Depression

[Wscad]

Not good. Myself and the missus were glad to see the back of 2023. Bowel cancer, operations, chemo, mood swings and other stuff. For six months the furthest I travelled was 6 miles down the road to the hospital

12 months later..I had the 12 month annual check. The wonderful experience of the camera up the trades and entrance and a scan. Results come back and all is tickerty boo.

On 1st of Feb a childhood mate went in for some checks about some issues below the waistline. This mate had worked his socks off all his life. At 63 he had a nice detached house, wife, 2 kids, lovely gardens. All in all a nice carry on type lifestyle.

I went to his funeral last Friday. His wife and family were distraught. I have never seen that many tears shed at a funeral.

63 years old. Sometimes life is not fair

[Potter]

My mate lost his dad last year, mid-60's but fit as a fiddle, body of a forty year old, went within three months from a brain tumour. He'd done very well for himself after a lifetime of grafting and didn't get to enjoy much of his retirement.

His uncle (who was at the funeral) had been a bone idle twat all his life, never worked, drank, smoked, took drugs, etc, and his dad had always said he'd come back and haunt him if he outlived him.

Just goes to show, if your number is up then clean living and having money in the bank won't do much to stop it.

[Wscad]

Another mate of mine passed about 8 years ago. Smart, clever bloke and had a fair bit of dosh tucked away by all accounts

He would think nothing about going into the spare bedroom and doing 50 miles on his exercise bike 2 or 3 times a week.

In the summer, a pushbike ride from Haworth to Scarborough every weekend was the norm in one day

He sold his business and moved to Southern Ireland out in the sticks. 20 odd acres and and a fergie tractor

Was out on his pushbike one day and he had a heart attack. The docs reckoned he was dead before he hit the ground


As an aside potter, your recent posts.... I do have a look

at them. I’m bloody worried I may feel the urge to send you a Christmas card in future

Live long and prosper everyone

[Greenman]

Another mate of mine passed about 8 years ago. Smart, clever bloke and had a fair bit of dosh tucked away by all accounts

He would think nothing about going into the spare bedroom and doing 50 miles on his exercise bike 2 or 3 times a week.

In the summer, a pushbike ride from Haworth to Scarborough every weekend was the norm in one day

He sold his business and moved to Southern Ireland out in the sticks. 20 odd acres and and a fergie tractor

Was out on his pushbike one day and he had a heart attack. The docs reckoned he was dead before he hit the ground


As an aside potter, your recent posts.... I do have a look

at them. I’m bloody worried I may feel the urge to send you a Christmas card in future

Live long and prosper everyone

I'm seeing this too.

I have a few mates who's kids are now grown up and are board. They have all resorted to extreme exercise and 2 of them in the past 5 years have had a stroke, both when out either running or cycling.

I have anther that does about 2 marathons a week, not competitively just on his own and i am just waiting for him to keel over. He has gone from about 19st to 14st in a few years and was not fit at all before the running. He has just recently been made redundant from Lloyds and doesn't need to work (he is loaded, was a regional manager) but has just taken a part time job as a projects manager for BANES council for something to do.

IMO it's best to push your body and pursue a healthy lifestyle when your young but once you hit 40ish seeking a super healthy lifestyle through excess exercise etc is not the best way forward if you want to live a long life.

Thing is, IMO, people make the wrong life choices when they are young then when they get to middle age they regret them and try and counter act them by suddenly changing the way they live their lives which stresses the body and causes even further issues. Unfortunately you reap what you so, you cannot reverse the choices you have made in younger life only embrace them, so get down the pub and stop wasting your time trying to live a life you have never before pursued.

[darthpunk]

Thing is, IMO, people make the wrong life choices when they are young then when they get to middle age they regret them and try and counter act them by suddenly changing the way they live their lives which stresses the body and causes even further issues. Unfortunately you reap what you so, you cannot reverse the choices you have made in younger life only embrace them, so get down the pub and stop wasting your time trying to live a life you have never before pursued.

I have been guilty of this. Lost about 5 or 6 stone just before and during lockdown. Was only cycling 6 to 10 miles a day, but it was every day. Put weight back on having barely changed any eating habits, literally eating mostly the same stuff every day, rattling 10 miles a day on the exercise bike every lunchtime. Been moaning that my weight has not changed a jot in over a year now regardless how well I eat.

Watching one of the wifes many A&E/Ambulance based programmes with her last night and got torn into a third of a tube of Pringles, instant regret, then slapped myself awake when I balances a few crisps versus the poor bugger on the TV that was 17 weeks pregnant and having surgery to remove cancerous tumours from her neck. Suddenly the phrase "long time dead" sprang to mind

Just wish I could deal with the depressive funk long enough to actually take my bike license instead of just hanging around here and trying out every other hobby than the one I actually have always wanted to pursue

[Yorick]

After my meltdown 13 years ago, I was on propranolol regularly with Diazepam for whenever I needed it.
But stopped after 2 years.
I've managed since then ok with my coping mechanisms. But only just.
Lately a few things have happened and I've had big problems.

For last 4 weeks I've needed to put master cylinders on the GSXR and Pen's AJP, but couldn't do it. Scared of not being able to do it. So can't ride it

I've been thinking about going to see the doc, but language is a bit of an issue. Needs to be perfect to discuss medical stuff. So I've been planning a letter to write and then translate. But that in itself is a nightmare.

Broke down this morning and Pen sat with me , writing the letter as I spoke.

Wow. Was like a heavy weight off my shoulders. We're going to see doc tmrw.

Went for usual 10 mile cycle and felt so positive, I attacked Pen's M/C.
Was a bugger to bleed, but I was surprisingly calm. Cool

I've taken first step and I feel fantastic.

As usual in my world, things don't move fast. Went yesterday. Wrote a long letter describing all my symptoms then translated it.

The doc talked for ages. Then gave me Chlordiazapoxide. (Librium)
I know from helping a mate years ago that it's used to help alcoholics come off the booze.
I've not had a drink for about 5 weeks so no good here

We've been reading about it and only a short half life and only for 3 -6 months. It's to quickly help bad bouts.

That's not I want. I hopes to have something gentle for long term help.

I'm now panicking about taking these as they're quite string.
It's made things worse

Well, they lasted 10 days. Felt a bit strange and anxiety got a bit worse.
But 2 nights ago I broke down at the bar. Sat on floor crying for no reason.
Then came home and wanted to smash everything. All the patio furniture ended up in the pool.
It was hell inside my head .

Then I Googled the side effects. I'll be heading to see doc next week

Screenshot_20240312_093408_Samsung Internet.jpg (132.67 KiB) Viewed 280 times

[Trinity765]

Well, they lasted 10 days. Felt a bit strange and anxiety got a bit worse.
But 2 nights ago I broke down at the bar. Sat on floor crying for no reason.
Then came home and wanted to smash everything. All the patio furniture ended up in the pool.
It was hell inside my head .

Then I Googled the side effects. I'll be heading to see doc next week

Screenshot_20240312_093408_Samsung Internet.jpg

Must be awful for you and Penny. I hope you get better soon X

[mangocrazy]

Well, they lasted 10 days. Felt a bit strange and anxiety got a bit worse.
But 2 nights ago I broke down at the bar. Sat on floor crying for no reason.
Then came home and wanted to smash everything. All the patio furniture ended up in the pool.
It was hell inside my head .

Then I Googled the side effects. I'll be heading to see doc next week

Screenshot_20240312_093408_Samsung Internet.jpg

Shit, those side effects do not sound like fun. Why on earth would they give you that medication when they know the side effects?

Hope you get back on an even keel soon.

[MyLittleStudPony]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

[Wossname]

I heard that programme too. I was not impressed by their conclusions - take some uncontrolled and random psychoactive drugs. That’ll fix it. “Psychedelic therapist?” Nonsense.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I took it as meaning controlled use of specific substances combined with specific activity which could deliver certain benefits, none of it random.

There was a TV series which went big on it a while back, How To Change Your Mind. It claimed there was considerable scientific evidence of the benefits, development of which was halted primarily by Nixon.

Apparently the Swiss (among others) are looking into it again.

[Cousin Jack]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

[Yorick]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

Or, more likely, it was embarrassing to admit you had problems when we were young. Just told to stop being daft and get on with it.

[wheelnut]

. Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

I think that’s fairly close to the truth in a lot of instances. A lot of today’s kids seem hung up on ‘discovering themselves’, and being that concerned with themselves and attaining their perfect life that they forget to just live life.

I don’t think it’s a case of them being selfish as such, more that they have unrealistic expectations of real life.

[Cousin Jack]

Many do seem to have totally unrealistic expectations when they start work. A lot of careers need you to put in the hard yards first, and then relax a bit later. Many of today's yoof want it the other way around, and get very disappointed when reality kicks them in the goolies.

[Taipan]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

Something in today’s diet would be my guess. So many chemicals and additives etc in today’s food, might well be contributory? Attitudes are certainly different. A couple of generations ago people had been through a world war so everything was judged by those horrors and I can hear people of my grandparents generation saying “pull yourself together”! Plus, mental health problems were actually shameful, particularly for men, not that long ago. It was hidden and certainly not given the audience it is today, where we are, thankfully, encouraged to talk.

That said I can see where you’re going with the snowflake thing, as I do think younger generations aren’t very resilient to stressful situations and have that now famed “sense of entitlement”! Yes that’s a sweeping generalisation, but it’s certainly what I.m experiencing in my working life. FWIW, both my kids have had mental health problems with one suicide attempt and I have absolutely no idea why?

[MyLittleStudPony]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2017/10/half ... ay-age-uk/

Half of adults aged 55 and over have experienced common mental health problems, say Age UK

[Cousin Jack]

There was another programme on Radio 4 about psychedelic therapy. The idea being that many conditions being seen and treated as mental illness such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety etc may in fact stem from multiple complex trauma as a child. Events so extreme the child was unable to process them at the time and has internalised them, resulting in the current dysfunction and symptoms.

There is growing evidence these can be addressed by one off or limited amounts of therapy delivered to the subject under the influence of mdma, psilocybin, etc. That in such a heightened state, the patient can revisit the events and begin to process them, aided by professional guidance.

I'm quite up for becoming a psychedelic therapist. The old green grift bores me now and may be running out. It could be a bit like when Jez became a life coach in Peep Show. I think my first degree was psychology, or half psychology, so that should be a good step in the right direction.

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2017/10/half ... ay-age-uk/

Half of adults aged 55 and over have experienced common mental health problems, say Age UK

I'm not going to dispute that. I was depressed at one point, went to the quack and was prescribed pills. 10 days in and I decided I really didn't want to do pills, they stopped depression but they stopped me from feeling anything. So I stopped, gave myself a kick in the arsenal, and got on with life.
That regime won't suit everyone, but I cannot stand the yoofs who can't go to work, but can manage a holiday OK.

[Yorick]

Didn't see that, but I'm not convinced. The thing that strikes me is that younger generations seem to me much more prone to problems.

Either something in modern society is causing this, and some serious research is needed to find what it is, societal, environmental, whatever. . Or today's kids are just snowflakes and need to grow a pair.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2017/10/half ... ay-age-uk/

Half of adults aged 55 and over have experienced common mental health problems, say Age UK

I'm not going to dispute that. I was depressed at one point, went to the quack and was prescribed pills. 10 days in and I decided I really didn't want to do pills, they stopped depression but they stopped me from feeling anything. So I stopped, gave myself a kick in the arsenal, and got on with life.
That regime won't suit everyone, but I cannot stand the yoofs who can't go to work, but can manage a holiday OK.

I was off sick 2 years. Absolutely rock bottom. Work caused it. Then the work doctor told me to do the trackday instruction where it was the only place I was in control of my head. He also told me to go to pub once a week for some formality. Both helped a lot.

[Noggin]

I remember when I first realised it was depression that was causing my issues, I was told by a LOT of people not to go to the doctor because if they disclosed to an employer that I had depression, then my job chances would be nil (back in the 90's).

I did try meds despite that but they didn't help (one lot made me sleep all the time, the second lot made me sick all the time), so I told the doctor I was fine and did the “pull yourself together” thing ever since - which is mostly working.

I am trying to find out if there are any downsides out here to going to the doctor about depression as I think I've use up the last of my “pull yourself together” shit and it might be time to admit I need help (of course, it could just be the last major bit of stress that I need to sort out and then things will be ok. Still gonna try and find out what the attitudes are like here about meds).



I have a sort of friend up here that REALLY uses the anxiety and depression angle as the reason they can't manage stuff (training, work, life). Ok, I get that sometimes it is a major block - I've seen it in real friends, I've felt it myself. But after so many years of meds & therapry etc, surely there is a point where the rest of the world will stop just picking them up and dusting them down? Surely there is a time when you have to use the meds/therapy but ALSO do some work yourself? (This person is mid twenties and there is a seriously long list of 'issues' with employers/friends/trainers).

I was seriously sympathetic and tried to help with their work situation and support on training and other stuff. But the day I admitted that I had an issue myself and couldn't cope with listening that day was the last day I saw or heard from that person in almost 6 weeks. So, if I wasn't willing to be 100% supportive to their 'issues', I was of no use. So actually, I've stopped being unconditional with them now!!

For real friends, I will always do my best to 'be there' and generally if I'm struggling I'll say that that's the reason I'm going to be/have been quiet for a bit.

But when I have tried and then see someone is actually not making any effort to even find some bootstraps to try to pull themselves up with, or is not willing to be remotely understanding of other peoples issues, well, I'll stop trying too!!