Is this considered depression?

[Cloudy Rainbow]

For as long as I remember I’ve been having these on and off periods of mood switches. It is like now, I am happy, I believe in the future, I enjoy doing my chores and work and I laugh and tend to the house and even enjoy my hobbies and the company of others and this has been going for about three days but, I know that soon enough I’d be down again, lose faith in life and think that everything is going wrong and that I’m so lonely and no one likes me and stuff like these. Sometimes I get suicidal thoughts, I isolate myself in my room and drown in my tears, I can cry for as good as continues days and stop eating healthy meals (might stop eating all together) and have lack of sleep due to flashbacks, this will go on for about 3-4 days and then my mood switches back to the happy, confident mood.

Is this a kind of depression or am I going crazy? My boyfriend is getting tired of it and he just says that I think too much, do I? Because what once looked good and not so important can suddenly bring me down below earth with sadness and pain and it seems that lately I’m avoiding his company because he’s been so tired and can’t talk to me the way he used to. Do I have depression or is HE the reason of it? I had this before I met him but now it seems every time I lift myself up, talking to him brings me down.

I try to smile, lift myself up by being determined to get out of that negative mood and it does work but it doesn’t last because I go back to my negative thinking after few days. It is so frustrating and negative for both my life and health.

I’d have gone to therapy if I could… I just wish I could.





Thank you for any help.

 

[Banned]

Hi CR,

It definitely sounds like you could benefit from talking to someone. If you can't go to therapy, can you talk to your doctor? In most cases, a family doctor can both diagnose and treat depression.

 

[Cloudy Rainbow]

I can't see any doctor whatsoever. I can't tell my parents about this (and though I'm 24 years old my country is way different in these prospectives), so it is a bit hard to get someone to talk to. If I find someone they'd usually just tell me to get a grip on myself and be happy for all the amazing things I have in my life. The point is that I am not unappreciative of these things, I just can't help it when the bad mood hits.

 

[Always Changing]

I would defiantely agree with Turtle here, if you can go have a chat with your doctor and be as honest with him\her as you have been here, maybe even print out your post and show it to him\her if you think it might be easier for you, He or she can help you determine what the problem is and what the best course of action is.

And No you are not going crazy. :hug:

sorry had the above written as you replied to Turtle... What happens in your country when you do need to see the doctor??

 

[Banned]

Depression is often a physical illness, where the neutrotransmitters in your brain aren't connecting properly, so if it is depression (and I'm not saying that's the case - I can't diagnose you)...but if it is depression you would likely benefit from medication therapy.

I'm not sure of the cultural environment for seeking medical care in your country, so I'm not sure what to suggest from here. Unfortunately depression doesn't usually just go away on it's own - like any illness, it needs treatment.

If I get some time I'll see what resources I might be able to find for your country. I take it you don't have a crisis line or something you can call? Can you look into some online therapy where it's done over the internet? Probably with someone from North America who has some knowledge of your culture. That might be one idea to access therapy if it's unavailable where you are.

 

[Cloudy Rainbow]

No, we don't have crisis line, not that I know of anyway. As of online therapy, it sounds like an idea I can use, if I could use credit cards to pay the doctor. I've been able to dodge the sudden burst of tears for two times during these three days, maybe just staying focused, determined and busy do the trick somehow? I know depression doesn't heal itself but it's still too overwhelming to go see a doctor, I might find a trick to do that though.

Thanks!

 

[Retired]

As has been suggested your best first paln would be to start a conversation with your family doctor. You could start the conversation by saying something like, "I've been having difficulty with moods" and let the doctor take over from there.

I?d have gone to therapy if I could? I just wish I could

.

What has been the obstacle?

Have a look at these for additional insights:

NIMH: Depression acrobat:also attached to this post for download and/or printing)

Depression: Diagnosis and Treatment Options - Mayo Clinic

 

[Banned]

Many online therapists accept payment via credit card or paypal, so I'm sure you could find someone. Just make sure you check their credentials...there's lots of info in the Online Counselling and Therapy section of this forum.

Staying focused and determined might work for a little while, but the analogy I use is that it's like a beach ball you are trying to push under the water. You can push it under and hold it down for a while ,but eventually it's going to surface with alot of power from the pressure being released.

Generally it's better to get things like this under control before they spiral out of control...there's no sense getting any 'sicker' than you need to, right? I can certainly appreciate the limitations you are dealing with in accessing some help, but hopefully you'll be able to find something or someone.

 

[Cloudy Rainbow]

As has been suggested your best first paln would be to start a conversation with your family doctor. You could start the conversation by saying something like, "I've been having difficulty with moods" and let the doctor take over from there.

.

What has been the obstacle?

There are many obstacles:
I can't access a credit card to seek online help (a country limitation)
I can't tell my family, I've tried and they just tell me to get over it- be realistic and stop whining.
I can't seek a family doctor because we have none.
I can't go to a therapist because everyone will start thinking I am crazy, besides he/she would still judge me, that's the way it is here.

Thanks for the help guys, just talking about it feels like a weigh off my shoulders.

 

[Daniel E.]

BTW, I mention some free online self-help programs here, namely MoodGym.

Also, exercise has been called the "poor man's antidepressant." However, I would assume you would have some access to a doctor as well.

I can't go to a therapist because everyone will start thinking I am crazy, besides he/she would still judge me, that's the way it is here.

I don't know about the culture in Iraq, but it's hard to imagine a psychologist or therapist in any part of the world not knowing that depression is very common (with a lot of famous, notable people in human history having had depression). And a significant number of therapists and psychologists have a history of depression themselves.

 

[Retired]

Sorry to hear your family seems to be unsympathetic and unsupportive. As you well know, suggesting someone "snap out of it" when they are experiencing a mood disoprder is absurd and they are probably poorly informed about how mental or psychological stresses manifest themselves. Unawareness and stigma associated with mental illness continue to be obstacles for many to receive the support and treatment they might need.

Use the resources you might find here and continue to avail yourself of the support and information Psychlinks has to offer. Continue to ask your questions, express your concerns and seek support and we wil continue to do our best to help.

can't seek a family doctor because we have none

What do you do for your routine health care?

 

[Daniel E.]

And regarding the stigma in Iraq, it definitely seems worse than I had already thought:

Just 2 percent of Iraqis suffering from mental health troubles had sought treatment, which is hard to come by here. Social stigma attached to mental illness as well as a scarcity of psychiatrists and psychologists have meant that there is little treatment available...

More common ills like depression usually go untreated. A number of Iraqis self-medicate. Pharmacy customers commonly ask for Valium or sleeping medicines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html

Across Iraq, 100 psychiatrists are available to serve a population of about 30 million people, Iraq's psychiatric association says. Many people self-medicate, and prescription drug abuse is now the number one substance abuse problem in Iraq. The most abused drug is called Artane, known generically as trihexyphenidyl but referred to in Iraq as the "pill of courage," with a marked sedative effect.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061706034.html

While it’s clear that many Iraqi refugees are dealing with depressing circumstances, it’s tough to analyze how common actual clinical depression is among Iraqis. That is because many Iraqis don’t seek treatment because of cultural reasons, regardless of how severe their depression is.

"The thing that you have to keep in mind," Congdon said, "is that mental health is somewhat of a taboo topic for them."

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She said Iraqis tend to have a negative connotation with the word counselor. "They will assume that you think they are crazy," Congdon said. "Instead, it works better to suggest that they go talk with a specialist."

Nearly nine out of ten people surveyed suffered from depression, and eight out of ten from anxiety. Nearly 70 percent of the 754 people surveyed showed signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Coda said it also helps to provide mental health services for Iraqis in their own language. Coda, an Iraqi herself, said she noticed this when the Chaldean-Middle Eastern Social Service Agency [in San Diego, California] first opened a few years ago.

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Instead of Iraqis shunning the service, it turned out that they embraced the possibility to receive mental health counseling that was sensitive to their cultural needs. "Trust me, every single one of them came and cried in our office," she said.

http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/38479/135/

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[JennyS]

Other than one on one therapy there are other ways to help alleviate depression.
Frankly using these forums does help.
For free sites that help with depression I use both moodgym and clarifylife.
But this is after I have used in person therapy.