CL, if you go back to the start of this thread you'll see that it was started by a forumite asking us, other forumites, for help or advice on depression. It was not a request for opinions on mental health treatment from uninformed people or bickering and personal insults
Several health professionals have offered help in good faith along with forumites with either first hand experience of depression, or those simply wanting to pass on their good wishes to a popular and valued member of the fell running community. A good bloke who is obviously having a difficult time at present
If you want to bicker or debate I suggest you start a fresh thread in the usual place
Poacher turned game-keeper
I've been biting my lip on this one but missed this comment..... unbelievable!
Firstly, Stagger I'm so sorry about what you're going through and that your thread has been hijacked in this way. I suffer from intermittent bouts of depression myself, much fewer since fleeing London, but the "Black Dog" still occasionally pays me a visit. For me, seeing a counsellor with my wife, being taught practical coping strategies and how to recognise the signs of a bout coming on has been invaluable. However, there are so many different types, degrees of and causes of the illness that qualified professional advice and diagnosis is essential. There's nothing worse than being told to "buck up", "snap out of it" or "chin up" as this just worsens the feelings of helplessness and inadequacy.
CL, you started off quite sensibly stressing the importance of exploring possible physiological causes but this post is crass, insensitive, patronising, ill-informed and incorrect on so many levels. No-one deserves to be depressed. If you'd ever suffered from genuine clinical depression you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. Depression is not feeling down or sad, it's a crushing, energy sapping and all encompassing blackness from which, at the time, there feels as though there's no escape. Yes, life is about ups and downs, but that has nothing to do with depression. You're not supposed to feel good all the time but depression is not about not feeling good and no-one should have to suffer it alone, undiagnosed or untreated.
I agree to a certain extent that some GP's have probably been guilty of too readily dishing out anti-depressants but the fact is that, for many sufferers of the illness, without these pills they wouldn't be able to physically and psychologically function. Many cases of depression have no external cues and are due completely to a imbalance of brain chemistry. A pharmaceutical approach is the only solution in these cases and is no different, or more wimpy, to taking an aspirin for a headache.
Dishing out your uninformed advice, opinions and purposely inflammatory posts on Sports Science, politics or economics is fine but this wasn't the thread for it.
When stagger started this thread he didn't give specifics. So all I've done is explored the various causes, including depression caused by making the wrong choices.
The rest of the comments dished out by others on here, are enough to make anyone feel depressed, because they don't contain the truth. All this 'we love you Stagger' isn't going to help him, he wants ideas to identify his problem.
If we're going to omit the possibility of a person having depression due to their actions, then we aren't helping anyone. All we're doing is sucking up to people with 'Auntie Maggie's remedy.'
Granted no-one can be as much of a low-life as Huntley, but don't you know when it's time to stop CL? (or at least follow DT's advice and bicker elsewhere!!)
Hi Stagger
This thread caught my eye as I am a manager of primary care mental health services within the City of Nottingham. In Nottingham (and infact across the whole of england within the past two years) we have been developing IAPT services. basically IAPT stands for "Improving Access to Psychological Therapies". This is a new concept in providong psychological therapies on a much wider basis at a primary care level, eg no psychiatrists or medication are involved. Instead in Nottingham we have employed 70 new Cognitive behavioural therpists, Psychologists and counsellors who provide a course of therapy for people with mild to moderate depression or anxiety either face to face or more frequently we provide guided support via computerised CBT packages. Access is directly via GP or self referral and waiting lists are short. As a national agenda under the last government IAPT exists across the country and there should be a service near you. We also have employment support services too to help people who are off work with stress or depression or are clinging on to their jobs for dear life. Again this should be available to you. i know getting out, not isolating yourself and doing exersize are key components in managing mental health issues. obviously not knowing anything about your level of depression I couldnt and wouldnt want to make any medical recommendations on a forum, but we are finding in Nottingham that with IAPT now up and running, that GP's are referring people to us earlier and are thus avoiding commencing people on anti depressant meds, or are referring people to us for much needed talking treatments previously unavailable at a GP level. We are also finding people who previously would have been referred to a secondary MH service and psychiatrist are more appropriately being referred to IAPT. I should explore locally your IAPT arrangements and see if they can accept self referral, or revisit your GP. Hopefully you will recieve some help in a far less medicalised way than previously. Good luck to you.
[COUNTS TO TEN VERY SLOWLY AND DRAWS BREATH]
Now...before any of this gets any more out of hand...I am more than happy to be open and honest about my depression, and if only one part of my original post in response to Stagger's request for assistance does him and his mood some good then that has to be a GOOD THING.
How are you doing Stagger?
Chin up Trev and get yourself down to hebden bridge...me poncing around in long socks and pink gloves will give you summat to smile about
Trying to plod up hills every day slightly faster than the day before