Have you ever had to deal with a depression?

[Cedric]

Have you ever dealt with depression in your life, and if so, what's your story on dealing with it? Some of us have things that help us deal with it, and I'd like to know what helped you - you don't have to tell anything if you want to, just say what you're comfortable with sharing.

 

[otis booard]

on meds for it. Can relate.

 

[Cory]

I too am on medication for depression, as I have experienced it to a large degree most of my life. The current medication I take balances me out quite well though. I started going through major depression back in school and in my early twenties, I still deal with it to this day occasionally, but nowhere near as critical as it once was.

 

[Shortie]

Unfortunately, I deal with depression on a regular basis which is due to my Fibromyalgia. I am on medication to help with all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia that I have to take twice a day and as much as it does help, I still have bad days some worse than others.

 

[Moonface]

Unfortunately, I deal with depression on a regular basis which is due to my Fibromyalgia. I am on medication to help with all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia that I have to take twice a day and as much as it does help, I still have bad days some worse than others.

My wife has that condition too, and while I don't know if it has any contribution to her depression I can really sympathize with this because I know it beyond just knowing it exists. If I remember I'll ask her because now I'm curious if she's in the same boat as you on this or not.

As for myself, I've dealt with depression (as well as anxiety) for a very long time, and it got really bad when Covid came along because of how much stuff in my life it impacted. Things are definitely better now than they were, and I have way better knowledge and understanding of how to handle it without expecting medication alone to solve everything about it, thanks to the therapist I've been seeing for the past year or so.

 

[Forums Forever]

Yes, I've struggled with depression for most of my life. It comes and goes; some days are better than others.

 

[Arantor]

I've had depression for most of the last twenty years. Though the last 3-4 years have been a bit less brutal. I mostly cope by keeping busy.

 

[Cory]

I mostly cope by keeping busy.

That's what I try and do to cope as well, staying busy keeps your mind off what may be bothering you. Though currently unemployed, it's hard to stay busy all throughout the day, so sometimes I find myself sleeping or pacing.

 

[Arantor]

Last time I was technically unemployed I built an entire media gallery add-on for a forum software so... (think IPS Gallery or XFMG, but for SMF)... I guess I don't really have trouble staying busy!

 

[Cory]

I have basic programming knowledge compared to you, so I probably couldn't build such major projects. I know no backend languages whatsoever, always been more of a frontend type of guy.

 

[Arantor]

I have basic programming knowledge compared to you, so I probably couldn't build such major projects. I know no backend languages whatsoever, always been more of a frontend type of guy.

Honestly, the only real difference is investment of time - I first touched HTML in 1998. Throw 25 years at a problem and you'll get *somewhere*! PHP for me is 20 years in March.

But if you can code in JavaScript, that's a backend language now - see Node.

Though there is one thing to remember: the only way to do big stuff is to do smaller stuff first and keep doing it. There's no substitute for putting some time, and starting out small before working into big. Everything else comes with the doing of it.

 

[Cory]

But if you can code in JavaScript, that's a backend language now - see Node.

I've dabbled in Node a bit once, but I didn't get very far. But overall, JavaScript has always been my go-to language. It took me forever just to learn the ins and outs of it alone and there are a lot of libraries and frameworks I'd like to learn, but part of being depressed is having so little motivation and courage. I feel like once I try and learn more, I step back through distractions or lack of motivation.

 

[Cedric]

I've dabbled in Node a bit once, but I didn't get very far. But overall, JavaScript has always been my go-to language. It took me forever just to learn the ins and outs of it alone and there are a lot of libraries and frameworks I'd like to learn, but part of being depressed is having so little motivation and courage. I feel like once I try and learn more, I step back through distractions or lack of motivation.

Problem is that you did free requests and modifications mostly of your life when we were on InvisionFree/ZetaBoards and now Jcink. Forums have gone a bit more silent and so have requests, there are less challenges for you to tackle. I feel if you'd evolve to paid forum softwares like IPB and XenForo, you'd find your challenges again. Start small and free, evolve to paid. There's still a great demand on paid software, there always will be.

 

[Cory]

Problem is that you did free requests and modifications mostly of your life when we were on InvisionFree/ZetaBoards and now Jcink. Forums have gone a bit more silent and so have requests, there are less challenges for you to tackle. I feel if you'd evolve to paid forum softwares like IPB and XenForo, you'd find your challenges again. Start small and free, evolve to paid. There's still a great demand on paid software, there always will be.

That's a good point, but I don't have the funds to pay for paid software at this time. But, I can definitely consider it in the foreseeable future.

 

[Cedric]

That's a good point, but I don't have the funds to pay for paid software at this time. But, I can definitely consider it in the foreseeable future.

I can help with that. Give me a shout whenevet you’re ready for it.

 

[Cory]

I can help with that. Give me a shout whenevet you’re ready for it.

I'll start a conversation with you about it.

 

[Arantor]

I should also add, there is actually NodeBB - a forum software written in Node. I don't know if that's of interest but I can probably find you some resources if you're interested.

 

[Cory]

I should also add, there is actually NodeBB - a forum software written in Node. I don't know if that's of interest but I can probably find you some resources if you're interested.

Never even heard of it, might have to check it out sometime. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Yeah...

Back before I took a break from forums, I was fighting some pretty dark struggles.

I never took care of my teeth when I was a kid. No one ever made me. So, they rotted and got bad. As an adult, I would get severe tooth pain. I'd get flu-like sickness from it, huge swollen areas that would painfully last for months, infections. I didn't eat on one side of my mouth for 10 years.

Dental work is super expensive. So, I never got it taken care of.

I drank instead. I drank to make the pain go away. Because of that, I got drunk a lot and getting drunk can make you act and say things that are mean and upsetting. I wasn't good at keeping the right friends because of my drunkenness. But it was the only thing that temporary took the pain away.

If I were to rate the pain 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst, I'd choose 13.

At one point I almost ended it. That's all I will say about that. I'm just thankful things didn't turn out how they could had.

My teeth also made me want to be alone for the rest of my life. In all honestly, I never thought I'd find anyone.

Back then, I was trying to bike to be healthy but didn't quit unhealthy things. I still smoked, drank like a fish, and ate badly.

Then I went for a hike.

I fell in love with hiking.

I started taking photos and sharing them and people started flocking to them on social.

Someone told me to do youtube of my hikes. I tried it but just didn't show me in it. That took off.

So, I wanted to get in better health. I quit getting drunk. I started vaping instead of smoking. I ate a little better. But the toothache pain was still there.

So, I broke down and had all my top teeth pulled out. I have an upper denture now. I paid about $8,000 out of pocket. It wasn't cheap at all. It was a rough process. It hurt when they pulled my teeth. I was awake through it and the numbing solution did not work but once they were out, the pain immediately left. I remember tears running my face because I didn't feel that pain anymore...

It took me a few years to get used to a denture. I don't even notice it now. It looks real, too. I've saved my bottom teeth and I take very good care of them. A bottom denture is harder to get used to because most of the time, they just "float".

My youtube led me to become some kind of local celebrity.

I met my gf that way. She was a fan. I wasn't looking for anyone TBH, I thought I would be alone for life and I accepted that. But it was love at first site. Meeting her and us forming our relationship filled a void in my life that was larger than anything else.

I don't feel any kind of depression anymore.

I quit getting drunk. I drink a few IPAs here and there but I don't get drunk. My GFs daughter (who I treat as my own kid) told me to quit vaping. I quit the next day cold turkey, that's been a few years now.

I got COVID early. The bad round, before we knew what it was. It was just like a bad cold for me. Nothing damaging. No hospital visit. I think if I was still like I was and with all the teeth problems, I'm sure it would had killed me. But I don't think I would have been alive to see it. Pain can really make you do horrible things to yourself.

That's my depression story. I like to tell it in hopes that it may inspire someone else to change.

 

[MrP]

I have heard people talk about being depressed and all but it's something that I have never been unfortunate to experience.

From everything that I have heard so far, it doesn't sound like it's fun experience to pass through. A guy was said to have committed suicide as a result of being depressed.