Depression and type

[Jezebel]

There is already a thread on depression here (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.), but I wanted a poll version. I'm also curious if you guys think there is a correlation between type and depression.

Yes, I already know the results will be skewed for the different types, but this isn't meant to be a scientific study. I'm more curious about what applies to the particular members of this forum.

[stasis]

nonINTJ: currently depressed, diagnosed by doctor with clinical depression, have experienced depression for over 6 months continuously, or more than 3 times, have been suicidal.

This might be interesting. Was the poll prompted by that exchange in the #intj chat earlier? As for a correlation between type and depression, I have no idea, but I wouldn't assume so. Superficially, there might be something to be said for the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of different coping mechanisms each type might be individually inclined to employ in dealing with society. Ineffective coping making people more susceptible to anomie and depression, et cetera. That's just a guess.

[rwyatt365]

OK, I'll bite!

I'd classify my "depression" as situational. That is, there were a series of circumstances that occurred which placed me into a pretty foul state of mind. I guess if I was talking to a psychiatrist (which I wasn't) they would have labeled me as "depressed". I won't go into the whole, long, drawn-out explanation – let's just say that a lot of shit happened and I wasn't very happy about it, nor motivated to do much of anything at the time. My "life view" (which I expressed often) was, "Life sucks, and then you die".

After about two months of pissing and moaning, I got tired of myself and set out to make some changes – the biggest one of which was to stop pissing and moaning. I still felt (and feel) that "Life sucks…", but I'm not going to worry about it any more. I'm going to do my best to make the most out of what I have, plan for something better and work to make the plan happen.

[OneBadMother]

I'm not sure if I get clinically depressed so much as angry-depressed. It's pretty much always situational, and the best way to avoid it is usually to cut off the people who cause it. Otherwise I'm relatively serene, with the occasional stress, but stress/slight panic on its own is never enough to make me depressed.

[Henry]

Currently depressed, although coming out of it with therapy and meds. Several past episodes with depression, one very serious bout with it.

The sooner you get therapy and meds once you realize you are depressed, the easier it is. Otherwise, recovery can take a LONG time.

[The Rose]

I have been depressed for the majority of my life since I became a teenager - so about 35 years.
However, the length of time I have been able to go depression-free has recently been improving. I had a couple of time spans where I went 2 years depression free. The last time I was suicidal, it only lasted 24 hours instead of 6 months, so I am making good strides in that area.

[Paul V]

Have been depressed only once, and decided it wasn't doing any good to me, so I dragged myself out of it. I never told anyone unless they asked me (and I said it in the "Oh, it's really nothing" tone). I believe Introverted types are more prone to get depression because they spend more time in their own world, thinking about themselves, and how they feel/think. That's like a beacon for depression.

However, I'd say that Feeling is more prone than Thinking, because they're more used to experiencing feelings, and don't shun/reject them in favour of logic.

[The Rose]

They say that most depression is caused by anger turned inward.

[HarleyQuinn]

My one serious bout was definitely situational and as The Rose said, anger turned inward because I couldn't associate with those who were causing the situation to vent my anger and didn't feel like talking about it to others.

It got to the point where I'd just hold a knife against my wrists but never did it 'cause I didn't want my parents/sister to come and find me that way (partly because I didn't want them to feel such pain and I didn't want them cleaning up the mess).

The only reason I kinda got out of it was being with an ENTJ friend in Science class my Senior year (A guy I had instantly clicked with since Freshman year and had in Science 3 of my 4 years of High School). He was the only thing I looked forward to all Senior year (I remember I'd be incredibly heartbroken if he missed a class).

When things get really rough or overwhelming, I find myself sometimes thinking about what it'd be like to die and how something around me could be used but that goes away in a day or two. A tough class (like Earth Science this semester) doesn't help matters but I try to ignore it and look at the other bright stuff.

[deicruxified]

1. currently depressed: yes, work and other things
2. self-diagnosed with depression: yes
3. depression due to situation: always
4. suicidal: yes... before but not anymore

[Firelie]

I never went to a doctor for it, but I've dealt with some situational depression over the past few years, once when my closest friend moved away (it hit me hard because I'm usually the one leaving friends behind and moving), once for a period of about nine months when I was forced to live with the human being I hate most in the world (I say forced because my roommate moved out and I was jobless at the time, so I had to get a new roommate as soon as possible and ended up with a seemingly normal girl who turned out to be the worst possible roommate for me...and due to a contractual lease that didn't allow for forced evictions of one party, I couldn't kick her out, and I couldn't move out because I had no job...sidenote, I think she was the bad version of an ESFJ)

[Jezebel]

This might be interesting. Was the poll prompted by that exchange in the #intj chat earlier?
Yes, that's what made me curious what opinions others had on it.

As for a correlation between type and depression, I have no idea, but I wouldn't assume so. Superficially, there might be something to be said for the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of different coping mechanisms each type might be individually inclined to employ in dealing with society. Ineffective coping making people more susceptible to anomie and depression, et cetera. That's just a guess.Actually, I agree.

When I said I got frustrated with some depressed people, it's not the depression itself. I've been there too. But when I had it, I was scrambling to get out and put a lot of effort into changing my situations (and when it was due to things I couldn't change like people close to me dying, it faded away after the grieving period was over). I've had friends that always seemed to be in a state of depression. I would try to help by coming up with solutions, but it seemed like they weren't really trying and were blaming things they couldn't change.

So I do get annoyed when people blame things like their personality type and things they can't change for the depression. While I do think it may factor in, I don't think people are bound by it.

The thing with depressed people (and negative attitudes in general) is that I begin to feel bad when I'm around them. I can cope and be supportive with temporary situations, but when it is perpetual and the people don't ever talk about anything positive I feel like I need to get out.

[stasis]

I've had friends that always seemed to be in a state of depression. I would try to help by coming up with solutions, but it seemed like they weren't really trying and were blaming things they couldn't change.

So I do get annoyed when people blame things like their personality type and things they can't change for the depression. While I do think it may factor in, I don't think people are bound by it.
It is certainly possible that they weren't really trying. I think that in and of itself can be symptomatic of chronic depression. The hopelessness and lack of agency. It's not a rational condition, so it can't always be assailed rationally. And although I can't speak for particular people you've experience with, the other thing to keep in mind about persistent and recurring depression is that it's not uncommonly found to be co-morbid with another personality disorder of some sort. In being bound up in some 'psychopathology' that the person has very little conscious control over, solutions designed to address the depressive symptoms specifically can miss the cause.

That said, I more or less share your sentiment about the blame. I've been dealing with major depression since I was a child, and I've learned to live with it over the years. I understand what the social and environmental catalysts were, but I can't possibly blame these inanimate things. Nor can I expect my situation to magically improve in lieu of my own acting to improve it. I'm certainly not the most cheery person, but whining, although cathartic or fun at times, really does accomplish nothing in the long run. There's only so much of it I'll do. And that's what a person tends to be doing when they put out "help me" signals while refusing or nullifying all help. Something for a full-time mental health professional to deal with.


The thing with depressed people (and negative attitudes in general) is that I begin to feel bad when I'm around them. I can cope and be supportive with temporary situations, but when it is perpetual and the people don't ever talk about anything positive I feel like I need to get out.
I can't personally relate to this, in that my mood is almost never significantly altered by the moods of others. But I wouldn't fault you for seeking to surround yourself with what you find to be a healthy social atmosphere. There's nothing wrong with that.

[apex.predator]

Depression is currently over-diagnosed, IMO. Anti-depressant meds are being given for what in many cases amounts to unhappiness.

A person can be unhappy about a number of things in their life without being clinically depressed.

Having said that, there has been only one time in my life that I probably could have been diagnosed as depressed - but I grew out of it. I know I'm lucky.

Also, suicide and depression do not necessarily walk hand-in-hand. There are sometimes physical factors in suicide attempts. I remember a large study in the past few years which found higher rates of suicide among those with epilepsy than generally. Not surprising, but the catch was that those who had attempted suicide had usually done so prior to the onset of seizures - not afterwards, as you might expect. (The population was made up of those with adult-onset epilepsy.)

[Meyer]

I have been depressed before but I usually find that it is because of some thing/situation that I just have to learn to let go or come to some satisfactory understanding of. The kind of shit that can sometimes happen in life. So I don't think it was the "real" chemically related depression. I don't know that you could just let go of that. Might take a little more work.

[TruorTupnm]

I went with the never been depressed option, but, okay, I might have been sort of depressed at some point. Situational, as others have mentioned. Passes relatively quickly. Denial, anger, and festering thoughts of, "Great. Now I shall get fired for incompetence!" after making a mistake at work, maybe. I got sick this one time - Shut up! Who cares? - when I accidentally offended someone that I thought was cool. That's about it. I would go with the Jezebel person's views on depression, for the most part. I'll help you out with problems, but when you seem to be wishing for a magical fix, I will be frustrated.

[Meyer]

The thing with depressed people (and negative attitudes in general) is that I begin to feel bad when I'm around them. I can cope and be supportive with temporary situations, but when it is perpetual and the people don't ever talk about anything positive I feel like I need to get out.

Im in one of those situations right now. Stuck between being a good friend and balancing the negative energy. Any suggestions?

[Henry]

Im in one of those situations right now. Stuck between being a good friend and balancing the negative energy. Any suggestions?

Odds are you're just annoying them if they're in a serious depression. If its bad, they need drugs and, at minimum, CBT. If its mild, then yeah, being a good friend and helping activate them probably will help.

[Meyer]

Odds are you're just annoying them if they're in a serious depression. If its bad, they need drugs and, at minimum, CBT. If its mild, then yeah, being a good friend and helping activate them probably will help.

Yeah thats the impression I've been getting of it too. She's annoyed, I'm frustrated.:angry:

[Henry]

Yeah thats the impression I've been getting of it too. She's annoyed, I'm frustrated.:angry:

Yeah I would talk re getting help for the depression though, if you guys are close enough. It can be insulting for some, but they can't work on it if they don't realize it.

Meds help. I know there's a lot of aversion to them but some, welbutrin for example, has almost no short term impact on mood. It just activates and you get back to doing what you were doing, which goes a long way towards curing a lot of types of depression. Nothing inauthentic about it, it helps one lose weight, and the generic is like 8 bucks at costco.

[chocky]

Ah, depression my old friend. So dependable, so familiar, so worn.

And so patient with me, so constant. Any other teacher would have long ago abandoned a student such as I, so determined not to learn.

[stasis]

I know there's a lot of aversion to them but some, welbutrin for example, has almost no short term impact on mood. It just activates and you get back to doing what you were doing, which goes a long way towards curing a lot of types of depression.
Wellbutrin, like any antidepressant, will have significantly varying effects and side effects depending upon the brain chemistry and psychology of the person in question. My own experience with that drug is quite different from what you say about it here.

[The Rose]

I liked Wellbutrin SR. It made food taste really awesome (something about enhancing mucous membranes) so I gained 15 pounds in 3 months. I had to stop using it.

[Henry]

Wellbutrin, like any antidepressant, will have significantly varying effects and side effects depending upon the brain chemistry and psychology of the person in question. My own experience with that drug is quite different from what you say about it here.

I've been through almost all the drugs. Welbutrin has had the lowest emotional impact and been the most activating, and this was as advertised by clinical trials.

[Meyer]

Yeah I would talk re getting help for the depression though, if you guys are close enough. It can be insulting for some, but they can't work on it if they don't realize it.

Meds help. I know there's a lot of aversion to them but some, welbutrin for example, has almost no short term impact on mood. It just activates and you get back to doing what you were doing, which goes a long way towards curing a lot of types of depression. Nothing inauthentic about it, it helps one lose weight, and the generic is like 8 bucks at costco.

Thats good advice Henry. Thank you.

[schwartzie]

When I said I got frustrated with some depressed people, it's not the depression itself. I've been there too. But when I had it, I was scrambling to get out and put a lot of effort into changing my situations (and when it was due to things I couldn't change like people close to me dying, it faded away after the grieving period was over). I've had friends that always seemed to be in a state of depression. I would try to help by coming up with solutions, but it seemed like they weren't really trying and were blaming things they couldn't change.

The thing with depressed people (and negative attitudes in general) is that I begin to feel bad when I'm around them. I can cope and be supportive with temporary situations, but when it is perpetual and the people don't ever talk about anything positive I feel like I need to get out.

My situational depression experience might be similar. My normal level of energy is lower than average. I dislike drinking: alcohol depresses my sensibilities unpleasantly. Morning coffee is sublime.
So, my norm is not exactly depressed. There was a time, however, when life became difficult; people dying and other situations put me in a position of near constant worry and anxiety, for months and then years on end.... Not a good thing for an INTJ. After the first six months or so, the anxiety yielded increasingly to physical exhaustion and mental lassitude, making me even less able to cope, when I had to cope. So, meds. Wellbutrin relieved some of the pain so I could function more effectively. It is a very good drug for me. My sister, who was also involved, found Wellbutrin made her feel nuts, however, (up at 3 am vacuuming the rug!!) and she came out of the experience a changed person, or perhaps just not yet recovered.

[ceg6]

I had one go around with what may have been PPD after my first child was born. But...I had 40+ stitches, a broken left wrist (still don't know how that happened), a husband who was as uncooperative as they come, I was 22, no family anywhere near and a bunch of friends who were my age and childless.

I'm not totally sure I had PPD and was never diagnosed. I got the flu about a week after I had him on top of it and physically feeling so terrible played a bigger role, imo. I did feel much better mentally after I started feeling physically better.

[Uberfuhrer]

Having Asperger's syndrome, some of the co-morbidities is bipolar disorder and depression, amongst others. I haven't been officially diagnosed with either of the two mood disorders, but I have self-diagnosed myself. And I have pretty much lost interest in things I once enjoyed for quite some time, although I don't know why. I've just pretty much lost motivation, perhaps out of unrealistic expectations.

Furthermore, facing the reality of my expectations being unrealistic becomes depressing, which leads me to internalize even further and become unmotivated. I also have a good number of anxieties and phobias, and it is highly unlikely that's helping with the depression, either. In fact, I imagine it's intensifying the depression.

[sriv]

I repress depression. It lowers my human efficiency. I have been depressed in the past because of the situation, but then I realized that it is always temporary and I might as well not start if I am going to get over it. I have recently become a much more hopeful person.

[ElstonGunn]

I'm not depressed. Life sucks, but that doesn't bother me that much.

[Phrixos]

I was wondering if you have posted anything similar on other (specific) MBTI type forums? I know you said it is for this forum. If it isnt I will post it on one of the more opposite type forums.

It would be interesting to compare the results.

I think that "Depression" is an underlying factor in the human species. We are self indulgent with feelings of want, need, envy, hurt... all these things and more can lead to depression if not given balance or dealt with correctly.

I don't know anyone who is really happy anyway.





Phrixos added to this post, 3 minutes and 16 seconds later...

I repress depression. It lowers my human efficiency. I have been depressed in the past because of the situation, but then I realized that it is always temporary and I might as well not start if I am going to get over it. I have recently become a much more hopeful person.

This is my thoughts exactly.

[True Rune]

Not currently depressed, but have been in the past, INTJ. It was suicidal, but I didn't see it.

[greenescapist]

I had a history of it, but am more self-aware now. Used to take an SSRI and it worked well. I think my being closeted and dependent on my parents had something to do with my past depression. I'm free now. :)

[pinkroger]

Never been depressed, but I'm schizophrenic. =)

[dragonsscout]

I've been fortunate enough to never have been depressed, but my mom has gotten depressed sometimes and it really sucks. A sort of gloom just emanates and settles over the house. She usually feels terrible when this happens and I really pity her whenever she's depressed.

[jadefalcon]

INTJ who has been depressed.
INTJ currently depressed.
INTJ diagnosed with clinical depression by a doctor. Prescribed SNRI Venlafaxine (Effexor).
INTJ self diagnosed with depression.,
INTJ depressed longer than 6 months.


Doing so-so right now. Still been in this bout of depression for a year. I am fighting it coming from downhill and I am gaining altitude. Perhaps I can beat this thing.

[Delarge]

I've experienced bouts of depression resulting primarily from OCD and hypochondriasis. Genuinely subscribing to the belief that one is dying of cancer, possesses brain parasites (T. solium, toxoplasma gondii), et cetera, is sufficient to induce such a state.