# If It Quacks Like a Duck....



## Guest (Apr 4, 2009)

You know this gets me so cross - there have been threads elsewhere "I can't sleep, I am chronically anxious - but I'm not depressed" - excuse me - YES YOU ARE.I think I know why - its still down to this labelling, stigmatisation business - folk can argue with me til they are blue in the face - but if you are depressed just come out and say so. Why are folk afraid of this label - frankly, I've always found it extremely helpful and if folk have a problem with that - its their problem not mine. If you are a diabetic - you are a diabetic aren't you - dress it up all you like. If you have depression - why not fess up - its not a badge of shame for heaven's sake.Whats this about "oh there are anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants" - no, that doesn't wash either - I will concur that certain types of anti-depressants address anxiety based depression better than others but its just a part of the spectrum of mental illness at the end of the day - so why are folk with chronic anxiety so coy about saying that they are depressed.Sue


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## baz22p (Dec 1, 2008)

Sue - I want to 'second' this. IBS often is accompanied hand-in-hand with anxiety, and depression. This has been told to me by several GP's, 2 gastroenterologists, various other medical staff (staff nurse in charge of endoscopy-thingy), and various bits of help and advice from this forum. I do agree that EVERYTHING is as individual in its' actions as the people taking it, but surely the aim is to feel better - and if that means anti-D's (or even standing on your head for 8 hous a day), then you'd accept it, wouldn't you? I for one would rather _anything_ that makes me feel better than face the IBS at times........and if you are going to take some kind of medication to feel better, then what does it matter if it is a yellow tablet or a red one (providing there are no dangerous side effects). The people who are admired the most are those who can manage to lead lives with an acceptable quality, NOT those who turn down help and advice because it is from the wrong 'stable'.Baz


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I was driving on Hwy 5 through Oakland on my way over to the wine country north of San Francisco several years ago. (This is at a time when I had been far removed from heavy traffic for 25 years.) Normally, in these situations, I tend to the slow lane in order to let traffic by; but the first two lanes were both filled with large semis driving very fast, with no vision for me, so I migrated into the third lane. Trucks were pounding on my right and I was driving faster and closer than I wished in order to keep up with things. Eventually the stress got so great that I found my consciousness actually leaving my body and I caught myself "imagining" that I was driving somewhere else, much like having your "spirit" leaving your body. I did manage to get things under control but, by the time I got off of the freeway and was able to find somewhere to stop and get out of the car, my heart rate and mental condition was a mess and I was visibly trembling. Variations of that would occur for the next couple of years whenever I would find myself in a stressful highway driving situation. For the longest time, even on our little highways around Victoria, getting into the passing lane was fraught with panic/stress/anxiety. This seems to have passed; but I do avoid driving in big cities if possible. I don't know what, exactly, caused the problem; but suddenly those little lines on the freeways did not seem like they could contain the traffic. Anxiety seems to be the only descriptor for it. It certainly wasn't depression. Marco


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2009)

NO, I'm not talking about that type of anxiety - I'm talking about folk who are "clinically" anxious to the point where they often have insomnia, are reliant on some form of medication and it appears to be an almost constant state. Of course people get anxious but I'd argue that that type of persistent anxiousness is clinical and it goes hand in hand with depression or is part of depression. Those type of folk always seem to bang on about "oh I'm not depressed, just anxious" - well in my book - they are depressed but don't want to admit it.Sue


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2009)

God I'm sorry - I sound like a right mardy old bat. I think I just get so sensitive to people apologising about depression, or trying to wheel it in as something else but at the end of the day, its just semantics and the important thing is for depressed AND anxious people to get the right help.If I'm prickly about this - thats my problem.Sue


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## baz22p (Dec 1, 2008)

I, too, feel that I have openned my trap without thinking of how I want to express myself. Therefore, I wish to sincerely apologise to anyone I may have offended. What I meant to say is this:Yes, some anxieties and depression are mutually exclusive, while others are very closely related. Both, possibly, fall into the sphere of mental illness when either/both are sereve enough to require medical help. Maybe the problem occurs when people realise they are experiencing one of these problems, but think they are being thought of as having the other problem because they are both covered by the general term of mental health. That may not necessarily be the case. IBS is closely related to both these problems: anxious that you may not get the required amount of notice for using the bathroom; depressed at facing IBS is taking over your life. I WISH TO MAKE THE POINT HERE THAT I AM AFFECTED BY BOTH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AS ANYBODY WITH IBS, so I empathise and sympathise with anyone/everyone facing tese problems. As Kathleen points out on another thread (insomnia), there are good reasons for using anti-D's even if you are not depressed - AND THEY WORK FOR ME. Taking anti-D's doesn't mean you are depressed, but they will give you a better quality of life IF they work. I hope this better explains my view ------ again, sorry.Baz


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