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Suicidal Depression.

Mord

Mord

macrumors G4
Original poster
Aug 24, 2003
10,091
23
UK
So, I've been in an utterly foul mood for the last couple of hours for various reasons I won't get into but this has me thinking, do I need to go and get help?

http://suicidal.com/depressionfaq/q9.html

Looking at that site and various others the answer seems pretty clearly; yes. I do.

But I don't think I'm ~that~ badly depressed and so I don't feel it warrants going to my GP to ask to see a psychiatrist or anything.

Your thoughts?
 
Even though I run a psychology web site, I'm not a psychologist, so take this with a grain of salt:

1. if you think you probably need help, then you probably need help

2. that said, it's perfectly normal to have negative emotions in response to negative events. If someone dies, or you get fired from your job, or your significant other breaks up with you, it's normal to get unhappy. This is different from depression, which is a chronic condition that doesn't get better over time.
 
Sorry that you're having a tough time of it right now.

To answer your question, if you are pi$$ed off enough to visit those sorts of sites, I would (very gently) suggest that a trip to your GP would well be in order. Not to ask to see a psychiatrist, but to tell her/him just what you are going through. And then leave the diagnosis up to your GP - who will have seen the problem many times before and will know how to proceed.

Self-help is no help with stuff like this.

Please ...... phone up for an appointment now?

Best wishes..... :)
 
The main issue with my life is that I don't feel like I'm achieveing anything, just trundling through my degree barely attending class which doesn't seem to effect how well I do in exams in the slightest...
 
I'll speak from experience but everyone is different. We all have bad days so I wouldn't worry. But if this feeling is something that is happening all the time, and preventing you from living your life like you normally would then I would go see someone.

The important thing is to have a good support base of family and/or friends that you can talk with as well. Sometimes we can be in denial and think everything is alright and it is okay to feel depressed and all, but someone on the outside can see that everything is not alright.
 
Mord said:
So, I've been in an utterly foul mood for the last couple of hours for various reasons I won't get into but this has me thinking, do I need to go and get help?

http://suicidal.com/depressionfaq/q9.html

Looking at that site and various others the answer seems pretty clearly; yes. I do.

But I don't think I'm ~that~ badly depressed and so I don't feel it*warrants going to my GP to ask to see a psychiatrist or anything.

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

When I get in a mood similar to what you are experiencing I always go for a walk. Of cause it helps I live in a safe community. So I never have to worry about getting around in the dark. I understand if that is not possible for you.

What I will offer you is this advise: Defiantly if you feel you need to talk to someone do it. If you feel you would be more comfortable sharing your problems with you family or friends do that. If you feel your cannot do that
there are always other options. One is an anonymous phone call to a hotline that specialises in helping people out in tough times.

if you are in the USA
this web site may be of assistance to you.

Another option is this web site

If you are in Europe Google can help

If you are In Asia Google can help

If you are in Australia Kids help line is 1800 55 1800. You also have Life line on 131 144 and the react out web site.

Also help a local charity can be good to build self esteem if that is what you need. It can help you connect to your community.
 
Mord said:
The main issue with my life is that I don't feel like I'm achieveing anything, just trundling through my degree barely attending class which doesn't seem to effect how well I do in exams in the slightest...
Click to expand...

That sounds more like a long-term problem to me, not just a momentary response to a setback. You should probably get some help.
 
Foxglove9 said:
But if this feeling is something that is happening all the time, and preventing you from living your life like you normally would then I would go see someone.
Click to expand...

It is really, I've got like this twice before recently and there was a patch like this a few months back but there was a hormonal reason for that, but I strongly suspect there's a hormonal reason for how I'm feeling at the moment.

Foxglove9 said:
The important thing is to have a good support base of family and/or friends that you can talk with as well. Sometimes we can be in denial and think everything is alright and it is okay to feel depressed and all, but someone on the outside can see that everything is not alright.
Click to expand...

My family is divided, my sister lives in bristol, my father lives in london and I live in edinburgh, three corners of the country. My father and I don't so much get allong and my sister and I while we're very close have always been awkward around one annother, we can't really talk about things on that level. Friends? I don't have any who I can really talk about this with in real life, I'm too much in the habbit of putting on a happy face for them.



What I most feel like doing right now is going for a cycle, I havn't in a while but oh so annoyingly my legs are completely buggered, I can barely stand, I strained them or something when I went ice skating a couple of days ago.
 
if depression starts to effect your life yes you should go seek help, if you are in university i'm sure there is a counseling service try going there, it might help. if things are bad they will tell you to goto your GP
 
Jonx said:
if depression starts to effect your life yes you should go seek help, if you are in university i'm sure there is a counseling service try going there, it might help. if things are bad they will tell you to goto your GP
Click to expand...


I did, it didn't.

The trouble is that my life's fairly non-typical so with my university therapist she just didn't get most of it and she was rather judgemental about allot of things and also quite insensitive.
 
If its a 4 hour thing of wanting to kill yourself I would say don't worry to much about that. Obviously don't kill yourself but since it seems short term it will pass.

As for the malaise, that is actually what depression is. The best cure for that is to have achievable goals and work towards them. Find something that you want to do. Knit a blanket, Paint your bedroom. Then just get up and do it. Break it up into manageable steps. Measure the room, buy paint and brushes, move the furniture to the middle of the room. Run back to the store for masking tape and plastic drop cloths. Feel good that you planned that stage in.

Every little step that you have mark it down and check it off. Its not so much about planning it out as having a plan to show yourself that you are progressing.

How much school do you have left? Part of this could be the senior slump.
 
I'm in first year, four more years to go.

I can't paint my room seeing as it's a dorm room and thus not mine to paint but point taken, the trouble is there's a stack of stuff i need to do before getting onto doing anything for myself I just have no will or motivation to do them, I will but it's just a chore.

This isn't exactly new though, it's bad at the moment but it's a lingering thing.
 
Mord said:
I'm in first year, four more years to go.

I can't paint my room seeing as it's a dorm room and thus not mine to paint but point taken, the trouble is there's a stack of stuff i need to do before getting onto doing anything for myself I just have no will or motivation to do them, I will but it's just a chore.

This isn't exactly new though, it's bad at the moment but it's a lingering thing.
Click to expand...

You have to take some time to do the things that you want to do. If you dwell on all of the things that need to get done you end up procrastinating on them and spending your time moping. Find something constructive to do.

Since you can't paint the dorm room, hmm, a small flower for your window. Potting soil, a plain terra cotta pot, something to decorate it up, a plastic container to put underneath to catch any drippage, some seeds for a small flower.
 
Sounds you need to join some gym or local sports club and meet a few more people other than students. Also a good way to get some of those negative thoughts out of one's mind by having a good work out. Makes a big difference having a bunch of new friends asking news of you. And of course you've got yourself a great city there, I used to visit regularly some student friends in Edinburgh, so make the most of it. Think positive.

- Dal
 
Dalriada said:
Sounds you need to join some gym or local sports club and meet a few more people other than students. Also a good way to get some of those negative thoughts out of one's mind by having a good work out. Makes a big difference having a bunch of new friends asking news of you. And of course you've got yourself a great city there, I used to visit regularly some student friends in Edinburgh, so make the most of it. Think positive.

- Dal
Click to expand...


Wish I could but unfortunately I can't for a reason I'm not too keen on getting into here.
 
There we go, mood's passed.


I know pretty much what I have to do, thanks for the kind words.
 
Okay how about skipping the words gym and sports... there is always some area one can meet new people not to mention even considering charity associations / helping others. A good way to think positive.

Keep us posted.

- Dal
 
Mord said:
There we go, mood's passed.
Click to expand...

That was quick. :D

MongoTheGeek said:
As for the malaise, that is actually what depression is. The best cure for that is to have achievable goals and work towards them. Find something that you want to do.
Click to expand...

Mongo has some great advice. Setting goals and accomplishing them makes you feel good about yourself... and it forces your mind to focus on something, rather than dwell on things that usually aren't as big of a deal as we make them out to be.

While this probably isn't a cure for your immediate depression, I highly recommend reading a book called "Wishcraft" by Barbara Sher... it's helped me figure out some stuff, and I feel like I'm (slowly) moving towards where I really want to be in life. The author has made the book available for free here: http://www.wishcraft.com/
 
There was a similar post from a teenager a few weeks ago. His boredom/depression mostly dealt with why he was underachieving in school. I asked him to consider how challenged he was in his coursework, and to seek out more interesting work.

In your case, I want to ask if you have a job outside of your schoolwork? When I was about 20, I was so bored/depressed I nearly joined the Coast Guard (which may not have been all that bad of a decision). My brother advised me to go find work. I wouldn't have as much free time on my hands, and I'd have a little money to play around with. I got a job, and my life became more fun and more interesting.

Just my nickels worth. :)
 
I'm glad the mood has past for now. But if you find that this mood accompanies life's stones, you may want to speak to your GP and/or OB/GYN. The hormonal thing can be a real head bender. And it can induce suicidal thoughts. Good luck (been there, done that).
 
Sounds like a disproportional response to a low mood and the behaviour you are considering seems more likely to be more of a gesture as opposed to a genuine desire to end life. You may find it beneficial to expand your local social network as opposed to posting on the internet about how down you are.

Maybe I'm just too tired to be sympathetic.
 
Foxglove9 said:
The important thing is to have a good support base of family and/or friends that you can talk with as well. Sometimes we can be in denial and think everything is alright and it is okay to feel depressed and all, but someone on the outside can see that everything is not alright.
Click to expand...

And it is a good thing to have a counsellor (doesn't have to be a degree holding psychiatrist) with whom you can talk in times of crisis... family and friends are sometimes involved or unequipped or unavailable. Your local health district or hospital can recommend someone.
 
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