5 ms·

Agreed with @astura here. > The other day I was crushingly depressed and had been for a week In my regrettably extensive experience, if you feel bad for a wee

Agreed with @astura here. > The other day I was crushingly depressed and had been for a week In my regrettably extensive experience, if you feel bad for a week then you can count yourself very, very lucky. I can't see what you describe as being depression, although of course people are very different (had GFs who had it bad for a week or so at a time every month). > I [...] hit my heavy bag for twenty minutes and came out feeling fine Depression made me exercise compulsively, to the point of damaging myself. It never made me feel better so I don't know why I did it, but I had to, and I understand this is common. Twenty minutes of exercise and you felt better? It's impossible to equate that in any sense with what I had. There's a big difference between feeling really crappy and knowing you'd literally be better of dead, and being in that state for years continuously. That kind of things hurts inside, worse than physical pain (I know both). > my lived experience is a superior epistemic method here Hmm. Good for you.

0815test 8y ago
> Twenty minutes of exercise and you felt better? High-intensity exercise, seems plausible. Aerobic exercise is an annoying timesink by comparison, even though it does nevertheless play an important role in building up cardio endurance.
tempguy9999 8y ago
[edit] Replying to myself: I'll go a little further. Past few years have been extremely hard for me, haven't been able to concentrate for ~6 months to the point of not mentally being able to work (had to sign off sick (am in the UK)) and just starting to get back to work next week 1 day a week, unpaid. I can just about keep my clothes clean, and mostly keep my flat clean. I'm mentally very unwell to the point of being unable to go to the pub and socialise as I used to. I was unwell to the point of being a danger to other people (am over that now, thank god. Yes, I did talk to the doc). I am coping, barely. I have no current interest in life, music, little interest in other people etc. I'm abusing drugs and alcohol as a way of coping, though in the long term I know that's a bad idea (and I draw a clear distinction between drug use/drug abuse, entirely independent from what's legal/illegal). Point is, I feel justifiably terrible but I'm not clinically depressed. For sure I'm down, but I'm nowhere near the utter destructive blackness that is real depression, and I'm bloody grateful for it. So I can't see what you describe as depression in any way that I can comprehend. (NB, life sucks but any sympathy you can shove up your arse. I'd much prefer you took the piss, at least in a nice way. At least I'd get a laugh out of it).
- johnchristopher 8y ago
  Wait, what's missing from your description to fit the clinical depression ?
  - tempguy9999 8y ago
    I see what you're asking, but I've had real depression. Now I can cope, more or less, and don't mind living (though I'm not fond of it much). Full-on depression is where death is outright appealing. Full-on depression hurts inside, really hurts. I've described it as soul-cancer. It fucking hurts. It's difficult to explain how much it hurts. It's over now, but if that came back I doubt I'd be alive for more than a few months if that. That experience, which was a huge chunk of my life, allows me to put this in perspective - things are shite now (in fact they're worse than I've described) but it could be so much worse. I can cope.
    - johnchristopher 8y ago
      Ah, I see. Thanks for sharing.
- fwip 8y ago
  You're less depressed, not "not depressed."
astazangasta 8y ago
Ok, if you must know, that week was at the end of the Oregon winter, my first time north of 40 degrees after years of California living. In addition I had just moved away from all my friends to a new city, had started remote work and felt isolated from my coworkers. I also had some other deep conflicts that were difficult for me. In other words it was not just one bad week, I was fucking depressed. It was one bad week after months of being down. But thanks for making me play "more depressed than thou", I hope I won this round.
- tuukkah 8y ago
  I don't think depression is measured by your circumstances.
  - tempguy9999 8y ago
    That's not fair. I mean, yes I don't believe what he had was depression as I know it but he still clearly had a bad time. Maybe he hadn't had experiences that would allow him to put it in perspective but he had it pretty miserable anyway and I feel for anyone going through that.
    - tuukkah 8y ago
      Yeah, I don't mean to question him having had it miserable.
astura 8y ago
>That kind of things hurts inside, worse than physical pain (I know both). I agree completely and totally.

0815test 8y ago

> Twenty minutes of exercise and you felt better? High-intensity exercise, seems plausible. Aerobic exercise is an annoying timesink by comparison, even though it does nevertheless play an important role in building up cardio endurance.

tempguy9999 8y ago

[edit] Replying to myself: I'll go a little further. Past few years have been extremely hard for me, haven't been able to concentrate for ~6 months to the point of not mentally being able to work (had to sign off sick (am in the UK)) and just starting to get back to work next week 1 day a week, unpaid. I can just about keep my clothes clean, and mostly keep my flat clean. I'm mentally very unwell to the point of being unable to go to the pub and socialise as I used to. I was unwell to the point of being a danger to other people (am over that now, thank god. Yes, I did talk to the doc). I am coping, barely. I have no current interest in life, music, little interest in other people etc. I'm abusing drugs and alcohol as a way of coping, though in the long term I know that's a bad idea (and I draw a clear distinction between drug use/drug abuse, entirely independent from what's legal/illegal). Point is, I feel justifiably terrible but I'm not clinically depressed. For sure I'm down, but I'm nowhere near the utter destructive blackness that is real depression, and I'm bloody grateful for it. So I can't see what you describe as depression in any way that I can comprehend. (NB, life sucks but any sympathy you can shove up your arse. I'd much prefer you took the piss, at least in a nice way. At least I'd get a laugh out of it).

johnchristopher 8y ago
Wait, what's missing from your description to fit the clinical depression ?
- tempguy9999 8y ago
  I see what you're asking, but I've had real depression. Now I can cope, more or less, and don't mind living (though I'm not fond of it much). Full-on depression is where death is outright appealing. Full-on depression hurts inside, really hurts. I've described it as soul-cancer. It fucking hurts. It's difficult to explain how much it hurts. It's over now, but if that came back I doubt I'd be alive for more than a few months if that. That experience, which was a huge chunk of my life, allows me to put this in perspective - things are shite now (in fact they're worse than I've described) but it could be so much worse. I can cope.
  - johnchristopher 8y ago
    Ah, I see. Thanks for sharing.
fwip 8y ago
You're less depressed, not "not depressed."

astazangasta 8y ago

Ok, if you must know, that week was at the end of the Oregon winter, my first time north of 40 degrees after years of California living. In addition I had just moved away from all my friends to a new city, had started remote work and felt isolated from my coworkers. I also had some other deep conflicts that were difficult for me. In other words it was not just one bad week, I was fucking depressed. It was one bad week after months of being down. But thanks for making me play "more depressed than thou", I hope I won this round.

tuukkah 8y ago
I don't think depression is measured by your circumstances.
- tempguy9999 8y ago
  That's not fair. I mean, yes I don't believe what he had was depression as I know it but he still clearly had a bad time. Maybe he hadn't had experiences that would allow him to put it in perspective but he had it pretty miserable anyway and I feel for anyone going through that.
  - tuukkah 8y ago
    Yeah, I don't mean to question him having had it miserable.

astura 8y ago

>That kind of things hurts inside, worse than physical pain (I know both). I agree completely and totally.