Comments on: Brain injury survivor explains why people have depression wrong

By: deborah alvarez

deborah alvarez — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 14:41:49 +0000

so many thoughts, they are getting all tangled up. this is exactly what i’ve been dealing with at of late. all the neurologist said was we will treat the depression aggressively before possibly doing ECT. that was years ago and i’m still stumbling around in the dark. like treatments for physical issues, everyone is rooting around in my mind for causes. yes, i have tons of issues that were never truly dealt with, but they never bothered me as much as after the stroke. now i find a support group and people that are speaking my language. i’m so confused as to which avenue to take anymore. do i keep poking around in the dark places that have always been there or try to live the life i was dealt and take the depression and anxiety as it comes, when it comes…..

By: Michelle Munt

Michelle Munt — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 16:22:19 +0000

Thank you Courage, I had not heard that definition of depression and it’s opposite before. I suppose the closest I got was thinking it would be to be content. But actually that doesn’t go far enough to explain the many complex ways depression can affect a person.

I also had not heard of brainstem depression before. My brainstem was affected in my accident, but I’m sure being born with that condition means it’s affects would be magnified. You are clearly not just a survivor, but a fighter!

All the best x

By: Courage

Courage — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 09:34:59 +0000

Yes, a brain injury is a factor in the tangle of anxiety and depression. The two conditions are a tangle to begin with … and I think that the core of them is often some kind of trauma. I sometimes think of depression as malignant grief. I know that my brain injury has cemented both depression and heightened anxiety into my makeup. I also know that I was born, prematurely, with a form of depression called anaclitic or brainstem depression — a metabolic, autonomic depression of function. Everything from blood pressure, respiration, digestion, weight, thyroid function, body temperature — all much lower than normal. It seems that the brain injury threw my system back into that original baseline.

I can’t stand that depression and anxiety are so often portrayed as conditions of thought, rather than whole-person disorders. The cognitive/behavioural aspects are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak — the most evident and obvious.

I agree that quotes such as the above tell only a minute portion of the story. The mind is what the brain (in part) does. Caring and not caring … they’re existential.

Andrew Solomon said, in one of his TED Talks, that “the opposite of depression is not happiness; it is vitality.” Everything in me said YES! to that. I always sensed that there was much more to depression than the agonizing thoughts. I finally felt validated in my experience. And as we all know, brain injury is exhausting to the nth degree!

Thanks for your advocacy, Michelle. I hope you’re thriving.

By: michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk

michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 05:06:19 +0000

In reply to Mike.

Mike is it weird that I think what you describe makes perfect sense? I’m sure I haven’t experienced it to the degree you have, but I recognise a part of me. You put it so well.
I hope the cycle lessens for you and I wish you all the best for you continued recovery.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 02:06:58 +0000

Hi. Its the duality of anxiety and depression that seems to be missing from a lot of things I’ve read. Backstory: I had a malignant brain tumour removed after I suffered a series of strokes and have lived with after effects more than half my life.

I really can’t factually declare how much being prone to anxiety and depression has anything to do with the damage, the surgery or the medication. But I think it does. I can say that recuperation, self pity and self loathing kept me bed ridden for a year. I get anxious worrying that I’ll ever be that bad again and depressed when I can’t pull up out of the rut, then anxious that I’m stuck there.

The duality? I get depressed about being anxious and anxious about being depressed! When I’m not depressed or anxious it seems ridiculous. When I am, it seems unavoidable.

By: michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk

michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 13:21:16 +0000

In reply to helentastic67. I'm so sorry about your sibling, that's so tragic. No wonder the affects have stayed with you. Hugs ?

By: helentastic67

helentastic67 — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 11:17:09 +0000

Tick. And tick. I’ve had my AVM(my ABI) for 45 years. The same amount of time I’ve been here. Have had some form of depression since 9 y.o., due to the death of a sibling. Was disagnosed at 34, and since treatment have had my disability for now 10 years. Depression and anxiety, big time. Much acceptance and grief. Cheers,H

By: Shari K Folken

Shari K Folken — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 01:26:22 +0000

It is soo hard to get people to understand. This is the most frustrating thing

By: michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk

michelle.munt@yahoo.co.uk — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 21:58:04 +0000

In reply to Crys. Yes I completely agree! I found that I couldn't even explain to someone else how to do some tasks, so how were they going to be dealt with? Of course people worked it out in the end, but it was all out of my control, and I assumed the worst.

By: Crys

Crys — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 17:02:56 +0000

I think, for me, I worry too much. Part of it is not having things in one’s control. Like you being unable to do things since your injury, that’s what happened to me. And it hurts, because sometimes it’s things you love to do.

Thank you for this!