Depression and Mental Health on Revleft

[Red Economist]

partly in response to the thread (below), I wanted to find out just how widespread depression and mental health problems are on revleft and whether there is anything we can do about. my suspicion is that it may well be a high percentage of users (at a guess 25-50%) have a history of problems. this would be particuarly true if most members on revleft are in the 18-25 age group, which is (I think) more likely to suffer from depression.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/good-reaso...486/index.html

Depression is now widespread in developed countries and has been associated with the consumerist aspirations of capitalist society as a 'disease of affluence'. You may have heard about 'affluenza' which is a book which argues that there is a relationship between mental health problems and consumerism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza

For an outline on depression:

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


Given that Revleft is essentially anonymous, I don't think this will break any forum rules or laws by just doing a poll, but please correct me if I am wrong.

my own experiences have been that I have suffered depression (at least) since I left university four and a half years ago. I felt I had lost everything of value to me and was suicidal for about two weeks or so. I am bi-sexual and a large part of the problem has been the process of coming out, though definetely not all. I've been completiing my degree from home and recovering since then. I had a serious replase earlier this year when my best freind became an arms dealer and the relationship broke down. I had a crush on him and it totally shook my judgement and left me devastated. I sought counselling and managed to pull out of it, so that I am now relatively stable but still have low mood occassionally.

I don't think my experience are unique and there is a decent reason to suspect that if it has an enviromental cause, it can be caused by our relationships with individuals and within society. It can therefore be argued to be a political issue tied in with anti-capitalism and has legitimate scope as a cause amongst the left even if solutions, beyond offering support, are not obvious.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

Diagnosed with clinical depression as a teenager.

It's hard to try and describe what its like to have clinical depression to people who don't have it. It's not just simply feeling sad all the time. There's abnormal amounts of anxiety and panic. Living in fear of things that might happen even if its several days away. And since that shit is directly connected to stress, it eventually causes things like stomach ulcers, acid reflux, and other gastrointestinal ailments.

I remember very clearly when I was a child, being terrified of school because of things that might happen. Future homework assignments, noises, etc.

It took my parents years before they finally recognized the symptoms.

[Craig_J]

I put that I have previously suffered with depression, but I wasn't to sure what I should answer... I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which means that during the winter I get very, very depressed. It took me a long time to realise I had this. I went to the doctors three times saying that I felt I might have depression, on the third time with it being the same doctor as the other two occasions he asked me whether I ever felt depressed during the summer, I replied no and he said I may have this. Turns out I do! Looking back ever since I can remember I always felt depressed during the winter. I feel hopless, like everythings going badly (even when I have no reason to think so) and really struggle to find any joy in anything.

As the spring comes I gradually feel more myself though and then once the winters over I feel my normal self again. Goes without saying this winter has been awful for me because it has strecthed on for so long!

[cyu]

Slaves aren't expected to be happy.

Those who happily oppress others aren't expected to support revolution.

[slum]

i've been diagnosed with major depression, post traumatic stress disorder and a related dissociative disorder.

i think my depression is less tied in to capitalist exploitation, mostly because it runs in my family and feels very 'biological'- in down swings it really is clearly a sickness. of course, present social relations and the twin devils of work and unemployment certainly agitate it and contribute to a general sense of hopelessness and entrapment. alienation and how we approach commodities can also feed existential crises- all issues that are connected (i want to write about how alienation and dissociation interact someday, it's like my pet obsession)

i'd love to see more discussion of this topic, as well as the treatment of people with psych illnesses under capitalism, homelessness and imprisonment etc. there's a LOT to investigate. i can't contribute to that right now though because i have to go lie down and contemplate the heat death of the universe and feel terrible about myself.

my lumpenproletariat best

[Tim Cornelis]

It seems I'm the only happy person so far. Those statistics are rely worrying, 88% with mental health problems or depression.

[Brutus]

I am in good mental health and do not have a history of mental health problems.

Any of you folks want someone to talk to, I'm here.

[Quail]

I put "I have previously suffered from a mental health problem other than depression" but I have also previous suffered from depression, and I don't consider myself fully "recovered" from my mental health problems, but I am coping well at the moment.

I've had anxiety issues (mostly OCD), eating disorders (mostly bulimia with "anorexic tendencies") and I suffer from flashbacks and occasionally dissociative symptoms.

Some of my problems have been very specific to things I have experienced, but my experiences are far from unique. I used to post a lot on eating disorder forums for example, and the background is very often some form of abuse, whether it's bullying, sexual assault, abusive partners, etc., and reading that kind of stuff and knowing how widespread these issues are is actually quite eye-opening. Would I be such an ardent feminist if I hadn't suffered and had problems that are glaringly related to patriarchy? Perhaps, but I think my experiences definitely pushed me quite hard in that direction.

I think for leftists, it is probably natural to feel unhappy with the state of the world. I find it is easy for that feeling to overwhelm me, and some anxiety and depression will inevitably come from being politically aware if you feel powerless in the face of such a rotten society. I think if you look at all the injustices people face in a capitalist society, and feel powerless, there is something wrong if that doesn't get you down. You have to focus on the little things that, for now, you can change.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I've been diagnosed with Asperger's, but I don't think that counts so I voted for the last option.

[cyu]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/159254/la...ive-world.aspx

Latin Americans are the most positive people in the world, with their region being home to eight of the top 10 countries for positive emotions worldwide. Singaporeans, Armenians, and Iraqis are least likely worldwide to report feeling positive emotions.

Residents of Panama, which ranks 90th in the world with respect to GDP per capita, are among the most likely to report positive emotions. Residents of Singapore, which ranks fifth in the world in terms of GDP per capita, are the least likely to report positive emotions.

Higher income does not necessarily mean higher wellbeing. Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman and Princeton economist Angus Deaton found in the United States that income only makes a significant impact on daily positive emotions when earning up to $75,000 annually -- after that, additional income does not make as much of a difference.

Venezuela tied for 3rd at 84
Netherlands at 80
UK at 77
United States tied with China at 76
Afghanistan at 55
Iraq at 50

[Doflamingo]

Was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder a few years back. I don't take any medication now though for reasons I've explained in another thread.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I've never been diagnosed with depression nor been bad enough that i've needed to be clinically treated.

I've had a couple of 'episodes' in my life where i've been on the verge of depression, mind. They lasted for several months so i'd say that was a mental health issue.

[Kalinin's Facial Hair]

So far, so good.

[rednordman]

I've never been diagnosed with depression nor been bad enough that i've needed to be clinically treated.

I've had a couple of 'episodes' in my life where i've been on the verge of depression, mind. They lasted for several months so i'd say that was a mental health issue.

I'm near enough the same as this, although i was offered anti-depressants, but refused them dues to my brothers (mental health nurse) advice.

[bcbm]

feelin down as fuck

[Sasha]

co-morbid a-typical panic-disorder...

[soso17]

I suffer from bipolar disorder, which was misdiagnosed and poorly treated for much of my adult life. During the winter I experience near-debilitating depression, and come spring I have to be vigilant to prevent mania. My psychiatrist is excellent, and the medications I take allow me to have a high level of functioning most of the time, e.g. I work full time and have rarely been hospitalised.

--soso

[Aurora]

About the results, there's most likely a response bias with people with mental health issues more likely to read and respond to a thread on mental health than those without.

I've had problems with major depression and assorted anxiety stuff(derealization, panic attacks, general dread etc) in the past, i voted currently suffering from depression because the last couple months have been pretty bad but luckily not nearly as bad as previously.
I really need to start seeing a talk therapist again.

[egalitarian]

What does it mean to be labeled "ill" in a sick world?

Right, that you are having a normal reaction to your circumstances.

[Landsharks eat metal]

Suffering from depression... been told at one point by a psychiatrist that it was dysthymia, but when I was admitted to the psych ward in fall of 2011, they listed it as MDD, so I'm not really sure on that point. Also been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder at age 12 and still having lots of problems with that. Also at one point had a psychiatrist who suggested I might have agoraphobia, but I'm not seeing her anymore since she got sick and I'm not going to ask my current psych because he's an asshole. I think that's it (besides Asperger's), but there have been times when multiple people have expressed concern about my impulsivity, but no diagnosis has come from that so I have no fucking idea.