I don't know how more people aren't depressed

[Springisnear4]

Life just is depressing imo. You work all the hours with no appreciation for someone who would replace you tomorrow, everything is really expensive, you just go through the motions going on some semi average holiday once a year, most days are the same, tiring and boring.

It is shit at the moment, I’m fortunate to be quite resilient so I don’t get depressed. But I do feel sorry for myself sometimes as life shouldn’t be this hard.

Some people are wired for depression, others aren't IMO. Those who are can become depressed with little external factors, while those who aren't can take a lot more without/before suffering clinical depression

I'm grateful to be on the side of it not being something I suffer from. In the last few years I've lost much loved pets, been in serious money issues, battled addiction and lost my father 6 months ago, but I'm fine and have been throughout. I've had moments of stress (mostly due to money), and moments of sadness (dad), but they are just that, moments that pass.

My partner on the other hand does deal with depression, his MH has improved vastly in the last 5 years but he can still get stuck in his head for days/a week or 2 (it used to be weeks - months), sparked by things that to me would be a fleeting thought/concern/a minor inconvenience

I wish I had a brain like you :)

I understand op I'm constantly bored and down and can't get any joy from anything. Not sure if it's my adhd/autism

I've just been diagnosed ADHD myself and I do wonder if that's part of it

I often wonder if some of us are not living in the right environment/time.

Imagine if you (depressed) lived

In a tiny home made shack with a dirt floor. No bed or furniture. Or no home at all - you slept in the shelter of a hedge.

where you had to get water from a stream Or pond

You don't have anything to eat until you hunt and kill something, or find some berries (if there are any)

You are starving, thirsty, filthy, cold.

How depressed do you think you'd be compared to how you feel now?

There is a difference between clinical depression and unhappiness, yes you can be both, but one is environmental and the other is not. I think many people are unhappy but this doesn’t mean they should also be mentally unwell and diagnosed with clinical depression.

It's hard to say isn't it because in many ways that life is harder but it also causes you to live on your instincts and wits (not in the mind).

Do you mean unhappy rather than depressed?

I could be

That's interesting as I (also adhd, possible AuDHD) have wondered if that's been a factor in me not struggling with depression, in the sense that I don't concentrate on the bad stuff long enough to get down about it, I'll be upset/down for a short while then I'm distracted and on to the next thing 😅

Where do you live @Springisnear4 ? If you’re London based, ask your psychiatrist to refer you to one of the psychedelics trials for treatment resistant depression, happening at Kings College Hospital.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/psychoactive-trials-group

You can take a look at the MAPS website too to see if there are any other trials happening near you

https://maps.org/

Actually @RheaRend is mostly right. Depression is linked to circumstances and experiences. It often happens due to repeated suppression of 'unacceptable' emotions such as anger or sadness. A person who is raised in a home where it is not safe to express those emotions will often develop a predisposition to depression. Depression serves an evolutionary purpose: it dulls us down and makes us more compliant/passive. We blame ourselves and internalise the problem so that we can exist within the tribe and not be cast out. Once upon a time this would have helped ensure our survival. It isn't an illness in the way that cancer is. The lowering of serotonin isn't some spontaneous thing that happens without prior experiences and emotional reactions.

The book The Compassionate Mind explains this beautifully.

Getting a grip is not something that is necessary to be said. It's not adding anything constructive to help OP, is it.

That's so interesting! Maybe it isn't the missing link. I don't know. I'm always trying to find the 'why'.

Thanks so much, this paragraph helped me articulate something I've struggled with all my life! I've felt there's a problem but known there shouldn't be a problem. Growing up, having and expressing normal life emotions like upset or pride in accomplishments was met with anger or sarcasm. My serotonin levels were so dulled down by the time I was in primary school that I was already banging my head against walls to harm myself and hoping I wouldn't wake up the next day. I've taken all the main brands of SSRIs offered to me by my GP over the years, but I'm less functional on them than without. Presumably because there's so few experiences for positive interactions of the increased serotonin levels to connect to...

I've ordered 'The Compassionate Mind' to see whether there's any guidance to a more specific kind of therapeutic approach that can help me. The common belief that depression is 'just an illness' has really put me off seeking further help after a number of bad experiences.

I find life so depressing, if I actually stop to think about I just get overwhelmed by how awful it is. I used to have a hobby that I loved and gave me a reason to get up every day but I haven’t been able to do it for a year because of an injury and it’s made my life so much worse. When I had that one good thing in my life everything else was bearable, now there is nothing good.

Not sure where serotonin levels come into this?

It has been removed thank you. If you think it's okay to say to someone who is massively struggling to get a grip, that says a lot about you.

I know! Every other person is depressed.

OP you need to take the little joys from life. It's very sad that you have this outlook.