# Anxiety/depression due to repression?



## cuchulainn (Apr 28, 2017)

Hi guys, mental health questions here as thats something I'm really struggling with at the moment. I've been wrestling with anxiety and depression for a lot of my twenties. I have come up with and been given all sorts of theories as to why this happened to me, but only recently did I read an article that linked mental health problems to sexual repression (Freud). May be an obvious connection for some of you reading this, but was a big revelation for me. Growing up with a strong feederism 'fetish' in a fat-phobic society, I grew up despising my natural desires and tried very hard to 'force' myself to like things that society/I deemed to be 'normal.' 

Does anyone else subscribe to this theory? Anyone else go through similar experiences or have any suggestions? Under this theory, do I need to fully embrace my 'fetish' (or whatever it is) in order to cure myself of the mental health problems I've been having? Thanks in advance


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## lille (Apr 28, 2017)

So I struggle with anxiety and depression and I am also a mental health professional. Nowadays we tend to look at things from a biopsychosocial model. So basically people can have a genetic predisposition towards certain illnesses, there are also epigenetic effects that can occur, then you add in stressors (trauma, change, etc), and the social environment they are in and all of that interacts together and influences someone's mental health. That is why to people can be in the exact same situation and have a completely different response. 

It is likely that your early experiences of Shane in regards to your sexuality have influenced you, and there are other factors at play as well. 

As far as treatment for anxiety goes, therapy is the most effective thing. For depression therapy is also helpful, as can mess in addition to therapy.


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## Tracii (Apr 29, 2017)

Sorry you are going thru all that but I have to ask why is depression so common place now?
Is it a food additive related thing or medications for other things that cause it?
Fluoride in the water?
I work a high stress job with millions of dollars at stake and own my own small business plus I am extremely overweight/ obese with a compulsive over eating disorder and I should be depressed but I'm not.


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## lille (May 1, 2017)

Tracii said:


> Sorry you are going thru all that but I have to ask why is depression so common place now?
> Is it a food additive related thing or medications for other things that cause it?
> Fluoride in the water?
> I work a high stress job with millions of dollars at stake and own my own small business plus I am extremely overweight/ obese with a compulsive over eating disorder and I should be depressed but I'm not.




The short answer is, we don't know. The longer answer is there are likely a lot of contributing factors. Our understanding of depression has evolved, we now k ow that in some people, young children and men in particular, depression can present as irritability and anger rather than sadness. We are also working to reduce the stigma of mental illness and as such more people are talking about mental illness and with the internet and social media the platform to do so is bigger than ever. There have also been major societal changes over time which likely have impacted the rates of depression. 

As for why you aren't depressed, as I said earlier, the causes of depression are complicated. You may be less genetically prone towards depression, you may have other resiliencies that help protect you from developing depression.


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## Tracii (May 1, 2017)

Maybe that it is more talked about these days is one reason why.
I wish no one had to deal with it and could live a happy life.
I really do feel bad that soo many people suffer with it.


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