Do you battle depression?

[Perhaps]

?

[Percy]

Sometimes

[Dougella]

I used to for a long time.

[biscuits]

Not at the moment. Not for some time now that I think about it. Thankfully.

Anxiety feels (to me) like the dominant inhabitant of my mind. I can't experience depression when I'm anxious because the anxiety is like a smothering, impenetrable blanket that won't let anything else take up space in my mind.

[wez]

Yes, but doesn't feel much like a battle these days, more like a surrender.

[humphrey]

Yes. And on medication to battle it, for years.

[choirgirl]

I think I accepted living in a state of mild depression a long time ago. I've experienced worse though. I see myself as battling anxiety far more, and that has to be battled in a way that mild depression doesn't.

[T]

Sadly over the years the big black cloud has been following about come and goes just had to live with i guess!

[Percy]

I remember some of your posts about the depression you've been faced with Trevor.

[Appear]

I find it hard to know anymore. I'm definitely not as depressed as I used to be - I can tell because for a long time I would wake up in the morning and wish I hadn't. I haven't done that it a while.

I think I still have a depressive's worldview though, or maybe I do just still have it to a small degree. I mainly think that because I don't really see the point in anything and there's not much that excites me, but I get on with things because alternative is worse. Although how I feel about the meaninglessness changes. Sometimes it gnaws at me. Sometimes it's liberating. Plus, my sense of meaningless does have some logical basis - just try to argue me out of it.

I also sometimes wonder whether it's really depression or just not having an indoor pool. You can't be depressed with one of those. They're not currently available on the NHS though.

[T]

Originally Posted by Percy

I remember some of your posts about the depression you've been faced with Trevor.

We get on with it don't we!

[Percy]

Originally Posted by T

We get on with it don't we!

We do, except when the depression gets too much

[T]

Originally Posted by Percy

We do, except when the depression gets too much

Yep sadly getting common now!

[Percy]

Sorry to hear that Trevor

[Dougella]

I heard from someone that they were told by a psychiatrist that people with depression often need to be on an antidepressant (if they find the right one for them) for double the time that they've been suffering with depression for. So say someone has had depression for a year they may need to be on a medication for two years.
I think that may be true. I've been on a certain antidepressant for about 10 years now and my depression has definitely lifted a lot. Other things have contributed also, but the medication played a part I think.

Another thing that used to contribute to my depression a lot was negative self talk, or what might be known as your inner critic. Once I started noticing all the negative things I was thinking about myself and the way I was berating myself mentally and then tried to be kinder to myself and stop being so negative all the time I felt a lot less depressed.