![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 17:59:04
I have been wondering for a while: Is it possible to be happy and depressed at the same time? I tend to feel all right during the day, if I'm working on something, but it seems that there is a sadness that pulls at me and I have to work hard to ignore. Does anyone else have a similar experience?
Posted by wishingstar on June 6, 2006, at 18:18:13
In reply to depression, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 17:59:04
Yes.. I have that exact experience all the time. I'm almost always okay when I wake up (although when things get really bad, I have had times that I wake up feeling horrible too).. but I'm usually okay until around 5pm or so, then it hits. It does seem to be related to what I'm doing during the day and whether or not I keep busy, but not always.
For me, it's difficult because it makes me question the "realness" of my depression sometimes. Of course my rational side knows that depression is depression though.
I guess it's "lucky" in way that we are able to be productive and reasonably okay through the afternoons though. Just wanted to let you know that I definitely can relate!
Posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 19:39:14
In reply to Re: depression » sunnydays, posted by wishingstar on June 6, 2006, at 18:18:13
Thanks so much for your response. It really seems to me sometimes that I must just be faking it because I can feel so low and miserable in the evening and at night, but be relatively productive during the day (although there are certain things that can really overwhelm me during the day as well).
Posted by Racer on June 6, 2006, at 21:22:11
In reply to Re: depression » wishingstar, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 19:39:14
You can react positively to some stimuli.
Generally speaking, though, that sounds like disthymia, which I'm probably misspelling. Disthymia is a sort of low level depression that underlies most of one's life. As far as I know, it tends to be much more pervasive and persistant than "real" depression, but it's kinda like Depression Lite.
Anyway, it does help that you're apparently doing something that you can react positively to. I've not had that, really -- although I've had obsessive behaviors, like knitting or spinning, that come on while I'm depressed. Sort of a desperate attempt to channel the energy that would otherwise turn into depression.
Posted by pseudoname on June 7, 2006, at 7:32:52
In reply to depression, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 17:59:04
I like Racer's reply. I was going to say that I've recently felt depressed and happy at the same moment, but the transient depression feelings I have now are (due to an effective med) so much less than previously that I think it is much more like dysthymia.
I don't recall ever feeling happy about anything, even briefly, when in the throes of major depression.
Posted by llrrrpp on June 7, 2006, at 8:13:55
In reply to depression, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 17:59:04
Hi Sunnydays,
This is *exactly* what I'm going through right now. Okay, I don't have the day/evening cycle going, but I do have this "sadness that pulls at me and I have to work hard to ignore" EXACTLY!I asked my T about this yesterday. He says it's a good sign. It means that depression is no longer something that 'happens' to you, rather, it's a choice you can make. Yes, it's the struggle to ignore the sadness. It's a really hard struggle. Some days I don't have the power to fight against it, but at least I know when I'm going there. At least I know that there are multiple paths and that depression is only one of them.
I think the more practice we have at ignoring the darkness, the sadness, the easier it will become. Also, we can get better at finding out the environmental situations that precede the initial onset of sadness. Is it that work has more social stimulation? Maybe if you socialized more in the evening you wouldn't feel sad in the evening? Is it that work is intellectually stimulating and distracting? Could you take up a hobby in the evening, like tutoring kids or creating your own website, or something to focus your mind away from the sadness?
Well, I am only now figuring out that I have the choice. It's pretty powerful knowledge though. I wish you the best, sunny. Let us know how you're doing!
-ll
Posted by Poet on June 7, 2006, at 11:22:46
In reply to depression, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 17:59:04
Hi sunnydays,
My official DX is dysthymia. I know I can be depressed and happy at the same time. I can watch a funny movie and laugh, but the depression even at a low level is still there.
Enjoy that happiness. It's a weird feeling isn't it? It's a good feeling though.
Poet
Posted by bassman on June 7, 2006, at 11:35:25
In reply to Re: depression » wishingstar, posted by sunnydays on June 6, 2006, at 19:39:14
The interesting thing to me is that the depression cycle is reversed from what it usually is-depression is classically worse in the morning (sometimes, awful) and seems to clear as the day proceeds. I have the "O.K. during the day and then depressed/anxious at night" cycle-like you-so I wonder what it means.
Posted by sunnydays on June 7, 2006, at 17:03:30
In reply to Re: depression, posted by bassman on June 7, 2006, at 11:35:25
Thank you everyone for your responses. I do think it may be more like dysthymia. I have had major depression before, but am now on an antidepressant, so I think that's also partly why the sadness is not so completely overwhelming. I wonder, though, if it's something that will ever totally go away or if it's part of me. It's so discouraging to think, that, though, and I liked your reply llrrrpp that maybe it means I'm just learning how to avoid the depression.
Posted by fairywings on June 8, 2006, at 2:37:33
In reply to Re: depression, posted by bassman on June 7, 2006, at 11:35:25
Me too bassman, esp. when I was a teen. As night came I became more sad, more afraid, had more thoughts, felt more alone. I still have that cycle when I'm depressed, but it's not as bad as it was then.
fw
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Psychology | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.