tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8450543349448165337.post6246114641920231278..comments2023-02-27T12:58:29.826-05:00Comments on Unpublished For a Reason: I'm Back (Maybe)! Also Some Stuff About DepressionHannah Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00849529277859991156noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8450543349448165337.post-87539040347455397772012-10-03T13:09:09.017-04:002012-10-03T13:09:09.017-04:00*HUG* I think when I get depressed, it feels diffe...*HUG* I think when I get depressed, it feels different, but I also do the "one more hour" thing, and I also get rather impulsive, hehe. <3 you!Gooseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03494531707773841514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8450543349448165337.post-91868536162698338292012-10-01T13:00:29.523-04:002012-10-01T13:00:29.523-04:00I'm sorry to hear your "episode" has...I'm sorry to hear your "episode" has persisted. I've not made a point of checking on you about it partly because I don't want to come off as a depression know-it-all, and partly because I know how upsetting it can be to have someone knocking on your door daily about something. Still, I hope you know I'm here for you however I might be and that I hope you get to an even keel quickly.<br /><br />I've fought anxiety along with depression, but I've (generally) had them present as concurrent issues so it's been easier for me to distinguish between them and to know what to do about each. In my late teens and early 20s, my anxiety didn't even really manifest as an emotion. Instead, it presented with purely physical pain mimicking a heart attack. I went to a cardiologist for testing and everything, unaware that it was anxiety.<br /><br />The most important thing you've put forth here is to not try to conquer everything all at once, but to reduce the anxiety to winnable, smaller challenges. It's the kind of advice that might read as completely obvious to someone who hasn't actually dealt with this stuff, but for those of us who <i>have</i>, it's easy to recognize that this is insight from a veteran.<br /><br />You also raise an important point about how you face this stuff as an introvert, where socializing is overwhelming for you. In my experience, depression worked on me primarily by isolating me from people. For you, withdrawal is a self-defense tactic. Just goes to show that we're not a one-size-fits-all lot, and that's maybe <i>the</i> most important thing to remember: for ourselves, and for those around us who may not understand what we're going through and what it takes to get us through it.<br /><br />I have one more trick in my utility belt for anxiety, and that's my sense of humor. I've often said that it's when I can't find a laugh in a situation that I'm in real trouble. Sometimes those laughs are fewer and less hearty, but as long as I can see my sense of humor is still with me, I can take some measure of comfort that things aren't entirely hopeless.<br /><br />I've given it as an example before, but last year when I was admitted to a mental health facility for my depression, even the intake nurse noted that my sense of humor was still intact and I made her laugh a few times. That was tremendously important to me, especially at that moment. Humor tethers me to hope.Travis S. McClainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15774869483357940473noreply@blogger.com