Depression explained

[Rainagain]

Found a brilliant utube video about causes and effects of depression by sapolski of Harvard university.

It is 52 minutes but it is pure gold.

I have had what he calls major depressions for the last 25 years, his explanation gave me so much understanding of what has been happening, and his description is so accurate. Some of my supposed cptsd symptoms are symptoms of depression, like waking at 4 am, I didn't know that was a depression symptom. Thought it was anxiety or cptsd.

I've noticed that my 4am waking comes and goes over time in cycles....


He also says after repeated adverse life events resulting in major depression you get to a point where further depressive episodes start to arrive with little or no further trauma.

I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder last year due to having 3 or more major depressions so far this life, this video explained what that is and i can now see why I have been diagnosed with it.

I can also see now why my psychiatrist's prognosis for my future was so bleak, its not good at all.

Sorry to talk about myself so much, I think there are lots of jigsaw pieces in this video for everyone, just stating how significant it was for me.

I've been accused of what sapolski calls anhedonia.... Its apparently a symptom of major depression not a lifestyle choice, how liberating to know that.

[LilyITV]

Thanks so much for posting this.  Depression is such a hard disease to understand. 

[Three Roses]

  thank you, Rainagain. 

(you didn't talk about yourself, and even if you did that's what were here for, to listen & care.)

[Rainagain]

Thank you both,

The lecture is so informative, I keep going back over it in my mind, so many pieces of the puzzle, just, wow.

Like the fact that medication just gave me side effects, that is actually really common, the pills don't work for many people, not just me. My Psych never explained that to me so I felt it was my fault in some way. Like I wasn't trying to get better or something.

[Three Roses]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this lecture with us! I'm 38 minutes in and I'm just floored at the amount of information and how validated I feel by it all. Here's a link to the aforementioned lecture for those of you who want to check it out - https://youtu.be/NOAgplgTxfc

[Rainagain]

Well done three roses,

If I knew how to do links I would have done that....

I'm going to use the lecture as support when things are bad, revisit to calm me down.

[LearnToLoveTheRide]

Thank you Rainagain.

I had two major episodes of depression when I was younger, prior to the trauma which precipitated my C-PTSD. Eighteen months ago I was diagnosed with severe depression (comorbidity) with my C-PTSD.

It's progressing badly. For the safety of Forum users, I will not make direct reference to the topic, but my depression recently saw me admitted to the ER and then the Psychiatric Ward for 72 hours observation.

Take care of yourself. LTLTR.

[Three Roses]

I'm glad you're doing better, LTLTR. 

[Rainagain]

Ltltr,

I also had two depressive episodes prior to the third one which caused the cptsd, according to my psych its 3 or more to allow the diagnosis of major depressive disorder, so the third trauma precipitated both of my diagnoses.

I wasn't altogether in great shape before the third trauma, but I'm in a right mess now, possibly.

Glad you are back by the way.


An important item from the sapolski lecture is how after repeated disaster causing depression the depressions become cyclical without much of a reason to bring them on.

I'm glad to know this even though its very dark news, I find comfort in understanding. And I don't like surprises so being forewarned is useful.

People in real life don't get it, many of the people who know about what has happened to me just say things like ' I couldn't cope with that' or 'I don't know how you cope'.

I don't cope, I suffer two rather tricky disorders and that is not coping, its something else entirely.

[Contessa]

I've got very little data now, so cannot watch this link. But...

An important item from the sapolski lecture is how after repeated disaster causing depression the depressions become cyclical without much of a reason to bring them on.

and

People in real life don't get it, many of the people who know about what has happened to me just say things like ' I couldn't cope with that' or 'I don't know how you cope'.

I don't cope, I suffer two rather tricky disorders and that is not coping, its something else entirely.

Having truly empathic people admire your resilience to all that has happened, to still be alive after it all... it's comforting. But also heartbreaking because that's your life; battling just to stay alive at times. Not living.

[LilyITV]

These videos were really informative for me.  It's pretty clear that I've been suffering from depression for a long, long time.  This is all I know.  Will I even know what "normal" feels like?

[Rainagain]

Knowing about depression has actually helped me cope with this year's bout of it.

I recognise it as it arrives which makes it less frightening somehow.

Same with cptsd, knowing my weird symptoms are cptsd has helped me be less anxious about them.

I read somewhere (a proper psychiatric published paper) that major depressive disorder is comorbid with PTSD in 50% of people with PTSD.

The rate for cptsd comorbidity with MDD might be much higher than that I'd guess.

Keep looking into it Lily, you need to know what is happening before you can begin to tackle it, or at least that is my experience.

[Blueberry]

Knowing about depression has actually helped me cope with this year's bout of it.

I recognise it as it arrives which makes it less frightening somehow.

Same with cptsd, knowing my weird symptoms are cptsd has helped me be less anxious about them.

Good progress Rainagain 

[Rainagain]

Thank you Blueberry,

I hadn't thought of it as progress  but it is.

[LilyITV]

Knowing about depression has actually helped me cope with this year's bout of it.

I recognise it as it arrives which makes it less frightening somehow.

Same with cptsd, knowing my weird symptoms are cptsd has helped me be less anxious about them.

I read somewhere (a proper psychiatric published paper) that major depressive disorder is comorbid with PTSD in 50% of people with PTSD.

The rate for cptsd comorbidity with MDD might be much higher than that I'd guess.

Keep looking into it Lily, you need to know what is happening before you can begin to tackle it, or at least that is my experience.

Yes turned out I had major depression and I've had it for years.  I've been living with this nearly all my life and somehow it all flew under the radar.  All those years...