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228 points pseudolus | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.281s | source
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hirvi74 ◴[] No.46000685[source]
I can't bring myself to try an SSRI. I just cannot do it. I've got a prescription for an NDRI on my desk, and I still won't take it. I am not anti-psychiatry either. I take psychiatric medication for a different condition already. But something about anti-depressants just doesn't sit well with me.

As crazy as it may sound, I think a lot of my depression stems from living a life that is not true to myself and due to countless failed attempts to be someone I cannot never be. As far as I am concerned, depression is just a symptom of my situation and not some true disorder. For the sake of analogy, I would say it's like food poisoning. Yes, the GI issues are awful, but the body is responding appropriately.

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BeetleB ◴[] No.46009007[source]
> As crazy as it may sound, I think a lot of my depression stems from living a life that is not true to myself and due to countless failed attempts to be someone I cannot never be. As far as I am concerned, depression is just a symptom of my situation and not some true disorder.

It's true for some, but be wary of such a generalization.

It took many years of people telling me the same thing before I understood what they were saying: "Having an objectively crappy life is normal. Being depressed about it isn't."

(Almost) everyone will have problems - temporary or permanent. And while they may feel down about it for a while, or occasionally, most of them more or less recover their mental health and are not chronically depressed.

Because the majority of people have problems, it becomes easy for a depressed person to think "Ah, this is just due to problem X" or even "This is just because I want a life different from mine". Most people with problems also want a different life than what they have. But they're not depressed.

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1. hirvi74 ◴[] No.46011401[source]
> be wary of such a generalization.

My mistake. I should have worded what I wrote differently. I meant to say "not some true disorder for me."

> Having an objectively crappy life is normal. Being depressed about it isn't.

Not sure I can agree on this though. Rates of depression are quite high in institutions like prisons, for example. Especially in solitary confinement. Of course, I am not in prison, but I do believe the environment plays a larger role in depression than many are willing to admit.

This is not my first rodeo with depression. I'm in my early 30s, and this is probably my 5th or 6th time. I won't go into the details of those periods, but I almost didn't make it through a few of them.

> Ah, this is just due to problem X

Why is this outside the realm of possibility though? I believe depression is just a catch-all term for negative states that are too abstract to treat. If one is in a bad environment or unsatisfied in life, then a doctor cannot really do much to treat that. However, pills can be given to make people numb enough to their circumstances that they no longer care. Though, perhaps that lack of care is enough that people can actually benefit?

I mean, with SSRIs, the lows of life are diminished as are the highs of life, one might gain significant weight, and have a host of other issues like low libido, erectile dysfunction, anorgimasa, etc., but at least they aren't depressed...

If anything, I think of antidepressants like opioids. Opioids do not treat pain -- the pain is still there -- one just can't feel it.