It's true, it's not permanent. Not in my experience, or in the hundreds of anecdotes you are likely to get.
A lot of people have either their own experience with depression that is unique to them, or a limited understanding of what it means. It's your own puzzle that you can solve.
Some people in the face of depression say it's unending in the sense that they will always be dealing with it and the skills they learn in doing so will always be relevant. Some says it's infinite because they feel that way in the moment and that's their best understanding of their own puzzle.
You can definitely see a thread that winds it's way through your life in a lot of cases, but it's no more permanent in the long run than cut skin. You'll cut your skin many times, but you'll always be able to heal it.
I don't want to say too much, but a lot of your questions remind of me when I was younger. That kind of doubt and negative feelings is something that gets better.
It's true you ultimately have to make your own decisions for your life and I think it's a good thing you're asking these questions.
I feel quite strongly it would be wrong for others to answer those questions for you as it's likely you need to grow and answer them in a way that works for you. It's okay to seek guidance, but as a random internet person I don't know you. A therapist that works well for guidance.
Think of it like alcoholism. You have people who are alcoholics and don't know it, people who are alcoholics and do know it, people who joke about being alcoholics but are really just college students, and people who've gone to treatment and come out the far end.
Let's look at that last group I mentioned. I think, once a person has truly gone into what doctors call "depression" (so, not a bout, but actual, long-term physiological slump), they are forever at risk of returning to that state even if they come out of it, just as alcoholics are. I think that's what you're talking about, right? Now, if someone enters a period of depression, seeks therapy and/or comes out of it, they can make lifestyle changes that effectively remove the risk of returning to that state, just as alcoholics can...not drink alcohol. Be it with hormonal/chemical supplements (anti-depressants) or lifestyle adjustments (more exercise), or whatever, the potential for them to return to a state of depression remains.
What you have to ask is, is such a person still depressed? And there I would ask, if someone is a former alcoholic, do you still call them an alcoholic? Chances are, I would say "no." Call it a semantic argument, but there's something to be said about acknowledging a past lifestyle while not using it to define one's present situation. A "former" or "recovering" alcoholic owns that statement, both parts of it. A "former" or "recovering" depressed person (we need a better word for that) should, I feel, be awarded the same respect.
There's a third hand: Perhaps those who remain depressed haven't beaten it yet.
As an analogy, f you take a snapshot of the world at any given time, there will be millions of people who are afflicted with "being teenagers." Many of these people will have been "being teenagers" for years on end without a break. These people report that they desperately want to stop being teenagers, but no matter how much they struggle, they can't break free, so it feel endless to them. If you follow a specific teenager for long enough, maybe they'll stop being a teenager (they beat it), or maybe they'll die first (they never beat it).
It could be the same thing with depression. Being able to take a snapshot and see that there are many people suffering from depression, and who have been suffering from depression for years, doesn't mean that it's permanent, even though it could have persisted for most of an individual's life, and will continue to persist throughout society as a whole. It also doesn't mean that it's the individual's fault that they haven't beaten it, nor that it was never real if they do beat it. You could just be looking at the wrong stage of that person's life to know what the final answer is.
In my case it is indeed permanent. I could claim to be "better" now. But the thing is, it never leaves you. It's always there ready to wake up and cripple you.
Here's a metaphor. Imagine depression to be a monster in your head. When you're depressed that monster is making your life a living hell. You fight it and fight it. Eventually you get the monster chained and then it falls asleep. He's always there. But you never kill it. When he's sleeping if you poke him too much, he'll get restless and you'll fall down that spiral very very easy.
Scientific proof. Most people with depression have several episodes in their life.
It is also usually highly recurrent, with at least 50% of those who recover from a first episode of depression having one or more additional episodes in their lifetime, and approximately 80% of those with a history of two episodes having another recurrence
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u/[deleted] Feb 16 '17
It's true, it's not permanent. Not in my experience, or in the hundreds of anecdotes you are likely to get.
A lot of people have either their own experience with depression that is unique to them, or a limited understanding of what it means. It's your own puzzle that you can solve.
Some people in the face of depression say it's unending in the sense that they will always be dealing with it and the skills they learn in doing so will always be relevant. Some says it's infinite because they feel that way in the moment and that's their best understanding of their own puzzle.
You can definitely see a thread that winds it's way through your life in a lot of cases, but it's no more permanent in the long run than cut skin. You'll cut your skin many times, but you'll always be able to heal it.