by starving emotions
we become humorless, rigid and stereotyped
by repressing them
we become literal, reformatory and holier-than-thou
encouraged
they perfume life
discouraged
they poison it
joseph collins
hi cyber-siblings
as you have all noticed
i have nattered on and on about clinical depression
it's important to me
because i have escaped its grasp for the time being
after struggling in its slime pit for years
and want to help anyone else who needs to
to do the same
we are surrounded by negative thinking and cues in our society
now that i can recognise it in myself
i see it all over the darn place
the stereotyped example of perceiving
'the glass as half full or half empty' is absolutely on the mark;
however,
until i fully 'saw' and understood the murky thinking of cd in me
i admit that i looked on that stereotype a tad cynically
negative thinking results in negative emotions
and so begins the downward spiral
but negative emotions
are not the kind of subject matter that many people
[especially the male kind - thanks to our gender brain-staining]
are at all confortable with
yuk it up
celebrate good news
publicly let loose with all sorts of up-beat emotions
but for heavens sake
don't reveal any down-beat emotions
that's just not 'done'
even i
the 'emotional' female of our species
struggled with shame attached to weeping in public
why is there no similar shame 'baggage' attached to laughing in public?
anyway
cd is all around us
especially in the parkie world
where it's virtually a brain chemistry accessory
and this is a handy way of evaluating one's own situation
from your slime-free syber-sis
janet
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Goldberg Depression Scale
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instructions:
You might reproduce this scale and use it on a weekly basis to track your
moods.
It also might be used to show your doctor how your symptoms have changed
from one visit to the next.
Changes of five or more points are significant.
This scale is not designed to make a diagnosis of depression or take the
place of a professional diagnosis.
If you suspect that you are depressed, please consult with a mental health
professional as soon as possible.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The items below refer to how you have felt and behaved DURING THE
PAST WEEK. For each item, indicate the extent to which it is true, by
circling one of the numbers that follows it. Using the following scale:
0 = Not at all
1 = Just a little
2 = Somewhat
3 = Moderately
4 = Quite a lot
5 = Very much
=========================================================================
1. I do things slowly. 0 1 2 3 4 5
2. My future seems hopeless. 0 1 2 3 4 5
3. It is hard for me to concentrate on reading. 0 1 2 3 4 5
4. The pleasure and joy has gone out of my life. 0 1 2 3 4 5
5. I have difficulty making decisions. 0 1 2 3 4 5
6. I have lost interest in aspects of life that
used to be important to me. 0 1 2 3 4 5
7. I feel sad, blue, and unhappy. 0 1 2 3 4 5
8. I am agitated and keep moving around. 0 1 2 3 4 5
9. I feel fatigued. 0 1 2 3 4 5
10. It takes great effort for me to do
simple things. 0 1 2 3 4 5
11. I feel that I am a guilty person who deserves
to be punished. 0 1 2 3 4 5
12. I feel like a failure. 0 1 2 3 4 5
13. I feel lifeless - - - more dead than alive. 0 1 2 3 4 5
14. My sleep has been disturbed---too little, too
much, or broken sleep. 0 1 2 3 4 5
15. I spend time thinking about HOW I might
kill myself. ~~~ 0 1 2 3 4 5
16. I feel trapped or caught. 0 1 2 3 4 5
17. I feel depressed even when good things
happen to me. 0 1 2 3 4 5
18. Without trying to diet, I have lost, or
gained, weight. 0 1 2 3 4 5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1993 Ivan Goldberg
Copyright 1995-1997 John M. Grohol
http://www.coil.com/~grohol/depinv.htm
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