I spent 24 years as an active soldier, was an outdoor pursuits instructor, climbing, caving, canoeing and such, followed by being a development officer for a charity, travelling all over Scotland doing the business, then...
One day, my legs gave way, went completely numb and I fell over. Feeling soon came back but it wasn't the last time it happened. I went from that active life to living in a hospital bed in our dining room and getting around in a wheelchair. Now that - is depressing!
I was prescribed anti-depressants and lived on them for a long time. They helped but the initial period was grim while they settled into the system, along with morphine for the pain - not quite pink elephants but not so far off! After that, things could be a bit unreal at times, feeling not entirely in control, you know?
I quit them some time ago but still there are times when I think on how things once were and it gets me down. Like looking at the photo montage some friends made up for me, that hangs on the wall in front of me - some great underground shots, some white water, one of Cenotaph Corner in Llanberis Pass (some of you might know it...) and of the slabs in Cwm Idwal. There are others too, memories of a couple of Alpine trips and others. I won't take them down though, there's a lot of fond memories in them too.
Mary - you're right, the pills don't really help - they mask the problem.
HL - you're right too - it's all about mind-set. Two people equally exposed to the elements, one dies of hypothermia, the other survives, the difference being positive mental attitude.
Stewart - you're wrong. A 'good slap' doesn't work every time. It's far more likely to get you decked with a sudden release of built-up frustration.
The only answer that I can see to what will be inevitable depression in some, will not be chemical, it'll be protecting them, loving them and above all, keeping them occupied with anything and everything until they can restore their own positive mental attitude. How long that might take is anybody's guess. Everybody's different and it's a very complex illness.
(2 July 2013, 01:25)Grumpy Grandpa Wrote: HL - you're right too - it's all about mind-set.
No, that's wrong - it's not
all about mind-set. I's part of it - but not all. It's a lot more complex than that...
Scythe, you said,
"I'd be okay (I believe) and she would crumble". Don't count on it. Often, it's the least likely one that comes to the fore and becomes a leader and the opposite can be true!
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Depression post SHTF
