Anyone else with a co-occurring disorder?

[KatieB]

Anyone else with a co-occurring disorder?

Saving Grace;827069 wrote:

I read an interesting article about depression......it is a normal response to our unhappiness or the failure of a situation we find ourselves in. It is healthy to feel it , it should make us want to make changes. Instead, we go into depression, take anti-depressants or drink , to mask the feelings so we do not have to make those uncomfortable changes. It keeps us from changing!

That's a fantastic way of looking at depression, saving grace.. and so true! I think in modern society we are too quick to "give in" due to the availability of "quick fixes" such as anti-d's, AL etc.. rather than make those changes you mention.. i also think there is way too much "bullying" in society; as kids, then as adults in the workplace - which is normally due to competitiveness.. but this causes us to have low self-esteem! I was in an unhappy marriage but masked that unhappiness with AL rather than face up to what was the truth - i did not love my husband.. it's hard to find inner strength to make changes, its all too easy to go down the downwards slope.. but not any more! I want to have a good and happy life, and am willing and ready to fight for it this time!
Katie xx

[Popeye]

Anyone else with a co-occurring disorder?

Hi Anotherday,

For many years I've had regular periods of ups and downs. The ups don't seem as high as the downs are deep, but they happen, so bad that at one point about 15 years ago, I set about doing myself in. It didn't quite work but while I was in hospital I saw a psychiatrist who had a look at me and pronounced me well and sane and sent me home.
Now these lows come and go. I was drinking constantly then and while I never tried anything foolish again, and I never will, the thought that it would be better for all concerned if I just disappeared wasn't too far away.
Since stopping drinking I've had two of these 'episodes' and I decided to see my doctor about it. She's very good with me and I told her how I feel and also that I was very wary of taking any mind-altering medication. My mum was on all sorts of pills and it frightens the life out of me to think I'd need what she was on to get through the day. My doctor listened but still felt the need to offer me some anti-depressants. I told her my concerns and she said to wait and see for now. The thing is, while I was there, I was fine. The week before I felt weak-minded and vulnerable and it's something that I can't stand about myself. Even as I feel myself sinking, I know that I can handle it and it'll pass, as all things do. It's just not a good place to be. I know that I have everything I need to live a reasonably contented life and I'm able to control what happens to me. I've taken a lot of time to learn about myself and relax and be at peace with myself with meditation and the like, which helps a great deal.
I'll be 50 next year and I've absolutely no intention of letting the rest of my life slip away unlived. Most of the time I'm really up-beat and game for anything. Most of my family I'd say friends too if I had any) aren't aware of this problem, if it exists at all. They worry a little but are of the impression that I've lost it, as over recent years I've done some unexpected 'out-of-character' things, but that's OK. I'm way passed waiting for the approval of people, all of whom have their own idiosyncrasies. There are far too many folks willing to give their unsolicited counsel and pronounce judgment.
I'm rambling...
I'm seeing a future where before I couldn't see one and I'm putting that down to sobriety and I'm pleased with that.

[Guest]

Anyone else with a co-occurring disorder?

Katie,
Thank you for understanding.
Wow.....I have all those horrible, maybe homeless decisions ahead of me to make.......but gee, is the depression, alcohol abuse worth it.

I refuse to mask my feelings with antidepressants anymore, why alcohol? I am going down. I know the answer.

I have to make a huge change. I know it will take years, if even ever, to reach a comfortable stage in my life, I am 60. But, even alone forever, in a hole in the wall will be better than this. I know I will find someday , some kind of happiness. I won't feel the need to drink away my feelings and my life.

[KatieB]

Anyone else with a co-occurring disorder?

Gold;827068 wrote: Who decides what is normal, acceptable, a disorder? Why are there so many more 'conditions' than ever before? So much credence is given to science and expert opinion that it doesn't allow for common sense.

We are seeing an unprecedented level of control being placed upon us by government, society, media, and the medical profession, and what better way to control a populace than by dividing and separating them into categories of what is acceptable and what is not.

When I listen to apparent experts there are so many holes in their information I wonder why they are considered expert, I do not see how intense study or speculation on a single area of difficulty can stand alone without taking into account all aspects of the person. There are so many branches of medicine now and a plethora of diseases that when you read symptoms of one it could also be many others.

Why is so much money spent on illness? I do not believe that humans are as flawed as we are led to believe.

It is not natural for us to be surrounded by unatural noises, bombarded with information, polluted by electric light, television, electrical devices, and a forced society that says you have to be a particular way, have this, do that, work in certain careers.

This is a time of remarkable change and upheaval, and there is much deception designed to confuse and demoralise as a result.

We have to focus on the good things in ourselves, intelligence, sensitivity and so on, and if that is not what the majority of society values then we find a niche for ourselves. It is important not to allow the judgement of others to have power over us, it is our own inner power which is important not something outside of us.

Excellent post, Gold..
I agree.. we are so far removed from what our "natural" state should be.. essentially we are MAMMALS but it is so easy to forget that in modern society! Due to all the conveniences of modern society, we do not get to use our bodies for what they were designed to do.. i.e fighting bears etc.. I sometimes wish I lived thousands of years ago back when we were just surviving (it would have been exciting!), and not just forcing ourselves into living the way we are told to do by society.. I also agree that there are indeed labels for everything.. it seems like everyone these days has a disorder of some sort.. though as the human brain is so complex, scientists still dont know how it works.. thats why anti-d's may work for one person, but have the opposite effect in someone else..
Life is so confusing! I need to find a niche...