Cottman,Crawford and the Jersey guy.
Two Brooklyn born gen X guys and a Jersey millennial shooting the shit. Talking about everything and anything. Ready to hear topic suggestions for future podcasts and feedback on those we have recorded. Follow and Like us on FaceBook & Instagram. Email: CCandNJGuy@Gmail.com
Cottman,Crawford and the Jersey guy.
Breaking the Chains of Depression: Personal Battles, Therapy Triumphs, and Building a Brighter Tomorrow
What if you could break free from the heavy chains of depression and embrace a brighter tomorrow? Join me, Louis Crawford, as I venture into the depths of my personal battle with depression in this special solo episode of the Cottman, Crawford, and the Jersey Guy Podcast. With my usual co-hosts Kenny and Tom stepping aside, I seize this moment to candidly share the rollercoaster of emotions that accompany living with depression. Through raw and unfiltered anecdotes, I aim to connect with those who are waging their own battles, illustrating that the road to recovery, though arduous, is possible with persistence and support.
Depression doesn't just weigh on the mind; it takes a toll on the body too. In this episode, I reveal how chronic depression can impacted physical health, from a weakened immune system to increased risks of serious health conditions. With transparency, I recount my personal experiences of isolation, self-harm, and harmful thoughts, underscoring the vital importance of honesty with healthcare professionals. Therapy has been my lifeline, a source of gratitude as I navigate these challenges, and I hope my story inspires others to seek help and push forward, despite the obstacles.
Finally, I reflect on the myriad factors that influence depression, from personal loss to financial struggles, and the significance of having a robust support system. Committing to activities like attending the dojo has been instrumental in combating negative thoughts and boosting self-esteem. Taking the leap into solo podcasting has proved therapeutic, reinforcing the power of reaching out and seeking help. I encourage you to prioritize your mental health and remember you're not alone. Together, let's work towards a brighter, healthier future, one vulnerable conversation at a time.
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Cotman, crawford and the Jersey Guy Podcast. Hey everybody, kenny Cotman, lewis Crawford and I'm Tom Ramage, the Jersey Guy. Hey everyone, how are you doing? Thank you for being here with us at the Common Crawford Jersey Guy podcast Tonight. I'm doing it solo, doing it by myself. Tom and Kenny they have the night off, so I figured I'd do a podcast that I've been wanting to do, but I figured let me give it a shot on my own and see how it goes. So let's give it a try.
Speaker 1:It's going to be a part two on depression, and the reason I'm doing this is because, personally, I have been going through some things that on and off with depression Some days are good, some days are bad and I just wanted to dive into it a little bit and get an idea of what was going on and try to figure it out. But we'll figure it out and go through some things. I have some things written down. I have things on my phone, so give it a shot and see what happens. I know a lot of you out there probably deal with it as well. It sucks, to be honest with you, but I think the good thing that I'm finding out is, the more I research it. The more I get into it and look at the reasons and why these things are happening, I'm starting to find out answers that are actually going to be helpful to me that I can get past this and move on somehow. Now I already go to therapy. I do that twice a month. It is very helpful in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I haven't been so open with my therapist, even though he asked me how everything's going, I kind of didn't say anything to him. Why? Because, of course you get subconscious. You get conscious. I should say about well, what's he going to do? He's going to judge me? No, he's not going to judge me. He's my therapist. He's not there to judge me. He's there to help me and guide me and walk me through some things so we can figure out what's going on. So I know for the next session that I go see him. I will be a little bit more open I should say a lot more open and we can get this taken care of and just kind of like work through it and get through these things. So let's give it a shot and see what's going on.
Speaker 1:So I wrote some things down. And what is depression, mental health condition, persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, lack of interest in activities that are once enjoyable. Lack of interest in activities that are once enjoyable. Now, I did find that a little bit with myself as far as the depression was concerned. I go to the dojo at least twice a week, sometimes three, but I've been finding that with whatever I have going on as far as the depression is concerned, it actually holds you back.
Speaker 1:Lack of interest, you're a little bit more subconscious about what's going on. People are going to think certain things and of course that's your mind playing tricks on you, or just you're just being, I shouldn't say playing tricks on you, but you're in your mind too much. You're in your head too much. You know you're overthinking things. So of course we seem to over-exaggerate and think you know certain things are going to happen when they don't.
Speaker 1:And I realized that when I get to the dojo, or I go to the gym or I want to work out, it was fine, everything was good, I had a good time, I had a good workout, I slept good that night and I was glad that I went. So you got to. Just the thing I'm finding out is I have to keep pushing myself to not allow my mind to go in that direction. If it comes into my head, I got to say, hey, you know what? I got to move on. I got to, I got to go to the dojo, regardless if it's going to be, you know, if I feel that these things are happening. So I just uh been battling with it for quite a while and it's been on and off and I have to say, some days are really good, but some days are not and it really does suck. I don't know why, but I think I figured out what's going on.
Speaker 1:So, as far as depression is concerned, there's a bunch of things that are going on here. Now this is, please I apologize, this is the first time doing this without these guys, so I'm going to learn from this. At the same time and of course this also was something I was being subconscious I almost bailed out on not doing this because I was like, oh, I can't do this by myself. Why should I do it? You know that's you in your head too much. We are too much in our head and we are our own worst enemy when it comes to this thing. So, that being said, I just said depression is a mental health condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness and a lack of interest or pleasure In activities that once were enjoyable.
Speaker 1:It can also involve physical symptoms such as a change in sleep, appetite, energy levels, concentration and self-esteem and I just pointed that out regarding whether or not I should go out to the dojo, right, because these things are going through your head. People are going to judge me. How are they going to look at me, how come you weren't here this day and how are you going to come? Listen, nobody's going to do that. That's you doing that to yourself.
Speaker 1:Concentration, depression, self-esteem, depression can affect how a person thinks, feels and behaves, often leading to emotional and physical problems and, more than just feeling sad or just through rough patch, it is a serious medical condition that often requires treatment. If left untreated, depression can lead to several serious consequences that affect both mental and physical well-being. I didn't even realize, but it can really mess with your physical well-being as well. There are days when I get up to go to work and I don't want to go, I just want to lay in bed, but I have to push myself to get out of bed, go to work. As soon as I'm in the car and I'm on my way, I'm fine, right, but this is the thing we allow that to take over. We need to be in charge. We need to just find a way of what tools are going to work well for us. So let's see what these things are. Worse than any mental health depression can intensify over time the severe emotional distress. And that's not what we want, right? We don't want the severe emotional distress. So we need to work through that somehow.
Speaker 1:And I need to talk to your friends write it down, blog, get a log, you know, get a book notebook and just write all your notes down and put everything down and get it out. It doesn't matter how good it is or bad it is or how it sounds. It's a matter of getting it out and understanding what's going on and, I think, maybe even going back and reading or listening to it. Maybe you want to record yourself and do that. This could be a very good exercise, I think, and that's why I'm doing this podcast by myself, because it's one of those things where you get a little nervous about doing something and you're always used to having other people doing it with you. Well, we got to figure out how to do things by ourselves sometimes, and this can be challenging. So, of course, I'm challenging myself right now. So let's go through some of these things. Let's go through some of the things that we have going on in this list that we have here.
Speaker 1:Physical health problems. Chronic depression can weaken the immune system, leading to an increased risk of illness. It can also contribute to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, as well as sleep dysfunction and fatigue. Wow, imagine that it's that severe to the point where it could actually affect you that physically when it comes to diabetes, your sleep and your immune system. That is so fucked up. Honestly, I apologize, but it's true. It's just amazing how the mind can be so powerful in a positive and negative way, and if we allow ourselves to go down that road, this is what can happen Physically. We can allow ourselves to kind of just fall apart, and we don't want that right Now. We're in the doctor for other things. You know what's going on, but if you're not honest with your doctor or your therapist, or seeing what's going on, then they're never going to be able to get to what's going on. But if you're not honest with your doctor or your therapist, or seeing what's going on, then they're never going to be able to get to what's going on. Oh yeah, they can treat the surface issue, whether it's the diabetes or anything else that's going on, but if you're not honest about what's going on mentally, then you're only taking care of part of the problem. So I think being honest with ourselves is something we need to do.
Speaker 1:It could also lead to social isolation. Depression can cause withdrawal from relationships, social activities and support networks, which can lead to feeling of loneliness, isolation, further worsening the condition. Now we were just saying that right, isolation, further worsening the condition. Now we're just saying that, right, isolation. Social activities well, that's a social activity when you're going to the gym or the dojo or, let's say, you have other things that you're interested in. Maybe you're going to go play, uh uh basketball, or you're on a hockey team or whatever it might be. Whatever activity it is of not allowing yourself to go because of what's going on with you and your depression is really. It's taken away from your life. So these things is what's happening. So we got to work on trying to combat that and keep pushing ourselves.
Speaker 1:Now, obviously, I don't think what I have going on is anywhere severe to the point where I'm feeling physically. I feel good physically. For my age, I'm in a decent shape and I work hard at keeping myself in shape. I always have. But I have to say the depression does make it a super, super challenge for trying to do the things you normally do without even thinking about it. You know I'm going to go work out Boom, you do it. But when you're not feeling good and you're depressed or something's going on that day, you're going to make an excuse, you're not going to go, you're going to sit down on the couch, watch TV, lay in bed, whatever, and just not push yourself. So this is, you know, this is something that I'm glad I'm doing and talking about, and this is right here.
Speaker 1:Doing this now for me is therapy. I'm challenging myself, I'm working through it and I'm hoping I can help other people too, in a sense where listen, I'm not a doctor and I'm not saying that I can help you in the sense of solving your problems, but I hope that maybe, by what I'm doing on this podcast, will help others who can recognize or identify with what's going on, and I know a lot of people out there have a lot worse than what I have. So I consider myself lucky because I think I'm ahead of the game. I'm definitely going and doing the things that I need to do. I haven't bailed out on my therapy, which is great. I think that's an awesome thing. We don't want to do that because I think if I started doing that then I'm definitely going in the wrong direction.
Speaker 1:So pushing yourself and getting yourself to where you need to go is definitely the right thing, and it is hard. It is hard Because a part of yourself doesn't want to. You're split right down the middle. You know there's one part that says, no, you need to do, it Got to go. The other part says, yeah, I don't know, I'm not sure, I'm not feeling up to it. I'm just not feeling good. You know, mentally I'm just not there. But like I said earlier about getting in the car after getting up, get up, you go through your routine, you brush your teeth, I let the dogs out, I go downstairs, I get my lunch ready, I get dressed, I come back down, I get everything packed up, I get ready, I get in the car and then I go. Once I'm in that motion and I'm still in motion then I'm on the right track. I'm doing what I need to do. So let's go through some more stuff Self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Speaker 1:In severe cases, depression may lead to self-injury behavior or thoughts of suicide. Individuals may feel like there is no way out of their emotional pain, which can become life-threatening without intervention. Now I have to say, without getting emotional and I'm going to try to do this that I have had those thoughts Not recently Today I didn't but there have been times and when you get to that point, you get emotional to the point where you get choked up, you cry. Of course you're doing it by yourself and you don't want anybody to know. So you go through this torture that you have going on and you don't know why you're thinking it. Of course it's not all the time, but when it does happen it's just a horrible feeling to not want to be around and I think that's a hard thing for people, and I know a lot of people. Again, there are more people out there who have this way, worse than I do, and I'm honestly, just from what I have and understanding from what I have and what I go through and what I'm dealing with, I think I'm lucky. I don't think I'm anywhere near where some people are really at.
Speaker 1:Some people are on meds and they have to, you know, get severe. You know they have to go from intense therapy or psychological therapy. You know, to see a psychiatrist, I just see a regular. You know, just a therapist and believe me, that alone is great and it's just talking. When you go, you're just talking, you're not doing anything else. It doesn't have to necessarily be about any particular thing. It can be about whatever it is you want to talk about. What's going on at work, sports dogs, the dojo, whatever. You know the election, you know, I know a lot of people are getting crazy with that. Now we don't talk politics on the show, but I know that that could also be a factor, especially with the way things are in this particular election. So that's very intense as well and some people don't take it well, you know they. This is not a good time. So if you're going through this, make sure you go and talk to somebody, even if it's not your therapist. Reach out to somebody.
Speaker 1:I know this week, in the beginning of the week, I had to go talk to a friend. I was that emotional, I was that upset, I don't know why. I just was just physically and emotionally distressed and unfortunately I couldn't talk because every time I tried to, I would start getting emotional, I would start crying. But the fact that I reached out and that person told me hey, I'm here, call me later if you need me. Go sit in the back, go sit in the van, hang out, do your thing Nobody's going to know where you're at, do your thing and just get your thoughts together and move on. But even though nothing really that interaction there wasn't a lot of it, it was enough. It helped me get through the rest of the day and then, of course, at the end of the day, I've reached back out to my friend and I let him know thank you for being there for me. I appreciate it and honestly, every day after that I think he's called me a few times just to check see how I'm doing. Let me know that he's there and I can reach out to him whenever I need to.
Speaker 1:So we have to remember these things and it's not bad that you think about, it is bad that you're thinking about these things, or that feeling I should say comes across where you have that type of thought. The main thing is obviously not giving into something like that. All right, that would be horrible, right? People don't understand that when you have that kind of pain going on, it's so overbearing. Sometimes it just takes over you and you get emotional and it hurts to your soul. It hurts and it's not a selfish thing because people think, oh, it's selfish In a sense. I would think it would be. Yeah, and that's how people would feel. And you are going to hurt people if, god forbid, you did anything like that. And trust me, I'm not there, so I'm not going to do that. I think I'm ahead of the curve, I'm reaching out, I'm doing the right things and I'm making sure that I'm on top of it and I'm keeping physical and doing that because that, for me, helps.
Speaker 1:So suicidal thoughts are really, really difficult. I don't, you know, think of any particular thing. It's just how I feel. But what I do for me is I'm like you know, I wouldn't want to do that because I would hurt the people around me and I wouldn't want to hurt them. Now I'm giving them emotional distress, I'm making it harder for them to go on. They don't understand, they're angry at me for that, or they wish that I went. Giving them emotional distress, I'm making it harder for them to go on. They don't understand, they're angry at me, or they wish that I went to them and spoke to them, and this is for anybody who's going through this right. So let's go through some more of this stuff and figure out what we could do Now. When we get closer towards the end of the podcast, I kind of figured out what's going on, but I'll let you know what I think is going on.
Speaker 1:So, substance abuse people may turn. Now, substance abuse can be something that people turn to in order to deal with their depression and it could make it worse. It can make it a hell of a lot worse, especially if you're doing alcohol or you're doing drugs or just if it's all the time. If it's something that you need to cope and get by, it's actually not going to help. It's going to make it worse and those feelings are just going to intensify and this is definitely something that we don't want to do. So when you start getting down that road now, you're kind of like, you know, in a bad place, worse than what you were before. So let's see what it says here Substance abuse People may turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to cope with their depression, which is what I was saying. We do this, you know some people will just drink their sorrows away, but not realizing that all it's doing is it's just masking what's going on for the time, and then they're back. So that's why therapy and any type of anything else other than that is necessary for you to do.
Speaker 1:Whatever makes you feel good is what you should do Anything that you enjoy, or to being around people, even if it is to go to a movie by yourself and just get in the car, go to the movie. I've done it before. Go watch a movie by yourself. It's probably actually one of the best things I've ever done before. To be honest with you to go sit in a movie theater by yourself and watch a movie. It's really. It is a lot of fun and it can be helpful, because now you're focused on something else, you're enjoying something that you wanted to see and it's just you. You're dealing with what's going on, right?
Speaker 1:So people do this to cope with their depression and feelings, which can create a cycle of dependency and worsen both their mental and physical health, and that's what you don't want either, right? We don't want to start doing things drugs, alcohol Now we're dependent on it. That would just made factors worse. Right? This is a road we definitely don't want to go down. Because now, the harder we do this, and understandably. So going to those things is understandable. We can understand why somebody would want to do that. Why would we want to go? Because we're looking to get, just to make the pain go away. We don't want to deal with it anymore. The pain is horrible, right, but we don't want to add insult to injury by doing drugs or alcohol. It's just not going to help. Reach out to somebody, call someone. Call the suicide prevention line. Help, somebody will be there for you. Okay, just get it out, reach out.
Speaker 1:Don't allow this to get out of control. Where you are not in control and I think that's the scariest thing is when you think you're going to get to that point and you don't allow yourself to and you keep pushing yourself. Pushing yourself is the main thing, you know. Again, going back to what I was saying earlier our mind. If we're too much in our head, we are our own worst enemy. So we will just make things worse by thinking about these things. You know right. So we're adding to the problem.
Speaker 1:We're not making it better. We need to be more confident. We're not making it better, we need to be more confident. We need to be trying to do those exercises and things that help us through the day-to-day grind, because life is not easy. Let's be honest.
Speaker 1:Okay, we get older, things change. We have relationships. Sometimes they don't work. We have family issues, we have fucking trouble at work where people are just downright assholes and your boss is just dope and you don't want to deal with them. But sometimes people don't know how to deal with that stuff and it's difficult and if you're already going through something, this is just going to make it even more intensified and we definitely don't want to do that. Right, we want to work through it. We want to work through it. We want to try it. Now.
Speaker 1:This is, of course, easier said than done, right, easier said than done. It's not easy, all right, and it's not a selfish thing when you are feeling like this and if people say to you well, you should have reached out to me. Yeah, it's not that easy. Sometimes you know you're so down in the funk you don't even realize, you're not even thinking about reaching out to somebody to be honest with you. But fortunately I haven't gone that way, but I know some people who have.
Speaker 1:I've lost a friend to suicide. I know he was dealing with some issues. I know he had some substance abuse issues and it made it just added to the issue. It made it worse and he took his own life and it was horrible. And I'm and it's sad, and I wasn't angry at him. I understood, I identified, because the pain is so unbearable. Sometimes it just it's not like a physical pain, it's something that's hard to explain. If you know what I'm, if you can identify with me and you've gone through this, then you know Some people don't, maybe some people don't want to know and they just they have a way of being able to block it out and they don't want it.
Speaker 1:They're in denial and sometimes that can be just as bad as well. And then, of course, people come out ass backwards but let's read some more on this. So this could add to problems to your physical health and we don't want that. So early intervention and treatment is what I was just saying is essential to prevent these outcomes and improve the quality of life for those affected by depression. So intervention, we want to do that. We want to go and get treatment. Go to your doctor right. Go to the emergency room if you need to. If you can't drive, call somebody to pick you up. And you know, if you don't want to talk, you just say that. Say, hey, listen, I need you to come pick me up. I need to go to the emergency room. But I need one more favor though. Can we not talk about anything? I don't feel like talking about anything. Just don't ask me. Just what I need right now from you is just to pick me up and take me there. If you can do that, great. And if they're a good friend or a good family member, whoever, I'm sure they're not going to have a problem with that, and you know when it's time you can let them know what's going on, when you're in a better mindset and you're able to talk to them about what's going on. So this is important, that we do this. You know it's go for the help. Help. That's what I did, and I'm glad that I did.
Speaker 1:My therapist is fantastic. He's a great guy. He easy to talk with. We identify with a lot of things. You know we have a lot in common in some things, as far as sports and just everyday life. We have families, we have pets and we enjoy these things. So when you have that commonality. It's good.
Speaker 1:So the main thing people think well, you know, why do you need to go to a therapist? You could just call me and you could talk to me. That don't work like that. With a therapist, you're going into a new relationship. Let's look at it that way. A new relationship. Let's look at it that way where you're learning about him or them and they're learning about you. It's fresh, there's no judgment, nobody's looking at you a certain way. They're there to help and that's what's good.
Speaker 1:But when you have friends, sometimes it's hard to go to a friend. Sometimes you don't want to tell a friend. You're afraid that if you tell someone, they might judge you, they might look at you in a different way, they might not understand, and that will make it worse. So I can understand why we would not want to do that when it comes to a friend. And maybe you did that and all of a sudden it happened and you got a bad reaction from them. They didn't understand, they were too persistent. They want to know what's going on. How can we not talk to them and tell them what's going to happen? It's just a very difficult situation. So, again, the reason I'm doing this podcast is because I wanted to share my experience and what I'm going through. Obviously, I'm good, I'm eating and I'm going to work and I'm exercising and I'm going to therapy, but I've kind of been emotional lately and I'm trying to figure it out and, like I said at the end, we're going to get there.
Speaker 1:So depression can occur for various reasons, so let's go through this. Often due to a combination of factors biological factors, imbalances, brain chemicals, neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, can affect mood regulation. Genetics also play a role, as family history of depression increases the risk. See, here we go. You could already have it in your family and not know it. Now, for me, I'm adopted. The risk See, here we go. You could already have it in your family and not know it. Now, for me, I'm adopted. So I don't know and it's a good possibility that it is. You know there is mental health issues from my family that I'm not aware of.
Speaker 1:You know, being adopted, it's hard because you don't know the medical history. Like if I go into the emergency room and I got something going on, let's say I hurt myself or they're checking me out hey, do you have this? Do you have a family history of heart disease or this? I don't know it was adopted. I really couldn't tell you. So it's a crapshoot. You know, you don't have a clue. So if you do know and you have it, then I think you're ahead of the game. And again, be honest, go into the doctor. When you go into the emergency room and you're sitting down with them or your therapist, they can help you with that and maybe it's possible you may need to go on meds. Right now I haven't gotten to that point. I don't think I do. It's not to say that I may not have to or I may, I don't know, but right now I'm good. So I think I'm allowing myself to push through this the best that I can.
Speaker 1:So let's go through a couple of things. Psychological factors, traumatic events, prolonged stress or early childhood experience like neglect, abuse, a loss can contribute to depression. A loss. This loss can be devastating. It's a family member, a pet, and I know I love my pets and I have lost pets and there's nothing more emotional than that. And I have to say I know some people don't. They're like, yeah, whatever, it's your dog or it's your cat, no, they're your family members and it hurts. It hurts because the attachment is real and they loved you unconditionally and it was probably one of the best relationships you had. When you have a pet and of course we're silly we go back and we get another one right. So we have to go back and get another dog because that's how good it was, as bad as it felt when it happened, as good as it's going to feel when we get a new pet. So that's also the positive when it comes to that. So a loss is terrible.
Speaker 1:I've lost family members, people super close to, as I mentioned earlier, my friend who passed away, who took his own life. That was horrible, that was hurtful and that can affect you as well. You know, just recently I was down at my brother's and we went and did an unveiling for my dad who passed away a year ago. And when I was at the cemetery we went to check, we unveiled the stone and I was fine, I wasn't emotional. My brother got a little emotional but I didn't. But I'm thinking maybe I had a little. You know, it came later. It didn't hit me until later on and it's a good possibility that it did, you know, because you know you're going back a year later after you pass and you're laying in the rest. So this obviously can be a delayed reaction of what's going on with you, and that could play a role in it as well. So let's see what else we got going on here.
Speaker 1:Loss can contribute to depression. Negative thinking is what I was saying earlier. Negative thinking, patterns of low self-esteem can also make a person more vulnerable, and that I know. I just explained it earlier in regards to how I felt about going or not going to the dojo, getting up and going to work or maybe even going to a family function. There have been times when my wife has said to me and not all the time, because we don't really go out that often as far as we see our family and we get together with them, or they come here Sometimes. I don't want to go. She doesn't push the issue, she's great about that, she knows how I've been dealing with this and she's super supportive, and that's the main thing. You need to have that support system in your life. You don't need negative. You don't need someone just giving you shit for no reason. It's just going to make it worse.
Speaker 1:Now, if that does happen, stop talking to that person. Okay, there's got to be somebody else you can go to. It could be a buddy at work for crying out loud, it doesn't even matter, you know, call a cousin that you haven't spoke to in who knows how long, or somebody. So let's go through some more of these things. There's a lot of tools and things that you may have at your disposal that you're not even realizing. That's what the depression can do to you, right? It makes you feel like there's nothing there. What am I going to do? Why am I feeling like this? Oh, you want to reach out, but you're afraid You're. You know you're not, you're hesitant, you're not sure if you want to, but I have and I do. And I think that's what's good about it, that I'm actually pushing myself to do those things. I'm not allowing it to take over. Now, mind you, I do have my bad days. I do, but it doesn't seem. I think recently it's been more so than the later. So recently, more so later than later, I've been feeling more emotional and more down and out of it.
Speaker 1:So now, last night I went to the dojo. I pushed myself, I said I was going to. I just spoke with my instructor, told him I would be there on Thursday and made a commitment. And the commitment wasn't only to them, but it was really to myself, because by me telling them that I was going to be there, I had to go, and I'm glad I went. It was a good workout and I'm glad I did it. It was the best thing and I slept like a freaking baby that night. I didn't even get up to go to the bathroom. That's how good I was sleeping. So that's what I'm talking about Push yourself. If you make a commitment, make. That commitment that I made to my instructor was not only to him, but it was to me as well. So I thought that was helpful, because now I had to go. I made a promise I was going to go and I did. I went and I'm glad I did and I had a fantastic time.
Speaker 1:So let's go through some of the things here. Also, they say there's environmental. That can be a factor as well. Environmental Life circumstances such as financial difficulties, job loss, relationship problems or isolation can trigger depression. A lack of support system can exasperate the feelings of loneliness and sadness. Exasperate, that's a and sadness Exasperate that's a hard word, right? I hate that word. Yes, it can.
Speaker 1:A job Absolutely, if your job sucks and your boss is an asshole and your company doesn't look out for their people and you are already going through something. It's definitely not going to make things better. It's going to make it worse. You know, financial if you're not making enough money and you're struggling and you're going through something, yeah, that can make it worse too, or that could trigger it. I would think I think any of these things can right Job loss, could trigger it. I would think I think any of these things can right Job loss. Relationship Wow.
Speaker 1:Fortunately for me, my wife is fantastic, best friend, lover, glad that she's in my life. She's fantastic and she's an awesome support system and she is totally understanding anything that I'm going through and vice versa. I do the same for her without hesitation. So this is why this is important for us to do this. So let's go through some of the other things here we got here Depression, lack of support system yeah, support system.
Speaker 1:You don't have a support system. That's tough. That's why I was saying earlier Go to a friend rather than a family member If you're family and you have a dysfunctional family, listen, we all have some kind of dysfunction in our family, right? So find another outlet. Find something else, someone else that you can go to to talk to that, you can get through this and you can feel better for a little while until you need to talk to that person again. So just keep looking for those options.
Speaker 1:Don't allow anything to block out what's there. Don't allow anything to block out what's there. You are in control. We are in control of ourselves, but that depression can bog you down. So, again, try the best that you can and reach out. Okay, and if I have any friends who are watching this and they hear this podcast, I'm here for you. You need to reach out to me, no problem. You reach out to me, no questions asked. You get on the phone with me and you say hey Lou, I don't need you to say anything, just shut the fuck up and just let me rant. Okay, you got it, no problem. That's what you need, that's what I'll be there for. So that's what we'll do.
Speaker 1:Medical conditions, chronical illness such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer, can increase the likelihood of depression. I can imagine that would, because if you're not feeling good physically, I can imagine that would bring it on right. And if you're not feeling good and you can't get to work and now you're not making money, oh wow, that's like one thing on top of the other. So this is, this is that would be really tough and fortunately, right now knock on wood, I'm good, let's see Cancer will increase the likelihood of depression. Certain medications can also cause or worsen depression. So if you're on certain medications, you may want to research them, talk to your doctor about it, find out what you know, let them know what's going on and ask them hey, is this going to? I'm already going through something? I got mental illness or I'm kind of depressed. Is this medicine going to make it worse for me? I really don't need that in my life right now. I need to be positive about what's going on and try to do the right thing. So I can imagine how that would be tough for taking medications and doing that. So let's keep on going here and see what we got. Wow, here's another one Hormonal changes.
Speaker 1:Life stages involving hormonal shifts, such as pregnancy, postpartum menopause, thyroid problems, can influence the onset of depression. Number six substance use, alcohol or drug abuse can contribute to worsening. That was what we said earlier. Now, I was saying earlier I was going to say, hey, I think I know what's going on and I think I'm on the right path Not that I don't have stuff going on, but I think a lot of it that's contributing is that I'm 58 years old, I'm getting close to the 60.
Speaker 1:And I did some research and it looks like low testosterone can contribute to a lot of these things. And it's a good possibility that I have something going on where maybe I'm lacking something in a vitamin, you know, or maybe again with the testosterone. I need to find something or help me with that, but naturally, I would do it, naturally. I don't want to take anything. Honestly, that's how I am. I'm more about the natural rather than going and getting something from a lab. You know, I'm not saying that any of those medicines are bad, but you know what, if we're going to do it, I'm going to do it naturally.
Speaker 1:So I think that that might be what's going on with me right now and I had to come to terms with that because I am getting older and fortunately, when I was reading up on it, it was saying that low testosterone could hit anywhere in their 40s, early 40s and on. Well, I guess I have to consider myself lucky here because it didn't hit me until later on. And I think that's what's going on here, because some of those symptoms that I looked from the low testosterone were right on the money. So I feel like I'm in the right direction and I think I'm doing what I. I think I'm doing the right thing, I think I'm in the right path and I'm just going to, and I'm going to actually talk to my therapist about this and then, when I get my blood work done which is another thing go to your doctor. I have a physical coming up. They're going to do some blood work. That's the thing. Start asking questions.
Speaker 1:The older we get, things change and I'm realizing that and I'm glad that I just got curious enough to say hey, you know, I'm going to research this. The blood work will help. If we're lacking something and we need it, then we need to get it. Find out how much we need to take, be sure we're not taking too much of it, because we don't want to do worse than we have. Then you know what's going on. We want to be able. We don't want to add to the problem, right? We don't want to start taking something and not know whether or not we're taking the right amount or anything. And that's where your doctors come in. So, of course, again, I'm not a doctor and I'm not telling anybody what they should or shouldn't do as far as medications and stuff. Don't go Talk to your physician and tell them what's going on and let them know and have that blood work done to check and see what's happening.
Speaker 1:Now we're almost at the end of the podcast and I feel this was good. This was like therapy for me. I'm glad I did this Now. I don't usually do a podcast with actually, this is my only one. I've done this the first time without Kenny and Tom and I'm sure if they were both here this would have been a very interesting conversation. It wouldn't just have been the one-on-one, but I'm glad I did it because it was definitely a therapy that I needed for what's going on and I feel good about it. Now I'm going to go over this and I'm going to look at it because I might want to consider doing a little couple of more podcasts by myself and work on it and smooth out the edges and see where I can fix things up as far as doing my first podcast solo and seeing where I need to do the work and apply it. So I want to thank everybody for allowing me to do this. I hope it was helpful To anyone out there listening to this.
Speaker 1:I think if you got something going on and you're not sure, that's when you need to reach out to somebody. That's when you want to talk to somebody and figure out what the hell is going on, because this stuff, this depression, can overtake you. If you let it, it will screw with your mind and you don't need it. You don't need to have it. So go see someone talk to them. Therapy your primary physician, friends, family, those you know you can trust, those you know that aren't going to give you a hard time. Reach out. Reaching out is the best thing you can do. So, that being said, I want to say love, peace and hair grease. Live long and prosper and, as Tom would always say, go vegan, peace out people.
