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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2018 13:06:12 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I was kind of surprised at the comments on "pourhommes" intro thread about lots of people suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses. I am wondering...are these conditions related in any way to being a dev? Or is being a dev triggering these? Is it a common thing amongst devs? I am also a Pharmacy Tech, so I am a little torn on medications. I am actually not too crazy about lots of meds, I know it's ironic. I myself am not on any depression/anxiety meds. I am on a heart med for racing heart, a thyroid med because I have hyperthyroidism. And at night I take a small dose of Trazodone for sleeping. So, I am just wondering. Of course the guys are welcome to chime in.
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Post by strawberrybubblegum on Nov 13, 2018 15:12:59 GMT -5
It also caught my attention how the conversation developed over there. I’ve never been on anti depressants, but I have been diagnosed with depression. Never linked it to my devness, though.
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Post by pam on Nov 13, 2018 16:26:33 GMT -5
I have been on Paxil for years. I have had problems with depression and anxiety. I probably should have been on something way before but I didn't realize that what I was experiencing was depression. I have had anxiety since I was a kid. It's hard making friends when you have all that social anxiety. I am in a much better mood since being on medicine. I never figured it had anything to do with being a dev, but who knows.
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Post by lucretia on Nov 13, 2018 18:23:11 GMT -5
I know a lot of people with mental health issues and none of them are devs.
Mental illness is equal opportunity.
However, spending years hiding a portion of your personality and attractions would certainly be likely to exacerbate any underlying issues.
I have CPTSD from early childhood trauma. So, pretty sure most of my mental health issues stem from those early years. I've struggled my entire life but never had the verbiage to explain how I feel.
That's the biggest connection to my devness because until I found PD I also had no outlet or language for expressing that part of myself. However I don't think my mental health and devness have any causal relationship.
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Post by vegmama on Nov 13, 2018 18:44:36 GMT -5
That’s interesting how many of us have anxiety and/or depression. But like lucretia said, I know many people with mental health diagnoses that aren’t devs. I have anxiety and depression. I was diagnosed with depression in middle school, but it wasn’t until after I had my son that I discovered that post-partum anxiety (PPA) existed and I went through it without knowing it had a name. Everyone talks about post-partum depression, but no one really mentions PPA. From there I learned about anxiety in general. Just like finding PD and learning I was a dev...a lightbulb went off that I’ve had anxiety my whole life. Working with a counselor I’m now learning that anxiety and depression are so intertwined, it could’ve been anxiety causing my depression all along. I don’t think either are related to being a dev though. Mental health issues run in my family.
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Post by Inkdevil on Nov 14, 2018 0:55:23 GMT -5
I’ve always been prone to both, but also not sure about the dev link. I think we tend to be deep thinkers and also fairly intelligent types, which exacerbates any kind of negative thoughts of course.
There was a previous thread suggesting a link between devness and liking pets, which was absolute b*llocks, as I can’t stand them. Or people for the most part. So in conclusion, I am a miserable loner, preying on the sick and disabled. Happy days! :-)
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2018 10:19:14 GMT -5
Inkdevil of course you made me smile with your last sentence... But I do like the statement about devs being deep thinkers and intelligent. You are right about that I am sure. All the devs here are so very smart and I myself overanalyze things all the time and think way too much about stuff. Sometimes I wish I could give a s... more often. That's why I have to distance myself from people, life and certain things. I feel like I have been on the edge a lot but I keep making it. When I dealt with mental stuff last year and went to see a counselor she suggested number one is working out. At about the same time I started going to the gym regularly and I could totally feel the difference after a while. I find pushing myself helps me and especially on days where I feel angry or blue I feel so exhausted after the gym, I don't have the energy to think much anymore. On the side I am so much stronger now. Music is also my doctor, I need it like all the time. In all those years though I have felt that doctors were mostly reluctant to prescribe anti depressives. At least if I would have wanted them I know I would have had to push for it harder probably. I do use the Military health system, not sure if that makes a difference.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2018 10:38:09 GMT -5
vegmama yeah, the post partum depression/anxiety is such a scary thing and such a twist of nature when a mother should be nurturing and be there for her baby and instead everything turns around. That one I feel is very serious because it can be so severe that it can put a mother and baby in danger. It should never be underestimated or overlooked. I have seen a few cases in friends circles over the years and it makes me so sad. My heart goes out to all the moms who deal with that.
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Post by jrm on Nov 14, 2018 14:14:18 GMT -5
Chalk me up as another dev with depression and anxiety problems who doesn't think it has anything to do with me being a dev. Although I'm sure there are a lot of reasons for my difficulties, in my case it could be partially genetic. I'm the third generation with mental health issues. My grandmother was born in the early 1900s...way before good medications and other treatments were available. She was hospitalized and went through ECT (electric shock treatments) multiple times. I'm very grateful that there are so many other options available today.
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Post by lucretia on Nov 14, 2018 18:00:31 GMT -5
Mental illness, including addiction, runs through both sides of my -and my children's father's- family.
One of my favourite poets who I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing her read had a daughter who committed suicide at 13.
I tended to have ridiculous anxiety regarding disasters and accidents. I had to make sure I had a plan to get all three girls out of our second story and down the ladder if there was a fire. I had panic attacks driving near open water or over bridges. When I heard this lovely strong woman break down reading to us about her dead daughter, my anxiety found a new focus.
Of course, my kids were brats and would say stuff like they were going to kill themselves, and they picked up pretty quickly it was a way to get me to back down. But they have suicide on both sides of the family, and they all had friends who committed suicide. So I never just brushed it off and we had serious discussions about it. My youngest and I got semi-colon tattoos a few years ago after one of her best friends committed suicide.
In my past, two serious boyfriends committed suicide, one just after we broke up and the much later. I have struggled with suicidal ideation since my teens.
It's a huge thing for me.
My youngest had a rough time two years ago and had been cutting. One day she walked into school and told her counselor she was going to kill herself. Thank God she actually spoke out. So we all made a safety plan and worked to support her. It nearly did me in. If she had followed through I probably wouldn't be here writing this.
Even now I can't really relax until she texts me.
There's kind of this idea that you should be able to see it coming. I don't think you can if the person doesn't want you to. I went out with friends the night I had my plan. It was sheer luck, a whim, that I decided not to. I knew my daughter was struggling, but she was on meds and in counseling and we talked all the time.
So when people say they are struggling, or have suicidal ideation, I literally panic, even if I don't know them. I truly hope everyone here would reach out to any of us in a crisis.
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Post by FlyingBert on Nov 14, 2018 22:45:55 GMT -5
This is an interesting thread. I think it isn't general but is common, not related but probably a cause. Something about empaty and otherness could be related, in my opinion. Don't kill me, I'm young!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 6:04:25 GMT -5
Like many many others, i have depression and anxiety but it makes such a difference to hear people talk about it. One of the major issues with these conditions is how isolated we can feel, it always appears as if every single person on the planet apart from me, has their life together. We dont want to talk or admit how bad we feel as we already feel like we're failing at life...so to hear that maybe lots of other people have the same struggles but carry on taking each day as it comes really does help to make me feel less alone. Thank you all for honesty, openess and all the care members of PD show each other x
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Post by devogirl on Nov 15, 2018 7:18:30 GMT -5
I don't think it is related or a cause. Correlation is not causation. Mental health issues are sadly very common, so it's not surprising many members here have these issues too. Like Lucretia said, if you are prone to depression and/or anxiety and have not accepted your devness, that can make things worse. But I don't think it's a cause.
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Post by Pony on Nov 17, 2018 13:37:43 GMT -5
Can you have one without the other? I think as I've gotten older I have more anxiety, and they're just naturally comes a lot more stress from being a quadriplegic. It's funny, I never felt that in my younger years, but I seem to feel it a lot more now That I'm getting older. In some ways I'm more comfortable with myself now, but in other ways I stress out more over little shit. However, I rarely feel depressed.
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Post by laur on Nov 17, 2018 18:09:25 GMT -5
I’ve had generalized anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder since I was a kid. I’ve been on and off meds for it (currently on them throughout the last few years) and go through periods where I go to counseling too. It’s pretty under control with those things and a lot of mindful self-care most days, but when it’s bad, it really wrecks havoc on me.
Neither has never been linked to anything dev related for me though.
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