"Inadequacy": My side of the fence
There are two things from the post "Uncomfortable and Inadequate" that struck me:
"Why does something motivate one person, while depressing another?"
"Why do some people seem to get the leg up when it comes to chemicals?"
Coming from my position, after working through a mental illness (and living with it daily), those sentences have entirely different meanings to me. I would like to add my own insights from my side of the fence.
The difference between what motivates one and depresses another is not merely a matter of muster; the depressed person lacks, through one way or another, the ability to cope with the challenge laid before them. The symptoms of depression (withdrawal, feeling worthless) are spurred on when faced with so difficult a task. Their threshold for stress is also much lower; they easily crumble under the weight and pressure. On a chemical level, the "fight or flight" response is altered in depressed peoples. While a challenge exhilarates a "well" person and spurs him into action (to fight), the depressed person's brain reacts in the opposite way. His lack of norepinephrine (pops, correct me if I've got the chemicals wrong) causes him to retreat into himself and become depressed, unable to fight or even to flee. They are trapped by their chemicals and their stressful situation.
And yes, why do some people have "normal" chemical levels and others are not so blessed? It hardly seems fair, does it? To round our your argument, it takes a great deal of motivation (and muster) to work through those challenges and truly fight an illness until the end . . . and a lot of pills.
"Why does something motivate one person, while depressing another?"
"Why do some people seem to get the leg up when it comes to chemicals?"
Coming from my position, after working through a mental illness (and living with it daily), those sentences have entirely different meanings to me. I would like to add my own insights from my side of the fence.
The difference between what motivates one and depresses another is not merely a matter of muster; the depressed person lacks, through one way or another, the ability to cope with the challenge laid before them. The symptoms of depression (withdrawal, feeling worthless) are spurred on when faced with so difficult a task. Their threshold for stress is also much lower; they easily crumble under the weight and pressure. On a chemical level, the "fight or flight" response is altered in depressed peoples. While a challenge exhilarates a "well" person and spurs him into action (to fight), the depressed person's brain reacts in the opposite way. His lack of norepinephrine (pops, correct me if I've got the chemicals wrong) causes him to retreat into himself and become depressed, unable to fight or even to flee. They are trapped by their chemicals and their stressful situation.
And yes, why do some people have "normal" chemical levels and others are not so blessed? It hardly seems fair, does it? To round our your argument, it takes a great deal of motivation (and muster) to work through those challenges and truly fight an illness until the end . . . and a lot of pills.
posted by Anonymous at 3/30/2006 08:31:00 AM
1 Comments:
I feel that it is too hard to just say that you can "will" your problems away. I agree with what you have said, and way to put that out there and on the line. You know from experience and I like that. Thanks for doing that to let others know and to hopefully educate and help in the process.
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