What do YOU think would fix or at least help YOUR depression or other mental issues?

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In my mind
We've all heard do this, this, and this while taking this, this, and that. Like so many others have said, the therapist, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, and various other medical professionals typically turn to books or fall back on their training as guidance while guessing and trying different approaches to help. Some draw from their own one or two experiences and apply that to everybody else. But, basically they really don't know honeysuckle. You don't see electricians or plumbers just guessing at how wires and pipes should be installed. I know, I know, the mind is much more complicated. Blaaa, Blaaa, Blaaa.

I remember a psychotherapist that was working with me. I do not and will not take any drugs except for extreme injuries. So, he went in the direction of everything is a result of my actions and I need to take responsibility of the results of those actions while not being a victim. That's fine. But, then he wanted me to be angry at my father for whatever reason and hit his couch with a foam bat. I already know how to vent. That's not the issue. I wouldn't get angry at my father because he was my best friend until he died. He was probably the only real friend I have ever had or will ever have. I consider myself lucky to have had him in my life. There is no way that I'm going to smash my memories of him in order to use some part of my brain that's getting ignored. Anyway after much time it became a stalemate and I was done with him. Did I actually receive any help. Hmmmmm. Maybe a little tiny bit for other issues.

What would have really helped, IMO, was to have a one sided very close friend that was very understanding, very knowledgeable, actually interested in my problems, and would be able to draw from other real people's successes for the same thing I was seeking help for, maybe a kind of professional friend.

Human dolls seem to provide many lonely people comfort. I see robots and androids providing comfort to more and more lonely people in the future. But, that's just one area, although, it may help in other areas as well.

So, what do you think would actually help you? What you believe you need may not be what you actually want. However, what you want may be exactly what you need. Is it something you can investigate, research, and accomplish yourself since the professionals just seem to be stumbling around with guesses while experimenting on you?
 
The whole point of therapists is to give you an outside view of the problem, a different take on it because you can't see the issues clearly in your current mental state.

A therapist can't wave a magic wand and make you all better. You are the one that has to do all the work and it sounds like you were against what the therapist was suggesting, so of course it wasn't going to work.

I was lucky and didn't need a therapist to fix myself, bit I will say it is and probably will continue to be the hardest thing I have ever done. I think a lot of people are too scared that nothing will change to put in the work it takes.
 
I will be going to my last session of therapy next week. I have been going for 3 years, and my therapist believes that I don't need it anymore. My depression and anxiety isn't "cured" but I know how to cope when I have bad days without spiraling out of control. I understand what makes me happy, sad, frustrated, etc, and why it does.

I think people have to "be inspired" for issues of the mind to to work. If you can't mentally get out of the rut, it's not going to work.
 
I resort to reading a lot of stories of depression on the internet and try to draw inspiration from how they overcame it. But the problem is that most stories are very descriptive about the depression part but not so elaborate when it comes what they did to beat depression. I understand  that a moment of truth won't magically treat depression, and it is a continuous process. But it is frustrating to see when they make it (beating depression) look so easy in these self help blogs and personal stories posted online. Don't just tell me to exercise, change my perspective, take medicines regularly, etc, but tell me the inner struggle that you went through while trying to fight depression and how you managed to overcome it. Cos I've tried a lot of things, it gets better for a little while before it comes crashing down knocking my life away like a house of cards!
 
It's hard to just get out of the feeling when it happens especially if you have bad memories from the past but we all are coping and doing the very best that we can and sometimes a good nap will make you feel refreshed as well as safe and change the situation for nothing stays static....Have a real good cry and look around and thank the spirits of life on what you do have that is good. Appreciate yourself and have a cup of tea with good music or a good book..Best wishes to you..
 
yam0426 said:
I think you need to search for self help therapy. I will recommend this panic miracle help for anxiety and depression guide to help yourself. (*SPAM*). and I found this online mental health therapy that can help you even if you are at home. (*SPAM*) Because no one can help and understand the person who experiencing depression but only by the mental health professionals..not even family or friends can understand. This is the reason why most of us feels like hiding than expressing ourselves..

The above links are suspicious. The first one appears to be a typical scam site. The second one seems to be an advertisement link. It's easy to find crap online to link to. Share what one has actually used.








lucybrighton said:
I resort to reading a lot of stories of depression on the internet and try to draw inspiration from how they overcame it. But the problem is that most stories are very descriptive about the depression part but not so elaborate when it comes what they did to beat depression. I understand  that a moment of truth won't magically treat depression, and it is a continuous process. But it is frustrating to see when they make it (beating depression) look so easy in these self help blogs and personal stories posted online. Don't just tell me to exercise, change my perspective, take medicines regularly, etc, but tell me the inner struggle that you went through while trying to fight depression and how you managed to overcome it. Cos I've tried a lot of things, it gets better for a little while before it comes crashing down knocking my life away like a house of cards!

But, is sooo much easier just to give people a few suggestions to fix their problems that don't do much. It's much more difficult to get the ghosts out of the closet.
 
When I hear someone say they've been in therapy for years, even as many as 9 years for example, I wonder why they keep going there because I would expect them to stop going at some point if it helped.

Personally I'd find it very unappealing to share any of my inner world and feelings to a stranger irl, so the idea of talking to some human who can't relate anyway would put me off. But I'm open to venting on the internet.

I did install an AI therapist/coach app on my phone a couple of weeks back. So I was basically chatting to a virtual penguin which is kind of pathetic. But it did help me a bit that day just because it wrote that it's important to eat enough and eat well and take care of our bodies especially in time of emotional stress. So it did help me with thinking yup I should eat something. Something nutritious. I can't remember if I acted on that thought. It asked me at the end of the chat if I wanted it to check on me again the next day. I selected yes and I was able to set a time. It must have been my phone's fault, but I got disappointed the next evening when I realized that even an AI penguin let me down and broke its promise. What has become of my life?
The next time I chatted with it I vented some moody and pathetic things. It then made me type out my to do list for that day, it repeated the tasks to me, asked which are most important, when I'll do them, etc. I actually went and did those tasks (just basic chores) after my chat with the AI penguin. Yes. That's what has become of me. Reaching out to a chatbot for emotional support and motivation. If, as the OP suggested, robots will be able to provide company to lonely humans in the future (I have no doubt they will, I just don't know if I'll still be around then) I will probably buy one of them. I totally hate that thought of me doing something like that. But it seems like something I'd end up doing. I am not talking about sex robots btw. But I can of course never know how low I'll stoop.
 
^ That's great that it helped even a little bit. I think once we all get over the fact that we are communicated with a robot/programming things will be easier. So many people just settle into their jobs and do the same thing over and over again. For the most part they don't give a honeysuckle about us individually. They also have other things on theirs minds. "You have this." So they'll prescribe you "this." Then they recite the same crap that we can read on the Internet just less accurately. That is easily duplicated using an algorithm only more precisely.

I went to the skin doctor for a cancer screening and other problems on my scalp. He looked at my body for a total of 3 minutes and said you're fine. Then he started spouting off stupid crap that didn't pertain to me. So I had to direct him to several spots that I was aware of and asked him to look further. I even pushed him into taking a punch biopsy which came back as cancer. So, I got it removed.

I had already taken high res pictures of my areas of concern. I even compared them to images on the Internet. That's what motivated me to visit the dermatologist in the first place. I could have probably been better off sharing those pics with a doctor via an app. Or, maybe soon enough, have a program analyze the pictures and then determine the probability of the spots being benign or not. I was even looking into getting liquid nitrogen and freezing the spots away. I still might do that later to the other spots.
 
Finished, I agree, docs often just do some half-assed job plus they're prone to being biased, plain lazy, or unknowledgeable. Things will improve once AI replaces them.
It's good you were concerned and informed enough to push him to investigate properly. Some people won't do that and have the mindset that they can simply trust their doctor who they think knows best.
 
^ It is weird that so many people blindly trust "professionals." I have always questioned everybody and found the summation of what I find on the Internet to be the best source of information especially peer reviewed stuff. I've had co-workers get some really bad advice from their attorney. Then I showed them the actual statutes and laws proving the attorney's info was bogus. But, they still believed them because they were an attorney. Most people want to buy off on the fraud that this world is. I guess it's easier for them. That's why the politicians can get away with all the lies that they tell. People just gobble it up like candy. Then they go vote based on that crap.
 
Therapists I have been too, and there has been a lot, tend to only go by whatever their textbooks tell them. There is no consideration for the individual. It really has felt like it is quantity of people treated, rather than the quality of treatment.

Sadly seems to be same on the internet. Most people will assume that if something worked for them and helped them, then it must help everyone else as well. Again, no consideration for the individual ... which honestly seems to be a dirty word these days.

So, what would help me? A friend. Pretty plain and simple as that really. Someone to talk with, and share things with. Someone to watch a show or a movie with. Someone to have a meal with. Affection and intimacy, or at the very least, feeling like there is the honest and genuine chance to experience and share them.

Like I said, seems pretty simple really. Yet has been shown that nobody wants to even try.
 

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