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squib
52,711 M Confident Walk
PathStep 1,061 Compassion hearts6,127 Forum posts346 Forum upvotes785 Current upvotes785 Age GroupAdult Last activeFebruary, 2024 Member sinceMarch 24, 2015
Bio
I've fought depression all my adult life as well as social anxiety.

I do try to be of at least some help to others, especially those who have problems I can relate to. My therapist recently wrote me these kind words when I announced I felt I was horrible and deserved to suffer:

"Remember the good in yourself. Your kindness, compassion, openness to others (which many do not possess), your intellect which you openly share, and your natural genuine sweetness. I feel lucky to have met you, as you have given me more hope for human beings with the good in your heart. I do not get to see that as often as I would like, but I see it in you."

I hope I'm even one tenth the person she described. I don't always see myself as that person, though I do try to be him.
Recent forum posts
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Graduate Study and depression
Depression Support / by squib
Last post
 November 22nd, 2015
...See more This was very interesting to me [http://qz.com/547641/theres-an-awful-cost-to-getting-a-phd-that-no-one-talks-about/], as I too was a physics PhD student, and depression played a huge role in it taking me 10 years to finish. "I might not have felt so alone had I known how many people struggle with mental health issues in academia [http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/mar/01/mental-health-issue-phd-research-university]. A 2015 study at the University of California Berkeley [https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/22/berkeley-study-finds-high-levels-depression-among-graduate-students] found that 47% of graduate students suffer from depression, following a previous 2005 study that showed 10% had contemplated suicide. A 2003 Australian study [http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/str/10/1/51/] found that that the rate of mental illness in academic staff was three to four times higher than in the general population, according to a New Scientist article [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26365-lighting-dark-fixing-academias-mental-health-problem/]. The same article notes that the percentage of academics with mental illness in the United Kingdom has been estimated at 53% [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443410120090849#.Vj3u3hNVikp]."
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Calendar suggestion - time zones
Site Updates / by squib
Last post
 September 27th, 2015
...See more It seems there is frequent confusion about the times listed for events in the Calendar; they are all listed as times EDT, but as we have members and guests all over the world it's an additional step to translate to their time zone. A step that could easily be automated! I'm thinking one could either ask listeners and members to include a time zone to associate with their accounts and have the calendar display local times based on that setting (and default to EDT when that is not known). Or perhaps even better, just have a little pop-up link that allows anyone browsing the events calendar to choose whatever time zone they like for the times displayed.
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Study on chronic depression management
Depression Support / by squib
Last post
 September 1st, 2015
...See more As someone who has gone through many rounds of depression and mostly partially-effective treatment, this study struck me as important and promising [https://www.grouphealthresearch.org/news-and-events/blog/2015/08/news-release-chronically-depressed-people-find-hope-self-management-support/]. It focuses on peer support that acknowledges the fact that the path is often not straight and strewn with setbacks and disappointments: Peer specialists helped demonstrate recovery process "... the intervention made it clear that recovery from chronic depression is an ongoing process. We didnt give people the false hope that their depression is likely just to disappear forever. Instead we gave them realistic hope—and stressed how important it is for them to plan for themselves how they can create a life worth living. The peer specialists, who had experienced depression themselves, served as role models for this kind of self-care and planning. They didnt say, I know whats best for you. Instead, they said, You can think of whats best for you. I can tell you what worked for me. Ive been there. I continue to walk in your shoes.
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