Sure is quiet in here.:) everybody in sleep mode??
This is a description of depression.
People with a low self image ... who feel negatively about themselves ... are likely to feel depressed. Low self-esteem is not the only cause of depression. Other possible causes include an actual loss or bereavement, certain medications which have depression as a side effect, and chemical imbalance which leads to a diagnosis of a clinical depression. A person with low self-esteem may become depressed after facing a difficult situation or after having experienced difficulty with a particular task, job or relationship. These types of depression are usually grief reactions to the loss or difficulty and will take some time for the person to get back to normal.
The type of depression that results from a low self-esteem is called characterological depression. This may occur in people who have feelings of inadequacy or inferiority: In other words, in people who have a low opinion or perception of themselves. They may feel that they are unliked by others and they anticipate being rejected. They develop morbid expectations and believe that anything that happens to them will end up being unpleasant. They feel they do not deserve any better and that the world is just unfair. They expect to be belittled so they react to innocent stimuli as being insulting. They become wary and distrustful of relationships and they are thrust into a lonely existence, which only aggravates their depression. Characterological depressions are not helped by anti-depressant medication because they are due to an attitude or mindset problem. In order to come out of the depression and "get back to my old self" you will need to correct your self-image.
The feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy that are responsible for the depression are unwarranted. People who are in fact endowed with positive personality assets may have an erroneous self concept, whereby they may consider themselves: To them this perception is very real, and they adjust to life as if their perception of themselves were factual. With them the glass is always half-empty. In order to shake this type of depression, a person must be willing to bravely re-examine his attitudes, which now form part of his identity, and be willing to take a new personal inventory. This will take effort.
-- Edited by Phil at 00:21, 2005-04-24
-- Edited by Phil at 00:22, 2005-04-24
__________________
Easy Does it..Keep It Simple..Let Go and Let God..
Sometimes when I feel depression creeping in again it can be difficult to determine the cause. For example, yesterday it seemed to come out of the blue and after much reflection and self examination I decided it was a chemical imbalance largely due to lack of rest, nourishment, exercise and gloomy weather.
Sometimes it has more to do my negative mental conditioning which I work daily at changing.
But for me at least, there sometimes seems to be a physical component. This shouldn't surprise me with all the chemicals I've abused since my adolesence. I guess there's a reason they try to discourage alcohol use among kids in their formative years. Of course, I knew better.
Low self image, situational depression, chemical imbalance, etc...Which one should I pick?
Actually, I think I've experienced all of the above and then some. I just wanted to say that if any one is on medication and is considering stopping, do so under a dr. care, not all by yourself. I did the roller coaster ride of getting the meds, feeling better, taking myself off and crashing again and again. It probably didn't help that I was a practicing alkie at the time either. While my goal has been to be med free, there are times that I know that I have to stay on them in order to function as a member of society. I quit diagnosing myself and let the dr. do that for me now.
Phil is right about the self image perception. There is work to be done in order to start being able to look at life with a different view. For me it was the 12 steps.
