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[INTP] Depression

Salomé

meh
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
10,527
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Well, I'm not a doctor, and I'd advise you to see one. I don't think people of the same type are necessarily the best help when it comes to finding your way out of the tunnel of despair - it can be a blind leading the blind kinda deal.
There are as many routes to depression as there are methods for dealing with it and you should probably rule out organic causes first. Getting high fucks with your brain chemistry. You need to help yourself by getting clean and making an effort at a healthy lifestyle. No one else can do that for you, and sometimes that's all you need to kick yourself out of a funk.
 

Renoir

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
13
Well, I'm not a doctor

Clearly.

and I'd advise you to see one.

I am.

I don't think people of the same type are necessarily the best help when it comes to finding your way out of the tunnel of despair - it can be a blind leading the blind kinda deal.

Proof?

There are as many routes to depression as there are methods for dealing with it and you should probably rule out organic causes first.

I agree.

Getting high fucks with your brain chemistry. You need to help yourself by getting clean and making an effort at a healthy lifestyle.

I concur.

No one else can do that for you, and sometimes that's all you need to kick yourself out of a funk.

Absolutely.
 

Renoir

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
13
I also have had several phases of depression for the past four years. At first, I was a bit embarrassed about feeling like an emotional wreck so I escaped by throwing myself into work and exercise. In the end, ignoring the issues as to why I was depressed to begin with only made it worse and I found myself very much alone (but with a job promotion and a thirty pounds lighter).

I'm not one for avoiding my issues, but for a long time I tried to. I was doing everything in my power not to feel and in the end, it blew up in my face. I ended up trying Celexa -- it helped for a bit. But in the end, I decided it was just to face the issues. I did and I've felt much better about them. Talking to a professionally really helped -- that and finding friends who I could really lean on who I knew weren't going to think I was weak for feeling the way I was.

Sometimes, the depression creeps back up on me. It's horrible pain both mentally and physically as I also become obsessive about things -- or worse, the polar opposite of which my passions no longer have any value. The only advice I can give you is to keep going and talk to someone. It really does help.

I hope things get better for you.

From what I've gathered from all this, is that one must face his unconscious. Terribly difficult, especially for an individual (such as myself) that has lived and conditioned herself to repress and suppress her emotions. It's a process that I'm going through.

The first time I decided to seek and meet my psychologist, he coined me as "Miss Spock" because I was that oblivious and unaware of my emotions. It has gotten A LOT better.
 

Renoir

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
13
I've suffered from all three, and continue to suffer from depression, though it comes and goes. I believe my depression stems from perfectionism, from expecting too much of myself, and from sometimes feeling like the rest of the world has an instruction manual and I'm trying to learn things by observation.

Medication helped briefly when I was severely depressed, to take the edge off of the crushing feeling of despair and futility. Once I got past that point, medication became a hinderance, because it only served to make me feel like everything was okay, without actually addressing the cause of the depression itself. Counseling helped a bit, but I ultimately got frustrated with my counselor--I felt like I was more than he was equipped to handle. I would love a therapist who is trained in MBTI. I did find some useful ideas in a couple of self-help books on depression and perfectionism, some thoughts to help me see that my patterns of thought were not healthy or normal and to help me redirect them.

It helps to not think of your self/life as you would any other interest--don't attack yourself and only see the negatives, in an attempt to make yourself "better" and more competent. Don't see yourself as a problem to solve, and don't look for the holes to patch up. Try to see the positives and give yourself credit for those.

Try to enjoy things in the moment, instead of thinking about what you could do better. Just learn to be. Maybe develop your Se and integrate yourself a bit with the world around you. It can be a good antidote to living in a Ti loop sometimes. Sometimes we end up attached to these faulty ideas, and we just ruminate on them and get caught up in a cycle with no new information to counteract it.

Hope some of this helps. I can look up the titles of some of the books if you would like.

Absolutely. Medication is to aid in your quest, it only touches on the biological factor, not your "psychological organ" which is non-physical. I've been considering medication, as of lately I'm almost to a point of panic attacks. Frightening.

I believe the biggest reason why I have so much anxiety is because I refuse to make choices. As Kierkegaard said, "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom." not enough external channeling.

When you say, "Just learn to be." that hits right home.
 

Renoir

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
13
You sound a lot like me, except the ballet part, everything seems the same.
I've been really depressed lately as well, and it's probably because for the same reasons as you.

Anyway, medication is a last resort. Don't go to it just yet.
I find that talking to people about it and constructively dealing with it helps me a lot when I get depressed, like thinking of all the good possibilities that might come out of a future event that may seem like it's bringing you down, and how do deal with other stuff like that.

I hope you find yourself out of this rut soon.:hug:

Thank you, it's good to talk about it with people who can relate :) It's a horrible place to be, but there's definitely a way to transcend all of this. It really has to do with facing your unconscious and channeling your "libido" productively. Which is... incredibly hard.

Good luck to you, hope for the best for both of us.
 

MoneyTick

New member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
252
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Are you on the internet too much?

I read somewhere that people who are always at their computer (non-work related) are depressed. Luckily I found the article, go here.
 

Oaky

Travelling mind
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
6,180
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Depression is foreign to me... And I'm not sure if I've ever really experienced it. I cannot help you as the only help I offer is knowledge for application of it's cure through metaphysical methods of which unfortunately you may not believe in. So my post may be rather useless.
 

MoneyTick

New member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
252
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Yes, I have to agree depression is a foreign object.

The day I stop thriving on organized chaos, Is the day I'll become depressed.

As long as there are problems to fix, I a happy camper!
 
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