Depression Support Group
Depression is a real and debilitating condition that is often misunderstood by family and friends. Its meaning can range from a prolonged period of sadness to an actual mental illness with specific symptoms. Find and share experiences with others who are going through the same struggles.
I am struggling with whether DS is helping me or not.
There are times I think it deepens the depression.
There are two groups I feel very drawn too and there are very few posts on them. Maybe 2-3 a week. Makes me feel like very few people have the problems I do.
Then there are the times you post problems and no one replies. Those are hard.
And most of all there are the people who friend me and then disappear off the site. I have been a member less than a year and have had probably half the people I friended quit posting and participating on here. Many were the ones I felt the strongest connection to. Who really seemed to get me. Some talked to me a lot at first and it was very hard losing them as I thought I had really made an online friend and would always have someone to talk to when things go wrong. And it seems like many of them just got over the problems that still draw me into that black hole I keep trying to climb out of. How did they get better and I can't.
So does anyone else feels worse after logging on sometimes? Or am I alone in that too?
There are times I think it deepens the depression.
There are two groups I feel very drawn too and there are very few posts on them. Maybe 2-3 a week. Makes me feel like very few people have the problems I do.
Then there are the times you post problems and no one replies. Those are hard.
And most of all there are the people who friend me and then disappear off the site. I have been a member less than a year and have had probably half the people I friended quit posting and participating on here. Many were the ones I felt the strongest connection to. Who really seemed to get me. Some talked to me a lot at first and it was very hard losing them as I thought I had really made an online friend and would always have someone to talk to when things go wrong. And it seems like many of them just got over the problems that still draw me into that black hole I keep trying to climb out of. How did they get better and I can't.
So does anyone else feels worse after logging on sometimes? Or am I alone in that too?
I don't know what changed .. but when someone 'disappears' from DS, I assume something changed in their 'offline' life.
I do hate when someone just closes their account and doesn't even say goodbye. I have tried FB for support groups, but they tend to be huge and actually just take over your FB feed. Really hard to make friends.
I do sometimes take a break from DS, and from the computer in general. Usually a week or two. I think it's healthy to do this a few times a year.
If you have any questions about the other groups let me know. There are tons of them. You just have to find the ones that fit you.
WV is right, learn the ins and outs of this site. You have already learned that some people will only be in your life here for a short period. I have several friends here like that. I've learned to put those friendships "on ice" and get them out when they return. It is the only way I can manage friendships here.
Gentle hugs
As for this site bringing me down, some days it does. With me not fitting in anywhere I feel lost and on the few days that I'm down it doesn't help to come here and have no connection.
Hang in there, not all days are bad
Here, and on other sites, I've gone through periods of daily e-mails with different females in my general age range, and really enjoyed that. It was a real connection, that I needed.
I do have a problem with some of the very sexist and degrading comments - infrequent, but it's a deal-breaker for plenty of women, me included, and although I still stop in and see if I can offer support, I've found other things to do.
1.- I am there to find assistance for me and my issues. I am not there to find a cure for me or my issues. Just to assist me. So I never go on line expecting to find a cure in the information or people I encounter.
2.- The assistance I do find information and people both ) will have limitations including how long they will be there for me and what they can and can not do for me. I use myself as an example of what limitations do I have on line to assist others? My wisdom, abilities, time, and so on. This allows me to keep my expectations of being on line more in tune to what is real about being on line.
3.- Others I speak with on line are dealing with alot more in their lives than what I will ever know, even when they share details with me, they never share all details. I simply dont know what they have on them that might effect their communications with me or limit such things. So I try not to be offended by others cause I dont know enough about them to be offended unless they attack me out right.
4.- Its the web. The biggest social mixing pot they can be. Bigger than any big city is. So I expect to come in contact with some real idiots and to that, I am ready to calmly defend myself from such people. If I walk down town in any big city, my guard with naturally be up in concerns to idiots around me as I seek what it is I am looking for while Im there. The same thinking is there when I am on the web.
5.- Last, as much as my in person life sucks, it is where I live. I dont live on the web nor do I go there looking for a better life. The web is a great social tool and help, but it is not my life or a replacement for my life. I dont over invest in my time on the web.
This is how I handle the web and for the most part it works. If there are other issues on the web, I have several buttons on my computer I can use to change my experience and resolve the issues. Best to you.
Most of my posts get very few replies and usually quickly fall into the black hole of DS oblivion
As in DS as in life...people come and go. For me I just like having a place to dump my thoughts whether anyone pays attention or not :)
Hope this makes sense :)