The power of depression.

[Colin P]

Hiya y'all.... Not looked on here for a year or 2 now, 7yrs ago i hit rock bottom with 'dry eyes' and i mean ROCK BOTTOM!.. I can categorically say now that depression accounted for 95%? Of my symptoms. I now lead a normal life again, even treated myself to a motorbike for last 2yrs lol. If the mind can drop a person into such states as say, anorexia or bizzare phobias, then it sure aint gonna have a problem tricking you or me and accentuating your dryeye!.
The next success story could well be you?!.. Dont be worried about anti-depressents, i was cos i read testimonies from; yep; depressed people, not thinking straight..

[farmgirl]

Wow Colin, thanks for sharing and I am so happy to see you are doing well. Yes I agree depression is the enemy and should be addressed we are complex beings and the mind is VERY powerful. Being positive can do amazing things if you can get into that state.

[Colin P]

Thanx FG...
Your last sentance about being Positive, i aint gonna bleat on about how to beat depression, cos i couldn't do it on my own. I was well and truly trapped by it.
My thoughts and experiences went a little like this - i aint yet, met or heard of anyone who acknowledged they were suffering with depression in the early stages, i fought it for so long, i ended up too week to do anything about it, no fight left in me. Phyichally my body, and i assume everyone else's can recover/recuperate and ready to go again just by rest alone; however; the contents of my head need sleep itself for its rest.. Sleep or poor sleep due to stress, anxiety, panic attacks (yeah had plenty of them) will not let a mind recover. Adrenaline released cos your mind is confused prevents a deep sleep, and your in the vicious circle of your mind trying to keep you alert (survival instincts) when all it wants to do is rest. Go look up sleep deprevation experiments by the military. Before long my mind could not protect me, and severe depression is the outcome latching onto whatever the cause is? - Aqueous defficiency in my case.. Made twice as bad due to being utterly shatterd i was producing less tears due to my confused mind being so close to sleep (you dont produce tears when your fast asleep) yet, adrenaline fuelled 'Fight or Flight' was preventing sleep.
How i snapped out of this was a fluke. Without going into detail, my son and his 2 young children came under serious threat and i had to rescue the situation, my depression latched onto this instead, this situation lasted 12 months, and eventually seems to have been resolved, and depression dare i say it,left on its own accord. I still have dry eye syndrome, nothing like what it was under depression, hand on heart i would not even trouble a GP now with my dry eye. Let alone threaten him i'm gonna rock up at hospital then drive a fork into my Right eye so they have to take it out. Pretty desperate huh?!.. I was going at it like a bull in a china shop looking for the cure, it took a female opthamolagist to recognise my distress and write to my GP who called me in, alas, i will probaly never get the chance to thank her, i will always remember her name though. In England do we all get 10minute appointments with a GP to 'sell yourself' or doctors in whatever field there in, overworked and unable (or reluctant) to do anything outside there remit, ie ask if your struggling with anything else?. That is how a lot of us end up with there head 'pickled'. Ask anyone, stress exasperates a situation, critical levels of stress will have you beliving your chronic illness is a heck of a lot worse than it is. My 3 top tips are. Never watch TV again!. Stop Driving. Give up on reading. All 3 are blink rate related. Instead find yourself a radio staion like 'TalkRadio' or 'Talksport'... It took a long time, but do i miss TV, Computer screens, car windscreens or reading. (A). Not one bit.

[farmgirl]

Amazing story...thanks for sharing.