I'm a psychologist and there's nothing ethically sticky about providing psychoeducation via a forum. I don't think anyone is asking for, nor expects, therapy in this thread.

Is it the internet or is it social media? I wouldn't count this site as being regarded as social media. Otherwise, I agree that some people who are depressed gain that state or add to that state from reading social media like Facebook which is mainly around feelings of jealously and resentment towards others who they perceive are living better lives.

Kind of an unusual psychologist if your first instinct in responding to a serious thread about mental health is to fabricate a semantics argument.

It seems you've already identified why I said "targeted therapeutic advice" rather than "psychoeducation," so hopefully we can avoid derailing this useful topic further.

This place isn't social media? Are you serious? It's exactly like Facebook.

I've struggled with depression for years. I met with psychologists & was prescribed lexipro but never felt any better and stopped both.

Then I got on a daily work out regimen and the impact was immediate, every day I don't start the day with exercise, I feel like I'm off my meds.

I hope this thread can help us all find treatments that work.

. I can sooooooo relate to it. My mom to this day emphasizes every time we talk that I shouldn't mention any of my problems to anyone. She would be not even destroyed or mortified, but she would soooo not understand it.
Something like my blog is soooooo outside of her picture of the world.

At the same time it played a huge role in my recovery. I think getting reaction that kind of normalizes stuff, like people don't take a step back from you even if you have problems, shifts something in the brain to the right direction. Also getting a reaction like " It is not a tragedy to have a depression. You are still alive, you are normal, we like you. Do get treatment, try to get out of this state, put the effort in and everything will be good.",- took the edge out of how desperate I was.

Actually, my first instinct was, and still is, you aren't what you say you are. I'm guessing you're a psychology grad student exaggerating your credentials. Your defensive attitude solidified that belief.

But yes, let's keep from derailing this thread further. We can save our impressions of one another for a different thread.

The difference is that we are all practically anonymous on here. I mean no-one really knows who each other are in terms of names, where we live, etc. Social media and Facebook in particular there is that knowledge of everyone who you are friends with and it is seeing everything what these people are getting up to that can have that negative effect on you.

It's all fake news on facebook anyway.

Maybe I'm the odd duck, but I find some of the posting here on 2+2 to be much more negative than Facebook. There are entire threads here set up to be insulting. There certainly isn't a welcoming vibe extended here to new posters.

I find some of the posters here interesting, humorous, and thought provoking, but the overall atmosphere of some threads can put me off.

Some people I know on Facebook seem to just stop by to brag, which can be annoying, but it really has no lasting negative impact on me.

Some of these posts are why there are only a few people in my life who know I suffer from depression even tho I have a lot of very good/close friendships. I'm probably part of the problem, because maybe if people like me who suffered from it were more open people would be more educated about it, because Im sure lots of my friends would be really shocked and give kind of the typical naive "but you seem so happy" or whatever comment. I just don't really want to have to deal with it, or think about how people will view me differently.

General public awareness seems to be increasing, like its definitely better than it was 15 years ago, but I still think most people arent that familiar with it.

Mental illness has long had a massive stigma associated with it. This is slowly getting better as people become more educated about mental illness in general and about some of the more common mental illnesses. Also as we recognize more widely just how harmful that stigma is, and take steps to address it.

One of the most important things we can do is to speak openly about the topic to reduce the associated stigma and taboos. The more people that speak openly, the more people that will learn that they can speak openly, too. We're not there yet, but we're on the way.

The difficulty with speaking openly is that there are often very real costs associated with doing so. Usually social, sometimes professional. This creates a disincentive to speak openly, but that disincentive and the costs have been dropping over time as more and more people take the leap.

Sadly, this has not been my experience. I find the lack of empathy and compassion in the current generation staggering. What I have seen as an old is a bunch of essay-writing, blah blah lip-service attempts by people who are looking for the pat on the back for their enlightened words who are just as prejudiced as the generations before them.

Prejudices change. In today's society, it's not politically correct to speak negatively about LGBT issues, but don't get old, obese, poor, or be undereducated. Then you become fair game for what I refer to as the educated arrogant. Mental illness? Some can speak a good game. But I personally find that the level of nastiness toward these groups appalling.

I'd love to agree with you, Chopstick. But I don't.

https://ibb.co/i8y8Wk

I hesitate to respond to this, but I think it is a disservice to our field and this thread to end this conversation by engaging in personal attacks and sowing distrust within our own profession. Hopefully we can both agree that any mod would be encouraged to delete our thread derail, so that mental health professionals can be better represented going forward and that everyone else can focus on the original goal of the thread topic.

I imagine there are a lot of people who will encounter this thread while uncertain about seeking professional help, and - with the acknowledgment that my own previous post reads more harshly than intended - hopefully we can do a better job of making them feel comfortable doing so.

Sorry Gobbo, et al., and best of luck going forward.

Glancing through this thread as an outsider I'm surprised at how common depression and suicidal thoughts seem to be. Just focusing on the positives, what are the things that help depression and what kind of things can others do to help with someone's depression.

Exercise, therapy, and medications seem to be quite helpful to almost everyone, but personal interactions I could see as quite individual and I would be worried about a negative response. A short checklist on what's helpful and what could be harmful would be educational and give a better idea of the situation.

Start working out. Walk on a treadmill, shoot some hoops. If people laugh, **** em. Drink water only. I went from depressed and 266lbs to 183 and wake up feeling better than ever every day now.
Also, someone mentioned (sorry if I missed the reply) your mom used to always come on here and wrote crazy ****. Is that a strain still or are y'all close?

This sounds more like dysthymia (called persistent depressive disorder now). It's a very long-standing mild to moderate depressive state. Given that it's chronic, it's hard to treat because patients can sometimes shrug it off and say "well, this is just who I am." Not only that but treating long term chronic problems is very difficult and takes a lot of time and desire to change. Whether or not you want treatment and want to change is entirely up to you and if so, you should be prepared to be in it for a long while as these things don't change overnight.

As someone who has been depressed for most of his adult life and has been treated for it on and off, I'm honestly confused by a lot of people here making statements about how someone (even a close friend) might not know someone else is depressed for years. I'm pretty sure that everyone who talks to me for any decent amount of time would easily realize I am a depressive. Do some you actively try to hide it? If so, why? I wouldn't even know how to do so.

I think most people don't realize they're depressed and/or are ashamed of it in some way and try to hide it. I think a lot of people (myself included) are kind of in denial about it if they have a negative impression of the meaning of what it is to be depressed. All part of the negative stigma against it we have.

Personally I've never understood the stigma from it. It's not fun to be depressed, but many of the most intelligent and creative people who have ever lived suffered from depression or another mental health issue. I mean how many brilliant artists /musicians have killed themselves?

I honestly have a tough time taking anyone who does not have at least some tendency towards depression seriously as an intelligent person. IMO the world is a pretty depressing place, and if you aren't aware of that, maybe something is lacking in your understanding of the world.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...essive-realism

Last/only warning: stop trolling this thread. If you don't have anything meaningful to contribute, stay out.

This is true, I've dealt with depression on and off my whole life and didnt even realize til a few months ago I've been depressed for about 2 years

People can hide anything. Alcohol, racism, sexual orientation, etc.

Many things are hidden for good reasons. For example, being gay at one time (and still) was a career crusher in most any business.

Sure, some people could possibly hide being gay, if they have the look, habits and mannerisms typical of heterosexuals of their gender. However, the stereotypical effeminate gay man is not really going to be able to hide his homosexuality. Even some men who have effeminate mannerisms but are heterosexual are usually going to be suspected of being gay.

I guess I think of being depressed as closer to being effeminately gay. Actually for me even closer to being a particular race in that it would be pretty much impossible to hide.