> I'm currently on Paxil (or the Little Pink Pills as I call them) and prior that it was something else (the Little Blue Pills). I see these ads for Paxil on TV and it makes me mad cause they're marketing it as medication for Social Anxiety Disorder, and being a sufferer of the aforementioned malady, it pisses me off that it does nothing for the disorder that I haven't managed to do on my own. I was nervous about it at first. However, the medicine is helpful because it provides a hand out of the hole I've managed to dig myself into. Anti-depressants are nothing to be ashamed of, no more than you should be ashamed of taking pain killers or antacids.
>
> Therapy helps, too, of course. :)
>
> Sun"I don't know why I'm telling you this"dragyn.

Well, I'll start by saying that I think I know why you're telling us this... It's because, if you're anything like me, you consider the people here to be friends, and like me, you trust these friends... There is very little that I wouldn't talk about with the people here, and those things that I wouldn't are generally secrets other people have asked me not to reveal or issues which would go a little beyond the family nature of this site.

On the subject of depression, I noticed that a lot of people here have depression problems... I wonder if that is a typical sampling of our society, or if it is RinkWorks related? I imagine the former, although it could be the latter-- I find RinkWorks is a wonderful place for therapy for me when I am down...

As for myself on this issue, well, I go through severe bouts of depression, and have some things which I am perpetually depressed about. However, I have never gone to seek treatment (chemical or otherwise) for it. Why? Because for myself, I see it as a crutch. Interestingly, though, I don't see it that way for others... Why the double standard? Well, I think it's because I have never been diagnosed with anything like depression, and I have a bit of a history of hypochondria... Worse, I am (sorry to be immodest) fairly smart, and learned on various biological and psychological disorders, and have a history of convincing others that I have problems which really aren't there... I worry sometimes that my "depression" might be the same, and even if I did get diagnosed with something, I could have been trying to make it look that way... I don't want to be put on a chemical treatment for something I don't really have, and that leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. I wonder, does anyone else here ever feel this way? I am curious to find out... If so, what do you do about it? My solution has generally been to try and struggle my way through it, analyze myself for signs of real problems and signs of faking it, and not bring anything to a medical professional without some certainty on my part... Goodness know, the health care system in Canada is strained enough without my hypochondria making things worse...

I see I have diverged significantly from the original subject here. I guess I'll close by saying that Sundragyn, I empathize with your problem, and I am glad that you (like many others here) are taking appropriate measures to deal with it, and VERY glad that you feel comfortable enough here to talk to us about it.

Don "The Monkeyman" Jackson