression and anxiety because it is a strain on me and on those closest to me but it won't happen by denying there's a problem and plastering on a smile. I tried that for a long time and it didn't work... Antidepressants have helped me considerably over the past few years as well as quality counselling and therapy based on changing your thought patterns.

Well, sorry to say it but this actually made me laugh!!

Windancer

Roxxy, you are entitled to your opinion. Yet I cannot for the life of me understand the majority of your post. I find the above quote to be quite judgemental, especially when you don't know everyone that is depressed, nor have you walked in their shoes.


The ONLY thing I agree with is that thoughts are a big part of the key in healing depression.

What do you think PTSD is? A figment of one's imagination? PTSD very VERY OFTEN causes depression. Ummmmm......see where Im going with this? So a PTSD sufferer could just be "selfish" too? To me that is beyond judgmental, but also lacks knowledge, understanding and empathy.

What was your objective in posting this? I really don't know where you are coming from

Boudicca

Hi Roxy. You do have a right to your opinion so I am not going to waste much of my time replying to your ignorant and grossly insensitive post other than to state that a terrified eight year old girl who does not understand what is happening to her mind is NOT SELFISH. A ten year old girl who is committed to a mental institution; ripped away from her family and any semblance of safety and normal life is NOT SELFISH. An eighteen year old girl who is institutionalized YET AGAIN (experiencing horrific abuse at the hands of those who are supposed to help her) when she should be going to her high school prom and studying for exams is NOT SELFISH. A forty five year old woman who has endured a lifetime of horrific mental illness, soul-destroying addiction and social ostracism is NOT SELFISH.

Yes I am talking about myself.

Don't tell me it isn't real. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

I respectfully request you take your judgement elsewhere.

Thank you for listening.

trachemys

You summed it up in your last line.

If I refuse to agree with you, I'm being selfish.

Bugger off.

Windancer

Roxxy. I read some of your thread "Diarrhea of the Mouth". I am not trying to criticize, but simply suggest maybe you reflect on some things. Their is a different between insensitive (borderline rude), bluntness and tactful honesty. NO ONE tells it like it is......they tell it like they see it. Not all opinions are facts. It appears to me by the way you communicate that you think your opinions are facts when CLEARLY the majority of them are not. Also, many things are relative. You would likely get a much better response from people, and connect/get along better with others if you were to work on your communication skills. I understand it may be brick walls you have put up or something, but either way I don't see how it helps you, and it certainly doesn't help others.

mfanch

In my first year of recovery, my sponsor said that my thinking was incorrect and that I suffered from a great deal of cognitive dissonance. That I was a defect looking for character...lol. She was right. I was arrogant and judgmental, not to mention uber-opinionated.

I saw my old self in the post above. The only difference is that I kept most of my opinions to myself. That might be a good place to start....

PurpleKnight

For your first post in the "Mental Health" section of the Forum, it seems this was not posted with the aim of helping or supporting anyone, so I ask the question why was it even posted?!!

I honestly don't know either way, and I doubt you can say Roxxy with evidence that something such as depression is a closed case, I'm sure there are many studies out there on the ins and outs of depression and they all don't agree with each other, so who's to say what the truth is.

I'm all for a post saying "IMO" though, because we are all entitled to opinions, but this post isn't helping anyone on a recovery website as it is a put down within the context of the "Mental Health" section!!

MsJax

This post was so dismissive and hurtful to folks struggling. I hope they don't take it seriously . I love reading everyone's opinions and experiences here on SR, but this doesn't really help anyone at all.

Dee74

I was waiting for the OP to reply - I would have liked to knoiw where Roxxxy was coming from - but it seems that's not going to happen.

I think we'll leave it there.

I personally am sorry for any offence caused by this thread.

I'd hope that everyone who read this thread knows how valued they are in the SR community

Dee
Moderator
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