Depression.... :(

[Wild horses]

I was wondering how one defines depression, or even how would you notice it within yourself?? OK... so the dictionary definies it as follows, "a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity. Sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy" Ok so this seems to me to make the word dperssion an umbrella term under which you have low self-esteem, gloomy emotional state and indifference.

So how do you experience depression, all three? I have a tendancy more towards indifference. Also if someone is experiencing emotinal rollercoaster, similar to that defined as manic depression, are they still depressed even during 'high' points. It seems that under this broad definition someone could be in a constant state of depression. Esp if they are an NF . So perhaps then depression is just being aware of your emotions and having an increased sensitivity??!!

 

[Nonsensical]

I've wondered, too.

Sometimes I mix up phases of intense emotional behavior/mood swings/feeling like shit with depression. I know it's not depressive behavior, but I still know how it feels to be down in the dumps.

It's so weird...I see to draw energy from melancholy. I draw pride from pain and feel that it contributes to my soul the more I take on. Strong Enneagram Type 4 or what!?

 

[Wild horses]

HAHAHAHAHAHA It may be an ENFP thing... I'm type 7 but I have a strange thing about pain being good for the soul!? Sometimes I actually fear being too happy incase it hinders my growth

 

[Gewitter27]

I've been going through a Major Depressive Episode since March. It really makes you sad. For me it does the following:

Severe, sustained low mood
Very low self esteem
Skewed self image (Seeing negative mental of physical qualities in oneself others would not identify in you)
Lack of Motivation
Insomnia
Weight Gain
Despair

 

[Nonsensical]

HAHAHAHAHAHA It may be an ENFP thing... I'm type 7 but I have a strange thing about pain being good for the soul!? Sometimes I actually fear being too happy incase it hinders my growth

 

[Kyrielle]

There's being in a sad mood, having an off couple of days, being in a funk...

and then there's depression.

Depression is all of the above, multiplied by a magnitude of 3 over a period of two weeks or more. Depression feels like you've been dragged through the dirt and left stranded. It feels like you're alone and you don't know what to do with anything. You feel sad, but more often than not, you feel tired in a very emotional and spiritual way. Sort of like being tired of existing, but you don't want to kill yourself necessarily. You're just tired of everyday being so hard to get through with enough energy to take care of things that need to be done and care about the people in your life. When depression is pretty severe, you might not even have the energy to eat, do something that might bring you some momentary joy, or even get out of bed. Your thoughts are slow and ponderous, often going over what you think is wrong repeatedly throughout your waking hours. Because of this, you may get sucked into a negative spiral of thought where your mood dives lower and lower the more you think about the situation, and it's very difficult to stop thinking about what you feel is wrong or think about the problem from a different perspective.

 

[Wild horses]

Wow just two weeks... would you say that is all it takes to be feeling like this before it actually becomes depression!?

 

[Nonsensical]

I think I may suffer from anxiety. Very mild, but I do. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, and don't do too well under stress. And with a poor nights sleep, these traits can really make for a real sloppy cake. Then I get depressed for a while..

 

[Wild horses]

WOW yea... I have really bad anxiety and hypochondria... I also suffer with insomnia, however, I very rarely link that up with my low moods... however, thanks for joining the dots. It me it seems as though the two are not related because the low mood doesn't seem to be related to anything in my head whilst the anxiety is all about my head and then sometimes my physical being... however, we are a whole person... so I should be looking at this holistically

 

[Wild horses]

The other thing I wanna know is if anyone gets the other side of the coin which is really high highs.... to the point that they would almost call them manic highs??

 

[Nonsensical]

The other thing I wanna know is if anyone gets the other side of the coin which is really high highs.... to the point that they would almost call them manic highs??

Yes.

The world's a roller coaster
And I am not strapped in
Maybe I should hold with care
But my hands are busy in the air saying..

Oh, sorry..got lost in an Incubus song.

I have mood swings, too. LOL.

 

[BlackCat]

The thing that brings me down about depression isn't the moods, but the lack of motivation I experience. I've learned how to control my moods, so I know how to make myself happy and all through depression, but it just seems like nothing matters to me at all. Nothing needs to get done... and anything, ANYTHING that I could do just seems like it would be worse than sitting around. It's very annoying.

 

[Nonsensical]

The thing that brings me down about depression isn't the moods, but the lack of motivation I experience. I've learned how to control my moods, so I know how to make myself happy and all through depression, but it just seems like nothing matters to me at all. Nothing needs to get done... and anything, ANYTHING that I could do just seems like it would be worse than sitting around. It's very annoying.

God, typical of us NPs. I hear you man..

 

[Gewitter27]

Now what you're talking about is Bipolar I and II, which is totally different territory.

My male XXXX (Yes, he's 52% or lower on all of his letters, he tested INFP with 51I 52N 52F 51P) cousin has Bipolar I, and it is really hard for him.

I personally suffer from MDD and Anxiety Disorder...

It really takes lots out of you.

 

[Wild horses]

Yea me too I mean are we just finding out that depression is just another word for NF!!!???

 

[Wild horses]

OOOOH and Gewitter.... I hear that Neptune is one greatplace to be mind if I join you?

 

[BlackCat]

God, typical of us NPs. I hear you man..

It's odd, the best way that I can get out of depression is just by talking to people that I like, or making some sort of new intimate bond with someone, that always makes me feel good.

For ENFPs, they probably get bored and lost in Ne land, and from a lack of stimulation they easily get depressed, and then from the depression they don't want to get stimulation and it just gets worse.

INFPs are just emo. For me I'm guessing it's hormones that are to blame.

I've noticed though, that I honestly haven't bad any mood swings that were that bad or been depressed since I started to work out... and I feel great too as a result.

 

[Wild horses]

It's odd, the best way that I can get out of depression is just by talking to people that I like, or making some sort of new intimate bond with someone, that always makes me feel good.

For ENFPs, they probably get bored and lost in Ne land, and from a lack of stimulation they easily get depressed, and then from the depression they don't want to get stimulation and it just gets worse.

INFPs are just emo. For me I'm guessing it's hormones that are to blame.

I've noticed though, that I honestly haven't bad any mood swings that were that bad or been depressed since I started to work out... and I feel great too as a result.

Good tip... just wish I could take the advice and actually stick to it for more than two days WIll try though... May help to calm the mania too... That is also equally as annoying when you have sooooooo much energy and not enough to do with it... Makes you feel like you want to chuck a chair through a window or something.... I should so take up an extreme sport... I think I have had such advice before

 

[Gewitter27]

OOOOH and Gewitter.... I hear that Neptune is one greatplace to be mind if I join you?

Certainly, but remember: We have very expensive architecture and vehicles that can stand our winds (which reach 1000 miles per hour), and because of these winds it is hard to travel, and cities move around constantly. Where we've really excelled is Communication Technology (Hence my prescence), so you're going to have to get accustomed to transportation often taking a few Days...

Plus It'll take you many years to reach us, and if your calculations are even slightly off you may miss us entirely. It'll take lots out of your life. Are you ready to sacrifice pretty much the rest of your life for a visit?

I have severe mood swings, just not bad enough to be classified as Bipolar II. One of my Psychologists was looking at that, but my results came up a bit short on that, so I'd say I'm more Bipolar III, although there is no such thing XP

 

[Kyrielle]

Wow just two weeks... would you say that is all it takes to be feeling like this before it actually becomes depression!?

Two weeks is the time that is "officially" the point at which the episode could be considered a depressive episode. At least from what I recall in researching the matter a year ago.

Yea me too I mean are we just finding out that depression is just another word for NF!!!???

No, depression is NOT another word for NF. It's a serious issue that can affect ANYONE, and I do not think any type is necessarily more predisposed to suffering from depression. I am of the mind that depressive tendencies are somewhat genetic, since I have seen these tendencies pass right down through my family:

Father's mother => Father => Me

And anxiety issues as well:

Mother's mother => Mother

But whether or not it's complete genetic or a result of being raised in that kind of environment is unknown to me. At the very least, tendencies for certain outlooks on life might be hereditary because it could be a result of certain patterns in neuron communication that are inherited.

(And for the record, the only probable NFs in the above scenarios are myself and maybe my mother's mother. My father is likely some kind of TJ and my father's mother was type "Super unbalanced" and my mother is likely an SFJ.)