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Link Between Depression and 'Collecting'?

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Reply 20 of 44, by gandhig

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Forgive my following blasphemy w.r.t this forum. Never had much of a thing for any sort of materialistic collection even in the past, less so in the present. So, it is only the bare necessities...

Coming to depression which is a very serious thing, it is all there in the mind. Once a person tries & understands the mind i.e. flow/generation of thoughts, everything falls into place beautifully. The context under which I wrote this previous line and the backstory of the 'thought' that led to the writing of that line is based on my past experiences & interpretation of some of the great minds of the past and it would only be known to me in full. Whoever reads that will see that from their own perspective and through their life experiences. Most probably won't get what was intended... Similarly, no suggestion or advice given by a person to any other person is gonna work, unless the depressed persons themselves understand the root cause and act on that.

However one thing is sure, medications for depression have to stop. They work at a less-refined level than the one in which MIND works.

Last edited by gandhig on 2018-11-01, 01:16. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 24 of 44, by Intel486dx33

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Sounds like most if these members as Audiophiles and vintage game enthusiast.
They seem happy and not depressed.
So happy like 10 year old kids.

It’s not your age but your youth at heart.
Look around, this world is all about toys. The toys only get more expensive.
Most of these old computers are inexpensive compared to what is out in the markets today.

Walt Disney
Marriot
Marvell
Toys are US
Etc.

Reply 28 of 44, by gandhig

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-

Last edited by gandhig on 2018-11-10, 08:46. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 30 of 44, by brassicGamer

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Can I just clarify something?

Some of you guys seemed to think i was saying that people who collect are depressed. No. That's like a journalist taking the findings of a scientific study with all sorts of caveats, ignoring all of them, and presenting the results in a way that is 'newsworthy'.

What I mean is that some people who suffer from depression also have tendencies for obsessive behaviour and, in the context of this website, that manifests in accumulation of kit. The same can happen with camera enthusiasts, but that doesn't make them depressed - if you are depressed and have a love for photography, then you might be more likely to 'collect' kit. I might also observe (in my experience) that people who have tendencies for obsessive behaviour might also be prone to depression.

An example:
The dyslexic population has a higher proportion of left-handers than the general population does. That doesn't mean you're more likely to have dyslexia if you are left-handed though. Some numbers would help with this. I'll try and get this right because it's a headfuck:

  • - Around 10% of the population is left-handed and it has been this way since humans first walked the earth.
    - Current understanding also reports that 10% of the population are dyslexic, and that handedness between this sample is 1:1.

Take a population of 10,000,000:

  • - If 1,000,000 of those are dyslexic, then 500,000 are lefties and 500,000 are righties.
    - If 1,000,000 of the same population are left-handed, then half of them are also dyslexic. The same amount are right-handed, but this only represents 6% of the right-handed population.

I hope I've got that right. If I fucked it up, send help. Please.

Also, to anyone who says that depression is 'all in the head', only a person who has never dealt with mental health on a personal level would say such a thing. It's an actual illness, just like heart disease, diabetes, etc. You may even have a genetic predisposition. Sure, someone can be 'a bit depressed' but if you have a diagnosis of actual depression, then you suffer effects of a chemical imbalance in your brain (usually the amygdala) and you might well need medication for the rest of your life to stop you from killing yourself.

Check out my blog and YouTube channel for thoughts, articles, system profiles, and tips.

Reply 31 of 44, by gerwin

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brassicGamer wrote:

Sure, someone can be 'a bit depressed' but if you have a diagnosis of actual depression, then you suffer effects of a chemical imbalance in your brain (usually the amygdala) and you might well need medication for the rest of your life to stop you from killing yourself.

I read some things about how inflammation in the gut can result in depression. As most serotonin (=happy feeling chemical) is produced in the gut, but this can fail because of gut problems.

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Reply 32 of 44, by badmojo

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gerwin wrote:

I read some things about how inflammation in the gut can result in depression. As most serotonin (=happy feeling chemical) is produced in the gut, but this can fail because of gut problems.

Yes I'm under the impression that it's a very complicated condition with countless possible factors involved - certainly not "all in the mind". My brother has issues with his gut which leads to poor sleeping patterns, and lack of sleep does shocking things to mind and body.

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 33 of 44, by gandhig

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Please accept my apologies first, as there seems to be some misunderstanding. If my first post in this thread generated a feeling of being ‘insensitive’, that was absolutely not my intention. Trying to clarify…

While reading the first post of this thread(by OP), from my perspective, the following things were the ones that mainly stood out...
1. tell own story / share experiences / coping strategies
2. depression & medication / anxiety / obsessive behaviour / anything else mental health related

Clarification w.r.t (1): Though I don’t remember having experienced any lengthy period of depression, the normal negative feelings/emotions such as sadness & worries were there in the childhood and further stages of life...till few months back. Not completely eradicated, but, pretty close to it. Since there are no direct depression-related stories to share from my side and being left only with strategies to overcome worries(close link to depression), I replied in the form of a general statement about the adopted strategy, i.e. ‘try and understand the mind, its flow/generation of thoughts...’. On hindsight, I should have added that the try & understand part should be done after the depression phase has passed. Also to recall what triggered the recently passed depression phase, maybe with the help or support of a close associate, to find the root cause(s). The bitter part of this exercise is that it mostly ends up in a confrontation with oneself...about certain things which might have been swept aside under the carpet, in the past. If the habituated mind wins, the person returns to square one, but, in case the person succeeds and overrides the habituated mind, that would qualify as a step forward in the right direction. Certain things(Description/Definition of Mind) I have skipped as they are connected to beliefs & can’t be proved in a normal way, so I have jumped straight to the conclusion part of my experience, “everything falls into place beautifully”. Ultimately it is for the individual to undertake the journey and it is absolutely possible for anyone...by attempting repeatedly to understand ‘why the mind works the way it works?’ The answer will find that person if one persists on that to the point of obsession, in a positive sense.

Another important clarification: What I meant by “it is all in the mind” is that...To take a step in the right direction w.r.t both Body and Mind, consider the following steps:
a. attempts to think & truly realize one’s shortcomings
b. investigating the actual reason of how the shortcoming came in the first place
c. identify corrective measures after knowing the reason
d. deciding to act despite possible aversions or adverse situations
They all occur in the Mind.
An unhealthy Body will of course affect the Mind and vice versa. But the decision towards seemingly simple tasks like a) consume nutritious food(when hungry), b) drink natural water(when thirsty), c) work up a sweat by physical activity(daily), d) engage in mind-relaxing or passionate activities(in moderation) & e) go to bed(when sleepy) for attaining the goal of a Healthy Body starts from the Mind. So the first thing towards a sustained step forward in the right direction starts with the training or conditioning of the Mind...consciously.

Clarification w.r.t (2): It is a fact that certain drugs have side effects that include depression and/or mood disorders. Also, different states of the mind(anger, anxiety, happiness, motivation etc.) affect(negative or positive) the normal functioning of the Body. Without understanding the reason for a particular State of Mind, overriding the system by administering chemicals is probably not the best option, because the functioning of the Mind can’t be fathomed by normal methods.

I will delete my posts in this thread, if required, in case if it was felt to be offending or hurting as I can visualize the possibility of the same, despite the good intentions from my side.

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Reply 36 of 44, by Duouk2000

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ElBrunzy wrote:

managin vintage computers is what keeps me alive
http://junkskool.net/images/photos/wifi/IMG_7067.JPG

Mate, that looks awesome, I'm so jealous you have a space like that to work in.

Anyway, depression and anxiety can definitely cause me to withdraw and spend money on things I never even get round to using. I'm actually selling off my PS4 and quite a few sealed games currently because I never got round to playing them and the system just sits there collecting dust.

Medication helps manage it and counselling really helped put me back on the road to recovery so that's something I'll always recommend to anyone suffering. Being aware of my compulsions and tenancies when it comes to self medicating helps keep things in check as does limiting the amount of stuff I own to a single space or room.

gandhig wrote:

However one thing is sure, medications for depression have to stop. They work at a less-refined level than the one in which MIND works.

No.

Reply 37 of 44, by gandhig

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Duouk2000 wrote:
gandhig wrote:

However one thing is sure, medications for depression have to stop. They work at a less-refined level than the one in which MIND works.

No.

Mine was a general statement towards a permanent solution(possibly) under more or less normal conditions. At the same time, I do understand that it may not be feasible under all conditions...especially when one considers different levels of depression and of course the situational requirements. For example, when a person undergoing depression is at the cusp of a major 'life moment' with a necessity to take important decisions... then, of course, medication & counselling(a lot more preferable) might be of more immediate help and logical. So I do respect your opinion. Also if a high level of depression is the result of some underlying anomalies in the body, then medication is a better option...if and only if something prevents the step towards permanent cure of the anomaly causing depression.

Personally speaking, medications are mostly stop-gap solutions when it comes to depression, i.e. if the levels are not too bad. Generally, most of us fail to address or even identify any problem at the initial stages and mostly take corrective steps at a later stage when it comes to health. Either we simply fail to observe the symptoms or worse, we just ignore it. Such situations have happened to me and I have made mistakes in the past. But I took a decision recently which made me 'Realize' these shortcomings and gave me the will-power to confront myself & progress towards adverse corrective measures...to improve myself, both in body and mind. Other things had to wait as this is the single most important thing for a person, IMO.

In my book, any worthy medication should bring down the abnormal condition of mind/body after continuous & enough usage...after which it should completely cure it. AFAIK it doesn't...situation worsens and the dosage is increased most likely. When it is currently not possible to define or even prove 'Mind' objectively, with all the available tools & instruments...it is difficult to imagine arriving at an ideal(not practical) solution for a problem affecting the Mind.

For example, one of my very early negative memories(resulted from watching a film) from childhood was like this: A happy family consisting of parents, elder brother & a younger sister suddenly collapses after the unexpected & unnatural death of parents, leaving the children orphaned. There was a scene...after the funeral, when the relatives and friends start to leave,suddenly, the pretty young children are left standing alone...with the elder one holding the hands of the younger one. My young and naive mind at that time must have related the possibility of that situation to myself. Once I grew up, that scene which got etched into the subconscious mind used to crop up occassionally now and then. Though the impact of that was not severe, obviously it was not a positive thought. So I had to ultimately confront the fear of natural death and specifically that of the near and dear ones. Maybe I'm wrong, but, such negative memories & incidents may accumulate over time and could possibly result in depression with the exclusion of the one resulting from bodily ailments.

I believe that counselling is a far more better option than medication.

P.S. I may edit this post later due to the serious nature of it as I don't want to take a mis-step at any cost...especially after one of my insensitive posts(now deleted) in this thread.

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Reply 38 of 44, by Mister Xiado

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I'm more of the opinion that having an interminable series of terrible experiences in life would cause depression. I collect and attempt to restore old technology partly because I had pretty much nothing until I was an adult, missing out on the entire computer revolution of the eighties and early nineties, and partly because I have this compulsion to make whole that which is incomplete. Having a distressful job, having limited funds, having to cut back on food to pay for car repairs, relying on US military medical manuals in order to stay out of the hospital, and all of that tends to be a boot on the throat of enjoying life. Too much of that, and you start down the slope of not being able to enjoy anything for more than a few minutes. You'll still laugh at jokes, and be able to carry on conversation, but it's not lasting enjoyment. You'll stop preparing complex meals and settle for cereal or a sandwich. You'll stop going to new places to see what's there, because it costs money you can't really afford to spend, and you've come back from those trips with nothing to show for them too many times as it is. It will take more and more energy to feel enjoyment that lasts for less and less time, until you no longer see the point in struggling, and adapt to feeling nothing most of the time. That doesn't take effort to maintain.
But then it starts going below neutral, and staying there.

Oh, I got carried away. Collecting things may be a symptom, but certainly not a guarantor.

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Reply 39 of 44, by ratfink

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Haven't read the mighty walls of text in this thread, but i recognise some of the issues the OP mentions. I find it a danger in any sort of collecting, but also in gaming (on line or otherwise), browsing internet forums and for sale ads. And yeah GAS is one part but so is the opposite.

I think the answer is to try to attain balance, for me anyway, but then i once heard the word "satisficing" and thought that was good enough for me (not entirely a joke). Don't try to collect everything, do different things, have a few hobbies, give each of them a rest sometimes. Focus on what you really need and will realistically use, it's ok to keep a few spares but try to be sensible. Having been somewhat overenthusiastic about collecting various things over the years, i nowadays get a slight pang of mental anguish when i even think about buying old hardware these days, or many of my other previous obsessions (old games, old cameras, mmorpgs, comics, scifi books...). I do get at a loose end now and again, and i get an ebay-browsing-addiction periodically, which is annoyingly hard to shake. Maybe i'll try cookery...