mentallly

[Guest taylorsquare]

How is your mental health?

 

Do you get depressed,how do you cope with this?

 

Do some of you live alone in a country outside Thailand,how do you cope with this,do you get lonely or do you keep busy?

 

Importantly as physical health is your mental health and how you view life,sure,everyone has their down days,its only if it gets to be a normal occurance then it becomes depression,and,i saw a lot of expats in Pattaya who had symptoms of depression.

 

Well i did start to get a little depressed even when i was in Thailand,for reasons i couldnt understand,even my own Dr thought it would be better on medication ,just for a while he said,i decided not to take it.

i started going to the gym and sharing my small apartment with asian students,currently i have 1 korean,1 japanese,and 1 thai boy.

I can look but cant touch,but looking is more fun.

 

Funnily enough,as i get past 40yo,i am trying to stay young,letting my student flatmates have their music loud,going out with them to karaoke,yes i am paying,and even thinking of getting tattoos,actually i am enjoying feeling younger.

I dont care what anyone thinks of me,actually i was in a gay bar today with the japanese student who was asked for ID to prove hes over 18yo,he s actually 20yo,but yes i got stares from others probaly thinking how this old fart got picking up this cute young asian and stares on the street but im taking xians advice,you only live once so who gives a toss what others think.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

Hi Taylor,

Hallelujah! Finally someone thinks I'm not crazy

 

Actually, I suffer from clinical depression but as medication for it is not easy to come by in Malaysia, I've learned to fight it by avoiding trigger situations and simply trying my best not to worry too much about what I can't change.I admit to getting acerbic occasionally (especially when my blood sugar's low - another inherited condition), but nowadays that's about as far as I take it. I still have to start each day by telling myself, "I think I want to live today," however.

 

Seriously, I think it helps that I am so vain, as well. I can't begin to count the number of times I kept going simply by saying, "I am not going to go to Hell looking like a pig."

 

And maybe the fact that I am still a randy S.O.B. might have a little to do with it, too. After all, it's much easier to make myself think of the number of SYTs I haven't bedded than it is trying NOT to think about all the other stuff which sends me into a downward spiral - it happens once every few months - the danger periods, I call them. That's when I hit the gym and play tennis like crazy until I burn myself out so badly that I can hardly stir from my bed (except to do finger exercises... I did say I was randy, didn't I?) And then, to mark the re-emergence from my little cocoon of frenetic activities, I go out and get a new tattoo

[Gaybutton]

Do you get depressed,how do you cope with this?

For me, if I'm feeling upset or am having a problem about anything, I usually remind myself that at least I'm here in Thailand having the problem. That usually cures it for me very quickly.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I haven't had any depressed feelings since I moved here nearly 5 years ago.

[Guest]

Depression runs in my family. For me, I find the best way to cope is to jump on a plane and get into a new environment. I need constant change and that seems to pacify me.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I haven't had any depressed feelings since I moved here nearly 5 years ago.

 

Lucky you!

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Yes, I am lucky.

[Guest tdperhs]

When I get depressed I simply read what others put on the forums and think, "There, but for the grace of God go I." It's amazing what feelings of superiority some of those entries can generate, and I am glad all over again.

[KhorTose]

When I get depressed I simply read what others put on the forums and think, "There, but for the grace of God go I." It's amazing what feelings of superiority some of those entries can generate, and I am glad all over again.

 

LOL, Now you know why I always read your messages.

[Guest zzrichard]

I have go go 100% with Gaybutton on this one:

 

"For me, if I'm feeling upset or am having a problem about anything, I usually remind myself that at least I'm here in Thailand having the problem. That usually cures it for me very quickly."

 

I was only depressed here one time when I first arrived about a year and a half ago, and that was my fault for falling in love too fast!!

[Gaybutton]

that was my fault for falling in love too fast!!

Well, do you still love me . . . ?

[Guest zzrichard]

Well, do you still love me . . . ?

Hmmmm...said too fast, not too big!!

[Guest taylorsquare]

Actualy my doctor put me lately on Cipropram i think its called.

 

Well its helping.i think anyway,they re anti depressants.

exactly i dont know why im depressed but.......my student flatmates said i sleep and dont breathe or i stop breathing,so i relayed this to the Doctor.

 

He said this is SLEEP APNOA and causes depression and now im going to se a sleep doctor.

 

Anyway i havent been to the gym in 2 weeks and have felt sort of a low.

Anyone else stopped breathing when they are asleep?

this probaly explains why i feel so groggy when i wake up.

[Guest fountainhall]

Funnily enough,as i get past 40yo,i am trying to stay young

 

One of my major long-term worries/depressions was the thought of being 40. I started becoming concerned at age 37, and by 39, every day the feeling that the world was going to end increased exponentially. Then the dreadful day arrived - and suddenly life seemed wonderful and I started to live again! A Chinese friend put it rather nicely. Apparently, when you reach 40, the Chinese view is that you are like a rose that is now in full bloom.

 

Even though a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, I rarely get any form of depression. As lvdkeyes said, despite our daily gripes, there is so much to be thankful for living here in Thailand to keep one contented with one's lot. If I do feel down, I like to walk around. The smiles I get from so many people, to say nothing of the beauty of some of the young guys seemingly around every corner, soon cheer me up B)

[Guest taylorsquare]

" A rose now in full bloom"

 

Sounds good,what do they desribe about the Rose when your 60?

 

 

My Doctor was actually telling me the best way to control depression is to stop thinking.

 

If you dont think at all,he says,you dont get depressed.

 

As A tHAI BOY ONCE SAID TO ME,"You thinked too mush"

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

" A rose now in full bloom"

 

Sounds good,what do they desribe about the Rose when your 60?

 

 

My Doctor was actually telling me the best way to control depression is to stop thinking.

 

If you dont think at all,he says,you dont get depressed.

 

As A tHAI BOY ONCE SAID TO ME,"You thinked too mush"

 

Are you sure he didn't say, "You think to mush?"

 

And as for what the Chinese think of 60-year-old men, why we consider them to be the best kind of men to have - not so anxious to have sex so often, sufficiently well-off to keep a spouse happy with little luxuries and wise enough to laugh at most of life's problems.

[Guest mlomker]

As A tHAI BOY ONCE SAID TO ME,"You thinked too mush"

 

I'm finishing up my first full day in Thailand. I had a boy tell me pretty much the same thing today. He was a good guy but he didn't approve of my clothing (I bought trekking/camping clothes "like what old people wear"), I'm too quiet (his wording was "You think but Thais talk")...he went on to inform me that the combination made me not fun.

 

Nothing there that I haven't heard before in other countries. Good thing that all of this can be forgiven with a 1000 baht note.

[Rogie]

I'd rather that kind of honest opinion (which in itself tells you he was more articulate than average, perhaps owing to a better understanding of English) presumably 'freely' given than copious smiles and before you can say Jack Robinson, a disappearing butt with 1000 baht tightly clenched.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Sleep apnea can be a serious problem if not treated. However, I never heard of it being treated with anti depressives. If you have sleep apnea the doctor will prescribe a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine to use when you sleep. It gently forces air down your respiratory system keeping the airway open. It stops the snoring and the apnea, so you get a better night's sleep and won't feel groggy the next day.

[Guest taylorsquare]

Actually its the other way around....my DR suggests my Depression,feeling low ,frustration etc maybe caused by my sleep apnoa and has arranged for me to go to a sleep DR next week at $237 for a 15 minute consultation !

And then theres the sleep study plus possibly one of the sleep machines.

 

I will have to get it done,hopefully the depression will go.

I have started taking CIPRAMIL anti depressant tablets which make me more relaxed but side effects include nausea,trembling hands etc.

 

So i dont know why i have this depression,i dont exactly know why im depressed.

This depression started at the beginning of the year,i dont know why.

The DR claims it a chemical imbalance in the bran,not enough Serotonin i think he called it and the tabs will fix this.

 

I exercise by going to the gym,i have good asian student flatmates,ok i dont like my job dealing with customers but i tolerate it ,however at times i get scared that maybe i will get angry at someone.

I started to feel low,low frustration/tolerance sometimes etc

Hopefully this is the sleep deprivation causing this so i can fix it.

I dont want to keep taking these tablets,so im thinking vitamin B or seeing a chinese herbalist.

The DR is very good,he was angry that i had stopped taking them at one stage and slammed his notebook on his desk.

He told me i must keep taking them for at least 3 years then it will cure me.

Three years is a long time,im not sure of the long term side effects.

I told my brother of my depression,his advice was to "snap out" of it,but its not something you can.

Hopefully this sleep apnoea is causing it,so i can have i fixed.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

It sounds like you could benefit from a therapist. I have had a couple of bouts with depression before I moved to Thailand and a therapist was immensely helpful.

[Guest fountainhall]

i dont know why i have this depression,i dont exactly know why im depressed.

This depression started at the beginning of the year,i dont know why.

The DR claims it a chemical imbalance in the bran,not enough Serotonin i think he called it and the tabs will fix this.

 

Your condition sounds rather similar to that which afflicted a good friend who lives in Sydney. He had the depression, was pissed off with his job - but, on the other hand, had no real problem sleeping and was in a long and happy relationship. His doctor eventually diagnosed the problem as being related to the thyroid. Thereafter he had either a simple operation or a course of treatment - and now he is like a changed person! Maybe someone reading this will know of such a treatment. If not, I'll call my friend and find out.