Do other people depress us or do we depress ourselves?

i think that you can only become depressed if you let yourself!!

otherwise.. be happy!! =D

I know you are not thinking clearly right now due to the depression, but let me tell you man, you ARE FULLY Christian and God knows it. Please never listen to such judgmental people as THEY will have to answer to God for bringing a Christian brother down! About depression.... I think when we are depressed we are oversensitive to what people say and have a difficult time relating to people. It is then that criticisms really hurt bad. When I am feeling bad, I stay away from R&S because of the negative people you can find here. I hope you will recover soon as I love seeing your thoughtful questions here and I know how much hell depression can be. You probably need a med change and I will be praying for you, my friend. Hang in there and spend time in God's Word instead of Answers. It is there that you can find the comfort you seek.

I think it works both ways, other depress us , because we cares and we are aroud them, to see how they are suffering, wheter they are close, or far away and we depress our own selves by worrying too much about things we can't fix. So life is depressing any way you put it, we as humans just have to work it out and move on from there, If your wife/husband, your boy friend/girl friend, or your best friend/boy or girl or a relatives, or your kids are depress then you are also depress because you care, you know how to love, to share,and they know that you are there, and they can count on you, near or far away, all we need to know, is that one is not alone, we are in this together and we can stand above All. gee Elric you just made me cry, but ia'm fine i think i needed that, words are medicine to the soul, Thank you for been a friend! God bless!!<3 <3 <3You.

Depression is an internal issue... brain chemicals and all that stuff... other wise the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't spend so much money on advertising telling you "you're are depressed and our drugs will help"... and then get rich.

But you can change your own brain chemistry by not focusing on things that upset you. Because you get more of what ever you spend most of your time thinking about...

And that in and of it's self is amazing when it comes to 13 to 16 year old boys... guess what they think about?

It depends what type of depression you mean. If you mean sad, fed up or generally feeling down, then it can be a bit of both. If we are feeling a bit low and someone makes us laugh, then it cheers us up. If however, we are feeling happy and someone comes along and moans and groans and makes you feel like throwing yourself under a bus, then it is obviously their fault and you should ditch them immediately!! However, if you are talking medically depressed then that is another story altogether. No one makes you clinically depressed it is a medical condition and has to be treated by professionals. Love and peas to you too matey. Be happy.

Cheers

Heather

Depression in the medical sense is a genuine problem that cannot be attributed to a single person or event. It is an (often) hereditary condition that can sometimes be corrected with medication. One of the causes is chemical imbalance.

Depression is a very real problem, especially in teens, and can lead to such problems as substance abuse, addiction, self-mutilation, and suicide.

I totally disagree with most above people close to me can depress me anytime and not usually on purpose if there hurt and sad I'm sorry especially my mom or my children I hurt just as bad as they do****there pain is my pain,,,If I see one of my kids hurt, even a glimpse of pain in there eye's it just kills me and the same when I see them happy I get extremely happy and yes I have my own life but they mean a lot to me,,,I like to see the people I'm close to happy,,,,myself and my family have been to hell and back overcame a lot of horrific things maybe that's why I'm the way I am,,,,but sure both but Elric you never depress me you always get my day going as soon as I wake up I jump on here and answer a few questions before getting into the shower ;)

I actually think it is a combination.

Firstly, yes, your state of mind is controlled by you and you alone. So your initial thoughts about yourself, your predicament and life are dependent on your own self worth and self image.

With this said - there are people that are so negative that when you spend one minute with them you feel the same as them. These are called energetic vampires. They drain you of all positivity. So they go away feeling great and you feel crappy.

People need to connect with people so it is impossible not to be affected by your environment on some level. What you do with it and how you deal with it, is entirely up to you.

According to Jung's shadow-psychology it's when we project our own depression onto others when we are most likely the unhealthiest or most-depressed.

1) In this spirit we depress ourselves.

2) Yet wether we recognize it or not, we see someone who is similiar to us and ask in a caring or passive-aggressive tone, "not feeling so good today, are ya"

3) When we ask this we may have a percentage of concern for the other person, but if we are truly projecting, then we are wishing someone would treat us, the way we are treating them(caring), when in reality we could feed the horse's-mouth, and be straight with our friends, counselors, family, etc. and admit we're not having a good day, and ask for our emotional needs to be met.

4) If it's a passive-aggressive tone, then our shadow is getting fed, and may erupt in violence towards self or others if allowed to continue and escalate. In this case the person would rather put the 'other' down and hate himself thru others, so to speak, rather then admit that it is he that needs to ask for help and admitting he's at a weak point in his life.

5) I appreaciate, a deep question like yours that comes along, may the light of this question not lengthen the shadow of one's life, but expose it for what it really is, hate of ourselves that requires help at any cost. Hopefully that any cost can be met in a benevolent way; before the shadow acts in a malevolent way.

Thanks Elric; peace and love to you as well,

-sophi-

Depression comes from our own mind. We do it to ourselves. It's the result of fear of the loss of something, whether real or imagined.

That's not to minimize the pain of a depressed person. Also, I don't want to leave the impression that anyone is responsible for their own depression, and that they could control it if they would just, "snap out of it." Depression is very real, and painful, and when you're in the throes of it you can't pull out without some outside help. But it does originate in our minds, and comes from the fear of the loss of something, whether person, place, or thing.

I believe that people are full of different energies. Often times, people in your surroundings will have an impact on you....good and/or bad. I know that when i have been somewhat depressed, other people around me absorbed my negative energy. In turn, it affected them negatively. Other instances, when i am happy and positive, I have been negatively affected by other people's energy when they are depressed. In turn, my attitude and behavior shifting from happy to depressed. It can affect us either way. We are all human and are beings of emotion.