Oscar K

Welcome new friend to our forum family. We are not professionals but we do care about each other and try our best to help. My motto: Despair not / Repair a lot. Keep posting your concerns and you will likely find it to be very cathartic. Oscar

Very sorry about your predicament. Just know that we value your input and presence on our forum. Is it possible to get marriage counseling? My advice for what it's worth is to declare a temporary truce with yourself with the eventual goal of a peace treaty. Please don't give up on yourself and keep posting for the cathartic relief it will bring.

Welcome new friend. We are here to help. When you are comfortable, tell us more about your concerns. Check out other posts for insight and support. Problems have solutions.

Sorry to hear your birthday is miserable. Just want to send a message to keep your chin up. Don't give up on yourself. We are here for you and each other thru the dark days. Oscar

Welcome new friend to our forum family. We understand how debilitating depression can be. Years ago I realized depression is a natural formation / resource. My depression "cave" ain't going away any time soon so I may as well put it to use. I learned that I must metaphorically "anchor" myself outside my deep, dark, dangerous depression abyss. Old Man Depression plays the most awful tricks on our poor psyches. My feeling is we should play some clever tricks right back. We are really never helpless confronting Old Man Depression. Despair not /Repair a lot , is my motto. Anyway, please make yourself at home and you will likely find it to be cathartic to post your concerns. Oscar

Welcome new friend to our forum family. We are here to help and support each other as best we can. Personally I experience depression as a natural formation / resource. I have learned that I must metaphorically anchor myself outside my deep, dark, dangerous depression "cave". It is important to understand that we are never helpless confronting Old Man Depression. Clever and powerful metaphors can counteract the debilitating effects of depression. Hope you find a supportive home here. I think you will find it to be quite cathartic to post your concerns. Oscar

Welcome Michael1965. We are not professionals but we are here for each other. When you are comfortable, tell us a little about your concerns. I firmly believe we are never helpless or hopeless dealing with mental issues. Stick with us and yourself. Chin up.

Welcome new friend to our forum family. Your situation is unique just like everyone else here. I truly believe we are never helpless confronting our mental issues. I am a big believer in the power of clever metaphors. Your downward "spiral" can be reversed upwards and the "light" you don't see is always available if we can metaphorically ignite it. Problems have solutions and that is why we are here for each other. Please stick with yourself and with us. Oscar

Welcome new friend to our forum family. We are not professionals but we do try to help each other. My feeling is that we are never helpless confronting Old Man Depression. My motto: Despair not / Repair a lot. Keep posting and check out other posts for insights. Oscar

If you're not confused and not feeling empty then you're not paying attention. We are all metaphorically EMPTY. The trick is to not WALLOW in the HOLLOW. We are not helpless confronting all our mental issues. I'm not a fan of religion but I'm not smart enough to be an atheist. I can pretend God exists along with many other things in this crazy mixed up world. Hang in there.

I read your post and you have my sympathy. That big fat empty void is a quintessential symptom of depression. The trick is to see the "abyss" as a natural formation / resource. My approach is to metaphorically anchor myself outside my deep, dark, dangerous depression "cave". Throw all your well earned sorrow and regrets into that depression hole. Time to move on. My motto: Despair not / Repair a lot. Oscar

Old Man Depression plays this "empty" trick on our psyches continuously. Every one of us is METAPHORICALLY empty. Obviously not everyone gets lost and trapped within. My approach is to metaphorically anchor myself outside my deep, dark depression "cave". My depression cave ain't going away anytime soon so I may as well put it to use. I always need to remind myself that I'm not helpless confronting mental issues. My motto: Despair not / Repair a lot.

Welcome Darlene. We are here to help. When you are comfortable, tell us about your concerns. We are not professionals but we do care.

Many years ago I came to a realization that depression is a natural formation / resource. I was in a deep, dark place and needed a metaphor to help me. Then it just dawned on me that a cave seemed to be the metaphor that might work. Recently I became aware of the idea that if you can name it then you can tame it. I see metaphors as a way to compare and declare something to be something else when obviously it isn't. Metaphors work by imagining, pretending and make believing. Obviously depression isn't a "cave" but metaphorically it sure is. In nature caves are created by erosion, stress and upheaval. (Sound familiar?) There are more implications of the cave metaphor that I find useful. I give myself permission to take temporary shelter near the ENTRANCE/EXIT of my depression cave but I must avoid long-term residency. A cave is a great place for storage of unwanted, unneeded and even dangerous thoughts. Sometimes I need to drop metaphorical boulders on intrusive memories til they go away. Trying to figure out how a cave was formed doesn't change the cave. My depression ain't going away any time soon so I may as well put it to use. Anyway, I'm always here to discuss the the power of metaphors or as I like to call them: MEDaphors. Oscar

I can only tell you what I have found helpful. I am not a professional in any way. Classic signs of depression are finding yourself metaphorically lost and trapped within. I believe we can metaphorically counteract the debilitating effects of depression. Invoking a metaphor will change brain chemistry ever so slightly. Personally I must keep myself metaphorically anchored outside my depression "cave". Old Man Depression plays the most insidious tricks on our psyches. My thought is to play a few clever tricks right back. My motto: Despair not / Repair a lot. Maybe this can help a little. Oscar