This is intended as a serious thread. Please contribute any comments, personal stories, stories you've heard, anecdotes, advice, other constructive or insightful observations and comments. If you want to bash people or be immature please use another thread, if you do it here your user privileges will be suspended.



Depression

So you think you might be “depressed” ? Well you’re not alone. Almost 1 in 10 American adults will suffer from some type of depressive illness this year. That is more than 20.9 million people.

Depression is not a weakness of character or a lack of mental discipline. It is a real scientifically proven biological imbalance of brain chemicals. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you think you may suffer from depression.

There are numerous confidential resources that are available to help you with your feelings. Many of these resources are free. For a full list of resources look below.

Severe depression may lead one to attempt suicide. Thoughts about killing yourself are not normal. They are not rare either. According to the American Psychological Association every 100 seconds a person aged 15-24 will commit suicide. That’s 36 young adults dead per hour, 864 per day, and 315,360 young adults dead by their own hand each year.

This does not have to happen. If you have thoughts about suicide, talk to someone, anyone! You might not think that anyone cares about you, or that the world would not miss you. You’re wrong. Despite what you may feel inside, there are people; family, friends, even strangers who would be sad and miss you if you were not here.

________________________________________________________________________


Continued from the front page

Depression is more than just “feeling sad”; it manifests itself in physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Sometimes people have a loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, withdraw socially, sleep a lot more or less, lose or gain weight, start drinking more, abuse drugs, or experience other symptoms.


Those suffering from depression can seem rational and even fairly happy even though they are depressed. Individuals tend to withdraw or have trouble forming meaningful connections in social situations, even if they’re as chatty as ever. Feeling hopeless, overwhelmed, worthless, or chronically fatigued or irritable are also symptoms. Sometimes even favorite activities don’t provide any real benefit. Sports, hobbies, sex—it stops mattering.

Sometimes depression can even progress to suicide. According to the American Psychological Association, about every 100 seconds a person aged 15-24 will commit suicide. Having frequent (multiple times a week or day) thoughts about suicide or wondering “What would it be like if I did?” is not normal, and there are an amazing number of resources and treatments available. It doesn’t have to last forever.

Helping yourself

If you’re having repeated suicidal thoughts or urges, seek help. There are a number of free, confidential resources in the university as well as outside of it. All information from an on-campus resource is completely confidential unless you choose to release it to someone else you trust. Exceptions are if there’s a very high risk you might harm yourself or someone else, or if there’s a situation involving the abuse of children or the elderly or a court order.

The NCSU Counseling Center, located in the upper floor of the Student Health Center, is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays. You can call 919-512-2423 or come by the center to schedule an appointment. If the situation is urgent, let them know that you need a walk-in appointment and someone will see you as soon as possible with the same confidentiality rules as a regular appointment. There are also nearly a dozen group therapy programs with information listed on their website.

If you need immediate help or someone to talk to, call Campus Safety at 919-515-3000 and ask to speak to a counselor. A counselor and a psychiatrist are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—regardless of university holidays. This service is also confidential like a regular appointment.

If you’re religious, there are similar resources available through the Chaplain’s Cooperative Ministries. Many clergy have counseling training and are available for appointments or walk-ins. The Ministry is located in room 3106 of the Talley Student Center and can be reached at 919-515-2414. If a chaplain is not in the office, a recording will let you know the name and number of the chaplain on-call, who can be reached 24 hours a day regardless of holidays. They can also put you into contact with a minister of your denomination if you’d prefer. Members of other religions can contact their organizations, listed at the end of this article.

Any student can also go to the Holly Hill Hospital near Wake Med. Their RESPOND crisis hotline is available 24 hours a day at 919-250-7000 or 800-447-1800

There are also many anonymous local and national hotlines to help you deal with depression, suicidal thoughts, and trauma listed below in the contacts section.

If you feel like it would help you just to talk to a friend, teacher, or someone else significant to you, there are a lot of ways you can strike up a conversation more indirectly. Literature from the University of Michigan Depression Center (also available right outside the Counseling Center) suggests phrases like “I haven’t been sleeping well,” “I haven’t felt like myself lately,” or “My friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/family member thinks I’m depressed.”

Helping a friend

There aren’t always signs when someone is at risk for suicide, but sometimes there are. It sounds trite, but there are “Worried about a Friend or Loved One?” checklists located outside of the Counseling Center. Many people find that certain things that seem normal or insignificant on their own start to add up once you begin to track the number of symptoms and the duration. That’s not too imply that you can always tell—depression is a complicated and personal disorder.

Dr. Lee Salter, Director of the Counseling Center, encourages concerned friends help their trouble friends get help. Sometimes getting a friend to talk about their feelings is an important first step. Using “I” statements like “I’m worried about how down you’ve been lately,” or “I’m worried about how much you’ve been drinking” can help open a more objective dialogue.

Sometimes your friend might be resistant to getting help. If you feel they’re seriously at risk of hurting themselves—like if they’ve told you about suicidal plans or made an attempt—you can refer them to Student Conduct at 919-515-2963, who will help the student seek treatment. It sounds heavy handed, and it may even require you to break confidentiality with your friend, but the maxim is that an angry friend is better than a dead one.


Dealing with grief.

You don’t have to have lost a friend or loved one to come to the Counseling Center or the Chaplain’s Cooperative Ministry. Trying to come to terms with a friend who’s dealing with depression or becoming suicidal can put enormous stress on a person—it can make you feel powerless that you can’t seem to help them, or angry, or just upset or any number of emotions.

The Counseling Center can also help with academic problems, and it’s not just about grades. If you think you’ll have difficulty getting out of class for a funeral or memorial service, you can come talk to a counselor beforehand. They’ll help you document the absence with your instructor.

“We try to be as supportive as possible,” said Dr. Salter about the Counseling Center.

The Chaplain’s Cooperative Ministry also offers grief counseling.

“Sometimes we can help, especially if they’re struggling with theological issues [about suicide]. We can’t offer answers, but we can share in that grieving process,” said Rev. Kirk Oldham.

The many members of the CCM, are also willing to come talk to groups, especially if the student was aligned with a campus organization or fraternity.

There are many other reasons to seek counseling besides depression. The Counseling Center can help you work through drug and alcohol abuse, physical or emotional abuse, stress and anxiety, or anything else that keeps you from feeling like “you.” You can also schedule appointments in academic or career counseling.


[Edited on February 13, 2007 at 2:43 AM. Reason : Please seek help]

2/13/2007 2:33:10 AM

Contacts and Other Resources:

NCSU Counseling Center
2nd Floor of Student Health
919-512-2423
After hours: 919-512-300 and ask for a counselor
http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/counseling_center/

Chaplain’s Cooperative Ministry
3196 Talley Student Center
919-515-2414

Muslim Student Association
919-622-5009
http://www.ncsumsa.com

Hillel – Jewish Student Life
919-942-4057
http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/hillel

The Women’s Center
3120 Talley Student Center
919-515-2012
http://www.ncsu.edu/womens_center/

NCSU Bi, Gay, and Lesbian Association (BGLA)
http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/lgsu/

Holly Hill Hospital
3019 Falstaff Road, 27604
919-250-7000
http://www.psysolutions.com/facilities/hollyhill/index.html

24 Hour Hotlines:

HopeLine
919-231-4525
1-800-844-7410
http://www.hopeline.com

National Suicide Hotline
1-800-273-TALK(8255)
http://suicidehotlines.com/national.html

Holly Hill RESPOND
919-250-7000
1-800-447-1800
http://www.psysolutions.com/facilities/hollyhill/index.html

Interact Hotlines
Rape and Sexual Assault: 919-828-3005
Domestic Violence: 919-828-7740

More information and references:

American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/topics/topicdepress.html

National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm

The Depression Center at the University of Michigan
http://www.med.umich.edu/depression/

Wikipedia Entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression


A special thank you goes to Metricula for compiling the information in this article and for submitting it.

2/13/2007 2:33:37 AM

I doubt you are going to get too many personal experiences shared.

2/13/2007 2:36:15 AM

Quote :

"Severe depression may lead one to attempt suicide. Thoughts about killing yourself are not normal. They are not rare either. According to the American Psychological Association every 100 seconds a person aged 15-24 will commit suicide. That’s 36 young adults dead per hour, 864 per day, and 315,360 young adults dead by their own hand each year. "

Where did this stat come from, and does it include the whole world?

According to http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suifacts.htm, "Suicide took the lives of 30,622 people in 2001," Which includes people of all ages.

2/13/2007 3:09:56 AM

^ I apologize for that stat, it may be innacurate.

According to the World Health Organization there are ~ 1 million deaths attributed to suicide each year world wide. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1489848

Here are some concrete facts taken directly from the American Psychiatric Association website:

http://www.psych.org/news_room/press_releases/05-52SuicidePreventionWeek2005.pdf

Facts about suicide:
• Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States with one suicide occurring on
average every 17 minutes.

• Approximately 30,000 people die by suicide each year, more than by homicide or HIV/AIDS.

• Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds.

• The elderly make up 12.3 percent of the population, but comprise 17.5 percent of all suicides.

• Approximately 800,000 Americans attempt suicide each year.

• It is estimated that five million living Americans have attempted to kill themselves.

• An estimated 4.47 million Americans have been touched by the suicide of a friend, family
member, or loved one.

More links
American Psychiatric Association consumer Web site http://www.healthyminds.org

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention http://www.afsp.org

American Association of Suicidology http://www.suicidology.org

Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN USA) http://www.spanusa.org



[Edited on February 13, 2007 at 3:59 AM. Reason : b]

2/13/2007 3:35:36 AM

thanks for the numbers. i will enjoy prank calling them.

2/13/2007 3:43:32 AM

This has nothing to do with depression, but I'm going to kill myself when I turn 70.

2/13/2007 4:03:42 AM

now that's a man who has his life planned out.

2/13/2007 4:07:37 AM

Suicide is a huge problem where I am living now. I wish they had these sorts of resources available for the kids out here

2/13/2007 5:20:02 AM

It seems like the two concepts are being linked explicitly at this time. And that link isn't that strong from the article presented ... "Sometimes depression can even progress to suicide".

1) Do you have information regarding how frequently depression does lead to suicide? How many suicides are committed independent of being depressed? (I'm looking for a correlation between the two).

2) Are there resources available for somebody who is depressed, or has suffered short-to-long term depression, but is not considering suicide? Again, it seems like the article is strongly favoring the two being one in the same.

3) What is the comparison of U.S. stats vs. Worldwide stats?

It sucks to go through a period of your time when it happens, but you can look back and say "Hey, I made it through that!". Great thread. Thanks for the many links. I hope it promotes awareness.

2/13/2007 5:54:18 AM

^At this point, those questions seem to be needlessly splitting hairs.

The point is this: there is help available for people in need. And if the statistics illustrate that it's nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of...and that folks are not alone in having to deal with depression, and maybe motivate them to seek help or at least just speak up...then I don't see that as a bad thing.

2/13/2007 12:19:04 PM

Quote :

"Depression is more than just “feeling sad”"

it's more like, not feeling at all really

2/13/2007 12:54:57 PM

I've often considered suicide. I've got a scar on my wrist where I tried to cut myself, and I've had a gun out and ready more times than a care to count. The only thing that ever kept me back from it was not wanting to hurt the people who care about me. Because I've seen the aftermath of what happens from a violent death. I've been around death alot, from being an EMT, to being around scenes where close friends have gotten killed, to coming across suicide victims myself. people who say suicide is a selfish act, well, they may be right, but until you've been in that place inside your head, you really can't say. I won't go into my personal dramas, because frankly, nobody gives a shit.

I recently started going to AA, to get away from a bad drinking and drug problem. What I realized, is that I'm really not the only one who feels the way I do. And the best thing to do, if you're getting to a bad place, is to go out and find like-minded people, who have had experiences similiar to yours, and talk to them about it. I'm not saying AA or any "program" is for you. Just talk to someone who cares about you. If they really do, They will listen. And they will do anything they can to help you. If this is your parents, friends, minister, anybody.

People react in different ways to what you say to them. It might scare some folks, what you're saying, But getting something off your chest, laying it all out there, really helps, believe it or not. If they shrug it off, and act like they don't care, They ain't your friend. But if they genuinely want to help you, give it a shot. They may not know how to help you, so just tell them what you need. I guess for me it comes down to getting in some sort of positive place. ( Its hard to wrap your head around getting there sometimes tho) and when you get there, trying to help yourself get to be where you want to be. You can't do it alone. For me at least trying just lead to things getting worse.

I've got a lot to say, but thats it for now. I Know I can be a jackass on here, but thats just me being in a shitty mood on that particular day. shoot me a pm if you need anything. I got no problem meeting someone, anywhere, anytime, if you need to talk.

2/13/2007 1:42:58 PM

Quote :

" • Approximately 800,000 Americans attempt suicide each year. "

but

Quote :

"• Approximately 30,000 people die by suicide each year"

These don't seem to match up. Only one out of every 26 suicide attempts are successful? If true, that's suprising.

2/13/2007 3:06:27 PM

depression is a serious issue which is also over diagnosed extremely.

not everyone who commits suicide is depressed and vice versa

it is simply a weakness of poor coping skills that leads to suicide


life sucks, deal with it.

2/13/2007 3:28:43 PM

you're not helping anyone, so how about you keep your thoughts to yourself.

2/13/2007 3:33:29 PM

i wasnt trying to help anyone

those are valid comments that pertain to this thread

2/13/2007 3:37:14 PM

Cokehead kid doesn't know better. What can you do?

[Edited on February 13, 2007 at 3:52 PM. Reason : What's worse is he's a psych major.]

2/13/2007 3:49:42 PM

^^you need to reread the first post in this thread then (esp the first paragraph).

2/13/2007 3:53:38 PM

hey my coke habit has nothing to do with this

2/13/2007 3:54:02 PM

I'm going to do something really stupid and spill my heart out a little bit.

I checked myself into student health a long time ago because I scared myself. I scared myself because I just didn't care anymore. I'm not going to say what got me there, but I never want to go back. ever. Actually, I probably can't if I wanted to... it's like my brain won't let me think about it. When I try, I hit a blank wall. The antidepressants do that too, keep me from thinking about certain things, when I remember to take them. The worst part about the whole thing was having to call my mom and tell her why I checked myself into student health (the lady there told me that they should know). I felt awful about myself and a huge disappointment. I know it still scares her to this day that I'm going to end up hurting myself, so I always call her when I'm feeling down and we talk it out. I'm grateful for my mom and dad who are always there to listen to me. I'm grateful for my friends who listened to me and for the people who didn't tell me to "just snap out of it." If you want to help someone who is feeling down, the best thing you can do is just listen. Ask questions and get them talking. Don't yell at them or make them feel guilty, it makes it worse. Pretty soon they will open up to you and come to you when they need to talk. I think the worst thing about depression is the way your mind gets. You get into a deeper and deepr rut of what you think about. You dwell on things and withdraw from even the things you like to do. I still have a hard time dealing with things, and all this happened like 6 years ago.

The most important thing I learned was to take things one thing at a time, one day at a time. If I don't, I become totally overwhelmed and panic, shutting myself off from everything again.

If anyone needs someone to listen, shoot me a pm or catch me on AIM.
I don't care what it's about or when it is, just please talk.

2/13/2007 3:56:15 PM

Quote :

"At this point, those questions seem to be needlessly splitting hairs."

One of the ways I better understand something is to analyze it. With this topic especially, I imagine it would help me understand somethings that have happened to me in the past, which in turn, might be used to help somebody else in the future. Thank you for appreciating my viewpoint/desire for information.

Are there any links available to those with financial hardship and coping with it?

2/13/2007 5:09:19 PM

Quote :

"1) Do you have information regarding how frequently depression does lead to suicide? How many suicides are committed independent of being depressed? (I'm looking for a correlation between the two)."

According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

Quote :

"The presence of a mental disorder is an important risk factor for suicide. It is generally acknowledged that over 90% of those who committed suicide had a psychiatric diagnosis at the time of death."

as well as

Quote :

"The overall results showed that 98% of those who committed suicide had a diagnosable mental disorder"

from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1489848

So basically 9 out of 10 people who commit suicide are likely to have some type of mental disorder. For more information on the breakdown by specific disorder see the link above.




[Edited on February 13, 2007 at 5:51 PM. Reason : edit]

2/13/2007 5:48:10 PM

I wanted to make a best porn actors thread for Anna too, but did I?

2/13/2007 5:48:49 PM

Quote :

"it is simply a weakness of poor coping skills that leads to suicide life sucks, deal with it. "

many people are depressed because they dont have good coping skills, OR the skills that were extremely effective as a child no longer work as an adult.

coping skills are learned. Not everyone has the benefit of a good education in coping.


also, there are types of depression that do not respond to therapy.

then there are people with varying degrees of post traumatic stress disorder. I am not going to elaborate but there are many types of traumas. there are Traumas and then there aretraumas.

2/13/2007 6:06:49 PM

he was just trolling, you didn't need to respond to him

2/13/2007 6:09:33 PM

hey TKEshultz / matt you know who I am, I'm the big motherfuckin bouncer from crowley's, Big Ben, who should have killed your sorry ass on numerous occasions. so why don't you shut the fuck up and go the fuck home. people here are trying to give good advice and help people and you don't know when to be quiet.

2/13/2007 6:31:50 PM

i have no idea who you are, weve never met, its sad you refer to yourself as big ben, and dont kid yourself, you check id's at the door .. so tough


BTTT

2/13/2007 6:43:03 PM

^and Ben is somebody I would trust to do either of the two: lend an ear if you need it, or beat your bitch ass down if you need it.

Props, Ben for everything you've shared, man.

And calling himself big is pretty humble. He's fuckin' HUGE.

[Edited on February 13, 2007 at 6:46 PM. Reason : and you're a goddamn shitbag]

2/13/2007 6:46:08 PM

For those that are making sarcastic comments, I was just wondering if you knew that one of our school's students committed suicide recently. I don't know about you, but it was really a tough thing to read about this morning. We could show a little respect sometimes.

2/13/2007 6:50:14 PM

^message_topic.aspx?topic=461166

2/13/2007 6:51:22 PM

^^ although I agree with you completely, you would get more respect as a Jew in Hitler's home than here.

2/13/2007 6:54:16 PM

2/13/2007 6:54:53 PM

Quote :

"These don't seem to match up. Only one out of every 26 suicide attempts are successful? If true, that's suprising."

25 out of 26 just want attention.

2/13/2007 7:03:33 PM

Quote :

"^message_topic.aspx?topic=461166"

Yeah, I'm perfectly aware of that thread. But I wasn't the one making dumb comments, so I was asking others if they had even the slightest clue.

2/13/2007 7:05:44 PM

i'm glad this topic was posted.. and at this particular time. the late winter months are tough for people with depression.

i think suicide rates tend to peak feb-march- if i recall correctly from what we read & discussed in some of my undergrad psych classes.

fascinating facts... if you live in a state like Nevada where the "person per square mile" is lower then there's a higher risk for suicide than in areas of the country that are densely populated. also Monday is the day of the week when suicide occurs more frequently than others. etc. etc. that's probably not all that surprising but still interesting.

i own one too many books on this stuff. for people who are looking for a few good books on the topic- I would recommend Night Falls Fast by Kay Redfield Jamison, or Noonday Demon by Andrew Soloman.

that was my academic insight.

personally... i think it is not only dangerous but also completely ignorant to dismiss suicidal behavior as "attention getting behavior." there may be some of that going on with some people... but consider this- someone who is truly suicidal but ambivalent about their final decision will most likely tell at least one other human being about their intention in order to give themselves final "permission." severely depressed people convince themselves that the lack of response to their talk of suicide is proof (in their mind) that no one cares. sort of like looking for a sign. does that make sense? people who are at high risk for suicide have many personality traits that make them almost "predisposed" to be suicidal. often these people think in terms of black & white. to these people...everything is either great or it is not.

it is not ONE thing that causes a person to commit suicide. it is thing after thing after thing and all then there is the "last straw"- the job loss, the death of a family member, a breakup, etc. the key to keeping these predisposed people from actually committing suicide is giving them enough hope in order for them to start to take steps back toward normalcy and toward acceptance of "life is not perfect but i'm okay."

2/13/2007 10:04:31 PM

im just gonna throw this out there....if any of yall are thinking about considering suicide because life sucks, your gf broke up with you, you failed a test, etc. let me know

for the low price of $15, ill let you join me for a day and ill let you see that life isnt so bad

ill even offer a satisfaction guarantee

this is serious btw

2/13/2007 10:13:45 PM

classifieds

2/13/2007 10:17:04 PM

o yea

offer still stands regardless of it being in wrong place

2/13/2007 10:22:50 PM

bttt

2/13/2007 11:11:26 PM

I'm willing to discuss suicide and depression, and promise you better results than some crap over a phoneline.

2/14/2007 12:01:18 AM

bttt

2/14/2007 11:01:56 AM

Quote :

"I'm willing to discuss suicide and depression, and promise you better results than some crap over a phoneline."

Shut the fuck up you ignorant worm. What in God's name would make you better to call than a helpline operator?

Your overwheling sensitivity? Your absolute lack of common sense or social experiences? How about your inability to maintain friends?

You need to find something better to do with your time than running your mouth on this subject when you've made it obvious you really couldn't care less about suicide or those who consider it.

2/14/2007 11:09:31 AM

Quote :

"i think suicide rates tend to peak feb-march- if i recall correctly from what we read & discussed in some of my undergrad psych classes."

You are correct. That actually kind of surprised me too, as I would have thought that there might have been a link between seasonal depression and suicide attempts.

Quote :

"# Most popular press articles suggest a link between the winter holidays and suicides (Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania 2003). However, this claim is just a myth. In fact, suicide rates in the United States are lowest in the winter and highest in the spring (CDC 1985, McCleary et al. 1991, Warren et al. 1983)."

2/14/2007 12:17:30 PM

actually there is a link between suicide, the holidays, and SAD(seasonal affective disorder)


i know this because i needed a sitter in the hospital for one of my whacked out frontal lobe aneurysm patients, but none were available because they were all on suicide watches in other parts of the hospital.

2/14/2007 1:03:18 PM

i have SAD

2/14/2007 2:32:11 PM

have a lightbox?

2/14/2007 3:04:42 PM

Quote :

"Shut the fuck up you ignorant worm. What in God's name would make you better to call than a helpline operator? Your overwheling sensitivity? Your absolute lack of common sense or social experiences? How about your inability to maintain friends? You need to find something better to do with your time than running your mouth on this subject when you've made it obvious you really couldn't care less about suicide or those who consider it."

My ability to get others to vent their frustrations

2/14/2007 7:25:05 PM

as someone who has depression and suicidal tendencies

i've tried getting "help" , it did not work

2/14/2007 8:55:39 PM

Accept my friend add on MySpace.

2/14/2007 9:32:49 PM