Depression

Started by Eamonnca1, October 25, 2013, 09:11:55 PM

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Eamonnca1

Reposting this from my FB wall:

Chris was an old friend from my primary school days. I never saw much of him after we parted ways and went to different secondary schools, but it's funny how the friendships you form at that age seem deeper.  Any time I run into my old primary school mates it's always a happy reunion, we're always glad to see that each other is doing well, is fit and healthy. When you knew what someone was like in their formative years and you see them later as adults, you get a real sense of how far they've come and the great life experiences they must have had in the meantime. Bumping into Chris was no different. He was always full of life, plenty of energy, and a great sense of humor. It always amazed me how he kept his spirits up in school even though our teacher in the last two years used to beat the head off him and humiliate him in front of the class at the slightest excuse. Maybe he just resented Chris' energy and positive outlook.

I remember how excited he was when he'd mastered the art of swimming. Years later when I was at university I read a newspaper report about someone of the same name and from the same town, whom I presumed to be the same fella, getting pushed off the side of a ship that was docking in Belfast. He swam to the wharf and got out safely. I thought if anyone could survive and ordeal like that it was him, and it's a good thing that he learned that skill.

Last night I got a bit of news that Chris ended his life last week.  We don't know much about it, apart from that he'd been living in England for a while and there was a marital split recently.

This isn't the first time I've lost an old friend to mental illness, and once again it was the last person you'd expect.  There are times when I wonder if it would be different if people, men in particular, felt more free to talk about their feelings when things aren't going right. Depression is a debilitating condition, and it's as legitimate a medical problem as a broken leg or a viral infection. It's also potentially deadly. We should feel free to talk about it, because that's a critical part of dealing with it and getting through it. There's no need for depression to be stigmatized.

On a related point I must say it bugs me when I read about a high profile person's death in the Irish media and it's reported a "sudden death," but the actual cause of death isn't mentioned. When someone dies in a road accident, or of cancer, or some other illness, the cause of death is usually spelled out. But if you read all the way to the end of an article and they still haven't named the cause of death, you know that it's a euphemism for suicide. It's almost as if they're afraid to mention it, adding to the culture of taboo surrounding the subject. They say it's because they don't want to upset the family, but I don't understand how this particular cause of death should be treated different from any other. This kind of coverage is unhelpful in my opinion.

We have a long way to go before we do a better job of dealing with depression.

BennyCake

Anyone have knowledge of diagnosis of bipolar? Does someone need admitted and assessed over a number of days, or what? There is a reason for asking, just too long a story to go into now.

DrinkingHarp

Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 02:14:41 AM
Anyone have knowledge of diagnosis of bipolar? Does someone need admitted and assessed over a number of days, or what? There is a reason for asking, just too long a story to go into now.

http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-disorder-diagnosis

Don't know the parameters of your situation but when I worked in the ER in the hospital here in the states we had many family members, friends and individuals who brought people or themselves in. The doctors would usually do a 24-48 psych evaluation if there was hint of harm to the patient or others because of the situation. I believe if there was no threat they would do an outpatient evaluation after attending to the patient and situation. Each individual is different so take what appropriate action you believe is needed.

Gaaboard Predict The World Cup Champion 2014

trileacman

Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 02:14:41 AM
Anyone have knowledge of diagnosis of bipolar? Does someone need admitted and assessed over a number of days, or what? There is a reason for asking, just too long a story to go into now.

No offence but you need to ask that to a doctor or other people qualified to tell you. The possibly wildy inaccurate opinions of a handful of keyboard warriors is not what you want to take without a large pinch of salt. Myself included.
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Champion 2011,
Fantasy 6 Nations Champion 2014

Asal Mor

Quote from: trileacman on March 28, 2015, 09:30:47 AM
Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 02:14:41 AM
Anyone have knowledge of diagnosis of bipolar? Does someone need admitted and assessed over a number of days, or what? There is a reason for asking, just too long a story to go into now.

No offence but you need to ask that to a doctor or other people qualified to tell you. The possibly wildy inaccurate opinions of a handful of keyboard warriors is not what you want to take without a large pinch of salt. Myself included.

In my own experience, I found talking to someone who'd been or was still going through the same things to be the most helpful. Whether it was addiction, depression or anxiety I found doctors and psychiatrists(I remember one particular b!tch who charged a small fortune and had the empathy of a saltwater crocodile) sometimes just didn't get it , though I was lucky enough to meet one or two who were excellent.

omagh_gael

There is a range of different bipolar disorders of varying intensities and duration. As already mentioned, the individual's GP (community psychiatric nurse, if they have one) should be the first port of call.

trileacman

#187
Quote from: Asal Mor on March 28, 2015, 10:41:42 AM
Quote from: trileacman on March 28, 2015, 09:30:47 AM
Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 02:14:41 AM
Anyone have knowledge of diagnosis of bipolar? Does someone need admitted and assessed over a number of days, or what? There is a reason for asking, just too long a story to go into now.

No offence but you need to ask that to a doctor or other people qualified to tell you. The possibly wildy inaccurate opinions of a handful of keyboard warriors is not what you want to take without a large pinch of salt. Myself included.

In my own experience, I found talking to someone who'd been or was still going through the same things to be the most helpful. Whether it was addiction, depression or anxiety I found doctors and psychiatrists(I remember one particular b!tch who charged a small fortune and had the empathy of a saltwater crocodile) sometimes just didn't get it , though I was lucky enough to meet one or two who were excellent.

That may be true but I'm just advocating caution when looking for advice on here where at times the truth is particularly muddled and at worst deliberately twisted to suit certain ideologies.

*I mean the board in general not specifically this thread which is fairly decent.
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Champion 2011,
Fantasy 6 Nations Champion 2014

BennyCake

All posts appreciated.

My worry is, if a person has bipolar, would they necessarily know they had something wrong with them? And if nobody around them sees nothing out of the ordinary with them (maybe because they don't know the signs), then how will they ever be diagnosed with bipolar?

I seen a clip of Stephen Fry, and he said his view of normality is different to people without bipolar. So if he sees nothing wrong with his behaviour, how does he know he's behaving abnormally?

theticklemister

Played at the Pieter House Mental Health /Suicide Awareness 'Darkness into Light' opening function in Liverpool last night. Great crowd for a worthy cause. There will be a walk/run coming up in May at 4.30 in the morn to raise awareness about this.

Asal Mor

Quote from: trileacman on March 28, 2015, 01:53:47 PM

That may be true but I'm just advocating caution when looking for advice on here where at times the truth is particularly muddled and at worst deliberately twisted to suit certain ideologies.

*I mean the board in general not specifically this thread which is fairly decent.

Your advice is right trileacman. I just have a personal thing about doctors, based on that one psychiatrist and a couple of dermatologists(who are imo a complete waste of time and money).

This website might be helpful Benny

http://www.healthline.com/health/could-it-be-bipolar-seven-signs-to-look-for

If you let your friend know you're there, you're concerned and you'd love to help them I think they will appreciate it, even if they don't accept the help.

seafoid

Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 04:38:22 PM
All posts appreciated.

My worry is, if a person has bipolar, would they necessarily know they had something wrong with them? And if nobody around them sees nothing out of the ordinary with them (maybe because they don't know the signs), then how will they ever be diagnosed with bipolar?

I seen a clip of Stephen Fry, and he said his view of normality is different to people without bipolar. So if he sees nothing wrong with his behaviour, how does he know he's behaving abnormally?
They might feel strange or have something happen that would lead them to  the doctor who would ask them questions and identify the condition.
"f**k it, just score"- Donaghy   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxG2WwVRjU

Main Street

#192
Quote from: BennyCake on March 28, 2015, 04:38:22 PM
All posts appreciated.

My worry is, if a person has bipolar, would they necessarily know they had something wrong with them? And if nobody around them sees nothing out of the ordinary with them (maybe because they don't know the signs), then how will they ever be diagnosed with bipolar?

I seen a clip of Stephen Fry, and he said his view of normality is different to people without bipolar. So if he sees nothing wrong with his behaviour, how does he know he's behaving abnormally?
He might not be aware he's behaving abnormally at the time ,but later on he would.
There's no one bipolar situation.
And a lay person, friend or family would become aware that something serious is up, but not necessarily be aware enough to fit the various pieces of dysfunction into a bipolar picture. Regular extreme symptoms , can be  yelling and  screaming about how somebody has treated you or your partner, and it's totally out of control and totally out of proportion.  So yes during the action, the bipolar person would not be aware what they are doing is "abnormal", but later on they would, at least to some extent and I don't think it would be a big shift for them to get (or be encouraged to get) psychiatric help, unless they were paranoid as well, paranoid to the extent where they were doing some delusions.

larryin89

Dealt with depression on my own for a long time , lately i have felt myself going into a very dark place and it scares me . I can shake it off and talk myself around to thinking that things will get better but then I go back into this fuckin weird zone like asking myself  , what's the point there's nothing to be gained by carrying on through life like this , this only lasts for a brief period would end when I finish crying and wallowing in self pity by me sort of kicking myself up the hole and telling myself to cop on to f**k.  It's hard to explain and I probably shouldn't of typed in here but sure what harm can it do really .
Walk-in down mchale rd , sun out, summers day , game day . That's all .

eddie d

Quote from: larryin89 on May 20, 2015, 11:37:20 PM
Dealt with depression on my own for a long time , lately i have felt myself going into a very dark place and it scares me . I can shake it off and talk myself around to thinking that things will get better but then I go back into this fuckin weird zone like asking myself  , what's the point there's nothing to be gained by carrying on through life like this , this only lasts for a brief period would end when I finish crying and wallowing in self pity by me sort of kicking myself up the hole and telling myself to cop on to f**k.  It's hard to explain and I probably shouldn't of typed in here but sure what harm can it do really .

I don't know how helpful I can be but I hope you feel somewhat better that you did type this up. That by coming on and sharing has lifted some of the pain or burden that you may experience.