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+--- Thread: Black Dog - my life is in ruins (/showthread.php?tid=3782)
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - Boxoffrogs - 8th March 2011
Well destroyingangel that would be a start.... we need to get the profession to listen and the Institute/Unions to admit that this may be/is a huge problem whist the condems are in power.
I fear the 'problem' is only going to get worse, it is for me!
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - destroyingangel - 8th March 2011
Just listening will be a start... there's a lot of us (maybe a surprising number... I don't know) out there at the moment. Maybe the IFA / Unions tend to bury their head in the sand and pretend everythings alright or that it will get better (keep buggering on). I think the rot started well before the condems got in... they are just exacerbating the problem.
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - trowelfodder - 8th March 2011
I think that the most important thing about reading this thread is how seriously others have responded to the issue. Having suffered from bouts of depression myself in the past it is vital that you can talk openly and frankly with others who understand where you are coming from and don't try and make light of what is an incredibly difficult situation.
You don't want to feel how you are feeling and it is never as simple as snapping out of it. You become depressed, you worry, you don't sleep because you can't stop all the negative thoughts in your head, when you do finally sleep it's through sheer exhaustion so you sleep for a huge period of time, then you become out of sync with everyone around you. You are asleep during the day but can't sleep at night. You stop making contact with other people and without employment to regulate your habits is so easy to spiral into despondency.
It is frightening how much your identity and sense of worth is tied up in simply being able to provide for yourself and your family.
This is a thread that most definitely has a place on the bajr forum
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - destroyingangel - 8th March 2011
Thanks trowelfodder... to be honest, I was thinking about placing the thread a while back (as the feeling has been with me for some time now) but I held back as I thought it wasn't the right time or, more likely, the right place for such a topic. I'm staggered by the number and depth of the responses. The responses here and the private messages I've had, have shown me I needn't have worried about placing the thread... unfortunately (at this moment in time) there are a sizeable number of archaeologists that are feeling the strain. Furthermore, some have been feeling the strain for some time now, well before the recent cuts and job losses / job insecurity. I've seen it for years (and experienced it in one way or another personally for the past five years... probably more in fact).
I'm not suggesting that BAJR should form a sort of club or group - the answers here and the ones sent to me in private have certainly helped. Nor am I trying to be glib about the issue (if my writings here appear to be, I apologise). My way of dealing with it is, well, my way of dealing with it... I keep telling myself that I don't need doctors or pills and that the situation will change for the better soon (optimistic thinking). Yes, I am also aware (afraid?) that I am burying my head in the sand and that, maybe the problem won't go away. But I live in hope and I still have my pride.
Depression and many other health issues should be addressed here (through actually speaking about the problem) or, moreover, by the powers that be. At least we are talking here... as for the powers that be... I live in hope (again).
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - Boxoffrogs - 8th March 2011
What staggers me is the lack of folk actually putting pressure to key and entering anything on this thread....If we don't talk about it folks it will cease to exist? I think not!
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - mpoole - 8th March 2011
Some people still struggle with admitting to themselves that there may be problems they can't deal with, and many people are very wary of saying anything in public that would reflect on them professionally, which may be why there aren't a lot of people talking.
I do think, though, that what has been said in this discussion has been immensely helpful to a number of people, right now as I write this there are 22 people who are reading this discussion. If they are being helped, it's the important thing. Not everyone is comfortable with being open about what they feel, hopefully the comments made here will give them more confidence about what they are going through and perhaps encourage them to write about it.
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - destroyingangel - 8th March 2011
The fact that we as a group (albeit maybe small) are actually (finally?) talking about it is a step forward.
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - Boxoffrogs - 8th March 2011
hundredth monkey syndrome maybe.....
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - moreno - 8th March 2011
@ Trowelfodder- I can appreciate what you've written through on my own experiences.
I would simply reiterate on an earlier post, that it is important to take the first step for self help or to seek assistance. Just to put depression in a sort of conte
Black Dog - my life is in ruins - Boxoffrogs - 8th March 2011
Well said moreno but 121m folk out of 6 BILLION...is a tiny % .
Talk therapy is the best cure for depression for it touches all the parts that the GP can miss...SSRI's can help some folk, but not all. St Johns Wort can help some, but not all. I'm afraid it is rather horses for courses out there and one has to find ones own way of dealing with it....