To fight depression, or not to fight

[prayerbear]

Are you taking meds for depression? I see the Abilify commercials which is advertised to treat resistant depression that is if the antidepressant isn't working! Also after a year of psychiatric therapy I am not as fearful as I used to be.(My diagnosis is bipolarII, PTSD, and OCD)-a very fearful combo. I am sure that can help as therapy changes the structure of the brain. Also, a physical evaluation might detect the source of depression (like an underactive thyroid gland)

Fight depression! My beliefs teach to fight fear and to be strong and courageous!

 

[BluMac81]

It's almost like the debate between CBT and ACT therapy, one tells you to fight and one tells you to 'let go'.
Anyway I am not taking anti-depressants at all personally, just xanax for anxiety bursts and lunesta for sleep. Depression for me happens for one half of the day... so its like this accelerated bipolar thing. Either way tried every anti-depressant out there and nothing helped. Not sure about Abilify added on, that's just a lot of meds mixed up in your brain, kinda uneasy about that.

 

[Lana]

But what is there to fight?? Depression is like part of your makeup, like your personality, like a birth mark....you can't fight it..and you can't exactly let it go. What is usually encouraged is learning how to live with it. It would be futile to try and live as if you don't have depression and it would be equally futile to fight something that's a part of your existance, know what I mean?

Whenever you have an episode, learn from it, learn what makes you tick, learn what makes you drop, learn what picks you up or brings you down and so on. What you do then is use that knowledge to cope and live with these episodes. Knowing yourself is power. So, stop fighting that power and stop trying to "let it go"....use it.

 

[Daniel E.]

It's almost like the debate between CBT and ACT therapy, one tells you to fight and one tells you to 'let go'.

That does remind me of the serenity prayer based on Stoic philosophy:

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

Resilience: Get a Grip and Set Your Sights Above Adversity - Psychlinks

With depression, since people always get better over time, there is a moving target as to what is realistic to expect in treatment within weeks or months. But it always takes longer than anyone would like, of course.

 

[Jazzey]

I agree with you Daniel. And, while I love this prayer - sometimes, on cynical days, it's just that - a prayer. So, how do you move past the prayer and get to the practical? (rhetorical question) - I haven't figured that one out for myself yet.

I've read this thread a few times. My natural inclination is to fight. I've read yours and Lana's words of wisdom in recent times (and others too) - some days, it's just not easy to 'let go' and to 'accept the things I cannot change'.
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...sorry- didn't mean to make this about me - I've just been following this thread for some time and liked the ideas in it. I hope everyone knows I'm posing more of a practical question here.

 

[Lana]

...sorry- didn't mean to make this about me - I've just been following this thread for some time and liked the ideas in it. I hope everyone knows I'm posing more of a practical question here.

No need to be sorry, Jazzey. Your posts benefit all of us, even though it may seen that it's about you. I too have had days when no amount of intellectual rationalization helped and so it's interesting to me to learn what others do to get out of that funk. I used to hit the mall but "retail therapy" is expensive and often causes more problems then it solves.

 

[Jazzey]

...have recently done the retail therapy and, all I have to show for it is an excessive bill! Oh well - won't worry about it until next month (credit cards! )

 

[amastie]

...since people always get better over time, there is a moving target as to what is realistic to expect in treatment within weeks or months. But it always takes longer than anyone would like, of course.

Always get better, Daniel? That hasn't been my experience, maybe for diferent reasons, I don't know. Remembering to accept what I cannot change helps me to go on. My primary diagnosis isn't depression. Rather the depression is a consequence of living with more (inceasingly?) problematic functioning and relating to others. In hat sense, it's probably more like a grieving.
Just my thinking,
amastie
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No need to be sorry, Jazzey. Your posts benefit all of us, even though it may seen that it's about you. I too have had days when no amount of intellectual rationalization helped and so it's interesting to me to learn what others do to get out of that funk. I used to hit the mall but "retail therapy" is expensive and often causes more problems then it solves.

I agree about Jazzey's, and all those posts which not only hear others but which share with others benefit all

I can't handle money in my pocket, but make up for that by budgetting in such a way that I don't keep cash on me. Pay all bills in advance on a fortnightly basis. Sometimes, I get a bill in credit! Mainly, I spend on food (big time!), stationery and practical things. My impulse is more a matter of general impulsivity, not a need to spend specifically. Food is my main addiction and that, in itself, can also get expensive when I don't keep food in so as *not* to eat, then feel that I "must" have a particular food which is available to order in. Not good .. but mostly mangeable, again, by not leaving money in my account.

amastie

 

[Daniel E.]

Always get better, Daniel?

You caught me. But, yes, people with depression do get better over time (eventually no longer need in-patient hospitalization/stabilization, can eventually hold down at least a part-time job, etc.), though they may have relapses. Similarly, life is naturally habituating:

Older may mean happier - Psychlinks

The reason I use the term "always" is because some people, like me 5 years ago, would think their depression is uniquely bad and is not subject to getting better, resulting in "therapeutic nihilism." And in the Feeling Good Handbook, a similar point is that people with depression can feel more pessimistic about their prognosis than people dying of cancer.

And here is a little more context as to where I am coming from: My dog has arthritis. Even with treatment, his arthritis will only get worse over time, generally speaking, though he will have periods where he feels better than others (like the summer as opposed to the winter). So my point is just that depression is not like canine arthritis Therefore, less stoicism may be required for depression compared to disorders that tend to get progressively worse.

And these approaches (fight vs. acceptance) are not mutually exclusive, IMHO, which is why I like all the points raised in this thread, such as this point on acceptance:

What if, like virtually everybody else who suffers repeatedly from depression, you have become a victim of your own very sensible, even heroic, efforts to free yourself--like someone pulled even deeper into quicksand by the struggling intended to get you out?

The Mindful Way Through Depression ... - Google Book Search