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Desert Lobster
02-05-2007, 03:10
Is The Trail a good place to get things back on the right track?

virtualfrog
02-05-2007, 04:03
The best, and/or the worst.

K0OPG
02-05-2007, 06:37
I look at the trail as a kind of drug.

If you have problems before the trail, then after six months of being high on the trail, you have to come off and your problems will still be there.

Take care of them before you go and don't go till they are taken care of. That way, you won't have the severe depression coming off the trail knowing they are waiting to bite you in the ass.

JMHO and .02 worth.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 07:14
The trail can be a place to work on yourself or a place to run from yourself / your problems. If it is the later, you will likely be in worse shape when you finish your hike than when you began.

Chemical imbalances like severe depression will likely need more than a walk in the woods to fix -- medication is available and it has been shown to be effective in restoring balance to the brain's neurotransmitters (brain chemicals that regulate mood and many other things). Some people's body will keep these neurotransmitters regulated once they are gotten into balance via medication - others need to continue the medication for the rest of their life to regulate them. Some will need additional mood regulating meds like lithium or valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote) because their body sometimes makes too much of a certain neurotransmitter and this makes them extremely hyper and giddy (maniac)

Depression is similar to diabetes - a disease in which the pancreas does not make enough insulin to break down sugars. Some people can regulate that with dietary changes (eat less sugar so there is enough insulin to break it down), some need meds to help the body use insulin more efficiently and some need insulin shots everyday to function.

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 09:04
Some pretty good advice so far Lobster. The trail doesn't change anything external - it's your perception and response that change relative to your life and the world around you. And even that has varying degrees of permanency.

If you are just feeling some of the normal disillusionment that often comes with life, try to establish what is causing those feelings. Often, there are underlying problems we have ignored. If everything else is okay you should be able to confront the problems and handle them. It isn't easy, but you feel so much better when they are solved. Procrastination and neglect are the normal food of many of our "problems". If you have major problems, either internal or external, they will be there when you return, and having been well fed by your neglect they will generally have gotten larger and scarier. The last thing you need on the trail is a "monkey on your back" (your pack is enough) or an 800 pound gorilla waiting for you atop Katahdin.

If you are exhibiting signs of depression like constant sadness, hopelessness, sleeping/eating problems, feeling rejected, or worse - such as in your case such as wanting to jump into a pot filled with clams, potatoes, corn, etc:eek: ;) - you really need to see a doctor, NOW. And don't feel embarassed about it. Mental health is a matter of degree, most everybody has "problems"(though most will never admit it), and far too many are never treated. One of the saddest things in our society is the stigma attached to having or getting help with things when they get beyond our control.

K0OPG
02-05-2007, 09:40
Desert Lobster did not say he had depression.

I made the statement that if your problems were not taken care of before a thru, that severe depression could set in toward the completion of a thru because you know the problems are waiting for you and have probably become worse. Sorry DL.

Footslogger
02-05-2007, 09:44
Is The Trail a good place to get things back on the right track?

=======================================

The trail won't solve any problems for you ...but it WILL give you the space and peace of mind to straighten out your thoughts and work them out.

'Slogger

SalParadise
02-05-2007, 09:46
i read an article in Psychology Today once, and it said great moments of joy, like marriage, or in this case, summiting Katahdin or Springer, may indeed make the person very happy for a number of months, but eventually the person will return to whatever state they were in before, be it depression or sadness or whatever funk they were in.

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 10:08
Desert Lobster did not say he had depression.

You are correct. But(and I'm NOT saying DL is "clinically depressed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression)"), honestly, who ever does?:-? Which is why I began my posts with "If ...

He is probably just feelin' blue.:(

[I didn't mean to throw a "red herring" into a "blue lobster" thread.]

Webs
02-05-2007, 10:28
As much as I wish it weren't so true (ok, that's my stubborn independence talking :p ), interaction with people is a huge component in maintaining a mentally healthy, balanced lifestyle. As romantic as it is to say that 6 months basically alone in the wilderness will provide you with sudden wisdom of the world, family and friends (so cliche! :) ) whom you trust and with whom you can open up are what can help keep you sane and able to face your problems. ...Of course, I believe there's Someone willing to take on all your problems with you, but perhaps some people might not want to discuss that right now....
So, anyway, I hope things begin to settle for you, just be patient.:sun

saimyoji
02-05-2007, 11:03
My my my...Trolls are well fed on the AT aren't they? Or is it just WB? :-?

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 11:06
Webs brings up two good points -

Interaction with others is huge component of growth. Since the trail community is a somewhat closed system, people get closer to each other than in general society. Therefore, the potential for added growth exists.

Solitude often fosters deepening of the relationship with a power greater than yourself.

Sly
02-05-2007, 11:13
Solitude often fosters deepening of the relationship with a power greater than yourself.

Couldn't "self" be the greater power? :-?

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 11:19
Couldn't "self" be the greater power? :-?

That'll certainly help keep the thread focused. D'oh!:rolleyes: :D

Blissful
02-05-2007, 11:25
Webs brings up two good points -

Interaction with others is huge component of growth. Since the trail community is a somewhat closed system, people get closer to each other than in general society. Therefore, the potential for added growth exists.

Solitude often fosters deepening of the relationship with a power greater than yourself.

Amen sister, brother, er...uh...and reptilian creature(s)....

:D

I think also there is much potential for growth in yourself. Getting over fears, insecurities, developing trust, perseverence, confidence, faith. I don't happen to believe that self is the highest power there is (with all its inherent flaws). There's got to be something (or in my belief Someone) that is perfect in every way and that I can rely on besides my flawed self that's gonna one day give up the ghost.

dperry
02-05-2007, 11:31
Couldn't "self" be the greater power? :-?

Well, by definition, no. It's an identity: your self can't be greater than your self. This is true even if you're not theistic.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 11:36
Couldn't "self" be the greater power? :-?This is a fair question and one that deserves an answer. IME, self has limits that make some of the things that occur unlikely to be the result of self. This leads me to feel that something bigger / more powerful is at work.

Sly
02-05-2007, 11:51
You can't be greater than yourself? Sure you can through self-improvement and self-confidence. Of course, if you want to give the credit to someone else, you can.

SillyGirl
02-05-2007, 12:02
A comment was posted earlier about depression and medication. Remember, it is unknown as to how exactly medication for depression works. I agree, that if there is an issue, it would be good to try to solve it ahead of time. Talk therapy is just as effective as medication, it just takes more time. Because we do not understand everything that anti-depressants do to our bodies, I woul suggest therapy first. :)

SalParadise
02-05-2007, 12:22
though time to yourself on the Trail is great, the depressed person is still going to see everything through that same veil of depression, so you may not think everything through with clarity. The money you'd spend on a thru might be better spent on a second, maybe professional, point of view--a different set of eyes.

Boat Drinks
02-05-2007, 14:26
A comment was posted earlier about depression and medication. Remember, it is unknown as to how exactly medication for depression works. I agree, that if there is an issue, it would be good to try to solve it ahead of time. Talk therapy is just as effective as medication, it just takes more time. Because we do not understand everything that anti-depressants do to our bodies, I woul suggest therapy first. :)


Thank you for that. Its a nice break from "BRAAAWWWK, MEDICATE MEDICATE, BRAAAAAWWWWK".

We sure did come a long way before anti-depression drugs hit the market didn't we? I know, I know, we didn't have the problems back then that we do now, or the pressures or the mass media, or the Sun came up in a kinder way back in the day, or the axis that the Earth is on now is more conducive to depression.....
Perhaps people are not taking responsibility for themselves like they used to..... hmmmmm.......Maybe there are just too many convenient excuses to blame one's behavior on..... hmmm......

Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2007, 14:42
Thank you for that. Its a nice break from "BRAAAWWWK, MEDICATE MEDICATE, BRAAAAAWWWWK".

We sure did come a long way before anti-depression drugs hit the market didn't we? I know, I know, we didn't have the problems back then that we do now, or the pressures or the mass media, or the Sun came up in a kinder way back in the day, or the axis that the Earth is on now is more conducive to depression.....
Perhaps people are not taking responsibility for themselves like they used to..... hmmmmm.......Maybe there are just too many convenient excuses to blame one's behavior on..... hmmm......


Or maybe people just slowly went nuts, and no one understood or cared why.

You can't run from or medicate away your problems. But I've been able to cope a hell of a lot better on meds than the 10 years I spent struggling to just make it through the day before a wonderful therapist (when FINALLY I found one that listened to me) figured out that I suffer from chronic depression.

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 14:47
Then again, "back then" we also routinely locked up the mentally ill and retarded in sanitariums for their entire lives though they had committed no crime. And no one asked what ever happened to dear old Uncle Joe. That was, of course, back in the good ol' days when hubby came home from work, had a couple drinks, and beat the wife and kids before falling asleep in his chair. All while polite society looked the other way.

Just because mental illness was stigmatized, and wasn't recognized or treated doesn't mean it didn't exist. It was simply suppressed by a society that was unwilling and afraid to confront it and deal with it humanely.

Are psychoactive drugs overprescribed? Possibly. But it isn't an all or nothing issue. While they can, and are abused, they can also be immensely helpful, allowing many people to lead better lives.

rafe
02-05-2007, 14:52
Then again, "back then" we also routinely locked up the mentally ill and retarded in sanitariums for their entire lives though they had committed no crime. And no one asked what ever happened to dear old Uncle Joe. That was, of course, back in the good ol' days when hubby came home from work, had a couple drinks, and beat the wife and kids before falling asleep in his chair. All while polite society looked the other way.

Just because mental illness was stigmatized, and wasn't recognized or treated doesn't mean it didn't exist. It was simply suppressed by a society that was unwilling and afraid to confront it and deal with it humanely.

Are psychoactive drugs overprescribed? Possibly. But it isn't an all or nothing issue. While they can, and are abused, they can also be immensely helpful, allowing many people to lead better lives.


Excellent post. Thank you.

TOW
02-05-2007, 14:53
Is The Trail a good place to get things back on the right track?I have no doubt that the trail is absolutely the best place to get ones head going in the right direction. But you have to take into consideration the amount of time it took to get off track and that didn't happen over night, so an overnight hike on the trail is not going to fix it all in an instant. I lived on the trail mostly for a little over three years and only after having a spiritual experience was I able to come back to the real world to face it as it is.

Mostly I have done okay, but this last year has been very tough. And when one is in a tough situation it is hard to stay focused on what to do next and the right way to do it.

Even though I continue to face some of the hardest times I have ever seen in my life, the bottom line for me to stay focused upon is to practice daily to say "GOD?" I mean sometimes that's about all I got in me. And I study the WORD too. It doesn't feel like it's sinking in sometimes, but I have learned the hard way that this is the only way I can stay focused.

Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2007, 14:54
Excellent post. Thank you.

. ditto

Boat Drinks
02-05-2007, 15:00
So you guys are telling me there is NO way to treat depression other than drugs? Even though we have NO clue how drugs like Paxil work??? Let me clarify: I know they can work, My dad, before he died told me he wished he had started using them 10 years ago, (He had started them only a year and a half prior to his death.)
But there has GOT to be other ways, if God is perfect, wouldn't he make sure we could find a way to live without having to use synthetic drugs?
I'm sorry about sounding course here guys, but I'm tired of seeing schools get rid of P.E. and recess, and then tell us our kids are too hyper and then they go on Ritalin, thats CRAP. We are so under the spell of the pharmaceutical companies I think. There are alternatives! (And I'm not even a Scientologist....)

Pennsylvania Rose
02-05-2007, 15:21
So you guys are telling me there is NO way to treat depression other than drugs? Even though we have NO clue how drugs like Paxil work???

Not saying that at all, but...

-for too long, all types of mental illnesses were swept under the rug. Even now, in the 21st century, we're just "discovering" that children and teens can suffer from depression. No s***. I could have told them that 20 years ago, if only someone would have taken me seriously.

-for some people, drugs are the best way. We can try different kinds of therapy, lifestyle changes, etc., but sometimes they only help a little. Meds can mark a positive turning point.

-we have no clue how LOTS of medications, "natural" remedies and practices such as actupuncture work. We just know that they do, so we use them.

-I happen to agree that we're overmedicated as a society, but that doesn't take away the positive benefits of meds.

otterman
02-05-2007, 16:28
I was going to stay out of this one, but more than once someone has said that we don't know how antidepressants work. While we don't always know about side effects, we do know how they work. For instance Paxil is a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor (SSRI). Serotonin helps the electrical impulse travel from on nerve cell to another. People with depression often have problems with that charge traveling from nerve to nerve. An SSRI blocks the the Serotonin from returning to a nerve cell and allows the next nerve to have enough Serotonin to receive the electrical impulse.

Sorry, but I just couldn't resist. Medication should be tried as a last resort, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary.

Sly
02-05-2007, 16:31
For instance Paxil is a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor (SSRI). Serotonin helps the electrical impulse travel from on nerve cell to another. People with depression often have problems with that charge traveling from nerve to nerve. An SSRI blocks the the Serotonin from returning to a nerve cell and allows the next nerve to have enough Serotonin to receive the electrical impulse.



Doesn't psilocybin and LSD to that?

otterman
02-05-2007, 16:44
I believe that psilocybin and LSD actually bind to the receptors and acts like serotonin rather that preventing re-uptake of the serotonin.

Sly
02-05-2007, 16:52
I believe that psilocybin and LSD actually bind to the receptors and acts like serotonin rather that preventing re-uptake of the serotonin.


Oh, I knew they had something to do with serotonin. One small dose of the former *cured* my cluster headaches opposed to the multitude of expensive pharmaceuticals with nasty side effects, that only treat each individual headache.

www.clusterbusters.com

But didn't Freud use LSD to treat depression?

maxNcathy
02-05-2007, 17:47
When I am still and consider that God is my only Source then negative thoughts are greatly diminished.

If hiking in nature with trail friends refreshes your Spirit then negative thoughts towards yourself and others can melt away like mists in the morning sun.

It's always a profound sense of separation that creates a fearful world of problems.

Sandalwood

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 19:47
So you guys are telling me there is NO way to treat depression other than drugs?

Not at all. Just that dismissing all drug therapy as unneeded, when it can and has proven to have good results in a patient by patient basis, isn't a reasonable policy. Therapy alone is often successful, and often the addition of meds can help even more. And then again, sometimes nothing works. Each patient is unique, and each one deserves the best available treatment whether that includes medication or not.

saimyoji
02-05-2007, 19:55
Coral, check out what Tom Cruise and the scientologists have to say on the subject. :D

rafe
02-05-2007, 20:08
But didn't Freud use LSD to treat depression?

I seriously doubt it. LSD was first synthesized in 1938. Freud died in 1939. LSD doesn't cure anything. It just amplifies whatever's already in your head.

RAT
02-05-2007, 20:10
I think we need more info from DL about what needs to be back on track before we can analyze his issues and wether or not the trail would help any. Otherwise its all general speculation. So far tho in general, some very good advice here. I dont see that the trail would be "bad" for any condition. Best of luck to you DL, everyone has some issues wether they admit it or not, just some can cope better than others.

RAT

superman
02-05-2007, 20:11
Take two hikes and call me in the morning (or not).

In the beginning of the AT people say they are on the trail to hug a tree, be one with nature and meet new and interesting people. After a while people start talking about the sob they left behind, the life choice they were trying to sort out or what ever they are avoiding (life in the real world). This list is by no means complete. Many people go to the AT with issues to reflect on ...like what do I do with myself after retirement. Some people think it through but most don't find a conclusion on the trail. When they go home their lives shoot off in any number of directions they hadn't even considered. Some folks find hiking is just their thing or some just find hiking as a way to continue to avoid their issues. You pays your money, you takes your chance....kind of like life.

superman
02-05-2007, 20:17
Hiking the AT is the single healthiest thing a person can do for just him or her self mentally or physically in my unprofessional opinion.

DavidNH
02-05-2007, 21:12
Well one could go on and on about this one.

I think that the trail is best used as a great adventure and an interlude from the "real" world. I also think doing the trail can serve as a clean break between say what one experienced in the past vs in the future.

However, I don't think a thru hike is best used for the primary purpose of sorting things out or resolving things. 1) because it is so physically exhausting that all ones attention is taken up "in the moment" and 2) because what ever personal deficiencies or problems one had before doing the trail will still be there afterwards (this is so true for me). Resolve any issues first and just enjoy the hike.


DavidNH

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 21:22
LSD has been used to treat depression - especially in the terminally ill (http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/psychopharmacological_agents.html) and is currently undergoing clinical trials for this use. It was reportedly very effective (a single does was effective for 2 to 3 weeks), however the immediate effects (first 8 to 12 hours) were so unpredictible that it was never approved for use in the past.

rafe
02-05-2007, 21:28
LSD has been used to treat depression - especially in the terminally ill (http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy/psychopharmacological_agents.html) and is currently undergoing clinical trials for this use. It was reportedly very effective (a single does was effective for 2 to 3 weeks), however the immediate effects (first 8 to 12 hours) were so unpredictible that it was never approved for use in the past.

The Council on Spritual Practices? Show me something from the APA or AMA and I'll believe it.

Sly
02-05-2007, 21:34
The Council on Spritual Practices? Show me something from the APA or AMA and I'll believe it.

You'll probably not see where the AMA recommends shrooms for clusterheadaches but they work, just like magic! :)

weary
02-05-2007, 21:45
Reality check. Those of us with some powers of reasoning and experience know that DL is a depressed person from having been forced by economic considerations to leave northern New England, a place that G*d seems to have preserved for the multiple likely comings -- though none of us can be sure, since some of us are not even sure that G*d exists.

Well anyway, Desert Lobster is a troll pleading for help in his new found western prosperity. Orange Bug, a professional, should be urged to offer professional help. The rest of us should be considerate.

Desert Lobster, obviously, is very confused. The property he bought years ago for a thousand or two is now worth many tens of thousands. He dreams of retiring decades from now very rich -- when he is too old to enjoy same. He wants us to be honest. To provide reasons for why he should return to the New England coast he mistakenly abandoned.

I say, let's be compassionate. Let's urge him to give us his wealth so he can live in a tiny Maine hovel in his final decades in this world. What greater gift has Man to share.

Weary

rafe
02-05-2007, 21:50
The keywords for LSD were always set and setting (http://www.geocities.com/arno_3/2/2-4.html). LSD is not a casual recreational drug. Taken with a poor mindset, or in a poor setting, you're likely to have a very rough time of it. BTW, my wife's a licensed psychologist; I just asked her about LSD for treating depression... said she'd never heard of it used for that.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 21:57
The Council on Spritual Practices? Show me something from the APA or AMA and I'll believe it.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4877462.stm
LSD is too cheap and too effective for the American medical establishment to want to test.

mweinstone
02-05-2007, 21:57
your heart must be pure before you gaze apon the white blaze. problems magnifi. as does clearity.

weary
02-05-2007, 22:11
Hiking the AT is the single healthiest thing a person can do for just him or her self mentally or physically in my unprofessional opinion.
In the early spring of 1993, I asked my doctor of several years if it would be wise for me to go to Georgia and walk home. "I can't think of anything better for you to do," he replied.

Weary

rickb
02-05-2007, 22:16
Was he a neighbor?

rafe
02-05-2007, 22:19
LSD is too cheap and too effective for the American medical establishment to want to test.

Effective, for sure. At what... is hard to say. ;) Have you tried the stuff, FD? Understand, I'm not opposed to the stuff on principle. I just can't imagine it being used seriously as a treatment for clinical depression.

Of course, the "too cheap" argument applies to marijauna as well.

In any case, I'd like to be as far away as possible from the Lobster on Acid.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-05-2007, 22:24
I don't use drugs or alcohol these days, but there was a time.... yes I have tried it, but not for medical purposes.

weary
02-05-2007, 22:27
Was he a neighbor?
Well, he lived in a neighboring town. He sold his practice and joined "doctors without borders" a few years later. The doctor he sold to took a year's leave of absence last summer "to be with his family in Europe."

The doc with the wise advice now nurtures a 300 acre tree farm. I occasional suggest to him that trees don't require nurturing. Just let them be like we do on our town land trust lands.

Weary

Smoky The Bear
02-05-2007, 22:31
For me the woods acts like a anti-depressent. When I start feeling "disillusioned" with life, as soon as possible I go camping for a night or two. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a permenant cure.. but it usally helps me enjoy life for at least a few weeks upon my return...and if I start feeling down again, I just go camp/hike some more. That is one of the main reasons why I moved here to the beautiful mountains of WNC, leaving LA and all its uglieness behind me (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21354)

Vagabonder
02-05-2007, 23:20
But didn't Freud use LSD to treat depression?

No, Freud used cocaine as a stimulus, something to help him manage his own depression, achieve a state of well being, and relax under tense circumstances. I don't think he used cocaine to treat his patients.

However, he hoped cocaine might help his friend von Fleischl-Marxow, who had become a morphine addict. His presciptions did not help and Fleischl-Marxow died a cocaine addict, as well as a morphine addict.

4eyedbuzzard
02-05-2007, 23:28
Was he a neighbor?
:confused: :-? :clap ROFLMAO

saimyoji
02-06-2007, 00:05
I don't recommend watching the Smurf's while self medicating for depression with LSD. :eek:

4eyedbuzzard
02-06-2007, 00:22
The problem with drugs is the pain to pleasure ratio. Paraphrasing George Carlin (an acknowledged expert), when you first start taking drugs there's lots of pleasure, and very little pain, but later, after you've (ab)used them for a while, those feelings tend to trade places.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-06-2007, 09:56
I don't use drugs or alcohol these days, but there was a time....
The problem with drugs is the pain to pleasure ratio. Paraphrasing George Carlin (an acknowledged expert), when you first start taking drugs there's lots of pleasure, and very little pain, but later, after you've (ab)used them for a while, those feelings tend to trade places.To quote Paul Harvey - And now you know the rest of the story.

the goat
02-06-2007, 10:06
No, Freud used cocaine as a stimulus, something to help him manage his own depression, achieve a state of well being, and relax under tense circumstances. I don't think he used cocaine to treat his patients.


yeah, freud used to mainline the stuff. he called it a "wonder drug".

ASUGrad
02-06-2007, 11:05
It's a "wonder drug" until you run out.

I would recommend a section hike to test the effects of the "therapy" before I decided to hike the whole thing. It would be too easy to get into the "this is hopeless, I'll never make it, I'm a failure" blues.

Alligator
02-06-2007, 11:32
I don't recommend watching the Smurf's while self medicating for depression with LSD. :eek:Yellow Submarine can be uplifting Your Blueness:jump .

TOW
02-06-2007, 12:30
[quote=coralrives;316829]
But there has GOT to be other ways, if God is perfect, wouldn't he make sure we could find a way to live without having to use synthetic drugs?
[quote]
I'm just piping in here real fast just to say that recently I went thru a good bout of depression after having faced death and survived. And the doc tells me that I am once again facing the same thing. I took anti depressents for three months last year and it helped tremendously. I still am not depressed.

Before this happened to me, I was against using the stuff. And I still am depending upon the situation. When a person has a medical condition and it is hard to continue to live, then I believe it may help in making it over that hump as it did for me. But as far as using anti depressents just because you are depressed for having lied to your best friend or all that thieving you may have done has finally caught up with your thinking or you don't think your momma loves and may never have I'm against. Go face whatever problem it is that is eating at your insides and most likely your condition will greatly improve over night.

smokymtnsteve
02-06-2007, 20:23
Thank you for that. Its a nice break from "BRAAAWWWK, MEDICATE MEDICATE, BRAAAAAWWWWK".

We sure did come a long way before anti-depression drugs hit the market didn't we? I know, I know, we didn't have the problems back then that we do now, or the pressures or the mass media, or the Sun came up in a kinder way back in the day, or the axis that the Earth is on now is more conducive to depression.....
Perhaps people are not taking responsibility for themselves like they used to..... hmmmmm.......Maybe there are just too many convenient excuses to blame one's behavior on..... hmmm......


medication has it's place and uses...u know society just used to burn witches at the stake.

SalParadise
02-07-2007, 00:15
When I am still and consider that God is my only Source then negative thoughts are greatly diminished.

If hiking in nature with trail friends refreshes your Spirit then negative thoughts towards yourself and others can melt away like mists in the morning sun.

It's always a profound sense of separation that creates a fearful world of problems.
Sandalwood

with all due respect, and as a religious person, I think it's too easy to say that Faith can be some great cure. Though I believe it is a great help to the depressed person, we know so little about the true causes of depression, and then if it's a mental-chemical thing, which most figure, then certainly it's going to be even the most pious of people who will also be hit with depression.
depression needs to be thought of as a disease like any other, so to presume that any activity like hiking or being in the woods will melt any sorrow away doesn't know how deep depression can be. it's so totally different then the blues or any temporary sorrow.

ASUGrad
02-07-2007, 10:19
I think it is a mixed bag. Most of the "depressed" people that I know are totally self-absorbed. They are not necessarily vain but their conversations tend to center around themselves. Their problems become their focus.

People I know who are "clinically depressed" are less self-absorbed. They are more survivalists in life.

Toolshed
02-07-2007, 11:45
Walking for close to a year sure a hell didn't seem to help Fat Man Walking - He still seem pretty depressed in his post walk blogs.

Some might be able to figure it out on a long walk (or maybe a short walk - I know I usually can figure out an issue on a 3-4 mile walk, or at least feel better about it) for others it probably doesn't matter what they do.

Just please take your meds regularly. (and don't worry, we'll make more) :sun

vipahman
02-07-2007, 12:55
The trail will not solve your problems. It will give you time to think/ignore them. If you choose to think about it and develop a strategy, then you might come up on top if you succeed. If you fail or ignore it, you will be back where you started.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-07-2007, 13:34
::: cracks dino tooth while biting desert lobster on the claw :::

superman
02-07-2007, 14:28
Does any one else remember how much better screamer got as he hiked the AT. We're talking the poster child for mental health. Early on he spent half a day trying to sell me the idea that doing drugs are good for you. He used himself as an example. That may not have been his best argument. He made it as far as Bear and Honeys in Maine.

Sly
02-07-2007, 14:45
Not sure who started on Lobster being depressed, but does being disillusioned necessarily mean being depressed?

Hiking may not help clinical depression, but it can help disillusionment.

Boat Drinks
02-07-2007, 14:46
medication has it's place and uses...u know society just used to burn witches at the stake.


Sir Bedevere (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001402/): What makes you think she's a witch?
Peasant 3 (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000092/): Well, she turned me into a newt!
Sir Bedevere (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001402/): A newt?
Peasant 3 (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000092/): [meekly after a long pause] ... I got better.
Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!
:D

Yeah yeah, I understand that we used to do some pretty archaic things. But I'm not convinced that medicine is not a crutch for what could be fixed with other means. Just because a pharmaceutical company's research says it works doesn't mean it does, or that they know the future ramifications of taking it. Do you think that the makers of Paxil would tell us if they discovered that by eating a certain herb or by doing a particular exercise followed by a type of meditation, they would tell us?
Why does everyone put the medical field to such a god-like status? Great job getting us that cure for the common cold guys!! :D

esmithz
02-15-2007, 23:11
I'm going to assume Desert Lobster that you are a normal self actualized person who has become disillusioned with life like all the other 10,000+ people who have become disallusioned. Your not alone in feeling this way. Since leaving the trail I've become more disallusioned (laugh). However; I have friends and my job is interesting and I take the ups and downs in stride. I'm waiting for spring to get back to the trail. I think the trail has the power to change a persons attitude on life. After countless days of lightning, rain, sun, heat, thirst, hunger, tears, laughter and moments of "I think I just saw God" joy. All the big problems seem less big.