do you have any method to deal with depression?

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Have I not been clear enough in my statements? I thought it was very obvious at this point that I had no idea my comments would result in such a reaction as I have received here. And directly following my request for simple civility, the argument degenerates into name-calling. And yes, the investment is precisely that, I don't see your point.

I have explained my theory in very simple terms and will not continually accept the consequences of your and others' failure to understand it. I will certainly not allow this idea to fall to what amounts to free-floating vitriol and tasteless hostility. Nobody has been able to produce any substantive idea that casts any doubt upon my theory. In other words, I will very happily accept a rational alternative. Such a thing, however, has not even been hinted at thus far in the discussion (an inappropriate word, perhaps, suggesting some measure of decorum displayed by the parties involved).

Actually, no, you have not explained your theory. You have, essentially, posted your thesis statement: "Depression is just chronic boredom. Obviously the cure is intellectual exercise." I am not going to go back through the entire thread to confirm this, but I can't recall seeing you post anything to support that thesis - actually, I'd say that I've provided more support for it than you have. And it's not even my "theory!"

As for a "rational alternative," how about "it's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain," as is the currently accepted explanation? Your theory is the alternative here - that means it's up to you to do the convincing. I haven't seen you even try to do so yet.

Which makes me wonder if*, perhaps, we should all stop feeding you.


* changed "think" to "wonder if."

I'm not trolling (I believe). Can we put this argument on hold for a moment? I'd like to be frank. The frequency with which arguments tend to occur whenever I bring up one of my ideas suggests there is either something very wrong with my mind in general, or just with my ability to communicate. Needless to say, I favour the latter alternative. This is because to me my ideas make perfect sense and seem extremely well-reasoned, if in an abstract way. I cannot imagine that anybody might not be able to follow my attempts to explain these ideas, because although they are fragmented and badly worded, they represent something so essentially rational that it seems impossible that they might go astray. As a result of this, I regard any misunderstandings as arising because of the inattentiveness of the other party. Even if I know this is not the case, I will always on some level feel that it is.

Its true that I do not like explaining my ideas, but only because it is so unbearably difficult (this is unrelated to the complexity of the idea), and my attempts generally result in failure. Instead of providing an easy to follow "map" of the concept, I throw around keywords in hopes of inspiring the idea in the listener. Maybe this is because, as I've said, I don't think properly -- language features too distantly, or something. That does not change my confidence in my idea, however.

OK. Now, about the chemical imbalance thing. This is clearly not a complete explanation. If it was, then external factors would not be presented in the literature as being related to the disorder. It seems to me that, at best, chemical imbalance is a symptom of depression. I've drawn the form of this reasoning a few posts ago.

However, I've given it some thought and I think that "boredom" is entirely the wrong word for what I wanted to describe (given its connotations). I've explained since my initial post to an acceptible degree what I really meant, but this seems to have been lost on everyone here. I have not intended to suggest that "boredom is the cause of depression", please consider the possibility that this is never what I meant and that my subsequent posts illuminate more fully my meaning. I worded my first post clumsily because I did not expect any responses or real notice.

This post is degenerating, so I'll cut it off here.

The problem is not your claim, or that it comes from a teenager with no obvious experience of depression, nor any evidence of having read books about depression.

The problem is that your earlier statements are hurtful to people who have experienced depression. And when this was pointed out, more than once, you persisted in posting further statements hurtful to people who have experienced depression. Deliberate and insensitive hurtfulness has no useful purpose here.

i also listen to music.

How have I said anything hurtful?

Im surprised this argument kept so long. It is obvious that free-hinter-system is just being an aspie here. Stating her own thoughts about a subject, and since this is an aspie forum, we all know that aspies tend to express themselves without regard to other people's impressions about it. And we also know that aspies are very resistant about their ideas, even to the point of levelheadedness.

@ free-hinter-system: I think the trouble with explaining your theory comes from your brain structure. Aspies are serial thinkers, not parallel thinkers. So it is difficult to go to explaining your thought process from simply building in your mind. You should build connecting pathways (virtual) between the two process.

About the original subject, I shall state my own theory, or method =) I think its very simple and catchy. You should transform to an object in life instead a subject in life. I mean them as the structual elements of a sentence. Passive activities like sleeping, crying, laying without doing anything are not solutions, these are great ways to keep depressed. Interact with the environment, get more stimulants, and to prevent the risk of letting it down in the beginning, I recommend you to go to a forest without any equipment. This is just an example. It should be more of a long-term activity, like changing the job, country etc.

Thanks decoder for being a bit more understanding than some others . I am also surprised at the length of the argument, because I posted my original comment so casually (maybe insensitively, but I had no idea that I might offend someone).

I have a lot of experience with my own kind of depression but I know I have to be careful about making claims that all depression works the same way.

With me it does seem to be a chemical thing that creates a kind of pleasure vacuum. When this vacuum exists it isn't easy to find things that can distract me. Everything in my environment keeps reminding me that other people are happy and I'm not and it's just incomprehensible and frustrating beyond words. It's just such a dull, sterile, empty place, like my soul has just been sucked dry.

If depression in one case is caused by chemical imbalance (exclusively), and in another by an external factor then we're not talking about two holistically comparable disorders. One is a physical 'ailment' having psychological impacts, the other is purely psychological. And if two such disorders work differently [see "have to be careful about making claims that all depression works the same way"], then I would venture to say that they are not the same and should not be treated as though they are.

Uhoh, another massive claim. Sorry, forget I said that. ^^

I don't think there's any real basis to claim that depression caused by an external factor is not also due to a chemical predisposition. I also don't think there's such a thing as "purely psychological". There's a giant feedback loop connecting a person's reaction to their environment and the physical composition of their brain.

There's a reason the medical community likes to pretend that there's a firm barrier between psychological illness and physical illness. It's so they can discriminate against psychological illness. After all, if your problems are *merely* psychological you should be able to think your way out of them through force of will. If you can't then its your own damn fault for having a weak and defective character. That way doctors always have a cop out. If they can't help a patient with therapy or drugs then they can blame the patient for "not trying hard enough".

Thank you for explaining this. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I think a lot of us understand exactly where you are coming from. I'm going to guess that you are correct - the problem is most likely communication, not the actual idea formation itself. I know that the phrase, "That's not what I meant - I must not be explaining myself properly," is one I use a lot.

May I suggest that a somewhat garbled explanation might be better than a terse comment? At least then, others would have several pieces of the puzzle to assemble, rather than feeling like they were given only one piece and asked to imagine what the completed picture would be. Also, even if you weren't able to make yourself entirely clear, you would be less likely to be accused of trolling - an accusation which I am happy to withdraw.



I said several pages ago that I thought your idea was, at the least, interesting. Thanks for putting a few more puzzle pieces out to make things a bit clearer. Keep working on it - even if you're wrong, you may have a master's or doctoral thesis in there somewhere!

A masters or doctoral thesis... I shudder at the thought. I can see the verdict now: "It is recommended that the candidate withdraw from chosen discipline and seek education in simple English immediately." No no, I'm much better off writing political philosophy, where obscurantism (unintentional and otherwise) is not just tolerated, it is recommended .

After trying several methods, I finally seemed to get my depression under control.

1. I have meditated and tried thinking optimistically
2. I have tried eating a more balanced diet that also includes more greens/vegetables and fish oil/omega 3. Also, I've heard walnuts might also be good for your heart.
3. I've tried getting exercize for a good cardiac workout
4. Also, I've found that scheduling my week or day ahead of time in advance keeps me busy, and keeps my mind off of depressing things. When scheduling my time, I try to keep my lifestyle balanced between work, personal time, and social time.
5. Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy
6. Story writing or diary writing to be able to express my emotions

Although these things helped, I still had a rough time motivating myself to get off the couch. Finally, the 2 major things that seemed to help me the most by helping me to become unfrozen were:

1. St John's Wort. I found that this helps a lot. However, it isn't an instant miracle pill. It only works over time, when taken consistantly. Also, it wouldn't have worked for me if I hadn't been actively trying to get rid of the depression. It works mainly by bridging the gap between trying to think optimistically and being able to think optimistically, wanting to remain calmer in intense situations and being able to remain calmer in intense situations, and wanting to become mobilized and actually being able to become mobilized. Its only known side effect is that it can increase your skin's photosensitivity to the sun. Its effectiveness depends also depends on the person and situation, too, though. Studies have shown that it significantly reduces mild to moderate depression. However, I've read that it's not safe when taken with antidepressant medications, nor for people with Bipolar Disorder/Manic Depression.

2. Keeping my room and belongings organized. I find that whenever I feel better, my things are so much neater, and am more productive and functionable overall. However, it's also hard to distinguish between cause and effect. I found that when I was more depressed my room was messier. My room didn't become neater until I was taking the St. John's Wort. Ever since, though, I have been keeping it neat every single day, and I've been functioning better and feeling better.