Is this a common thought\feeling when depressed?

You need help. Seek a qualified therapist and stay away from the homeopaths. Stop worrying about similar experiences of others; they won’t help you with your own problems.

Yes you are so right seeking out similar experiences is a total waste of time. Thanks for your great input.

@Shippy : I honestly don’t know if it’s common. When we’re depressed, anything is possible. Anything that turns reality into fear is going to be working. One thing I know from my periods of depression is not to trust my thinking. I tell myself that over and over. It helps.

@Trillian : Seeking out understanding among trusted places is what we humans do. We look for support from others who’ve had similar experiences. By following your logic, there is literally nothing that can be asked on a Q&A site. We have to all go seek out professionals or be left to our own devices.

I used to get depressed all the time, it started for me in my mid teens, and lasted quite some time.

I know what it is like to be depressed, so I know you will read what I’m about to say and think that I’m a moron that does not get it, but here you have it anyway.

Stop being depressed. Decide that you will not be anymore, and practice catching it early.

You would expect, that if you convinced an insane person that they are truly insane, and they really believed it and could see the logic and reason of it, that they would be by default cured.

With that in mind, I say stop being depressed. It is just a thing that you do to your self, I know you could be made to think someone else is to blame or that they did it to you, but they did not, it is just you allowing it to happen.

As for your question, the only time I have had similar feelings was when I was pissed off or depressed about my physical condition. However I have never had that from just being depressed in general.

That was a good question your therapist asked and your answer was very revealing. I am glad you don’t feel that way about yourself today.

The little health issues that come up in life are best discussed with your doctor as they are almost certainly just that, little health issues. Even ‘normal’ people hate hospitals and a visit to the doctor is filled with foreboding. If you are prone to depression and anxiety these natural fears might be exaggerated enormously.

Soldiers in the trenches of the First World War used to say to themselves: there are two possibilities, either I get hit or I don’t. If I am not hit that is fine and I will return home one day. If I do get hit there are two possibilities either I will be wounded severely or I will be wounded slightly. If I am slightly wounded then I won’t have to worry. If I am wounded severely there are still two possibilities, either I succumb and die or I don’t succumb and live. If I don’t die that is fine and there is no cause to worry and if I do die… what is there to worry about?

Everyone fights their own war and they fight it largely alone. Perhaps it helps to know that others can sympathise and feel for you even if we can’t fully understand.

@poisonedantidote : Clinical depression is not something a person simply stops. It requires intervention by a qualified doctor.

Having said that, I can say in my experience there are degrees of depression. Some of them were situational, and when the situation changed or I changed my attitude in relation to the it, then my emotional state improved.

There were other times, however, that no amount of good deeds done by me or in aid of me helped. I needed medication. When I got the right medicine, I improved dramatically.

@all : The OP has left the building.

This is really sad. He must be hurting a lot.

@keobooks She ^^

@Shippy : If you should visit this site and question again anonymously, please know that you are not alone. Your questions and comments over the many months here have touched me and helped me in my own struggles with bipolar disorder. Go in peace.

Oh goodness. I hope @Shippy is okay.

First, I want to say that it makes me very sad to see another deleted profile. So many of the answers to questions on Fluther have a dismissive quality, people often complain about questions with repeated themes, dreams interpretations, health questions, comparisons… whatever… and it’s quite obvious that sometimes members of the collective are just “over” these types of questions, and then the answers come off as rejections, and are sometimes downright mean. I don’t know that it is intentional, and it probably isn’t always meant to be that way, but that exact thing has driven so many long time users away from this site. Including myself (in case it isn’t obvious, by now, that I am a long time user under a new name). I would guess that it has driven away even more new users, too, which is also disappointing. I find it so frustrating when I see a community that I once very much enjoyed stepping on its own toes. I don’t expect anyone to care about what I’ve just said, but I really do find it sad that Shippy deleted her profile.

Having said that, @Shippy if you happen to be lurking, or if you return, I have been in similar situations to the earlier experience that you described, as well as sharing feelings with you in your current state. Depression can be different for everyone, but sometimes feelings and thoughts and states can be comparable. If you’d ever like to speak one on one, please feel free to send me a PM. I hope you find the best way to a healthy emotional state, because being depressed is a difficult way to live.

I would guess that over-worry about health issues is pretty common, though not universal, in these circumstances.

I hope you’re still reading this @Shippy… we really care about you.

@Shippy I posted this on your other question. I really like and value you and wish you would reconsider.

She seems to be back.

@DigitalBlue, I care about what you just said and I agree.

@Shippy, if you are out there reading this, I too hope you will come back.

In answer to your question – When I am depressed I am more apt to catastophise things. Everything (health, finance, emotions, family, work) is magnified, looms large and seems ominous. I would be surprised if many depressed people don’t have similar feelings. For me, acknowledging I was depressed, letting those around me know how I was feeling, and factoring in my current state of mind helped me to at least minimise any negative feelings a little.

I would really like to know how your plans to move are progressing and I am glad you are back.

She’s back! :)

Thank you all. For some reason although I was deleted I could still see what everyone was typing. It really means a lot to me so thank you. I am glad I could see!

Fluther is my main line of support currently due to finances. But also due to great insights and care.

Today was bad tearful day and overly sensitive I am no doubt. So you are kinda stuck with me it would appear. Thank you also for forgiving my hasty exit!! And I loved the answers I got here I do hope there are more ;}

You didn’t give a plethura of information but I would say that like most things in life you have to be willing to face these fears and fight them. I know that this insight isn’t practical, but therapists can give you the practical steps, and make sure you understand them, as well as make them specifically match you.

My point is that you have to be willing to not listen to your feelings and fight them, because there is a part of you, a facet of you that knows that these feelings aren’t matching up with reality.

I think just by asking that we evaluate your thoughts you are moving in the right direction.

I think you are asking whether hypochondria is associated with depression. I can’t tell you for sure, but I sure as hell wouldn’t be surprised.

“I felt all my insides were green and rotten.”

What if this can be viewed from a different angle? Perhaps this can be seen as beautiful. I sure can imagine the green representing life and abundance, to go along with positivity with good vibes. The “rotten” visual can be seen as some object that was once there, but has since been decaying, and the green is over running it. Learning to accept ones self is the path to love and a positive out put in life. Also being conscious of what goes in the body is a good way to beat depression.

@Whitetigress. I found your answer quite profound. And I have battled to find any thing profound lately as my last questioned showed!! GA!

@noraasnave. Yes Fluther is my sanity logarithm. It does help to know a batch of symptoms and similarities exist within a group. You feel less alienated. I mean in a grouped illness or mental illness. Not as in the group Fluther!!

@Shippy I’m glad you came back and I really hope you’re okay.

To answer your original question – what you seem to be describing is more like hypochondria and fear rather than a distorted body image. While I think they may sometimes be linked, I don’t think that’s always the case. I was chronically depressed for decades and was convinced that I was going to die of cancer or someother horrible disease. Of course I’m still here so those fears were unfounded.

Depression causes pessimism of the deepest sort – it becomes impossible to think anything but the absolute worst of any situation. In reality of course, even basedon the law of averages, the worst case scenario hardly ever happens, and is more likely to never happen to any one individual (ie, you).

But of course rational argument doesn’t work while you’re depressed either.

The best course of action is to seek professional help, and don’t be afraid to give anti-depressant medication a try. Sometimes all it takes is something to re-balance the brain-chemistry before you can start working on those negative thoughts. Put it this way – if you had something wrong with your stomach chemistry that was causing digestive problems, you would take medication to re-balance that chemistry. The chemistry in the brain is no different.

@shippy I field questions about personal/family issues on here as well. It is public, but strangely private at the same time. Lurve to you!

@downtide. Yes you are describing me totally. Every lump or bump is cancer. It wears me down daily. I think the worse thing all the time.

Is this also hyperchondria or just depression and neurosis I wonder. I was due to see a psychiatrist this week. But the money I have earned has not come through. So maybe it will soon. As my anxiety is sky high and moods all over.

I also am battling pharmacaphobia which does not help. Thanks for your input.