Depression And Social Skills Deficit Posted: 11-02-06 04:23am
Hi all :d i've been depressed for over 10
years and I think I have some learning
disabilities which I think is the true
cause of my depression. My doc says I
don't have any learning disabilities cos I
can speak in japanese. But I read some
books on learning disabilities and a lot
of the descriptions can be applyed to me,
such as: I cannot function socially, I
have difficulty orchestrating knowledge, I
don't understand the social cues, I lack
adaptability and flexibility, etc.Etc..
And I had some kind of socail phobias, cos
i'm afraid of making stupid mistakes in
front of other ppl, and as a result I
withdrew from society and spend time at
home, doing nothing i'm on
meds, and I think they're working cos i'm
getting better, but I haven't done
anything about my social skills deficit.
When I was in the hospital I often
attended a class teaching socail
skills(sst), but not really helping. I
need to get bogged down in detail, rather
than just talking about how to
communicate, which isn't really usuful in
day to day situations. I don't undertand
instinctly what is right in most social
situations so I tend to say or do the
wrong thing. And that's really
embarrassing and I end up feeling stupid
and helpless. Nobody would teach you how
to do or react to something in socail
situations cos everyone is thought to know
such things. I feel like I don't have
the social skills program that everyone
else seems to have. That leads to
depression and low self esteem, and
depression makes me awkward in social
stuations. It's really a vicious cycle.
Does anybody have the same probs
|
Balch
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 30 Location: Sunnyvale
Don't Give Up Hope Posted: 12-12-06 20:50pm
Don't give up hope. Maybe the symptoms
you have merely due to lack of social
skills. I advise you to compare what I
listed below with your symptoms of bipolar
disorder to see whether you truly suffer
from bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder
characterized by alternating states of
depression and mania that follow each
other in a repeating cycle.
People with bipolar disorder may cycle
through these states quickly or may
experience long periods of depression or
mania. Often one mood state predominates,
while the other occurs only infrequently
or briefly.
Symptoms of the elevated mood stage of
bipolar disorder include an exaggerated
sense of confidence and well-being, racing
thoughts, excessive talking,
distractibility, increased desire for
pleasurable activity, decreased need for
sleep, impulsivity, irritability, and
impairment in judgment. The depressed
phase includes symptoms of sadness,
fatigue, pessimism, feelings of
helplessness, low self-esteem, and loss of
interest in life, possibly with thoughts
of suicide.
|
Marlin1
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 3
I understand how you feel Posted: 04-15-08 22:02pm
I think I understand how you feel. Its
hard to make real friends when you lack
Social skills to even calmy talk to them.
I have times when I am able to talk to
people calmly and friendly, and then there
are times when I have difficulty simply
looking them in the eye. Sometimes I feel
uneasy around people cause I'm afraid that
I may be looking bad or I might be staring
at them for to long or something. All
those thoughts race through my head and
make me uncomfortable and it seems to
transfer to whoever I am talking to or
looking at and I can tell.
It depresses me when I see others who
are able to get along so easily with
others, while I cant even look at someone
before them and I start feeling
uncomfortable. And even when I feel like
I've gotten some friends and feel like
I've conquered it, Everything goes down
hill again and right back to where they
used to be, with me being a stranger, and
then not caring.
|
username4
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 3
Posted: 04-24-08 18:45pm
I do not think you have a learning
disorder. Could it be from suffering for
the past 10 years from depression.
I know that when i was depressed for over
a year span it felt like my life was on
hold.
I was actually always socially accepted in
sports, prom court and bla bla bla. But
when I was depressed I had no social
skills. Gained tons of weight, was
isolated and just did not even know how to
talk, or how to or what to talk about with
people. So i would let all of my calls go
to voice mail. Would do nothing.
Anyways, I just think that you seem like a
really cool person and that maybe you do
worry a little-but thats so normal.
Everyone has anxiety or nervousness. Some
people that look like they never worry and
like they have it all together--you'd be
surprised by their story I'm sure.
It is hard to have a high self esteem when
you worry a lot. I totally hear you on
that. I just try to think to myself. Who
cares what people think, and if they are
not cool or understanding--there not worth
having in my life then anyways.
SOrry I am rambling again. Also, when
looking in those disorder books or the
DSM...it is easy to categorize yourself in
so many different disorders. Also, its
easy to label others that you know too. I
would say to try to not look at all those
descriptions too much. Its good to be
proactive but then what if you don't have
a problem and your labeling yourself.
|
antigone
Moderator
Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 806 Location: IL
Thanks: 35
Thanked:13
Posted: 04-24-08 22:45pm
A true learning disorder is characterized
by an inability to perform some skills in
reading, math, language skills etc. and to
have normal to above normal intelligence
levels. Other areas of learning seem to be
unaffected unless the deficit touches into
that area of learning. My son has a
learning disability in reading. He can not
decode words. This affects many areas of
learning, as you can well imagine. He has
an amazing memory. If he hears the
material as opposed to reading it, he can
tell you what was read verbatim. He is
above average intelligence but unable to
read. This is a classic example of LD but
many variations exist.
There are specific tests for LD. Just
because you are able to learn a foreign
language does not exclude the possibility
of a learning disability. You describe
many of the social issues my son faces. I
am not an expert in this area. I can only
speak of what I see in my son. Perhaps
seeing a psychologist would be of benefit.
I have another son that has bipolar
disorder and he is unable to read social
cues. This deficit is associated with the
prefrontal cortex and is seen in people
with bipolar disorder, ADD/ADHD, and other
disorders that involve the frontal lobe.
It may be worth investigating this with a
psychologist. Find someone who has
knowledge of the above disorders. They
could help you sort this out.
|
illectronic
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 16 Location: NYC,
Re: I understand how you feel Posted: 05-04-08 18:06pm
Marlin1
wrote:
I think I understand how you
feel. Its hard to make real friends when
you lack Social skills to even calmy talk
to them. I have times when I am able to
talk to people calmly and friendly, and
then there are times when I have
difficulty simply looking them in the eye.
Sometimes I feel uneasy around people
cause I'm afraid that I may be looking bad
or I might be staring at them for to long
or something. All those thoughts race
through my head and make me uncomfortable
and it seems to transfer to whoever I am
talking to or looking at and I can tell.
It depresses me when I see others who
are able to get along so easily with
others, while I cant even look at someone
before them and I start feeling
uncomfortable. And even when I feel like
I've gotten some friends and feel like
I've conquered it, Everything goes down
hill again and right back to where they
used to be, with me being a stranger, and
then not caring.
I am going through this now. Last week I
felt like I was really hitting it off with
this girl. I was calm, and everything felt
natural. Starting this weekend, I was too
depressed to go out. Even worse, I acted
weird in front of the same girl today, and
I probably lost my chances with her. I'm
23, still in school. No job. Not many
friends. *SIGH*.
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Schizophreniahealth
This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
i'm on
meds, and I think they're working cos i'm
getting better, but I haven't done
anything about my social skills deficit.
When I was in the hospital I often
attended a class teaching socail
skills(sst), but not really helping. I
need to get bogged down in detail, rather
than just talking about how to
communicate, which isn't really usuful in
day to day situations. I don't undertand
instinctly what is right in most social
situations so I tend to say or do the
wrong thing. And that's really
embarrassing and I end up feeling stupid
and helpless. Nobody would teach you how
to do or react to something in socail
situations cos everyone is thought to know
such things. I feel like I don't have
the social skills program that everyone
else seems to have. That leads to
depression and low self esteem, and
depression makes me awkward in social
stuations. It's really a vicious cycle.
Does anybody have the same probs 
