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Post by Oriet on Aug 12, 2009 20:06:27 GMT -5
The two reasons I'm on it (though a lot more have been diagnosed since I started getting SSDI payments) are anxiety and depression. Because of them I am unable to work, unable to do basic executive functions (filing bills, keeping the house clean, etc), and unable to care for myself by myself (I have to get prodded to do a lot of basic stuff, including eating at times). I do know how to do stuff, but to remember I need to do them or to actually start doing them, even when really motivated to, is definitely limiting.
As for how to go about applying there should be a social services office somewhere in your area. You can pick up the application forms from them, and even schedule an appointment for a social worker to help you go through filling the application out. They almost always reject the first application, but you can easily appeal their decision and/or reapply (and you'd want to see a social worker about this step too). There is a psych evaluation they have you go through every 3 years to see if you no longer need it, as most people who end up on disability are on it less than 5 years, but if there's no significant change or you've gotten worse you'll stay on it.
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Post by RavynousHunter on Aug 13, 2009 3:58:56 GMT -5
Yeah, my dad's a walking plethora of illness (mental and physical), and was diagnosed as legally disabled when he was 11. Quick question regarding that...if he were to receive backpay from disability, would he get the money he's due since he was first diagnosed as disabled, or would it only count up through the years since he tried to first apply for it?
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Post by Oriet on Aug 13, 2009 4:23:22 GMT -5
Far as I know/remember, only up to a year before he first applied.
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Post by RavynousHunter on Aug 13, 2009 4:33:40 GMT -5
Aah, well. Still, though, that'd come to be a rather substantial sum...even if put into an annuity of some sort.
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Post by Paradox on Aug 13, 2009 10:37:28 GMT -5
I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was just a kid, around age eight I think. I've taken SSRI's ever since and have never had another episode, thank God. It runs in the family. My dad suffered with it without meds for years.
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Post by Death on Aug 13, 2009 11:22:19 GMT -5
I'm so sorry that you are going through a very rough time .
Like Red , my dear RL friend. I too have had rough times. And like him I never found solace or help in religion nor from the religious.
It took the realisation that I am not alone, the courage to reach out, the understanding that the feelings will pass and most importantly
knowing that there was nothing wrong with me, that my feelings were normal , what was abnormal was my life, my situation.
If I was happy, then there would be have been something wrong with me!!
Do what it takes to make your life a happy one. Choose happiness.
Courage my Friend. You are not alone. :kiss:
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Post by Redhunter on Aug 17, 2009 5:31:34 GMT -5
Well, Red, my problem with taking this to the curch is complex. As you probably know me well enough by now, it's no surprise to you that I am far from a conventional or dogmatic Christian. There are many, many aspects of the organized church-political that I find disagreeable and objectionable, from the seeming omnipresent misogeny to the subtle moral fascism. It's not my religious beliefs I have no confidence in, it's the human beings involved in the church that I doubt. Seeking the assistance available to me through my place of business may well have negative effects on my employment. I've seen it happen. Teaching is one of the few professions where you can destroy your career merely by the appearence of wrong-doing or instability. Since I work for a parochial school, the church assistance abailable to me is directly connected to my place of employment, and I simply do not want those two aspects of my life in direct contact. People gossip. People talk. People, especially judgmental, self-righetous people (such as those the church-political has in abundance) take "steps" and "measures" to do what they believe is "right" regardless of reality. It's these people I don't trust, not the faith. And while I understand where you are coming from, Red, and why you posted, you do come close to mocking what I believe in several places. You don't know my position on Jesus, or really any other aspects of Christianity, since I don't tend to openly discuss them here. Don't mistake my lack of confidence in the church-political to be lack of confidence in what I believe. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
I said the worthlessness of religion made my depression worse, which it did.
I said I am happier without religion, which I am. ‘How do you cope with depression’ is what you were asking in your OP and I gave you my answer: I gave up religion partially because it only made my depression worse.
I said I found it “interesting” that the one place you should be able to turn for help is actually making things worse for you due partly to a religious element, which quite nicely validates my personal story.
Further validation comes in the form of you asking advice from various groups of pagans and atheists who will NOT threaten your job or personal standing in the community like a certain aspect of a certain religion may do.
But my response to you was seen as borderline mockery? Was yojetak mocking with suggestions about lightboxes, not drinking or taking medication? Was she out of line since she doesn’t know your stance on those things because you don’t discuss those aspects on these forums? Was she “making the mistake” of assuming? If not, why not if I’m accused of it?
If my personal story and a direct response to your OP (from a known anti-religion atheist no less)—who is pointing out how religion could be at least partially making your depression worse and how it seems to be causing a teacher to turn to godless groups your church openly mocks and despises over the ones who in theory should be helping you—sounds mocking to you, then you’ve countersunk my point, spackled it, painted over it with two coats of high-gloss and buffed it to a mirror finish.
On the other hand, if you don’t want peoples’ personal opinions, then don’t ask for them. Otherwise please don’t accuse people of mockery when they aren’t doing it because it just makes you look petty and dismissive and I know you are above that.
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Post by katz on Aug 17, 2009 8:24:24 GMT -5
I had depression aggravated by bullying from about the age of twelve to sixteen. I had pretty bad acne at the time, which only made me more of a recluse and sensitive about what other people said about me. I felt like I was in a thick fog and no one else could possibly understand what I was feeling (or my super deep, awesome emo poetry).
Any parent probably should have stepped in at this point, and it's not like they didn't care, but our insurance was through my dad's company, which was owned by my grandfather and uncle, the uncle and my dad were constantly at each other's throats. If I went to see a therapist or went on drugs, my whole family would know. A recent incident in which my cousin (my uncle's son) struggled with mental illness has showed me that it might have been for the best that I never went.
My lucky break wasn't like most other peoples, though it was due to drugs. My GP prescribed the high-intensity acne drug Acutane, which had to be taken with The Pill because of it causing such bad birth defects. The combination of getting rid of my acne (seriously, this is a miracle drug) and, I later learned, the estrogen balancing off some slightly askew hormone levels, cleared away the fog. I'm now happy with my life; I'm on the debate team and can (and have) speak confidently in front of hundreds of people when two years ago I couldn't look someone in the eye.
(((Sandman))) I really hope you find some way to feel better. I know how bad it is to feel bad.
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Post by my9thtime on Aug 17, 2009 13:51:53 GMT -5
Hope you get better soon Sandman, I know what depression is like.
While I cannot say that I know what you are going through, because I don't think I have ever felt any really bad depression, I get depressed about once a week. Usually, I try to sit in the dark and listen to music. Tea also helps.
I used to replace the tea with vodka, but then I'd have a hangover AND still be depressed.
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Post by Old Viking on Aug 17, 2009 13:56:13 GMT -5
Clinical depression is far too common. I probably had it for many years. The diagnosis from a psychiatrist was 12 years ago. Wellbutrin and Lexapro keep me functioning. Based on our family history, there may be a genetic component.
Those of you who suspect or have received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, please stay on top of it. Our number two son was a brilliant man. Reading at fifth-grade level when he was in kindergarten, deemed by psychologists to have an IQ above 145, graduated with honors from Dartmouth. In his late 40's his bipolar became so severe that -- even with counseling, meds and many loving friends -- he was recycling many times per day. He could no longer work. He could no longer even leave his apartment. He blew his brains out.
I also admonish that neither bipolar nor a garden variety of clinical depression can be willed away. Please don't attempt it. My sister told her doctor that she felt guilty about meds because she felt she should be able to use her will power to fight off bouts of depression. His reply" "For chrissake, Harriet, it's a chemical imbalance in your brain. You can't do anything about it with will power."
My best wishes to Sandman and all of you struggling with this.
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Aug 19, 2009 13:38:10 GMT -5
That sucks, Sandman. I don't know what helps or does not help, unfortunately.
At the risk of worsening the situation, I address Redhunter now: I didn't see anything wrong with your initial post, but would a simple, "I didn't mean it that way," have really been too difficult to say?
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Post by shykid on Aug 19, 2009 15:51:24 GMT -5
I'm sorry, Sandman.
Severe clinical depression runs in my mom's family. I've had on-and-off spells with it since I was about 10 or 11, partially due to my screwy brain chemistry and partially due to a bad, teasing-filled childhood that left me with self-esteem issues, a fear of inadequacy, and other scars I struggle with today. The spells started off mild but got longer and more intense as I got older.
I didn't get treatment until I was 18 and had an episode so bad I didn't even have the energy or motivation to move or get out of bed. Even with meds, I have bouts of it, but they aren't nearly as intense, and they seem to last hours instead of days. I also have lupus, which makes the fatigue and lack of energy part of depression even worse. My lupus flares and depression spells seem to coincide.
What helps me more than anything is to know I'm not alone and to talk about it. It also helps me to get up and do something--anything--that requires a lot of mental or physical energy, even if I don't feel like it or don't want to.
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starbrewer
Full Member
God can go to hell
Posts: 226
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Post by starbrewer on Aug 19, 2009 15:55:46 GMT -5
If paxil didn't work, see your head doctor to try something else. Maybe another SSRI like Prozac, and if that doesn't work, a different class like MAOI's.
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Post by Death on Aug 19, 2009 16:40:39 GMT -5
I do understand that depression is a disease but what worries me is the pathologising of unhappiness.
There seems to be a confounding of depression with unhappiness in the US,as if unhappiness is not possible. And a social habit of the quick fix.
Unhappiness while not pleasant is not an illness. It doesn't need treatment.
The source of unhappiness is what needs to be addressed.
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Post by the sandman on Aug 21, 2009 1:09:49 GMT -5
Well, Red, I'm glad that you found a solution to your depression. Everyone chooses their own path, and if your path is atheism far be it from me to criticize you for it. It seems you arrived at that decision after a long struggle, and I hope it has brought you a measure of peace.
I'm not going to get into any kind of long discussion with you on these things, partly because I don't really believe you have any interest in me or my well being (if I'm wrong, I apologize, but based on the contact I have had with you, you just don't seem like the compassionate type--that's not a criticism or a condemnation, just an observation), and partly because I just don't think you are really interested in listening to anything I have to say. You made your position clear, and you have made your disdain for any faith, even one as unconventional and free-thinking as mine, very clear as well.
I do not think my faith has anything to do with my depression, nor does my difficulty with the church-political have anything to do with my faith. I am not fond of the church-political. But the human organization known as the "church" is not the same thing as my faith. I thought I was very clear on that. You are not going to deconvert me, nor are you going to convince me that my faith is the source of my depression.
The source of my depression is our failure to have any children that survived, my struggle with prostate cancer, my financial uncertainties in this world that Bush-Cheny made for us, my enui with my job after 3 decades, my arthritis, the bone spurs in my back making me miss the Ohio Scottish Games for the first time in twenty years, the death of my brother, and the murder of a favorite former student of mine. See, I know exactly where my depression is coming from, and it's certainly not my faith.
I take no comfort from the church. I do not trust the church. But the church is not my faith. If you listen to anything I say, at least listen to that.
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