Hi I am Jamie, I am new here but not new to Depression

[JamieW]

Hi, I am a 28 yo mother to three and step-mother to two more. My husband and I have been married for 9 years. I Have been battling depression for about 15 years. To top it off I also suffer from PTSD.
I will be sharing my story, but it is not to garner sympathy, but hopefully to help anyone who might be struggling to understand they are not alone.
Thank you for these forums.

Jamie

[helium]

welcome.

I'm Hortensia... I'm suffering from depression as well.

Hope you like it here and find the support you need.

[Warmsoul/Jeanie13]

Hi Jamie,

Thank you for joining and posting in our forums. YW as far as the forums being here. A place to share, support and get to know each other.

I read your story and replied, again thank you for that.

Hope to read more from you. Welcome once again.

Warmie/Jeanie

[Monty]

Jamie,

Welcome to the DU forums.

You have been suffering from depression for a lot of years (according to my math you were pretty young when it reared it's ugly head).

It is always appreciated when people share their stories. I don't think that I have ever read one, that I feel is someone looking for sympathy. Don't doubt that you aren't looking for any either.

Like Hortensia I also suffer from depression, (actually with the biploarII diagnosis) and PTSD. Think you will find too many people in our "family" that have the same label. It is true that often things seem very daunting, if you feel that you are the only one on the planet that feels a certain way.

In my eyes there is a lot of difference between trying to garner sympathy and sharing you story in the hope of helping someone else.

Again welcome.

[JamieW]

I apologize for the way I worded that, I didn't want it to come out that I think people are just look fori sympathy or there is anything wrong with it. I just meant it to mean, that it is my past, I have grown from it and accepted it.

Thankyou for the welcomes!

[Warmsoul/Jeanie13]

No apology need. Thank you for sharing as you did, your words will be read, others will relate to them and just maybe your words will steer someone on the right track. Make them see they aren't alone in these thoughts and feelings.

Thank you again.

Warmie

[Monty]

Jamie,

I hope that I didn't offend you.
I agree with Warmie and her thoughts.

Just meant that I see you as (already in having the courage to post your story) a wise woman who I think will be a valuable member of our forum. Certainly not one looking for sympathy. Or to accuse anyone else of that.

It took me a long time to be able to share my story. At home, I was taught that what happens at home, stays at home. Made if very difficult to just unload all the crap I had been carrying for too many years. You can see by my number of posts that I have spoken a lot. No one has ever made me feel like I was whining. I have gotten a tremendous level of support.

I encourage all of the members of the forum, to tell their story. Just so we can get a chance to know them better. It does help to tell your story. Both for you and for those that read it. You did well. Like Warmie said I am sure that many of the people that will read you postings here, will have their self-esteem boosted to see just how you managed to cope with your situation, and (most importantly) that they are not alone. One of the basic needs, besides the ones they always spout off, is the need to feel like you belong somewhere.

Again,sorry. I am not the most articulate in the forum. Long-winded I will admit to though. Those who know me some, that I would never intentionally slam anyone.

Like I said earlier. You are a very wise woman. Thanks for sharing with us.

[aim]

((((Jamie)))) I really apologize for the late welcomes, but I've been traveling for work and really losing my mind in the process!

I'm 33, and although I have suffered from depression in the past, my main issue is generalized anxiety disorder and pretty severe health anxiety.

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS HERE!!!

[alfredo]

Hi, I am a 28 yo mother to three and step-mother to two more. My husband and I have been married for 9 years. I Have been battling depression for about 15 years. To top it off I also suffer from PTSD.
I will be sharing my story, but it is not to garner sympathy, but hopefully to help anyone who might be struggling to understand they are not alone.
Thank you for these forums.

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

I am new as well on this website. I am in my fifties and married but we have no children. I usually write on a number of Depression Sites. I study mental illness as a kind of a hobby though I do have some qualifications. In my studies I have come to the conclusion that Depression is a very complex and mixed bag and that each individual has their own particular and unique experience of depression. I think that my personal research indicates that the majority of cases of Depression may originate with traumas particularly childhood traumas. Some individuals have a genetic predisposition to develop symptoms of depression. But having the predisposition does not mean that the individual will always develop symptoms. I feel that it is when the individual has the predisposition and experiences traumatic events that the Depression is generated sometime as a life long condition. There are some purely biological cases to do with chemical imbalance of the brain alone but these cases, according to my studies are very rare. I would say that about 85% of all Depression in our world comes from traumas and child abuse or neglect. I would like to hear what other have to say about this. What I am saying is that if in our world we were to look after our children better, with less alcohol and drugs which are both directly and indirectly linked to Depression, we would have a better world. For example parents who are alcoholics can develop negative behavior which in turn has a negative impact on the child. Same with drug dependent parents. And there is child neglect, child abuse and so on. In a world free from alcoholism and drug intake, were children are loved and well respected, we would have a very low number of Depressed cases. But this is my opinion.

[aim]

I will tell you, alfredo, I agree with you! People do not seem to understand how delicate and important early childhood really is. Our experiences in early childhood shape us into the person that we are. They mold our self-esteem; and without self-esteem, depression is inevitable.

I do believe in the predisposition theory as well, however. I did not have a traumatic childhood, but I did suffer from pretty severe depression at one point, and I still battle generalized anxiety disorder to this day. I believe that my mental issues are from a predisposition.

As for children... they are meant to be loved and cherished. They are meant to be told how wonderful they are, how smart they are, how handsome or pretty they are. They are meant to think that the world revolves around them. They are meant to hear, "I love you," a million times a day from everyone in their lives. When you do that? You have a healthy and well-adjusted child.

I have some experience and schooling in this myself, alfredo. Not a doctor, understand... but I've learned a lot in my profession as a social worker for children.

[alfredo]

I will tell you, alfredo, I agree with you! People do not seem to understand how delicate and important early childhood really is. Our experiences in early childhood shape us into the person that we are. They mold our self-esteem; and without self-esteem, depression is inevitable.

I do believe in the predisposition theory as well, however. I did not have a traumatic childhood, but I did suffer from pretty severe depression at one point, and I still battle generalized anxiety disorder to this day. I believe that my mental issues are from a predisposition.

As for children... they are meant to be loved and cherished. They are meant to be told how wonderful they are, how smart they are, how handsome or pretty they are. They are meant to think that the world revolves around them. They are meant to hear, "I love you," a million times a day from everyone in their lives. When you do that? You have a healthy and well-adjusted child.

I have some experience and schooling in this myself, alfredo. Not a doctor, understand... but I've learned a lot in my profession as a social worker for children.

Hi Amy,

yes children need to grow in an environment of love and support. Perhaps we should discuss this further. I do write on many Depression websites and I have a lot of feedback from many sufferers. I think that governments have to do more to protect children from alcoholic and drug addicted parents, from unhealthy environments, from bullies, and from all sorts of things which can lead to depression. We definitely need to discuss this more. I know from personal research that childhood problems and traumas make up for about 85% of all mental illness in the world. If this is so what are we doing about it? Not much and the sad thing is that inaction (failure to do something about it) from governments, health professionals and experts is just as appalling as those who cause the traumas directly.

[aim]

Well, Alfredo, I work for children's services, and I can tell you that a lot of the time the courts are fouling things up for the children. I can't tell you how many times children are removed from unfit parents and the court puts them right back in the parents custody.

I work in adoption, but I know a lot of fine and caring social workers who do investigations (including my sister) and the courts are really detrimental to the protection sometimes. Sometimes it does seem like a losing battle, but its one that the wonderful people in children's services never stop fighting for.

[alfredo]

Well, Alfredo, I work for children's services, and I can tell you that a lot of the time the courts are fouling things up for the children. I can't tell you how many times children are removed from unfit parents and the court puts them right back in the parents custody.

I work in adoption, but I know a lot of fine and caring social workers who do investigations (including my sister) and the courts are really detrimental to the protection sometimes. Sometimes it does seem like a losing battle, but its one that the wonderful people in children's services never stop fighting for.

Dear Amy,

I work as a volunteer and I help children. Though I am Italian and my English is limited I have a couple of University degrees so that I often appear in court to help disadvantaged people. I know what you are talking about. I am in Australia and even here the courts do fail our children. The system needs to be changed.

[aim]

It's actually kind of comforting to know that the courts fail the children in other places besides the US. Where do they find these judges's anyway???

Thank God there is a new law in the United States which states that a child cannot linger in foster care for years anymore. After a year, the state must file for guardianship and a termination of parental rights trial follows that. It's kept a lot of kids out of the system, and had them adopted into great homes - mostly family.

Do they have anything like that in Australia?

[alfredo]

It's actually kind of comforting to know that the courts fail the children in other places besides the US. Where do they find these judges's anyway???

Thank God there is a new law in the United States which states that a child cannot linger in foster care for years anymore. After a year, the state must file for guardianship and a termination of parental rights trial follows that. It's kept a lot of kids out of the system, and had them adopted into great homes - mostly family.

Do they have anything like that in Australia?

Yes it is the same in Australia now.