Depression - A player's story

[muppet]

Good post Lar.

[Declan]

Fair play to you Lar. Inspirational

This sentence struck a chord with me

people in general haven't a clue of what's going on in a sufferer's brain while in the grip of depression.
Well-meaning but fatuous attempts to buck a sufferer up have the opposite effect

[deiseach]

You've always struck me as being one of the best posters on here, Lar. You've reinforced that view for me with your post. To see someone as well-adjusted as yourself having to cope with the scourge of depression really shows how indiscriminate it is. Maith an fear.

[Shamrock Shore]

Maith an fearr Lar

Sadly some people who suffer from depression seek solace in the bottle - which actually makes matters worse as alcohol is, in itself, a depressent.

And then you need more and more as your tolerance increases etc.

God speed Lar and thanks for putting that out there.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Powerful stuff Lar (and Alan); no one's immune from that cursed affliction, and the best we can all do is put it out there to give others hope, and selfless stories like those should do just that.

[All of a Sludden]

Fair play Lar, inspirational. It takes huge courage to post something like that, even with the relative anonymity the board provides. Best of luck to the young Cavan keeper, you never really know what is going on in someones mind, here is a young lad with the world at his feet, yet suffering from this terrible disease. I hope his story will lead to other young people seeking help.

[Itchy]

Alan was back between the posts for our juniors this evening in the Leinster championship and got a one point win.
Thanks for sharing that Lar.

[Jinxy]

Great post Lar.
It's hugely important that well-meaning people don't take the "Sure it could be worse" approach to dealing with someone they think is depressed.
Pointing out how good they have it relative to some other people simply does not work.
Sometimes you just have to ride it out with them and do everything you can to make life easier for them.
Small problems become magnified and can make the situation snowball so the more bumps in the road you can smooth out for them the better.
And listen to them when they talk to you.
With some people it occurs periodically, with others it's chronic.
Thankfully I think attitudes to depression have changed enormously in recent years and the more people share their experiences, the more other people will realise that it can affect anyone regardless of their societal status.
The lad that seems to have it all is just as susceptible to depression as the lad that has nothing.

[omagh_gael]

Fair play to you Lar and Alan for sharing your stories. I have met a lot of people suffering from depression through my work and it is a savage affliction.

[heffo]

Great post Lar

[Dinny Breen]

Thanks for sharing Lar. There's definitely a maturity in this board that you don't see anywhere else.

The more education we get on mental health the better in the long run so great to see the Dubs and the Carlow footballers before them bringing awareness into the Public domain.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

Great post lads......................fair play all round........keep her lit country brethren.................................

[seafoid]

Winning at national level in the GAA is a high that is not always easy to come down from.  Ordinary  life may seem  bland in comparison .
It is very encouraging to see the GPA taking the lead on this subject. 

[ross matt]

Fair play to this young man for having the courage to speak publicly about his experiences. Hopefully this will inspire others who are suffering in silence to seek help.

I sincerely his story helps others to cope with depression and to understand that it's a medical problem and not is not brought on by a mental deficiency of any sort.
I also suffered from chronic depression and I know I was extremely lucky to pull through.
In my case, I knew in advance that I was going to get very depressed and was briefed by my GP that a bout would be the inevitable result of the brain aneurysm I had suffered the previous year and the savage bouts of epilepsy that followed on from it.
He couldn't understand how my brain had managed to cope with all the traumas to date I had gone through but warned me that it would, sooner or later, close down all but the core functions in order to a repair itself.
Well, he was right and when depression hit, I went through four months of absolute hell.
Only for the fact that I knew it was going to happen, I would not have survived.
Nobody around me had an idea of what I was going through and endless exhortations to pull myself together only made matters worse.
I lost three stones weight in the space of four months and felt I had nowhere to go and nobody to turn to. Life just didn't seem worth living anymore and I had to battle with suicidal feelings every hour of the day.
I snapped out of it fairly dramatically.
I had another epileptic seizure, at a time when I was feeling very low and once more I was knocked out for five or six hours.
I have been incredibly lucky one again to have been in company at the time it happened and when I woke up, I found I was in Beaumont A&E.
I never felt better!
Although I was black and blue all over from the restraints that were holding me down and faint with hunger and thirst, I knew the black mood had lifted.
I was told that the electrical brainstorm had reset the levels of melatonin and serotonin- somewhat similar to the electroshock therapy used to treat brain disorders. If the balance between those hormones is maladjusted, depression or elation is the likely end result.
I've had no problem with epilepsy or depression ever since.
Reading Alan's story, it struck me once again that people in general haven't a clue of what's going on in a sufferer's brain while in the grip of depression.
Well-meaning but fatuous attempts to buck a sufferer up have the opposite effect.
The condition is a medical one and something like a blow on the head or the stress of surgery can bring it on. Anybody can be affected.
I hope Alan makes a full recovery and is able to cope with the reservations of those who know of his illness. I am a much older man and I couldn't give a damn about what anybody has to say about my time in the horrors.
I know younger people find it harder to cope with snide remarks and double talk and unfortunately, many don't pull through.
I hope his story serves as an inspiration for others with this condition.

Very courageous of you to put that out there Lar. I would never have known the physical symptoms on the condition are that severe. You're obviously a very strong person to have survived it.

[ONeill]

I had a meeting two days ago with someone who is in the depths of depression and has attempted to take their own life on two occasions in recent months. It really is a dark, dark place and I'm not sure what words you can say to help someone in that frame of mind along.

Some of the descriptions were harrowing. They talked about the feeling of making it out of their house. They equated it to what they'd imagine the feeling would be like to win an All-Ireland.

Depression is still rubbished in some people and certain places. It'll take time before that generation buy into the fact that it really does exist.