Google offers new depression test.

[giblets]

So since they do serenade the doctors, it is problematic?

[Elok]

No, they don't serenade the doctors about antidepressants, most of those are cheap generics by now. Grotesquely overpriced drugs for heart disease, or (especially) diabetes, is where the money's at. The problem with milking depressed people is, they can stop taking their SSRIs without fear of catastrophic consequences. Bad things happen when you stop taking antidepressants all of a sudden, but that doesn't have the visceral menace of what happens if you don't get your insulin.

[Lorizael]

Bad things happen when you stop taking antidepressants all of a sudden...

As all of my depression threads can attest to.

Lori: OMG MY LIFE IS FALLING APART

Everyone else: Did you run out of drugs and then for some reason simply decide not to go to the pharmacy to get a refill again?

Lori: Right. Yes. Can a mod please close this thread, then?

[Bereta_Eder]

It has basically been screwed in my mind that smoking is stupid. For a variety of reasons.
EVen when binge drinking I never had the urge to smoke. Even in the direst diziness there is no shaking of this newly found idea that smoking is stupid.
People tell me that quiting as I did shows great strength of will, but I just tell them that I think smoking is stupid. Sounds autistic repeating that but it's true.
It's not that the urge is not there sometimes and keeps resurfacing in the most odd moments as rah warned it would be.

It's especially true in bars/caffees/restaurants. I always went (whtn company also wanted so no always) in the smoking section if there was one or just outside (it happens often when the weather is good).
Now going to the non smokers area or inside kind of feels odd. Not smoking doesn't feel odd, not going to smoking areas feels odd :/

Also the gym opened so after a month of inactivity I again exercised and was once more witness to the immense benefits (sleeping like a log for one)

[ZEE]

I quit smoking 13 years ago because my roommate lost his job and I had to pay all the bills on just my Social Security check alone back when I was getting them (I got kicked off lol.) So it was either eat food or smoke cigarettes. Most miserable 3 months of my life. The lease eventually ran out and we went our separate ways. Haven't touched a cigarette since. I recently quit drinking as well, with the help of my... erm...

friend.

but that's another story.

[Bereta_Eder]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMAo0m4E4Lc

[pchang]

I think the Google link can help most by getting people to recognize depression in one of their friends and then spurring them to make their friend get help. As Lori states, a depressed person kind of already knows they are depressed, but most importantly will not do anything to try and get out of it because its hopeless, so why bother.

Ironically, a person in the depths of depression is unlikely to kill themselves, because it takes too much effort. The most dangerous time is when a person still has some motivation to try and do something (either on the way down or the way back up).

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

You're not wrong, man. There's depression and then there's depression - the lethargic kind where you can barely roll out of bed tends to only lead to catastrophe from neglect & the bad luck to stumble over something urgent; it's the show-up-and-grumble/complain kind that's more likely to lead directly to bad action...

[Berzerker]

Chantix worked for me. But am not getting compensation for posting that.
Haven't had a cigarette in close to 10 years after smoking for almost 40 years.

bout 8 1/2 years for me, and it was Chantix that took enough of the 'edge' off. I used it maybe 2 weeks but the warnings of suicidal thoughts etc scared me off from using it longer. Got me over the hump though

[Dinner]

I might have to give Chantix a try.