dagblog - Comments for "The Dark Sadness Claims Another Victim"

I have to agree that it is a

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 00:23:25 +0000

In reply to The Dark Sadness Claims Another Victim

I have to agree that it is a selfish act. Many may feel that it is excusable because of the crushing weight of depression, but "selfish" is still an accurate description.

I'm on medication for depression and anxiety, and I've known two people who committed suicide, so I'm not speaking as someone who knows nothing about it. I was considering suicide at one point, and I was being selfish.

Thank you. I will give

Ramona — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 12:15:16 +0000

In reply to Of course I don't mind, but

Thank you. I will give credit to Barefooted.

Of course I don't mind, but

barefooted — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 17:18:07 +0000

In reply to Clinical depression is no

Of course I don't mind, but it's kind of you to ask.

Thank you, Bruce. Depression

Ramona — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:41:52 +0000

In reply to Ramona,

Thank you, Bruce. Depression hits us all in one way or another. I doubt there is a family out there who hasn't been affected by it. If we could just work at eliminating the shame. We still have far to go.

Yes, Doc, if we're ever to

Ramona — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:26:44 +0000

In reply to Thanks for writing this,

Yes, Doc, if we're ever to get to the bottom of depression, we need to keep harping that it is a medical condition. Under new ACA guidelines mental health care is expanded for some but not for all. it's a start but it's not enough. We need to get the politics out of health care entirely and then maybe we can actually work at saving people's lives.

The difficulty the medical

Ramona — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:16:51 +0000

In reply to I think the only good doctors

The difficulty the medical profession has with dealing with depressives is that they're working with patients who are almost always reluctant to get help. There is no team effort with a depressive. It takes the kind of energy they don't have when they're in their depths. Just getting up and getting dressed in the morning is an effort, and the thought of a doctor visit and all that entails is more than they're willing to endure. They're sure no matter who they see or what they prescribe won't work, anyway, so why bother?

There is no clear-cut diagnosis based on physical symptoms. The patient can't describe where the pain is. Depression is still a mystery, even to the doctors who have studied it, and no two patients present the same way. If doctors appear to be floundering it's because they are. That's why meds play such a big part. We know there are certain anti-depressants and psychotropic drugs that work for some patients, and all they can do is try them to see if they'll work with this one.

If there are miracle recoveries they're most often strictly by accident. Trial and error. That's not to say there aren't mental health professionals who should be in some other kind of work, but after years of dealing with them I've come to understand the difficulties.

More research about depression needs to be done, and it needs to be done on a massive scale. We need to talk about it and bring it out into the open. We need to stop losing good people to depression. We've made great headway in diseases like cancer, hypertension and diabetes. Those diseases were death sentences at one time and now they're not. Concerted efforts and non-stop studies made all the difference. We could do that for depression if we took it seriously enough.

Ramona,

Bruce Levine — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 11:56:29 +0000

In reply to The Dark Sadness Claims Another Victim

Ramona,

I have been so wrapped up (probably avoiding my own demons) in trying to put all of the pieces of the world into one nice little rational cereal box. Not doing so well (avoiding or being rational).

This is just such a beautiful essay, painful yes, but it hits home for so many of us and our families. It is something I will be certain to share, I promise you. Thank you Ramona.

Strength.

Bruce

Clinical depression is no

Ramona — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 11:37:42 +0000

In reply to Too many still think of

Clinical depression is no more the same as "being depressed" than having Alzheimer's is just a matter of "forgetting things".

Brilliant. Would you mind if I borrowed it?

I think the only good doctors

artappraiser — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:35:23 +0000

In reply to an unrelenting sadness washes

I think the only good doctors are ones that would work with you to help you do what you are doing even more efficiently.

That's how I define a good doctor. They're rare, I admit it. I am lucky not to suffer this particular malady but I have done this with others, things equally difficult, like multi-symptom auto-immune. It takes a lot of suffering along the way, going through lots of bad docs, and even getting worse from their treatments. But eventually if you don't give up you can find someone who will work with you as a team to make you feel better, even if there is no cure for what ails you. And one can even learn from the bad docs treatments if you pay attention and research what happened to you!

By the way, this is the main reason why I was so upset about one of the main results of Obamacare being narrow networks. I don't think narrow networks is going to make for good health outcomes for many people. Actually, I fear it may lead to more iatrogenic (doctor-caused) illness. Especially with all the emphasis on testing that it has. And where people without time for their own research are going to run-of-the-mill cookie cutter primary care docs. who diagnose nearly everyone with needing to lose weight and lower their blood pressure and get some exercise, or perhaps, the bit more sophisticated alternate: "pre-diabetic."

My most recent favorite doctor said: "We treat the patient, not the test." That's when I knew I had found "the one" after three "fails." I was only was able to do this, and help myself recover from the few pretty devastating health problems I have had in my life because: I was either covered by an open insurance plan at the time, or was uncovered and paying out of pocket, going to any doctor I wanted.

This is the awful truth a lot of people don't realize (I know you do realize): one can't go to a doctor and sit there and say "fix me" and expect it to happen from tests. Chances are unlikely one will get "fixed" if one does that. Getting "fixed" requires a lot of research trying to figure out what may really be happening with your symptoms, learning to pay attention to them and record them and figure out patterns of when and where they happen, and then finding a doc that will work with you on the symptoms and trial and error treatment and combining test results and what you say you experienced with the treatments, listening to your reports of what they do to your body, and trying to adjust them. And also a doc who does not pooh pooh you reading up on treatments; I think people should run from those that do.

Too many still think of

barefooted — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 21:46:36 +0000

In reply to The Dark Sadness Claims Another Victim

Too many still think of depression as simply being depressed. Oh, everyone feels down sometimes, he's just having a bad day, she'll get over it. Tomorrow is Just around the corner - cheer up! Clinical depression is no more the same as "being depressed" than having Alzheimer's is just a matter of "forgetting things".

As a society, and as an extension our medical community, we are in our infancy when it comes to understanding the brain. We all have to work together - including our government - to continue to explore that amazing organ, and to heal it when it's damaged.