Mental Health

[fruitsalad]

Why does there seem to be so much depression and anxiety these days, is it because we hear more about it, especially, it seems in young people, was it not heard of years ago or, especially, when war was on and could understand the reasons for it.

[teacake44]

I'm pretty certain that the Victorians did have more control over the loonies then, its a shame we don't, especially in HMP.

[Kathyan]

There is a difference between being depressed (feeling down) and being clinically depressed (having a chemical imbalance in your brain). Some people don't know the difference.

[teacake44]

@15.22 that's why I think its difficult for a medical professional to make a true assessment, especially when you have drink and drugs in the mix, and they are getting bogged down with both.

[Boto]

It’s the fashion to be depressed. I know some people genuinely are but others are only a bit ‘down’ so label it depression.

[Kathyan]

I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I lived in Canada. The Doctor gave me a list of questions to answer, which I did and she made her diagnosis from those answers. A few months later she gave me the same list of questions and I answered them completely differently from the previous time. I couldn't remember the answers I had given the first time!

[andy-hughes]

10Clarion - // It's all in the mind! I've had many, many problems in recent years. I never felt depressed or stressed. I dealt with them. //

Of course it's all in the mind - that's the problem.

People are very different, and their issues are as individual as their ability to cope with them.

You are obviously fortunate that your issues have not had a negative impact on your mental health - many others are simply not that fortunate, and to assume that because you can, they should be able to, is to miss the uniqueness in each and every one of us.

[andy-hughes]

teacake - // I'm pretty certain that the Victorians did have more control over the loonies then, its a shame we don't, especially in HMP. //

They did - but control is not the same as understanding, and treatment, we enjoy both in our modern world.

[andy-hughes]

teacake - // @15.22 that's why I think its difficult for a medical professional to make a true assessment, especially when you have drink and drugs in the mix, and they are getting bogged down with both. //

Again I disagree.

The presenting problems of drink, drugs, and depression are all possible to detect, even in combination, by a good GP who knows their patient.

[Maydup]

There is a better understanding, (well by some!) nowadays, and less of a stigma attached to anxiety and depression, hence it being discussed more widely.

The same applies to dementia. There is no more or no less than there was when I was a kid, its just that there is a better understanding, more support and a different language around it.

[pixie374]

This thread is quite disappointing. I didn't realise there was still so much misunderstanding about it still.
I would believe someone who said they had never had any mental health issues, about as much as someone who said they had never had any physical health issues. But there is a huge degree of difference, and there does not always need to be a reason. It can be inherited too.

[Maydup]

I agree this is an extremely depressing thread for 2020. Excuse the pun.

Just think, some people with severe anxiety were put in secure units back in the day. No wonder others struggled along without saying anything!

[pixie374]

Yes... mine has nearly always presented as anxiety, rather than depression, although they are treated similarly, the symptoms are almost opposites. It isn't as simplistic as people would like to think.

[teacake44]

@17.21, I for one don't misunderstand depression or anxiety, but I do believe that many are now using the two as an excuse for their life style. The after affects of drink and drugs, ( the next morning if you like) when reality hits home, or the cold light of day as some would put it, is when they are on a downer, or as they would call it now, depression/anxiety when they end up in court. The people who have real depression / anxiety are the ones that get kicked and punched at night in A&E, or in fact any NHS staff/ police.

[ummmm]

My dad had a breakdown. We didn't talk about it until years later. His was reactive depression. So very sad.

A friend of our kids killed herself a couple of days ago. She couldn't have been thinking. She hung herself in a park....a park that has two children's playgrounds. She must have been in a really dark place to do that. Her suicide note was heartbreaking.

[tiggerblue10]

I've been in a dark place since the new year but I'm doing my very best to keep myself going for Little Tiggs and my family.

I've had bouts of depression over the last 20 years and been prescribed anti-depressants.

[pixie374]

Teacake... any wild guesses why somebody might be taking drugs or drinking excessively in the first place?
GPs, even now, are reluctant to diagnose or prescribe or treat. It does make sense to rule out physical causes first, but many (particularly male GPs) either don't get it, or don't understand that men and women are treated differently for it. It isn't the same as just feeling a bit down.

[ummmm]

I was offered anti depressants. I wasn't depressed!! I was just sad.

[teacake44]

11.57 Its what they see as having a good night out, especially on a Friday / Saturday night, ask any police officer who has to confront these people. They only get into depression mode when they have to face up to real life. As I said the next morning.

[pixie374]

Do they really? You know, that "depression" doesn't just last for a morning...

[pixie374]

I wouldn't ask a police officer, in any case, at least from AB, they sometimes seem to understand it the least.