Replies to 'Depression'

  Hi there !  You were very fortunate that you actually received decent care that included therapy.  That doesn't really happen here. 21st century psychiatry in Australia is archaic to say the least. They are quite happy to sit back and witness the mistakes made in other countries and then simply repeat them here. In European countries they abolished the use of ECT altogether. It is of no value at all. It is highly dangerous and can result in stroke or death. But they gloss over those details whilst selling it to patients. We give epileptics anticonvulsant medication to stop them from seizing because all seizure activity kills brains cells by the hundreds. There is no way to control what areas of the brain will lose cells. Eventually after enough seizure activity  areas like the frontal lobe that determine and control emotion and personality can die. You would be a walking zombie if that occured. 

  However, we are dealing with big bucks. Drug companies need to push their product and so instill a "reds under the beds" mentality. The anti-depression campaigns try to convince us that 49% of Australians are mentally ill  ( suffering from depression) and we must seek them out and treat them. If that were actually true our country would have already gone down the toilet ! Just imagine if 25% of our politicians were mentally ill or 25% of our work  force were mentally ill. There would be nobody well enough left to run the country!  Get real. People throughout history learned to deal with it without the chemical wonders that are being pushed on us. Give us sensible ,plausable & practical solutions I say.

  A  one hour workout will leave you feeling a hundred  times better than any drug can. Do that often enough and you will not feel unhappy. You will have an entirely different focus than the one you have now. You are living day to day just waiting to feel depressed again. Don't give it a chance to sneak up on you . I didn't put much stock in the value of exercise to your physical and mental health until I started doing it. The endorphins your body releases make you feel fantastic. They are our body's 'opiates' you might say. That is the reason that people take illicit drugs, for that kind of high. Exercise gives you the natural high you need to succeed.A lot of our health problems reside in the lifestyle we are leading. If you're body is not getting the right balance of vitamins, minerals and exercise it will eventually affect how our brain functions. The two are connected.

  I hope I haven't come on too strong. People have often told me I should look into becoming a personal motivation coach. I don't know about that. All I know is that I draw on my observations and experiences to help me to 'think outside the square' in most aspects of life. Some people find that too confronting but it is who I am today. Ten years ago I was so introverted and painfully shy that I would never express an opinion for fear of offending even one person. I guess it was the only positive thing to have come out of my experience.

 Take care now Suzanne and never lose sight of the wonderful things you have yet to experience.      Donna/foxylass.