Anxiety / Depression

Ive had depression a few times, first time I didn’t recognize it for months. Didnt want to do anything, went to work, came home, repeat. Caused a huge issue with the wife but I finally recognized and accepted the issue and started doing things to fix it.

I really think a lot of people suffer from depression and anxiety but cover it up by acting macho and tough. Especially here on a “tough guy truck forum” but I’m glad to see people writing about it and supporting others here.

I’m a high school teacher and see signs of both in students all the time. I’ll say here what I’ve said to some of my students, find something that makes you happy. Spending time outside is a huge benefit, unplugging from tech and especially social media is another.

Don’t be ashamed to admit that you need help.

 

Thanks for sharing. I always feel it's easier to talk to people that deal with the same issues.

 

Thanks for the work you do teaching and going above/beyond with the advice you offer your students. Ironically, I need to heed your advice myself, as I find myself getting in a rut and seems to be like lifting a mountain at times to get myself to do things, but when I take the advice you offered everything in my life seems so much easier. Being outside and unplugging make life so much more enjoyable, kind of wish we were pre-1995 when there was no internet and more social interaction.

 

Yo! Checking in.

I was first diagnosed in 1994 but hindsight tells me I've probably had it since childhood. I'm fairly stable but I take a shit-ton of medications to stay that way.

 

Kudos to you Tim for sharing something so personal and for having the courage to seek treatment.

P.S. - I have been trying to spend less time on TW and just read an article how our phones get us hooked. One of the things they mentioned is how the color red gives us "Phone-gasm", as we get a small release of dopamine. The color makes us uncomfortable on a subconscious level. Seeing it can release a small dose of cortisol, the stress hormone, which makes us want to click the app to get rid of them. This stress is followed by a small release of dopamine — the pleasure hormone, the same as when you orgasm — when we read the message, creating an addictive cycle which can be hard to escape, so I have decided to turn off all my alerts on TW and see if that make this site less appealing.

 

@Salty_Dog - I think turning off my TW alerts is what I needed. You just liked my comment and usually when people do that I do get a little dopamine buzz (...haha), but I didn't feel anything when you like my comment, so I hope that will make this site less appealing and me doing more important things in this short life we all live.

P.S. - Sorry if I gave you an unwanted dopamine buzz with the red alert when I tagged you if you have them enabled.

 

I set mine to notify me only if someone quotes my post or tags me. I turned off the alert for "Likes".

 

I guess that’s why I loved my old red mini truck; the “pleasure hormone” and twisting the torsion bars all the way down didn’t hurt

 

Yeah, I was thinking about doing that, but I like it too much now not having any alerts. Maybe in the future, I will enable just those two. Addiction stinks and cold turkey is my only hope...haha. Take care, Mark

 

A lot of people see medications as an admission of weakness. I don't. For me they were a lifesaver. Literally.

 

I know where you are coming from Jeff b, at least you aren't in denial and they say that is the first step. Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in my own thoughts that finding a solution doesn't seem possible.

 

Tim, please don't listen to those people because you are proof that it does work.

 

If a person has made it to 50 years, they've suffered depression at some point, likely anyway. Pre-1990, people were expected to just be quiet about it, people are more open about it today. I used to have a big problem with in it my teenage years and off and on in my 20s. It got so bad at times that I'd feel nauseated. I'm that guy, "Hey Todd, let's go to this party." "Nahhh, I don't really want to." "Yeah you do, c'mon, c'mon." "I don't want to go man." "Yeah you do, it'll be fun, c'mon." "No I'm just going to stay here." "No, c'mon man, nothing to do here, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon." "OK! Gawww! I'll go!" I read some books to try to figure it out, did a lot of running, walking and thinking at the time. Then one night, while I was running, I figured it out. It was a combo of basically two things. I was expecting too much out of life, and there wasn't a job out there I could think of that I'd enjoy going to. I was trying to see myself through the eyes of other people, hadn't met myself yet. "Hey Todd, just be yourself." I didn't know what the hell that meant. Later, in the biz world, I was a Systems Analyst at the time and hated it. My weekends were often ruined because problems would pop up on Friday so I'd spend the weekend trying to figure it out. I'm not selfish but I'm about 'me' now and not about what others expect, within reason. The depression went away almost immediately after all those years, I can't imagine being depressed like that today and can barely relate to having the depression I used to have. Health issues can be tougher though. I remember getting depressed when I was 9 or 10 years old when I realized my parents were going to die some day so it started early.

 

I just enjoy the dog and pony show. Edit: and dreaming of things to do to this

 

Anxiety and depression are very common mental health disorders (you’re not alone) and also very treatable disorders. Don’t live with anxiety and depression! They are treatable. See a therapist.

 

this is something that I would like to put out there. It is a five minute YouTube video that I have a lot of my clients watch. The good thing about it is that it can evoke a number of different emotions but also give you the sense that you are not alone throughout whatever you are going through. I urge the community to watch it and pass it along recognizing that, sometimes, we all need the help of others to navigate this very difficult world we now live in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7OGY1Jxp3o

 

Anxiety? Shit, my anxiety has anxiety.

 

I used to have panic attacks.
It ended up getting me to leave my career as an architect and go into the ministry.
Now I give other people anxiety...

 

Please take some time to watch this video. So many people battle each day in the shadows. So many of their loved ones not knowing how to support them thinking that it's a choice, a light switch to just turn off. Learn how to support them, Don't just hear but listen. Anxiety IS REAL. Depression IS REAL. Addiction IS NOT A CHOICE. Please don't be afraid to ask for help. After 12 years in my practice, seeing hundreds if not thousands of clients, I have made a conscious choice to not only help people as my profession, but anyone who I have ever come in contact with.
#dontbeafraidtoask
#alwaysheretohelp
#alwaysheretolisten
#recoveryispossible
https://youtu.be/gRGRduyCy_M