Below is a link to a recent interesting article on how social media may exasperate depressive symptoms in those who are already prone to depression.
The gist of the article is that social media's (mostly Facebook) "skewed view of reality" may make an already depressed person even more depressed.
Seeing others have more "friends", posting positive (whether true or not) status updates, posting pictures of having fun (as if it's a constant) (can) make a depressive's symptoms worse.
Have you experienced "Social Media Depression"?
Felt the need to have your life be better due to others' Facebook profiles / statuses / pics?
How would you suggest a person deal positively with depression while at the same time using Social Media in a healthy matter?
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/facebook-depression-among-harms-linked-social-media-sites-20110327-211050-004.html
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Who knows best?
If you want advice on bringing up children, ask someone who's never had any they'll tell you everything you're doing wrong.
The same applies to depression, if you suffer just ask those who haven't had it, they have all the answers. The best one is still "I haven't had it so I don't know" (IE. "I don't believe you".)
Of course I'm being facetious. People always want to appear knowledgeable, but when we don't know (or believe) something it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true.
Having an opinion is absolutely acceptable, but with it comes responsibility (a word very popular with "know it alls"). True responsibility includes respect; respect for others opinions, feelings, and realities (which are different than ours).
This entails (on a deeper level) that responsibility requires humility which is (unfortunately) not a very common trait.
The person who has never experienced depression has the responsibility (although rarely the behaviour) to accept their ignorance without dismissing the reality of depression.
Am I whining? In the eyes of many, absolutely.
Do I care? No, because their ignorance is bound to show elsewhere.
Am I better than anyone? Definitely not because I don't know half of what I think I do.
Am I worse than others? Of course not, we all have our failures.
The same applies to depression, if you suffer just ask those who haven't had it, they have all the answers. The best one is still "I haven't had it so I don't know" (IE. "I don't believe you".)
Of course I'm being facetious. People always want to appear knowledgeable, but when we don't know (or believe) something it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true.
Having an opinion is absolutely acceptable, but with it comes responsibility (a word very popular with "know it alls"). True responsibility includes respect; respect for others opinions, feelings, and realities (which are different than ours).
This entails (on a deeper level) that responsibility requires humility which is (unfortunately) not a very common trait.
The person who has never experienced depression has the responsibility (although rarely the behaviour) to accept their ignorance without dismissing the reality of depression.
Am I whining? In the eyes of many, absolutely.
Do I care? No, because their ignorance is bound to show elsewhere.
Am I better than anyone? Definitely not because I don't know half of what I think I do.
Am I worse than others? Of course not, we all have our failures.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
When I'm tired
Depression brings people down and when you’re down, you’re tired.
One of the most common (yet misunderstood) symptoms of depression is fatigue. In my depressive episodes I was often extremely tired and people around me did not seem to understand that.
Although most non-depressives say the right things about depression (IE. “We know it is real”, “you are suffering”), the acknowledgement, and proper understanding of symptoms is extremely rare.
When I was (it still does occur) tired, I knew it was not “normal” to be that tired, but also that this fatigue was not just a simple case of short night’s sleep, change in schedule, or any other common reason. Depression was (coming) back, and getting (extra) rest would make me stronger to face it (depression) the next day.
I have tried “toughing it out” and ended up unable to leave the house for three days.
Unfortunately our society’s over-preoccupation with getting things done “yesterday”, the person who takes a day off from work, school, or any other activities is seen as weak or low-functioning. Of course when said person does make the effort to get up and go to work / school, the effort is not recognized, but if they indeed over-exert themselves and end up with another serious sickness, they are practically made out to be guilty of “not taking care of themselves”.
I have read articles about how taking time off work can be beneficial for both a person’s mental and physical health. Unfortunately, most employers (that I have known) treat absenteeism like it was the plague. Openly criticising an employee’s absenteeism rate by comparing them to others, and holding it against them in performance reviews even when they (the employer) have been made aware of the employee’s condition.
Luckily (or not), this is not (usually) the case for employees with organic illnesses, but when it comes to depression and other mental illnesses, the prejudice is still very prevalent.
One of the most common (yet misunderstood) symptoms of depression is fatigue. In my depressive episodes I was often extremely tired and people around me did not seem to understand that.
Although most non-depressives say the right things about depression (IE. “We know it is real”, “you are suffering”), the acknowledgement, and proper understanding of symptoms is extremely rare.
When I was (it still does occur) tired, I knew it was not “normal” to be that tired, but also that this fatigue was not just a simple case of short night’s sleep, change in schedule, or any other common reason. Depression was (coming) back, and getting (extra) rest would make me stronger to face it (depression) the next day.
I have tried “toughing it out” and ended up unable to leave the house for three days.
Unfortunately our society’s over-preoccupation with getting things done “yesterday”, the person who takes a day off from work, school, or any other activities is seen as weak or low-functioning. Of course when said person does make the effort to get up and go to work / school, the effort is not recognized, but if they indeed over-exert themselves and end up with another serious sickness, they are practically made out to be guilty of “not taking care of themselves”.
I have read articles about how taking time off work can be beneficial for both a person’s mental and physical health. Unfortunately, most employers (that I have known) treat absenteeism like it was the plague. Openly criticising an employee’s absenteeism rate by comparing them to others, and holding it against them in performance reviews even when they (the employer) have been made aware of the employee’s condition.
Luckily (or not), this is not (usually) the case for employees with organic illnesses, but when it comes to depression and other mental illnesses, the prejudice is still very prevalent.
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