I'm not new I'm old

[Poppy_Pete]

G'day everyone, I looked up this site to help my oldest friend. He is 82 and his mind is playing tricks on him.

I also discovered I am in need of help, I realised I have problems of my own that can and have been quite serious for most of my life.

Ok so I am 72 with a wonderful wife lovely pets and a a few friends. So why should I be depressed/anxious.

[Pysis]

Hi pete

so the first thing is depression dosent always make sense it can affect anyone at anytime someone can have everything they want and be very successful and still feel that way, so don't feel bad about feeling this way even if you don't really know why you do. Have you talked to your wife about how your feeling at all? Have you considered seeing a GP about this as well they can help sometimes all we need is a little medication to start to feel better especially if your not overly bad.

Can you tell me a little bit more about what's going on?

welcome to the forums

Nath

[Blue_Jane]

Hi Poppy Pete

Welcome to our forums.

What a great friend you are for jumping online to see what you can do for your friend. Did you find anything useful that you can share with him?

As Nath has mentioned above, mental illness doesn't discriminate, it can get any of us - even if we have the best life and lots of support.

What makes you think you are in need of help?

Looking forward to hearing more.

Blue Jane

[geoff]

hello Poppy Pete, welcome to the site and the question you have asked has often been asked by someone else to me, it's something as Nath and Blue Jane have both said sometimes no one knows why depression comes along, because they have everything in life they need.
There are times when you lose someone very close to you that can cause this illness, other times it's a huge question mark and because of this it only baffles you.
If your friend has been struggling for quite awhile it could have a tendency to rub off onto you, simply because you want to help him, but unfortunately nothing seems to be working, so you feel disappointment and that's the path way to depression.
If your friend does have depression of some type, then yes his mind will play upon him, perhaps it's something that hasn't happened before, because people can go through life getting upset or sad many times, but when it's for a prolong time normally means depression, however some people are very lucky not to have it.
I have a twin who has never been depressed, thank goodness, whereas I've struggled with it, and I'm 63 this year.
I really hope that you can come back to us, your life must be very interesting, so please reply back. Geoff.

[White_Rose]

Hello Poppy Pete

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on having a lovely family life with a loving wife. Pets are great, aren't they? I have always had pets from my childhood onwards, mostly cats and dogs but also the occasional bird while my children have had hamsters.

I am sorry you are having a rough time at the moment. People don't realise they are unusually anxious or they are depressed because it has been with them so much of their lives that it seems normal. The assumption is that everyone feels like this. May I ask, what made you think you have major problems? I imagine it must have something of a shock. I remember when I realised something was wrong. I was probably getting progressively more depressed until one morning I got up desperately unhappy and the Black Dog had taken up residence in my home.

There is not recognised reason for anyone to become depressed. There are many life events that seem to trigger depression such as, moving house, loss of partner, family member or friend, major accidents, the list goes on. But why person A becomes depressed while person B has no problems in similar situations is something of a mystery. I suggest you look under The Facts at the top of the page and follow the links to various sections of Beyond Blue. BB has a large amount of information much of which you can download to your computer. Booklets can be ordered fro BB free of charge. Have a look as I think it may be quite enlightening.

A couple of folk above have suggested a visit to your GP and that's a good start. If you can, write down your feelings and any events you feel may be related. Plus dates if you can pinpoint a date for the start of any of this. Of course it's not obligatory but will help your GP to see where you are going. If you are anything like me you forget some of the topics you want to talk about until you are leaving. It's so annoying. Make sure you book a long appointment.

Have you talked to your wife about this? She may have noticed patterns of behaviour in you that you are unaware of.

I hope you will come back here and tell us how you are going.

Mary