A four-pronged strategy to coping with mental illness

Mik says:

06:47pm | 10/10/12

Mental illnesses are disorders of the the brain/distortions of the mind but definitely not a personal choice.
Good luck, do all you can to build up your resilience. “An Unquiet Mind” by Kay Jamison is enlightening.

amy says:

03:12pm | 10/10/12

whatever you do don’t tell highschoolers that its the best time of their life..you may as well be handing out razors

but seriously thats a lie

Anna says:

03:14pm | 10/10/12

No, BD. There’s a difference between feeling down (fine, if you want to called it feeling ‘depressed’) because you hate your chosen career path and having depression. One is an effect of your situation or choices and one is a mental illness that doesn’t discriminate or care what your situation actually is. It is this kind of attitude that we need to erase if we’re going to stop degrading mental illnesses.

andrew says:

03:29pm | 10/10/12

I know the feeling BD , a “career ” can seem pretty similar to a 40 year + jail sentence at times. If it’s any consolation to you all the financial knowledge you gain could be quite useful to you should you decide one day to attempt to make a living for yourself through investments rather than turning up for the 9-5 mon - fri just to make someone else rich.

Christopher Haba says:

03:32pm | 10/10/12

Then that’s not depression. For other people that could be devastating. Everyone handles things differently.

Tim the Toolman says:

03:43pm | 10/10/12

“One is an effect of your situation or choices”

So…what you’re saying, is that BD should suck it up?  Stop being a pansy and just deal with it?  Huh…and I thought we weren’t supposed to do that.

Angela says:

03:50pm | 10/10/12

Dear BD,
I would contend that you haven’t a clue about what depressed feels like. As an older member of society, I have not experienced the can/do have anything I like scenario, as you describe is the want of youth today (also questionable). However, I can assure you that depression is not just about feeling down and has little to do with not feeling special or realising one’s lack of individuality. It is an insidious mental illness which causes misery not only for the sufferer but also their family. Please educate yourself a little further before posting your ill informed opinions. Finally, I sincerely hope that you are never touched by this cruel illness and that you can continue your life in ignorant bliss.

Black Dynamite says:

03:59pm | 10/10/12

Anna, so you’re either born with depression, a medical symptom or you’re not? I understand there’s a difference between feeling down and depression but I’d argue life events (events pointed out in this article) can cause one to spiral into a severely depressed state. I’d also argue that one can be depressed without having a medical diagnosis and have the same requirement to address the issue at hand with potential for effects from it. I’m quite confident I don’t have a mental illness of any kind, that doesn’t mean I haven’t had doctors offer me anti-depressant medication previously.

Furthermore can you please explain to me what is so degrading about suggesting education/treatment options about varying levels of depression. In my opinion there’s several degrees, just because someone isn’t bi-polar doesn’t mean they won’t make tragic decisions in times of despair. When then in your view does someone’s despair classify someone as mentally ill and thus worthy for adressing? When the doctor says so, when they first ask for help, after 6 months, when they take their own life?

Unfortunately this isn’t a black and white issue and I find your point of view that only those who fit under a narrow nomenclature seem worthy for consideration much more damaging than the idea of preventative support for all comers I would be in favour of.

Regards

BD.

Jeni says:

04:00pm | 10/10/12

While you are going cross-eyed from spreadsheets, just remember that each one contributes to your reasonably sized paycheck.

I don’t know why you think that everyone is the same. You couldn’t be any more wrong there. Everyone IS different. Everything about us is. Hair, eye, skin colors, tone of voice, all the way down to the minuscule living beings that live within us. We are an ecosystem in our own right. Be happy for the little guys in there!

If you want something bad enough, you CAN make it happen. Unhappy in your life? Get off yer bum and do something about it. Its that easy.

=o)

marley says:

04:18pm | 10/10/12

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like real depression to me.  That sounds like coming face to face with the reality that you may have made some choices you now regret. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t give up the spreadsheets and become a carpenter or a librarian or a lion tamer if that’s what you’d rather do.  Nor does it mean you can’t wrangle those spreadsheets 40 hours a week, and live the life you want to for the rest of the week with the money those spreadsheets pay you.

All you’re seeing is that, as you mature, you choices narrow and they become harder.  And going back is harder still, but if you’re that unhappy, do it anyway. 

But again, that’s not what I understand clinical depression to be.

Black Dynamite says:

04:21pm | 10/10/12

Angela,

I would contend that there are those out there with severe mental illnesses who could claim to those with milder but still apparent symptoms can’t possibly imagine what it’s like to really feel depressed. As Tim the toolman so eloquently pointed out you’re only willing to accept a certain level of depression of criteria as worthy of concern. I’ve witnessed first hand the transformation of somebody from perfectly happy & normal to taking their own life, at what point would they have warranted worthiness of being classed as truly depressed to you? For this young man there is a possibility that perhaps help in the early stages could potentially have altered his course.

So while you may like to play the experience card and throw out terms like ignorance I’d suggest you’d be better served by keeping your mind open to those that may have had alternate experiences to those of your own.

BD

Tim the Toolman says:

04:25pm | 10/10/12

“Finally, I sincerely hope that you are never touched by this cruel illness and that you can continue your life in ignorant bliss.”

Wow…nice.

Did you perhaps consider that sometimes this might be how it starts.  Continual pressure, loss of confidence in ones future, feel of being unable to escape…no, those will have absolutely no negative impacts and everyone will have exactly the same reaction.

Angela, consider perhaps that things have a genesis and that perhaps we should look for patterns that can lead to depression later on rather than only caring about people who are already eyeing off the razors or the train timetables.

Black Dynamite says:

04:40pm | 10/10/12

Marley, I fully accept that it’s not clinical depression. Is it depressing in the situational sense that you described, absolutely. I have a wonderful group of family and friends so i would never contend that I have any sort of problem. My contention would be that there are people out there who aren’t lucky enough to have this and in this case I truly think I’d be thinking “what is the point?” in this situation is the person clincally depressed? probably not, could this contribute to someone becoming clincally depressed, I believe so.

It’s the people who seem to have such an issue with my stand point who want to classify and need a certain magnitude of depression before it seems worthy that I find truly concerning. Mainly based off prior experiences and I’m open to the fact my opinion is wrong but I’m yet to read any meaningful argument other than “you couldn’t possibly understand!” which would change my point of view.

Depression is horrible and I don’t mean to degrade it in any way, shape or form. I truly believe my point of view is more sympathetic to those who may seriously be in need but I can appreciate the sensitivty of this issue so I apologise if I have offended any with this view.

BD

Anna says:

04:56pm | 10/10/12

BD I am nowhere near saying that there aren’t degrees to any mental illness. I am also the first to advocate early prevention and intervention, and an understanding that help is available from the very first signs.

However, you saying that depression is merely a modern interpretation of the “normal struggles of life’ is, as I said, degrading to the actual illness and its sufferers. You don’t offer treatment, you’re simply telling people to feel guilty for their illness because once upon a time, according to you, people just dealt with it. That is what I take offence to, NOT your claim that you feel down when thinking about your career.

Certainly life events can and do trigger downward spirals and depression in many people, but as we’re learning it’s so much more than that. It upsets me to hear that people still think it’s just an effect of one’s situations, as you seem to, when even at the peak of my life I struggle to get by. I would not be free from my illness if I had my dream career, as you seem to suggest. In fact, it is the illness that keeps me from getting it.

If we’re going to really try to understand mental illness we can’t just overlook it like that. It doesn’t help anyone, and it oversimplifies terrible and complicated illnesses. That’s why people don’t get help, that’s why they end up taking their lives. They think it’s just them that can’t cope or won’t cope with what you call “the reality of the world” when they are actually in the clutches of a illness that has treatments and can be eased. Let’s give them the chance to do that without belittling them. Please.

ByStealth says:

05:11pm | 10/10/12

I’ve witnessed first hand the transformation of somebody from perfectly happy & normal to taking their own life, at what point would they have warranted worthiness of being classed as truly depressed to you?

Exactly. At what point should he seek treatment or be worthy of support?

Or is this just a suffering olympics point?

I’ve suffered acute depression, have family members who suffer from chronic depression and have found a friend’s corpse after he commited suicide due to depression. I think BD should go seek help, because I’ve seen that the downward spiral can start with a situation like he is in.

Best to work at getting yourself into a happier place sooner rather than later if you can.

marley says:

06:08pm | 10/10/12

@BD - I think what I’m trying to say is, that for you, in your current state of mind, there are options that you can think through, work out.  You are still in control. 

Those who suffer from what I understand to be clinical depression, are no longer in control.  I think there’s a difference.  One might spiral into the other, or not.  Right now you have choices. 

But everyone, whether clinically or situationally depressed, is worthy of support. I’m just saying that you’re young enough to get out of the situation that’s depressing you if you really think its the situation that’s causing it.

Grateful for the experience says:

04:04pm | 10/10/12

I agree.

I was dealing with depression for about 4 years until one day, I literally just collapsed and was subsequently bundled off to hospital.  While frightening at the time, that was THE best thing that happened to me.  Not only did it bring everything to a head but it put me in a place where I got real, focussed help, realised there were others who were worse off then me and taught me skills to live in the present and not to get caught up in the sadness of the past and the anxiety of the future.  As time went on I integrated these skills into my everyday being.

It’s interesting to note that the traditional western psychology of delving and dwelling into events of the past is now being largely debunked as bad practice (in that it only validates for the patient that there’s something to be depressed about) that and is being replaced by the 2,500 year old Buddhist practice of mindfulness.  It certainly worked for me in that it got me out of the swamp of the past.

I’d recommend attending a mindfulness course and regularly listening to (and participating in) the guided meditation CDs produced by Jon Kabat-Zinn on mindfulness.

the sixth sense says:

04:25pm | 10/10/12

well said, Mindfulness was the only thing that helped me escape the anxiety. It is so empowering being able reagin control of your thoughts and the emotions attached with those thoughts.

I have now learnt that this is a not weakness, If i had been born before civilisation I would have fit in fine. I’m always the first to spot danger or here sounds from far away as i am constantly am on high alert. This is extremely helpful when reading people as I can spot their microreactions quite easy.

I can say, that with the help of mindfulness I have come out a much stronger through these experiences.

Dan says:

03:38pm | 10/10/12

Hi Jimbob, I’ll have a crack at answering your question but I’m not an expert. As I understand it, brain cells can change the way they connect to the cells around them. Through this re-wiring we remember things and together they represent the way we think - our personality if you like.

In your example the rewiring has caused the depression and it would not have happened without the events. I have heard people say that three bad events in succession can trigger depression in most people. Anyway thats the way I understand it.

Ash says:

03:57pm | 10/10/12

As Bob (below) says, when depression is a response to external stimuli, that is called situational depression (also commonly known as reactive depression). If this persists despite treatment (or ‘recurs’ a number of times) this can become clinical depression.  Clinical depression (known by other names, including major depressive disorder) is basically when the depression is more serious, stable and basically meets “clinical” definitions of symptomatology.  So this can come about from situational depression, or from depression that is seemingly ‘out of the blue’.

Myewerk says:

04:14pm | 10/10/12

Hi Jimbob.  Regarding clinical depression, it can occur with or without an external stressful event.  However, stressful events can often precipitate depression in people without any biological predisposition to it and certainly for people with a predisposition to it.  There are a number of neurochemical changes that are associated with depression.  However, to date we cannot directly test brain chemistry or even do a blood test in clinical practice to ascertain whether someone is depressed or whether a external event directly leads to changes in brain chemistry.  BTW, by stressful event I am not talking about physical changes to the brain such as post head injury, dementia, brain lesions - which can affect areas of the brain that are directly linked with causing depression.

Alex says:

04:39pm | 10/10/12

Agree with what Ash has said.  I’ve had situational depression before which I’ve managed to get a handle on without medication and through making various changes in my life.  It was not pleasant at all, but I’m glad I was one of those people who can do it without medication. Some can’t (including people close to me).  I do currently suffer from bouts of anxiety, and there is definitely nothing in my life right now that are a definite reason for it.  It’s not pleasant, and is even less pleasant when you can’t work out why it is happening to you.  Thankfully I have an amazing support group of friends and family who I can call or get in touch with any time I feel I am not coping.  And I make use of this support group and I make sure they know they can make use of me for support any time, any day.  Unfortunately many people are not as lucky as I am.

Ash says:

05:33pm | 10/10/12

Great demonstration of situational depression Alex (and well done on being able to stabilise it so effectively). I suffered my first depressive episode completely without any obvious external stimuli; it occurred at a time when everything was going wonderfully and when I had minimal stress. My first ‘episode’ ended up as major depressive disorder (MDD) and I ended up effectively ‘out of action’ for 3 years, and really struggled for anther few years after that. I can definitely attest to the effectiveness of a good combination of medication, counselling and other forms of psychotherapy. I have been off active treatment now for a few years, but I still identify as having depression and anxiety - and approach every life change as having the potential to cause an exacerbation. This has happened a few times, but due to being taught warning signs and coping mechanisms by my psychiatrist and clinical psychologist, these have been managed and dealt with.  So although my MDD was also called ‘clinical depression’, I have been fortunate enough that it hasn’t resulted in lifelong medication / psychotherapy, just a bit of vigilance and awareness of brain chemistry, and how I respond to particular stresses.

Matchofbris says:

04:58pm | 10/10/12

Whaaaa? If your therapist isn’t willing to support you, even if that means taking a spontaneous phone call while going loopy on the train home at 5pm, you probably need a new therapist.

marley says:

06:13pm | 10/10/12

@Matchofbris - I would say that this is a struggle, like any other, to change mindsets.  How long did it take the world to recognize that slavery and the slave trade were wrong?  How long to understand that women were perfectly capable of casting a vote?  Or that gays had a right to a peaceful existence?  This is another struggle, and it won’t be won in a day or a decade.  That’s no reason not to keep hammering away at it.

Ash says:

06:21pm | 10/10/12

I’m glad you had people to help you Kate. I only acknowledged my condition, sought treatment and began the long recovery process after my then-boyfriend told my dad and they effectively held an ‘intervention’ for me. It is hard as you may not recognise it in yourself and there can be a stigma attached (better now than in the past, but it is still hard… I was a Medicine student and felt too embarrassed to admit to my condition!). Glad you have learned the warning signs too - wish you all the best.

Myewerk says:

06:29pm | 10/10/12

Dear Lonely,  If you live in the outer metropolitan or rural areas, you may be able to access telepsychiatry services which are often bulkbilled.  Ask you GP about them.  They are ideal for social anxiety and for those who live in areas poorly serviced by psychiatrists.  If you live in the inner suburbs, this is not an option unfortunately.