The Book :depression is a choice

Folks,

I am not offended. I do light therapy, diet, excercise, meditation, affirmations, play with my kids, stay busy, blah blah blah.

I've been doing it for 23 years, hasn't helped with my manic depression ultra ultra rapid cycling. It never will. In fact as I have aged (now 49) the depression is getting more frequent and the mania less so, which is very common among people that suffer from BP II.

So, ain't no choice for me. But if you can modify it, or end it, by all means go ahead, and I'll wave a banner for you as you go by. I'd like to be able to follow.

Oh yes, I'm also in year two+ of digging through my abused childhood, which I have to say is far worse in terms of effecting my life then BP has been, and that's saying something since I'm on 1500 Mg of Lithium per day.

Take care,
W

sincefour wrote:Folks,

I am not offended. I do light therapy, diet, excercise,
Oh yes, I'm also in year two+ of digging through my abused childhood, which I have to say is far worse in terms of effecting my life then BP has been, and that's saying something since I'm on 1500 Mg of Lithium per day.

Take care,
W

Yeah I do light therapy too, exercise etc... and dealing with my past abuse has definatly helped the depression stick...

It effects all of us differently.. (the ones that suffer from it...)

yea, i've been getting over my abuse too, it's been hard, but i'm letting it go, it really feels good to not let my father affect me anymore:)

I had a lot of abuse from my parents and teachers, which when I was young was just about everyone around me. There was no way out, no where to turn, no one to talk to. I felt like a ball being knocked around in a pin ball machine.

But, I'm out of the house now. I'm a big boy. I had to face my past and forgive the people who abused me. Blame and revenge did not help me. When I came to accept my childhood as it was with the realization that I will never have a great deal of good, warm memories of family life, I was able to move on with my life. It was not easy or quick. Others showed me the way.

I've since seen that life just is not always fair. It just happens. Many people, just about everyone has a lot of misery sooner or later. I'm really not that different. God is not picking on me.

Trying to reach out to others to help them is very helpful to me.
Jim S

a total woo woo quackery book. if the author was injected with reserpine, the author would then become depressed, and feel very stupid and bad about his entire paradigm of thought being wrong

to Jim S.
--I read the book.
Thought I must say in the begging this book offended me. I wanted to get better and I said I would do what it takes. It offended me out of all self help books in a shelf. I though “What is that mean? – I have a choice to feel good or bad in front of me, but I say nope I pick to feel depressed.” I thought in another way book is saying that it’s my fault, and I felt that it was mean since I was the victim here. I knew that I can’t say it’s not true until I read book; I noticed that it is not just a statement – the book will tell how it a choice. And then I thought- “Wouldn’t it be grate to know how I choose to stay depressed? obviously then I can choose to get out of it. It’s just what I am looking for.”
I do believe that it is a choice, and I think if person interested how so- they would read the book. I also believe that if person haven’t tried, haven’t read- then person can’t say it doesn’t work.

In fact I think if person doesn’t DO anything to get out, (ex: doesn’t read book)- then person doesn’t do anything to get better, thus choosing to stay depressed.
People say they tried and it didn’t work, but obviously they don’t want anybody’s suggestions how to make it work. People want to prove that it doesn’t work; it would be the same as kid telling you they can’t throw ball, and then showing you that they can’t. The problem is if person doesn’t want to nothing can make him/her. It is obvious that they don’t want to otherwise they show that they want to. If it didn’t work they would try new things, and read more. They wouldn’t be here; they would be doing things to improve.

Mind is like physical body- if you want to become fit you exercise (it not easy, & it requires work that why many don’t do it, but wait for a “pill”) same thing with mind- if you if you want to get out of depression & feel good you do mental work.

Jim S. I think it’s bad choice for you to stay on this forum, because people in here don’t want to get better they want to whine and someone to tell them that they right in being helpless, and not being able to do anything. You see, you are going against them, they don’t want to change or hear about it; it makes them feel that their believes may be wrong- and they want to keep things the way they are; that why they protest & put you down. So you can’t help them (because they don’t want it) and they only bring you down. So it would be a better choice to find forum where people do look for solutions, and willing to receive help and support you.
Also you can email me at table00001@yahoo.com (though I am able to respond on weekends only, I’d like to help & receive help)

Thank you for your kind words. I stay on this forum in the hope that at least a few might accept my message of hope. Also, I have made the progesss I have made because people did not give up on me.

I'm not sure if I believe that I or anyone caused their depression. In nearly all cases our thinking patterns and attitudes cause our depressions, but what causes our thinking? What is the primary cause? We have probably been trained to feel bad over a long period of time. Our parents and others around us when we were growing up were big influences on our attitudes. We have no control over our early years so we should not beat up on ourselves too much. In addition, I strongly believe that our genetic make up predisposes us to depression. I think some of us, myself included of course, are sensitive. We are sensitive to pain and everything. We hurt more. We may also think too much about some things. The combination of our DNA and our early environment makes us have our depressions.

But there is another side to this. If we can get our head above water, above the hurt and pain we feel, we can go on to greatness. Much that is good in the world occured because someone deeply felt the pain of life. Many great people, like Abe Lincoln, sufferend from depression.

If we desire to rise above our depressions, we need to train our minds to think differently. It takes time. They told me if you walk 10 miles into the woods, you have to walk 10 miles to get out. Today, medical science seems to offer us a short cut with pills. For some it is a true short cut, with few strings attached. For others, like myself, the side effects are unacceptable. I have to have tolerance for people who are stable through pills, just as I want others to tolerate me since I choose not to use medicine to level out my moods.

I hope, at least a few people reading this will try a non chemical approach to treating depression. Cognitive therapy has a great deal of evidence to show that it works. Cognitive therapy can also be learned for next to nothing throuh the self-help group Recovery, Inc.

Jim S

Hi Jim S.
I see what you saying about possibilities. However I think the truth is if person looking for way to solve problem, they won’t stop until they find answer. They could find info on internet, go to the library, get books & tapes.

Yes, I won’t deny that people may relieved your pain, but what did that change your life? Did your life got any better? Did it improve?(did some negative things stopped permanently?)Did you get better result? Did you get more of what you want?
I think this place is bad choice because it reinforces that there is nothing wrong with person’s behavior, so if there nothing wrong with person’s actions then obviously everybody else doing something wrong. Thus this says person doesn’t need to change= & this results in getting same results that person previously gotten.

Yes, yes & yes. Genetics play role, parents & others do too. However that doesn’t mean you are “done”. I have two identical twins brothers: one is totally depressed other exact opposite. Why? They are doing different things. One playing computer games & slipping; other very athletic won wrestling matches, he goes places & does things. What you do (not just physically but mentally too) ultimately makes you who you are.
Yes others played role and we are not in control what happened to us in childhood; however we are now, how we control it is our responsibility.
To answer your question. The primary/ultimate cause of what you think and later do is YOU. You control what you think, you can switch. There are always good memories that happened in your life which you can choose to think about, or fantasize what can be. You can think only in one direction + or-. “It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment. Naomi Williams” That is why it’s a choice. You think your thoughts. Your parents & others can’t go into your head & make you. You relieve pain, & let the past events hurt you again & again; you do it to your self; exactly I am saying stop beating your self up. That repletion became habit: habit of thinking negative thoughts & remembering crap, & seeing world in negative way- depression is a habit. Good news it won’t take that long to change, thought yes time does play role, but if you want to & work on it you can change in month. It is hard, you just got to do it no mater what anyway. You just be aware of what you don’t want, or the way you don’t want to be & then replace it with what you want to be. One thing is certain to be happy you must create you world (thoughts & deeds ) into good, and find a way to ignore or deal with bad, or even find something good in it. (Basically do opposite of what you are doing right now. Ex: make excuses for focusing on good- that & that terrible, but I really want the good thing. )

I think pills are bad choice because they may artificially insert mood, but the problem never goes away, person never changes.

I think that negative emotions exits in body for a reason. They are trying to show person that it’s not where he wants to be & motivate to get out of that state or situation. It screaming get out. And, I think if people didn’t took medication, their pain eventually would rose up to the level when they would had to change. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me. –Linkoln

The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus,
Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy. Robert Anthony

hehe, i'm glad that this went somwhere good:)

So mind -How is your reading going? I like your idea & I want to do something like you too. I can make my own topic, or I could just post what I learned here. We could talk about our new findings.

- I guess the inside that I have today is that people are different. And though everybody knows it, everybody forgets it, or don’t apply to situations. I think most of the fights, & misunderstandings happen because of it. I think if person while disagreeing/arguing, accepted that people are different- it would stop, because person wouldn’t try to pull other to his side and let him/her have their difference.