[Mirrors]

Honestly once I shed the weight, and I'm still going, I feel great!!! I haven't been depressed since 2006 once I lost a significant amount and kept going and still going. Honestly to and for me depression is a choice. You can have a pity party or just get busy. If you need a push I'm here to gently give one.

[momof4under5]

For some people depression isnt a choice. Doing something about it is the choice. After I had my baby 9 months ago 3 months out all I would do is cry. sometimes I didnt know why I was crying. You think I chose to cry??? I couldnt help it. Then not being able to wear any of my clothes made me even more sadder. It takes time to lose the weight so it wasnt like I could just chose to lose 10 lbs in a few days to fit into my close so i wasnt sad anymore!! If your just having a pity party and saying im fat im fat and not doing anything about it then yeah that is a choice but there really is times people are depressed and cant help it. Depression sometimes is a fight to get over. I was put on lexapro to stop the crying and the Lexapro made me sleepy and no energy and no motivation. Me feeling guilty about being on the medicine, from people telling me it was a choice to be depressed, I fought for weeks trying to get off the medicine and be ok and i just went back to the crying for no reason and just miserable. So I finally quit fighting and feeling bad about being on the medicine and crying all the time and got on a medicine that has helped me get up and do stuff and not lay around and not cry all the time and have fun playing with my kids and doing things with them. So i guess for you it may have been a choice to be depressed but for me I didnt chose it I am fighting to become a normal person again!!

[Mirrors]

I briefly stated my reason why, but to know me is to know that I had depression like nobody's business. I am a mother of 4. I was diagnosed as depressed (not to get into the particular label of it--I believe labels are for canned items) since I was 13, I'm now almost 40. I feel for anyone that ever had to deal with depression, honest I do, but to give some hope to others here who anti-depressants might not have worked for (like myself and I took about everyone there is) and the acceptance of depression, I'll like to state my truth. Once I honestly did an honest self-assessment and looked within, now this is me and I'm not saying this is for everyone, the truth hurted like nobody's business. I had a whoooole bunch of anger, and whoooole bunch of depression. I had to sincerely change my attitude, and before that I prayed and leaned on my Higher Power--Jesus Christ.

I hope that this dialouge peaks an interest in someone to look within and make their happiness instead of accepting defeat.

May God bless all.

Stay encouraged and be good to yourselves.

[missjenny]

Hello Ladies,

I've suffered from Anxiety but been treated for depression for the last 2 years. Like Momof4under5 I don't think it was at all my choice to be that way.

It was a downward spiral - until one day I just couldn't function anymore.

The thing about anxiety or depression or a combo of both is that I think initially you can CHOSE to stop it dead in its tracks. Unfortunately, by the time you realize that it is depression it's often too late.

Thankfully, I got treatment. I sought help because I didn't even feel like myself anymore. It was my body with some strangers mind. It's VERY VERY VERY scary.

As for weight and depression. I do think that by replacing those depressive, repetitive thoughts with the will and motivation to lose weight can be very beneficial.

In my case, I suffer from Anxiety so I tend to dwell on things in unrealistic ways. Since I've set my mind to losing weight i haven't had the time to worry like I did before! It's given me a new "thing" to dwell on and in this case it's my weight loss journey.

Best of luck to you both

[marenamoo]

I am sorry but I think that most depression is a biological preordained disease and not a choice. I am sure that there are many people who suffer from depression because of physical issues or circumstances in their life that would recover if their triggers went away or even some deeper self issues were addressed. But labeling depression as a choice undermines those who truly suffer from a biological, medical disease. There are many helpful treatments whether cognitive therapy or medications and you may choose to try one of those or even some self help learning. But to wake up and say today i will no longer be depressed I think is unrealistic and demoralizing to a lot of people who struggle.

[Czarria]

i'm with marenamoo on this one. For some people it's as simple as saying : "I will no longer allow myself to feel this way" and tackling it. For some people you can tackle it all day long, but unless you have the right combination of medication/therapy/diet and support you may feel little change. I think just because some people feel their solution cured them, it doesn't mean it would work for another or another or another. We're all different. We all have different triggers, and different things help us. I don't know.

I do know that the original poster didn't mean to be offensive, just encouraging, and maybe i'm misreading some of it.

Thank you for offering to give us a gentle push. Thank you for the encouragement

[THE Heather]

And there's not much more I can add. I third marenamoo


I have borderline personality disorder and severe depression. But all in all I'm pretty optimistic about who I am. I don't think that losing my weight is going to change any of that.

[momof4under5]

I agree that some peoples depression stems from things that have happened in their life, anger, bitterness, loss of a loved one, etc... Mirrors maybe your depression was from something that you had going on inside of you and coming to God helped clean that out. So then you had anger inside to cause your depression. Me I have been in church since I was a baby, went to Bible College, was a childrens Pastor, young adults pastor, Right now my husband and I are currently Youth Pastors. I really struggled with that because my husband felt I shouldnt be on medicine and was so against it. He said i need to just fight it and chose not to be depressed like you said. I tried for months and months and months till the point it was I was scaring myself. One point on the way home from a leadership meeting my husband said I was even scaring him. I was so frustrated and just wanted to cry and everything was awful and I had honestly felt like smashing my head on the wall would have felt better. That was almost 2 years ago. I worked thru all that and am teaching myself how to properly cope with things. Its a long process but I cant teach myself to not cry for no reason. I did that growing up because my dad would scream at me and embarass me in front of people all the time and I could hold all emotions in until i was in bed at night and then let them all out. I never want to go back to the again. I couldnt be myself. So God has taught me how to have emotions and that its ok to let them show. Many people are depressed for a number of reasons. Just for someone to say that it is a choice frustrates me because thats what i was told for a while and I suffered so long trying to chose not to be depressed that it just made my life worse. I became more depressed because I couldnt stop being depressed...if that makes sense. I do think that losing the weight makes you over all feel better and your not downing yourself for being so fat. So your depression coulda been cause by your weight but for some people its a lot of deeper reasons or things they have no control over...Ok well have a good day...I need to go pack some more boxes!!! UGGGHHH