Is having clinical depression for ten years abnormal?
No, it's not abnormal at all -- I had it for many years as well. Sometimes I think I might still be considered clinically depressed because I am a recluse and don't like to go out and socialize, but I realize it is my choice to do so because most people are very annoying to me in general and I have no use for their vapid conversations. I am always searching for some higher meaning and a more "complete" way of connecting and communicating with others that I think I will always be disappointed in social relationships with them and never truly be happy.
In terms of your depression, have you had a full blood panel done lately to check all your vitals as well as your vitamin/nutrient levels? What is your general diet like?
Well I was referring to how you said you felt like you were putting off getting a girlfriend. Putting it off in what way? What would you do if you didn't put it off, maybe? Pursue in the way you felt you were not doing.
I feel like if I don't think about looking for a girlfriend, I have given up. I've been told I obsess about it and to turn my focus to something else but it sounds like they are telling me to give up when they say it.
I don't know very much about obsession at all. But I did just spend a few minutes looking it up, and it seems like I'm reading that if you try to give up on the obsession completely, it often backfires, and people end up worrying about it more. There is a lot of advice about redirecting your focus to other things, and then giving yourself permission to worry about it at a certain time. Is there a chance that you misunderstood what they were saying? Maybe they meant try to redirect your focus through the majority of the day, so that you can get other things done too . . . but you shouldn't quit completely.
Also, you know, finding a partner is one of those primal urges. I don't think it's unusual for people to obsess, to a degree, about that - it's a survival instinct thing. The only reason it would become a problem is if it interferes with your ability to do other things. It seem like what they're saying is that's when you want to redirect, but I don't think that you have to redirect permanently, forever. Just when you're busy doing something else.
In terms of your depression, have you had a full blood panel done lately to check all your vitals as well as your vitamin/nutrient levels? What is your general diet like?
I am actually getting a blood test tomorrow. I've had one earlier in the year because I am pre-diabetic. My diet needs major improvement. I tend to eat a lot of high calorie foods with carbs and sugars.
I don't know very much about obsession at all. But I did just spend a few minutes looking it up, and it seems like I'm reading that if you try to give up on the obsession completely, it often backfires, and people end up worrying about it more. There is a lot of advice about redirecting your focus to other things, and then giving yourself permission to worry about it at a certain time. Is there a chance that you misunderstood what they were saying? Maybe they meant try to redirect your focus through the majority of the day, so that you can get other things done too . . . but you shouldn't quit completely.
Also, you know, finding a partner is one of those primal urges. I don't think it's unusual for people to obsess, to a degree, about that - it's a survival instinct thing. The only reason it would become a problem is if it interferes with your ability to do other things. It seem like what they're saying is that's when you want to redirect, but I don't think that you have to redirect permanently, forever. Just when you're busy doing something else.
I have been told I dwell and ruminate on the fact I don't have a girlfriend too much. It's on my mind constantly and it makes me neglect other things in my life.
Yes, but I was thinking of it like a continuum.
At one end is giving up completely, and the other end is ruminating to the point of neglecting other things. I think the idea is to see these options as both being extreme, and you would maybe set the goal that you would try to moderate your obsession. Spend a little time on it, but not a lot. Be in the middle of the extremes.
Maybe I misunderstood what I read on those sites! Forget it.
I think it's good you're getting your vitamins and things checked! Cutting down on the sugars and starches is a good idea. I bet if you try it it would help, too. I did something like that recently, and noticed a lot of improvements where I had complaints before.
At one end is giving up completely, and the other end is ruminating to the point of neglecting other things. I think the idea is to see these options as both being extreme, and you would maybe set the goal that you would try to moderate your obsession. Spend a little time on it, but not a lot. Be in the middle of the extremes.
Maybe I misunderstood what I read on those sites! Forget it.
I think it's good you're getting your vitamins and things checked! Cutting down on the sugars and starches is a good idea. I bet if you try it it would help, too. I did something like that recently, and noticed a lot of improvements where I had complaints before.
What makes it hard to not think about the obsession is that I am 29 now and I am far behind socially.
I'm behind socially, too. I'm sorry it's hurting so much, and wish I could make you feel better.
Try to remember that there's no rule saying that only people under thirty can find love. That deadline is self imposed, and can change! And I still think that you should think about giving your obsession a little time during your day, but maybe in proactive ways. Go out and flirt with someone for a few minutes. Then get back to life. Ask someone on a date. Then get back to life. That's not an obsession anymore, because you're still living the rest of your life.
Maybe you won't feel so much pressure if you can relax about the deadline, and relax about completely forgetting the idea of ever getting a girlfriend. If giving up is causing you depression, then don't give up, that's all. Don't give yourself a deadline, and don't quit completely.
I hope you feel better. I think you can tackle this one bit at a time, if you take it slow!
Thank you, plainjain. I used to visualize I would be one of the genuinely cool kids (Not the term the in crowd uses) who managed to find his niche, gave a perspective that made people think, and find the girl of my dreams. Instead, I failed to excel at the things I thought would be my niche, others told me "Shut up!" or "Uh uh, yew ar full uv s**t!", and girls only liked the bad boys. I sometimes wonder if Bible Belt social conditioning makes some women think it's ok to be treated poorly by men?
When people would tell me not to think about the girlfriend issue, it felt like they were telling me to give up completely but could I have been assuming the wrong thing? I realize overthinking about it causes me a lot of pain but it also feels like I am being told I am not worthy of a relationship. It's like other guys have the freedom of choice while I have to put it out of my mind and make myself worthy.
In terms of your depression, have you had a full blood panel done lately to check all your vitals as well as your vitamin/nutrient levels? What is your general diet like?
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yeah but maybe the writers of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual were disproportionately extroverts. emily dickenson, jd salinger, and sylvia plath allegedly were extremely reclusive. that did not stop them from being vocationally successful.
in the same way, i don't seem much of a point in sitting around talking about small talk. precious lil "people" act so judgmental. if yo do or say something they like they say "cool". if you do or say something they do not like they say "why", as if they are receptive to a good answer. but there ain't no good answer. if you do or say something they do not hear they say "huh" or "what", as if that is the etiquette equivalent of "excuse me". precious lil "people" act so innocent. they say "do you have a question", as if they have an answer. they say "are you ok?" and "may i help you?" as if they are so helpful, useful, and kind. that they can and will help you.
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There were a lot of things that I profoundly regret doing in the distant past
Now that I am 34 I am afraid of failure so I do not do a lot of things
But hey you can't change the past
But I am obsessed with the past
So I have a mantra
" Here and now"
Because there might not have been any perfect alternative to the wrong actions I made in the past. But even if there were it is too late to do anything about it
So I need to concentrate on the current situation
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Especially. Work never distracted me
Too many angry customers and employees
Too much fear of getting fired
And I was not good at the jobs I worked at. And I did not like them either
But I am not good at many things
And I have few or no job skills
And I do not like many things
And there is something wrong with everything
Kind of like how last year you could have voted Trump or Hillary, but i wanted to vote Obama
"Is having clinical depression for ten years abnormal?"
Hmm, if were selling medications, how would I answer that?
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"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011
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