Interesting that this will be my first post in CD, but anywho.
I suppose I am a ‘high achiever’, I’m a bit of a perfectionist so I got that title by trying to live up to my own expectations of myself which apparently are placed a lot higher than anybody elses. I was diagnosed with clinical depression a couple of years ago, although unfortunately my parents didn’t accept this, choosing instead to believe that my docotor caught me on a ‘bad day’. I haven’t been back to the doctor to get it checked since, but I believe I still have it as I have been left to deal with it on my own.
One of the reasons I decided to join our FIRST team when my school joined the competition this year was in keeping with thefro526’s comment about needing mental stimulation. Diving in the deep end with programming has helped to keep me more positive because it’s completely different from anything I’ve tried before (being an art student, haha =P) and has managed to make me feel like I’m making progress with something as I go through the stages of learning the language of C++. It’s a kind of tangible progression I suppose, more so than with my core subjects.
The team environment that comes with a robotics team has also helped a lot too, because of the support which you get from you fellow members.
This post is rather long and without much of a point, but I suppose that I’m saying that I do believe depression in more common amoungst high achievers, that I’ve had some first hand experience, and that FIRST and the environment that comes with it has certainly helped me a lot when my family wasn’t nessicarily willing too.
A little over a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I am not embarrassed to talk about it, per se, but it is not something that I walk around proclaiming to everyone I meet.
I find it interesting that a few have posted here about how FIRST has played a role in students’ depression as a bad thing. I see how being too involved could be a problem, but I disagree that FIRST is wrong encouraging students to pursue a better education. I have never heard anyone in FIRST specifically state that you need a perfect GPA and to go to a fantastic engineering school to be successful or happy.
For me, FIRST is the reason I was ever diagnosed. I realized what was going on in my life as a result of joining FIRST, and am forever grateful that I did. It was the realization that I had no idea what I wanted to do on a daily basis, let alone my life, that drove me over the edge, and made me want a change. It was one of those things where you have to hit rock bottom before you can begin to change things, and boy did I hit it. But I cannot think of a better program to have done that for me. FIRST brought to me people who were so kind, and willing to help, and listen. It gave me the desire to tell someone about what I was going through. It gave me a family to lean on when my own rejected my diagnosis.
FIRST is the only reason I fought off this disease, and continue to fight it. The only reason I stayed in school and actually graduated. The only reason that I am now in college. It took FIRST to teach me that this was a disease that I needed to face, instead of just say “snap out of it”. It is something that I struggle with today, but am able to manage because of FIRST.
FIRST saved my life, and that is something that I am NOT afraid to talk about.
For those of you out there who are also struggling with this, but feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to, this is what I can tell you. The people around you, specifically a coach or mentor on your FIRST team, I am more than positive will be much more helpful than you might think. Send them an email, or ask to have coffee with them or something one evening, just to talk. You could end up making a lifelong friend, changing your life, or at least enjoy an evening of conversation. The first time is the hardest, but once they know you want to talk… you will be surprised at how understanding people are. Don’t keep it in, the only person you are hurting is yourself, and YOU are what’s most important.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/06/depressed-astronaut.html
That story may interest some of you. Just sharing the information.
I think this problem has been known and acknowledged for a long time, even in fiction. Sherlock Holmes was depicted as an addict when he wasn’t working on a case (not a recommended way to deal with depression!!) I don’t believe this behavior is mentioned in children’s editions of the stories, so a lot of people may not realize that Holmes had his dark side. Artistically or creatively inclined people, in particular, are stereotypically high/low people. Every time such people finish a project, they tend to drop into an emotional slump until they get started on the next project. I don’t believe that all high achievers or artists are necessarily this way, but knowing that there seems to be this tendency may help sufferers get a better perspective on their problem.
On the other hand, I don’t want anyone to do what a T.A. did my first quarter in college. When the college issued a bulletin warning people to be on the lookout for depressed and suicidal people around test time, she laughed it off and treated it all as a big joke, right in front of our discussion section. I don’t know if she was just a flippant, insensitive person, or if deep down she was hurting so much that she couldn’t deal with this issue appropriately.
I can’t say that I’m all better now, but it’s improved a lot. I fought enough to get to the Atlanta championships in a month. So, don’t give up!
P.S. If you don’t like the idea of anti-depressants and other drugs, try a Naturopath. They’re really good and use high doses of vitamins rather than drugs.
Just know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been where you are, and emerged better for it. This is one of the unfortunate hurdles that the “high achievers” among us have to get past.
And FIRST worked as well as anything else I tried to beat the blues…
The unfortunate side effect, of course, is a lifelong addiction to FIRST.
basicxman, thank you for raising this important topic! I believe this topic is very overlooked in the FIRST community, so this is, IMO, no way in poor taste.
My situation was a bit complicated when I was in high school, as there was no outside pressure forcing me to make good grades. I was obsessed with being a perfect student, and if there were someone above me in a class, then I would have regarded myself as a complete failure with no place in society (I seriously had this strange train of thought). This same obsession even followed me into my first two years on my school’s FIRST team where I obsessed over trying to be a perfect member, and if I found myself to be in a situation where I had nothing to do (like if there was nothing on the robot that I knew how to fix or improve) then I would have regarded myself as a completely worthless member of the team.
Eventually I sought help, and my symptoms were dramatically reduced. I still have these obsessive fits every now and then, but I have learned to control myself.
I highly recommend talking to someone you personally trust about any problems you have, since one of the best steps to take is sharing your feelings. Do not ever keep your problems to yourself, as they will build up and may eventually cause something very unfortunate to happen.
From what I’ve read here, there seems to be a bit of a confusion. High achievers have no more reason for high levels of stress or anything. It’s the fact that people with high stress often are successful that makes it look that way. I’m quite successful at what I do, and I don’t get stressed out as much as many people I know do. I find the key is to do things like read the comics, play a flash game, and just take a nap every once in a while. It really has to do with calming down every once in a while.
Side note: Aren’t vitamins drugs? I thought they were. Not saying anything against it, but I would definitely think high vitamin pills are drugs. And yes, not all drugs are bad.
vitamins are natural minerals that treat the cause of your mental illness, drugs just treat the symptoms and generally always have side effects, some safer than others.
to reference, vitamins have done nothing bad to me. Various drugs have caused me migraines, making the depression worse (yes, drugs can do this! be wary…), etc… I have seen anti-psychotics do cause seizures in some
Along around this time of year I try to remind mentors (and student team members, too) to be aware of other team members who are suffering from post-event-letdown. Particularly our seniors, who may be realizing that their FIRST experience is coming to an end…
Not speaking for everybody here but, I’m thinking more hard workers or people that have generally had success come to them. Not necessarily gifted but that works too 
I wouldn’t consider myself gifted…lol
I’ve heard of the idea of high achievers or intellectuals being more prone to depression and I think one reason this might be the case is that they might be pushed harder to excel even more. One thing I’ve found that has made me into an eternally happy person is living for myself first and foremost, and I don’t mean that in a selfish way. What I mean is you have to do what you think you need to do, and not let yourself be pushed too far.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/drug
Read definition 1. Vitamins in the form you described above falls under this definition of a drug. It really doesn’t matter whether or not it is natural.
Also, The link I was sent to suggested there is a correlation between perfectionism and high achieving. It stated that perfectionists tend to have depression. I’m not arguing that point. Perfectionists may. I don’t know, I’m not one. However, I’m saying that perfectionists are just one of many types of high achievers. I’m the kind of guy that comes acrossed as lazy, doesn’t study much for tests, and often don’t pay attention in class. Definitely not a perfectionist or your “standard” high achiever. However, I’ve got a 3.7 GPA and am half way to my mechanical engineering degree. It isn’t about what a person does that makes a person depressed, its how they choose to accomplish.
Disclaimer: Not suggesting everybody does things my way, just saying they do work for me.
Fair enough, my point being anyways, is that vitamins are significantly less harmful.
Just to comment on your behavior, I think you are right in the sense that it is how you choose to do things. I’m far from being a high achiever but I do fairly well in school without needing to focus. I’ve also hit points of depression so I can see both sides of this spectrum. Essentially I live my life stressfree because a friend of mine taught me that there is no limit to apathy. Now I’m not saying you should be apathetic about everything because I think that that would be a really bad idea but sometimes you just need to not focus so hard on life and just go with the flow of things. I hate it when things don’t go the way that I want them to or the way that I figured that they would go but I’ve learned to deal with it by just being apathetic about it. I know that it isn’t the best advice but you sometimes need to just live life for you and not care about the rest of the world. Give yourself the time and space you need to get rid of anything causing depression. Taking a step back and looking at things from a different perspective is generally one of my favorite techniques to overcome anything that is bothering me.
It always helps to tal to some one. Although I do not suffer from depression this year was so hard for me having a team of 4 people and a faculty advisor who made it impossible to get things done.
My advice: Find a mentor who you can really relate too and talk to openly about anything. I found one of them and she was really able to help me and now I can talk to her about anything. They are in the same boat as you and sometimes that is easier then talking to someone from your school.
…or teacher, custodian, parent (doesn’t have to be yours), other student, etc…
I’m available if anyone needs an anonymous source to vent to.
See the reason I was thinking a mentor because usually when you talk to people around your school even if it was a teacher or a custodian it always gets around. I mean I go to a really small private school and things get around so quickly because the teachers talk to each other and the students talk to each other. Sometimes it is best to keep things away from your school.