From Illness comes depression...
Illness by itself can cause so many changes in ones' life. It may change your mobility, it may change how you see or hear things. The hobbies that you once enjoyed may now be over. So much can change when an illness comes into your life. But the most debilitating can be the emotional state that it puts you in. All the changes that take place can put a terrible burden on your outlook on life and how you see the future.
Table of Contents
- So many questions arise when you become sick
- The Great Unknown
- The verdict and your reaction
- I'm depressed and nothing will change that fact
- Why me? Whose fault is it?
- One day the sun rises and so does your spirit
- My own story...
- My Meniere's lens
- Signs of Depression
- Ways to treat Depression
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- Depression Support Groups
- Lens about triumph over adversity
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Blogs about Depression
- New YouTube vids
- Depression and relationships
- let me know what you think...
- Love This Lens?
So many questions arise when you become sick
When you become sick, really sick, your mind races through question after question. How long will I be sick? How will this affect my relationships? Will I be able to do the things I have always done? And the most important question. Will this shorten my life? The Great Unknown
You go to one doctor and you take tests. Maybe she can give you an answer maybe she can't. the worry sets in. The great unknown gnaws at your stomach as various scenarios play out in your head.I'll never be the same.
I'll never work again.
My life will change forever.
Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.
Benjamin Franklin
The verdict and your reaction
The tests are back from the lab and the doctor tells you the news. If it is good all that worry was for nothing. If it is bad all that worry was still for nothing, worry never helps.
Your doctor will go over what you need to do. Whether it is surgery or therapy or any kind of treatment, now is the time for action. What action? Research your illness at the library or on the internet. Join a support group. There are other people out there to help you out, find them. Become an active partner with your doctor. If you're not happy with your doctor now is the time to find another doctor. Remember it is your life.
Your doctor will go over what you need to do. Whether it is surgery or therapy or any kind of treatment, now is the time for action. What action? Research your illness at the library or on the internet. Join a support group. There are other people out there to help you out, find them. Become an active partner with your doctor. If you're not happy with your doctor now is the time to find another doctor. Remember it is your life.
I'm depressed and nothing will change that fact
Your mood has sunken and you dread facing the day. It's bad enough to deal with peculiar health problems but now you don't want to get out of bed. You talk to friends and family, they are sympathetic but you still don't feel better. You should now consider counseling. I know the last thing you want to do is see another doctor. But you need guidance through this time and counseling might be the thing that helps you.Unfortunately many people still see going to a counselor or a psychiatrist as a sign of weakness. Well, that's their problem, not yours. Seek help.
There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying things which are beyond the power of our will.
Epictetus
Why me? Whose fault is it?
It seems in life we always want to blame someone for the problems we have and sometimes it is someone's fault. Is this illness hereditary? Blaming your parents doesn't help you and it wouldn't make them feel very good.
Or maybe you blame yourself for what is happening to you. You can't go back in time and change anything about your life so blaming yourself only makes you feel worse.
If there is something you can change right now to help your situation, then do that otherwise forget about placing the blame.
Or maybe you blame yourself for what is happening to you. You can't go back in time and change anything about your life so blaming yourself only makes you feel worse.
If there is something you can change right now to help your situation, then do that otherwise forget about placing the blame.
One day the sun rises and so does your spirit
You make adjustments to your life, you become an expert on all things that relate to your illness, you learn to cope because you become stronger, you get past the struggles of getting physically better, the sun rises and so does your spirit.You feel as though a heavy burden is lifted. You can deal with changes, good or bad.
Serenity is a beautiful location.
My own story...
I have had Meniere's disease for the last 5 years and I guess that is the inspiration behind this lens. This disorder dropped me like a rock. One day I was fine and the next day I was worried every second that I was going to have an attack.
Right now the meniere's is under control. But since there isn't a cure I still don't know if and when the next attack will be.
My Meniere's lens
My life with Meniere's Disease
My lens that describes how meniere's has affected me.
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Signs of Depression
- You feel that life isn't worth living
- You cry for no apparent reason
- You can't rest
- You don't want to eat
- The thought of suicide enters your mind
- You have no energy
Chronic illnesses such as heart disease, kidney failure, arthritis, HIV aids and others bring on depression.
Ways to treat Depression
- There are many drugs on the market that help with depression. These medications control the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, which are neurotransmitters that transmit messages to the brain which in turn can control our moods.
- Therapy sessions with a psychologist or a psychiatrist where the patient discusses their problems with the doctor. Usually a combination of medication and therapy is recommended.
- Natural treatments are a controversial way to cure depression. Supplements, vitamins and herbal remedies can be used for treatment. St. John's Wort is among the most common herbal remedy.
Great Stuff on Amazon
The Depression Workbook: A Guide for Living with Depression and Manic Depression, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $15.80 (as of 12/10/2009) 
Living with Bipolar Disorder
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 12/10/2009)
![Living with Depression [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VRYRJ92CL._SL75_.jpg)
Living with Depression [VHS]
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 12/10/2009)
Depression Support Groups
Support groups are wonderful for many types of illnesses including depression. Here is a link to a good place to start looking for groups.
Depression Support Groups
Depression Support Groups
Depression affects almost 15 million Americans or 6.7 percent of the population over 18. It is also the major cause of disability between the ages of 18 and 44.
Lens about triumph over adversity
If you have one to add let me know
- Hi, I'm Whit
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- In A Flash - Our Burn Injury Story
- Poof!...in a flash, that's how long it takes for someones world to come to a crashing halt. For us it happened at 6:58 pm on August 6th 2002.
- How I found my Dad
- When I was little I went everywhere with my Daddy. He took me with him when he went out on his bike. He left me when I was not quite three, and I looked for him for almost 54 years. I found him living in the same street where I was living.
- Writing From a Homeless Heart
- My experience living without a home almost twenty years ago changed the course of my life forever. It changed the possibilities open to me and my perceptions of the world both for good and for ill. Being homeless scarred my body and mind in ways that may never heal.
Feelings of worthlessness
Low self-esteem equals worthlessness
Your illness may prevent you from doing everything that you use to do and this gives your a feeling of worthlessness. Your self-esteem drops because you feel that you aren't as valuable. These are just negative thoughts with no basis of truth to them. Challenge these thoughts as soon as they come up in your mind.
Blogs about Depression
- Srinivasan Pillay: Depression: Illness Or Stuckness?
- There are times when, despite the suffering that depression causes, I wonder: what makes this an "illness"? And does thinking of this as an illness help in the long-term?
- Depression Is A Real Illness | Bipolar
- Depression is an illness as real as you are going to go with the mental, emotional and physical person. Is not just a temporary feeling of sadness that will go away when you want it. There are signs and symptoms and appropriate ...
- After learning of Lesnar's illness, Mir suffered days of ...
- Winning the UFC heavyweight title at 25-years-old, Frank Mir went from phenom to nearly retiring after struggling during a comeback from a horrific motorcycle accident. He's clearly not one to quit and doesn't take losses well, ...
Depression and relationships
While you are going through all this your family is also going through its own hell. Make sure you remember that.
let me know what you think...
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Reply
- richybird richybird Nov 28, 2009 @ 12:43 am
- You are brave.
for Meniere's disease, Acupuncture is also a choice.
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- davidstillwagon davidstillwagon Nov 8, 2009 @ 11:10 am
- I am so sorry to hear about your condition, I hope things work out for you!
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- RinchenChodron RinchenChodron Nov 8, 2009 @ 7:59 am
- I am in the middle of dealing with a liver disease diagnosis - that could mean a liver transplant eventually - talk about depressing! Thanks for this lens. Blessed by an Angel (you can add it to the plexo on my angel lens,
if you want).
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- davidstillwagon davidstillwagon Oct 12, 2009 @ 6:19 pm
- thanks for the suggestion, making a list sounds like a great way to organize your thoughts and emotions
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- MsAntiDepressed MsAntiDepressed Oct 12, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
- Finding the positives in your life and making a list of them and seeing how they outweigh the negatives, helps a lot with dealing. This was a great lens and gave me some insight to other ways to cope. Good job!
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by davidstillwagon
Hi, I'm David Stillwagon. I live in Atlanta with my wife and son. I have just recently started to blog about meniere's disease and sleep apnea. And I... (more)
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