A few thoughts:
First, I was disturbed by the tone of the thread at the beginning. A bunch of people made it sound like depressed equals low self-esteem, or sad, or unfulfilled. That's not true. I'm clinically depressed, and have been, probably, my entire life. I've learned tools to stave it off, but I can't always stop it. Sometimes I don't even know I'm in the belly of it until I realize I'm in my bed, haven't showered in three days, and I have no idea what I've done during those days. Usually, it jolts me, and I get up, groom myself, wash my sheets, do errands, maybe even go out with friends or host poker night; all things I enjoy. Sometimes depression is brought on by situational things, but not always. I'm actually an optimist, and if you don't know me really well, you have no idea the shadows in my brain, actually even if you do know me well, the shadows are beyond your grasp. I always have a smile on my face, and in all honesty, it's genuine.
That brings me to meds. I was on Welbutrin for about two years. I hated it. I hated not being able to feel. During the last six months of it, I opened a little shop. While I was building it, my doc suggested I go on Concerta (ADD) because I was having a really hard time focusing on opening, and the longer it took me to do so, the more money I was losing. So, I was on Welbutrin and Concerta at the same time, and the combo wasn't too bad... as long as I didn't have any coffee. Two days before I opened my shop, my doc (psychotherapist) died of cancer. I knew she was sick, and I knew she was closing her practice soon, but she died more quickly than she thought she would.
It was probably a bad decision, but I decided to stop taking the meds. I just stopped. I was over it.
Some crazy stuff has happened over the past couple of years since I opened my shop. To name some of it, I closed my shop, I got dumped, I dumped two friends, and my depression is present AT ALL TIMES. It never gives me one moment's peace. I still function, not normally, but normally for my strange existence. I enjoy things occasionally. I enjoy the hell out of my loved-ones. But, even with the shadows clouding my brain, I don't want to medicate. I would rather be able to feel... and drink coffee sometimes.
That being said, I have my own experiences with meds, but they're not everyone else's. If people feel like they need them, they probably do. If walking around like a zombie is preferable to your med-free existence, you need meds. If you can take them and not feel like a zombie, you probably need them too. I say, take 'em if you want. They're there. YOLO.
As far as a correlation between depression and intelligence? Meh. I guess it could exist, but I'd rather not focus on it.
First, I was disturbed by the tone of the thread at the beginning. A bunch of people made it sound like depressed equals low self-esteem, or sad, or unfulfilled. That's not true. I'm clinically depressed, and have been, probably, my entire life. I've learned tools to stave it off, but I can't always stop it. Sometimes I don't even know I'm in the belly of it until I realize I'm in my bed, haven't showered in three days, and I have no idea what I've done during those days. Usually, it jolts me, and I get up, groom myself, wash my sheets, do errands, maybe even go out with friends or host poker night; all things I enjoy. Sometimes depression is brought on by situational things, but not always. I'm actually an optimist, and if you don't know me really well, you have no idea the shadows in my brain, actually even if you do know me well, the shadows are beyond your grasp. I always have a smile on my face, and in all honesty, it's genuine.
That brings me to meds. I was on Welbutrin for about two years. I hated it. I hated not being able to feel. During the last six months of it, I opened a little shop. While I was building it, my doc suggested I go on Concerta (ADD) because I was having a really hard time focusing on opening, and the longer it took me to do so, the more money I was losing. So, I was on Welbutrin and Concerta at the same time, and the combo wasn't too bad... as long as I didn't have any coffee. Two days before I opened my shop, my doc (psychotherapist) died of cancer. I knew she was sick, and I knew she was closing her practice soon, but she died more quickly than she thought she would.
It was probably a bad decision, but I decided to stop taking the meds. I just stopped. I was over it.
Some crazy stuff has happened over the past couple of years since I opened my shop. To name some of it, I closed my shop, I got dumped, I dumped two friends, and my depression is present AT ALL TIMES. It never gives me one moment's peace. I still function, not normally, but normally for my strange existence. I enjoy things occasionally. I enjoy the hell out of my loved-ones. But, even with the shadows clouding my brain, I don't want to medicate. I would rather be able to feel... and drink coffee sometimes.
That being said, I have my own experiences with meds, but they're not everyone else's. If people feel like they need them, they probably do. If walking around like a zombie is preferable to your med-free existence, you need meds. If you can take them and not feel like a zombie, you probably need them too. I say, take 'em if you want. They're there. YOLO.
As far as a correlation between depression and intelligence? Meh. I guess it could exist, but I'd rather not focus on it.
