How depressed have you been? What's the worst?

depression is a very serious thing. people who are depressed sometimes do things they wouldn't want to. Depression is not something you can just "snap out of." It's caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals, along with other factors. Like any serious medical condition, depression needs to be treated. Many things can trigger debilitating depression. Feelings of depression are caused by a chemical change that affects how the brain functions. A normally functioning brain is a giant messaging system that controls everything from your heartbeat, to walking, to your emotions. The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells called neurons. These neurons send and receive messages from the rest of your body, using brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These brain chemicals—in varying amounts—are responsible for our emotional state. Depression happens when these chemical messages aren’t delivered correctly between brain cells, disrupting communication. Think of a telephone: if your phone has a weak signal, you may not hear the person on the other end. Their communication is muted or unclear. The good news is that there are many forms of treatment that can help you cope with depression, including medications that can strengthen weak signals by raising the levels of certain neurotransmitters, or by improving the neurons’ ability to process signals. This ensures that the brain’s vital messages are delivered—loud and clear. TREATING DEPRESSION Psychotherapy Psychotherapy, or "talk therapy", is one of the most effective ways to treat depression. Studies have proven that talking to an expert about your condition can help resolve it. While the results are not immediate, you may find that just expressing what you're feeling can bring some relief. Short-term therapy has become more common and may occur over a period of 10 to 20 weeks. Types of therapy Several kinds of therapy are used to treat depression: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that contribute to depression. People who are depressed tend to think negatively, and cognitive behavioral therapy teaches you how to identify and challenge the negative thoughts. This approach is usually done in short-term therapy, and has been found to be particularly helpful for depression. Interpersonal therapy looks at how depression can be connected to troubled emotional relationships. Like cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy tends to be a short-term therapy, and has been proven to work well with depression. Psychodynamic therapy links depression to traumas and conflicts that happened earlier in your life, especially during childhood. It can be a short-term treatment, although it is often a longer process. Group therapy allows you and other people with depression—or people with the same issues that contributed to your depression—to meet together with a therapist and share experiences. The approach of the group may be any of the ones listed above. LIVING DAY BY DAY WITH DEPRESSION here are some people talking about how they deal with depression: Phyllis: “To stay motivated towards keeping on recovery…in the recovery process, I have to program my life. I work. I make appointments. I make plans with people. “Sometimes it’s hard and I’ll say well, my library books are due, I’ve got to go and return them, or I don’t feel like doing laundry but it’s piling up and I say, well, nobody’s going to come and do it for me so I have got to do it and by being active I find that I can really get myself going again.” Bonnie: “Every day is a challenge…but I don’t want to look back when I’m taking my last gasp and looking back in my life and saying, 'Is this what I did, is this what I did accomplish,' or worse yet, 'is this what I didn’t accomplish.' “I think in the long run nobody can be held accountable for your life. Only you can.” for more information check this site out: http://www.depression.com

The worst time when I got depressed was with my ex boyfriend. I found out that he had another girl, that was okay, but the thing is, I also found out that I was the second girlfriend! did you get it? I never thought I would be a mistress or something like that, I really felt I was so foolish and I even tried to hurt myself physically but not to the extent of taking my own life -- foolish I can say. But now when I'm depressed I don't want to hurt myself anymore. I've learned through the years!

I used to be depressed some years ago, but I found out that it was due to wrong nutrition, especially for my brain. When I found out how much the food affects you mentally, it solved most of my problems. Please read my answer to the following discussion: http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1091947.aspx This information changed my life.

You said you wanted to know how you touched my life, well in many ways first I have been where you are in the depression side of things. I have often wondered why god spared me when mark took his life. The sherriff saisd he had made plans to take me with him. The house looked like it too when I got there. The "crime Scene", as they called it was left for me to clean up. I thought of your family, and of myself , how lucky we all are that you are here with us. I was so happy to get your response just to know you are trying makes all the pain of telling a stranger your own personal pain. My son told me last night out of the blue that he is so glad I am his mom. It made every sacrafice worth while. I am so glad your okay, or at least working on it. your friend Cyndy Storll need to talk no problem anytime

Please get help!! My first husband was determined and unfortunatly succeedeed in killing himself. My children were 6&7 respectively at the time.They are now two very sad adults. They miss thier dad always, as do I. Everytime my grandbabaies hit a milestone in thier lives, I think of what thier grandpa is missing. You touch people in your life without knowing that you do. You don't know me and have touched my heart.Just remember , God never makes a mistake with anything that happens.

Holidays are also a time that depression raises it's ugly head... Once, at the lowest of my lows (and I had my share of those) I wanted to do myself in - and was about to drive my car over a cliff - and my son called at that moment on the mobile phone - and wished me a happy birthday, and that became one of my happiest birthdays ever!! Since that moment (it was many years ago) I have decided to simply enjoy every living moment - and i succeed in doing it. It was a gradual transformation - but it works wonders! Want to learn how? Contact me!! http://www.davidben-gershon.bravehost.com or http://www.kasamba.com/david-ben-gershon

I hope that you are felling ok now. Well, I've been into that kind of situation before and not only once but I think I would like to focus on sharing with you how I was able to survived it. I never thought I get over it but thanks to God because He is the one who helped me and made me realized that life is more than hurts and/of failures. Our friends or loved ones can fail/hurt us but it is only the Lord who will never give up on us. It will help if you read your Bible, read some books, and ask friends to pray for you and of course pray continuously! Hope this helps. God bless!

i was going to step under traffic then i committed myself

Well true, depression causes attacks and most health problems, its highly dangerous and hence we should learn to manage depression.