Got an outsider viewpoint (triggers!)

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2003
Got an outsider viewpoint (triggers!)
10
Tue, 02-17-2004 - 11:07pm
Well, I was talking to a guy at work today. We got on the subject of antidepressant medications and people that take them. I do. He was saying that he didn't think people really needed the medication and it's mind over matter. I didn't get upset because he wasn't rude about it. But he kept going on about how he thought that the medication was not necessary. I thought it was sad. I think alot of people think like this. I never felt like I was defending myself and why I take antidepressants. It's just kind of upsetting how some people view people who take antidepressants!

Yavonne


Wife to Devin since May 12, 2001


Angel born to heaven August 20, 2002


Mommy to Bunny (Aaliyah) July 29,2003

Photobuck
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 7:57am
It's just kind of upsetting how some people view people who take antidepressants>>>?

I agree, I hate the fact that there is such a stigma attached. All we can do is try to educate people differently .

Shannon

Avatar for all_girls4me
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 11:45am
Yes I hate that. The same if somebody tells you to just snap out of it. Easier said than done. I wish it was that easy. At least he wasn't rude about it. But it's not as easy as some people think it is.

Hugs Ilka



Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 2:55pm
Sorry you encountered that ignorant attitude. That's what it is, really - just ignorance that sometimes depression is due to a physical brain function.

If you find yourself in that position again and you're up to it, you might ask them, "Have you ever taken pain relief, like Tylenol or Advil?" Of course the person will say yes. At which point, you can say, "Well, pain is just the brain's response to something - the perception of pain is entirely in the brain. Should a person whose brain tells them they feel pain just tell themselves, 'Get over it' and that would end the pain? No, because the perception of pain is due to brain chemistry. So is depression. Therefore, taking medication to adjust the brain for depression is no different from taking Tylenol or Advil to adjust the brain's perception of pain."

Maybe it's simplistic, but I have used that explanation and sometimes people say, "Ohhhhh!"

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 5:37pm

Thats a good way to put it Kelly!


I know for me when I explain to people that

*hugs             

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 8:39pm
That's a good way to put it!

Yavonne


Wife to Devin since May 12, 2001


Angel born to heaven August 20, 2002


Mommy to Bunny (Aaliyah) July 29,2003

Photobuck
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-17-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 11:03pm
I don't have Depression but I have been coming to this board b/c I have a DH.

All the stuff that guy said IS how "we" think because "we" come from a totally different side of life on how we deal with things. So, we just automatically assume everyone should be able to do the same things we can.

All I wanted to say is that it's hard to understand how someone feels (or deals with things) unless you've walked a mile in their shoes.

Even as an outsider and all of what I know and see - it is still hard for me to comprehend what he goes through because I've never been there, therefore I will never TRULY understand.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-18-2004 - 11:04pm

Just wait till he's older...when his wife tells you he can't get an erection, just walk up to him and say..."It's mind over matter...you don't need that Viagra!!"

    CL for The

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 7:51am

Deb You crack me up!!!

*hugs             

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Thu, 02-19-2004 - 10:14am
Quite so.

My next-oldest sister suffered from depression from childhood - long before I was able to understand it (her first suicide attempt was when I was just 9 and completely unaware of it). As a basically very cheerful and positive person, I always thought she should just stop being silly and get over it. When she (and I) were adults, she finally got a psychiatrist who prescribed Zoloft, and her life changed dramatically, almost overnight. She is a *completely* different person who is now in control of her life and wakes up every morning feeling like a "normal" person. Had I not seen this transformation, I'm not sure I would have believed it. I only wish that kind of help had been available to her sooner.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Fri, 02-20-2004 - 12:32pm

Yavonne, so many people suffer from depression.

AcornLeaves