24 replies to this topic

[idk]

yep I do.

 

I found the best way to deal is to busy myself, unless I get to the point where I feel to shitty to do anything.

I've also been into pot to pick up my mood.

 

I've got pretty severe social anxiety, and struggle with the most basic of social tasks (Answering phones, ordering at restaraunts, small talk, etc)

I probably could qualify for disability, but I don't want to just sit around doing nothing, I'd like to work, and earn a life, and be busy and happy and all that jazz, but it just doesn't work well when 90% of jobs are heavy on social aspects, not interesting, or require a heavy degree I'd have had to aim for since getting into highschool.

 

I've been trying to push myself back into art as a way of trying to open my shell again since I shut it hard after the way my two ex girlfriends treated me, but I still find it difficult to reach out and trust people.

 

oh well.

 

sometimes I don't feel down at all, it's more the social anxiety and shyness that's always there.

[SIlhouette]

I have issues happening around/to me at the moment but I am not a depressed person, I can't even say for sure if I have ever been depressed. I am not addicted to alcohol but will be happy to binge drink with friends or even go years without drinking (last drink I had was over 2 years ago I think). I smoke pot but again I am not addicted to it. The two potential potential addictions I have are video games and cigarettes. Cigarettes are a real addiction in that I smoke about 50 cigarettes a day but video games is just potential in that I am now at the point where I can play video games and still participate in the real world and put them down when I need to do something... At the same time there have been points in my life where I would never put down a game for anything, all it took for me to deal with that is realize that I can always come back to it and that real life is so much more important.

 

Smoking... I am heavily addicted but I am fine with my own mortality, things will kill me in life and eventually I will die, so if I enjoy smoking why stop? The only part I hate about it is the cost but that is simply solved by working.

 

I had an issue when I was a child that I was petrified by my own mortality and it would have stopped me from living a full life. I would never have gone bungy jumping, learnt to skate, snowboard, surf or start for a pilots license. I realized that you can't live if you are afraid of death and shortly came to the conclusion that I can't choose how I will die or when, I can choose how I will live though.

 

I'll bring it back to cigarettes and coping mechanisms, In the brain when you smoke a cigarette your body releases dopemine to a specific point in the brain, after a while the nicotine triggers less dopemine and so you end up needing more of it to find the same level of "feeling" that you used to from smaller quantities. This is the same for all dopemine related activities, Pornography Addiction is worse in that after a while you will start to find new ways to trigger your levels because you can't get the same trigger from simple pornography and so it leads to more extreme things and it dumbs down your sensitivity to other people to the point where you don't see them as real people but just a way to get a fix, such as stalking them. All addictions lead down this road of needing new or more to trigger the dopemine receptors and it leads to really horrible places. Smoking is not that bad in terms of addiction unless you end up stealing money for more smokes or robbing a person.

 

A common way to solve this is to transfer the time you spent with the addiction to something else, martial arts, football, activities are always great. Some people go to rehab or various forms of Anonymous groups which can also take up some time that you would otherwise spend acting out.

 

I have had to a large portion of time in psychologist sessions with my father and mother due to some addiction and legal issues that have popped up in my family recently, I do not use smoking as a way to cope with these issues and I think my coping mechanism is supporting my family around me to the best of my ability, as fucked up as it has all become these last few years.

 

 

Edit: I just read that back and realized that it was all about me and my issues and didn't really address what I wanted to put across to you, for that I am sorry I hope you can find something in here that could be of use though. I just really wanted to say something because addiction and depression are all around me at the moment and I feel really sorry that it is happening to you also and I wanted to help.

[The Robstar]

I highly highly highly discourage chronic marijuana use as a medication for depression. If you "feel depressed sometimes" - that's not depression mayne, that's just part of being human. Weed is nice for random low points but for actual depression frequent use will make it so much worse in most cases.

I duno, my bouts of depression come at the most random of times. Sometimes I can be really happy then *BOOM!!!!* feel real shitty and sad for no reason.

 

If I don't have a toke I get really grumpy and feel like swearing at something. I have to go for what I call a "rage" run just to let off some steam.

 

But mr green keeps me mellow and tame

 

..... or is that a sure sign of addiction???

[Calvary]

I duno, my bouts of depression come at the most random of times. Sometimes I can be really happy then *BOOM!!!!* feel real shitty and sad for no reason.

 

If I don't have a toke I get really grumpy and feel like swearing at something. I have to go for what I call a "rage" run just to let off some steam.

 

But mr green keeps me mellow and tame

 

..... or is that a sure sign of addiction???

 

The word 'depression' get tossed around so much that it seems to lose its meaning. You don't get 'bouts' of depression. You get depression and you feel like the world hates you, that everything you ever loved is dead and that you can't even face getting out of bed. For months. Sometimes years.

 

I'd just like to put that out there because it always irks me when people say they're depressed just because they're in a little bit of a rut.

 

And yes, if you need to self medicate with weed every time you get a bit grumpy then you're dependent on it.