Another thought on the subject - I know you are going to tell me to
shut-up any minute now, but I was in a food allergy group at one point
and the Dr. leading the group firmly believed that food allergies or
intolerances can cause depression and other problems. There is even a
book called "Sugar Blues" out there, don't know if she eats a lot of
sugar, or has problems with any other foods, but just a thought. Might
be worth a visit to a dietician or allergist?? That is my 2 cents worth
for the night, hope it helps. Just stand behind her and make sure she
knows you love her, that is probably the best medicine of all. Take
care.

Marie55 I will never tell you or anyone to shut-up, it's not my style?
I just kill them!
Im sorry I can only be deep for so long then I must laugh? LOL
You are very informative on this subject and im learning from it.
Has anybody ever been told they were bi-polar?????

Prayer to our Heavenly Father Lord God almighty

Make a conscience effort to see things in a posative light. Speaking
from experience, depression is a state of mind. Reinforcing posative
thinking is what hepled me. I am lucky, I am inteligent and hard headed,
a combination which allows me to accomplish anything I set my mind to.
Posative thinking gives me hope. I have not had to be on any mediation
for depression and I suffered from it until about 7 years ago. Good
thoughts lead to good action and in return good outcomes. Well thats how
it worked for me. : )

I have been very depressed a couple of times in my life(when my dad
died) and during my marriage. But I never took meds. Because I knew I
would pull out of it. I guess some depressions are really deep and
ongoing.
I wake up and I tell myself I have a choice today. I can let yesturday
or last month or whatever bring me down or I can take the tiger by the
tail and sling it around... I choose the latter of the two. Time is
short and people count on me. I dont want to let them or myself down.
My friend is on meds for depression and hes been depressed for 2 yrs. I
say the meds arent working. I feel great compassion for him because I
wouldnt want to live like that.

Okay, as someone who is diagnosed not only Bi-Polar with suicidal
tendencies (that's also commonly known as manic depressive) but also
Generalized Anxiety Disorder I am so offended by this post:

Tneal
No Depression here. Life is to full of surprises and fun. With 5 kids
and 9 grandkids... I don't have time to feel sorry for myself or be
depressed *S*

Regardless of your intentions behind this post, it shines with ignorance
and a complete lack of compassion. The fact that you would place "feel
sorry for myself" and "be depressed" in the same sentence is appauling.

I tend to be cautious about telling people my conditions because I feel
like people judge me for them. I have a chemical imbalance that causes
my body to react differently and I have NO CONTROL over it. Yet, people
still shy away from someone who is "Bi-polar" like I hyave the plague.
My emotional conditions are hard enough to deal with on their own...I
definately do not need someone leading the blind into thinking something
different of me.

Believe this, I do not feel sorry for myself...I feel sorry for people
like you who do not think before they open their mouth. The wounds that
comments like that inflict are worse than anything else.

BTW...it's okay to sit on the pity pot every once in a while, as long as
you flush when you're done.

Oh, to answer the original question...I don't take medication
currently...although I have in the past. I stopped the medication
because the side effects seem worse to me than just dealing with it and
taking the lows with the highs.

The worst for me is explaining to the people that love me that there is
nothing to "fix" when the lows hit. I don't want to do anything but lay
in bed...I don't want to eat, shower, drink anything, change my clothes,
or "talk about it". Instintually the ones closest to you want to make
it better...and there's just not anything they can do. Sometimes it's
hard to explain what's happening and what you need.

For me, the lows are getting less and less common...but they still
hit...and hit hard. When they do I kinda feel like I'm driving a car
and right in front of me is a brick wall. Problem is the gas pedal is
stuck down, the brakes don't work and the steering wheel is locked up.
Pretty scary huh?

Dear Peachie...
I have a friend who is Bi-Polar and I know what you mean about ppl
shying away. I see how people react when I mention that she is my
friend. It really bothers me. She is a person with feelings and values
just like everyone else. It is sad that we cant all have more compassion
on folks who arent "like us".
We all have something we deal with in one capacity or another and I
admire you for being so open and letting people know what the deal is.
You GO GIRL!!

greeneyedlady42:

Thanks. I try to be as honest and upfront as I can be...I figure if
you're gonna love me in any capcity you're gonna have to take the good
with the bad...or vice versa.

I've pretty much had to accept the "fuck 'em if they don't like it"
mentality about myself. I've come a long way from who and what I used
to be. I'm proud of who I am now...and if that's not enough for someone
else then fuck 'em.

I've got quite the history and I am a STRONG woman. I can hang with the
big dogs and I actually tend to. It takes a lot to get to where I am.
I still have my fragile moments...and I try to be honest when those
happen too.

I send my love to you and your friend...you're both wonderful! Just
keep that in mind...

*smoochies*