My severe depression is not helping my weight loss...
ebayaddict0127
Posts: 523 Member
I've been at this almost 2 months. I've lost 20 lbs. Awesome? Yes. But the past two weeks my depression has taken a turn for the worse.. and I feel like jumping off a bridge. I am slowly losing motivation to exercise. I've been much hungrier lately. I hate my job and want to cry.
I'm seeing a psych and have been on meds for years.. but lately I've just gone down in the dumps. I don't know what to do. I just want to crawl into a hole and die.
Anyone else with severe depression had this happen around the beginning of their journey? How did you cope? How did you continue?
Please no "get over it" or "snap out of it" comments. Depression and mental illness are real...
I'm seeing a psych and have been on meds for years.. but lately I've just gone down in the dumps. I don't know what to do. I just want to crawl into a hole and die.
Anyone else with severe depression had this happen around the beginning of their journey? How did you cope? How did you continue?
Please no "get over it" or "snap out of it" comments. Depression and mental illness are real...
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Replies
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You are seeing a psych, getting meds and are losing weight so well ahead of that 8 ball. Well done!
Is it coming into winter where you are?
I get SADD and combat it with meds, light therapy and daily exercise (the cheapest form of therapy).0 -
I live in San Antonio, Texas.. no winters here.0
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Focus you energy on your workouts. They will help. I find running does more for me than anything else. Fight the urge to stay in bed and it only exacerbates the problem. It sucks, no doubt, but you have to do it.0
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Firstly, let me say that it's good that you're continuing treatment. That alone can be really difficult when things get really bad. Secondly, I agree with Sunofabeach. Try to get outside, even if it's just to sit in a chair and drink a cup of coffee or tea. Sunshine will help a lot.
Make sure your doctors know about everything as well, but given that you mentioned treatment, I'd hope you're keeping them informed.
Lastly, forgive yourself if you can't stick to a regular exercise/eating schedule. Time can seem almost warped when your depression kicks in, and it's okay to falter a little. Try to not eat over your maintenance levels and keep logging anyway. Just do your best until your treatment can kick in.0 -
I have heard that low carbs causes depression in some.0
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No shame in going to the doctor and getting some medication to help ya along! People think that weight loss will magically make you happy but it won't :-( So cliche but you've got to work on the inside and on the outside!
I was on prozac for 2 years and then was weened off and let me tell you - my life has improved 100 times over. Anyway, I'm sorry you're feeling this way - I know how it is :-(0 -
No shame in going to the doctor and getting some medication to help ya along! People think that weight loss will magically make you happy but it won't :-( So cliche but you've got to work on the inside and on the outside!
I was on prozac for 2 years and then was weened off and let me tell you - my life has improved 100 times over. Anyway, I'm sorry you're feeling this way - I know how it is :-(
I missed the part where you said you were on meds - my meds journey started with celexa and i could barely keep my eyes open and as soon as i got home from work - i passed out - i was pretty much missing out on life..
Then came wellbutrin - holy $h*t balls did I turned into a mega ***** - so finally I got prozac - perhaps they are not prescribing the right thing for you. Everybody's body reacts differently.0 -
I've been trudging through a rather dark time and I find that if I keep my expectations low, I can meet my fitness goals. I started on this healthy living track again almost 2 months ago. I couldn't deal with the exercise part at all the first couple of weeks. Then, I asked myself to try to do yoga for 10 minutes/day. After I got used to that, I asked myself to take a short walk every other day. I'm currently at 180 minutes/week and plan to keep adding a little bit more, whenever I get comfortable with the goal.
Also, if you don't make your exercise goals, don't beat yourself up. Be patient with yourself and try again tomorrow. Sometimes, if I'm having a bad day, I'll only do 10 minutes of exercise. But, usually I do more than that. And, if you hate your job, it's time to create your exit plan. There's nothing worse for your mood than staying in the wrong place too long.0 -
Something may be in the air here because after over a year of eating right and working out it hit me like a ton of bricks this weekend, too. [Hi! I'm in SA also.] Right now I'm blaming hormones and February but who really knows. It was one of those weekends where I considered getting out of bed a victory. So no, it wasn't the beginning of my journey but it happened and it hit me pretty hard. I vented here on MFP and reached out to a friend to drag me out and get a workout in but I still made my share of poor decisions. It does happen. I wish I had a good answer for you. I will be seeing my primary care physician again tomorrow, who has blown me off in the past. If she does it tomorrow, I'm finding a new doc. Period.
It sounds like you're on top of things getting treatment. Sometimes your meds need adjusting, how about setting an appointment to see if it's time for an adjustment?
When the weather is good/sunshiney, find a way to get outside. The vitamin "D" seems to help me quite a bit. Find a way to get away at work, maybe by walking part of lunch? I do that whenever possible. When it's tough, when/if you slip up on your eating, forgive yourself please.
If you're up for a local mfp friend who will support you feel free to friend me. I'll be walking the riverwalk by the Pearl Friday night with another MFPeep and bike at one of the parks or the Mission trails on the weekends when the weather is right aside from the standard gym stuff. If you'd like a workout buddy I'm around.
As far as being hungry, I recommend loading up on veggies. Low in calories, high in fiber and very filling. Good on you for putting it out there and reaching out for some help. Celebrate your victories, even the little ones! Remember, depression lies. You are doing very well to have lost that 20! Congrats on your 20 lbs and on the great results to come. Good luck!0 -
I've been at this almost 2 months. I've lost 20 lbs. Awesome? Yes. But the past two weeks my depression has taken a turn for the worse.. and I feel like jumping off a bridge. I am slowly losing motivation to exercise. I've been much hungrier lately. I hate my job and want to cry.
I'm seeing a psych and have been on meds for years.. but lately I've just gone down in the dumps. I don't know what to do. I just want to crawl into a hole and die.
Anyone else with severe depression had this happen around the beginning of their journey? How did you cope? How did you continue?
Please no "get over it" or "snap out of it" comments. Depression and mental illness are real...
I agree with the man who said to focus on exercise. I feel the same way. I am facing some really trying things in life right now and it is quite painful and hard to go through. I am just trying to get through it. I know I get 10X more miserable and anxious if I don't even try to exercise and get my weight under control. I believe things will get better eventually. Life has fluctuations that are often hard to bear when it is a hard season but worth it to me in the end. I could not face God if I just gave up. I do believe in God helps me through too. My son has been such a joy as well. Taking care of him brings so much happiness and joy to my life as does my husband.
Try some type of exercise that is comfortable for you. For me a treadmill or stationary bike really helps and lifting weights in my home. I recently got a recumbent bike and have exercised everyday on it since I got it. It is so easy. I just sit down and pedal. Even 10 or 20 minutes helps. It makes me body feel better. I feel less anxiety. There is more mental clarity. I find the worst thing for me to do is lay in bed and think and contemplate because then I get myself really panicked and feel a hundred times worse. For me anxiety, feeling like I want to die, irritability, extreme guilt, not wanting to do anything, and anger are my most prominent depressive symptoms. Exercise does not cure but it does help and make things more tolerable. I take an anti-anxiety and antidepressant med as well, try to eat a balanced diet, and take good vitamins and minerals, and chia or flaxseed and that seems to help.0 -
Sorry to hear you're not feeling good right now.
I have a couple of suggestions:
-start taking fish oil capsules with EPA and DHA--at least 500mg of the omega-3's per day--some benefits for depression (in addition to cardiovascular health)
-start taking vitamin D3 1000-2000mg daily--everyone seems to be low, even in sunny climates
-force yourself to exercise 10-20 minutes 4 times a week to start--benefits of exercise for depression
-improve any sleep habits with sleep hygiene if this is an issue for you
-consider therapy in addition to medication
-go back to your psychiatrist and let him/her know you're not doing well and need a change in medication
These suggestions have all personally helped me, so good luck! You can get through this!0 -
I too suffer with depression. I started my fitness journey in January strong, extremely motivated, and focused. Now I'm fighting through this down time. Pretty much dragging myself to keep moving. I do find that I feel slightly better after a good workout. I work at it one day at a time and I try really hard not to overload myself and to get adequate rest.0
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Sorry to hear you're not feeling good right now.
I have a couple of suggestions:
-start taking fish oil capsules with EPA and DHA--at least 500mg of the omega-3's per day--some benefits for depression (in addition to cardiovascular health)
-start taking vitamin D3 1000-2000mg daily--everyone seems to be low, even in sunny climates
-force yourself to exercise 10-20 minutes 4 times a week to start--benefits of exercise for depression
-improve any sleep habits with sleep hygiene if this is an issue for you
-consider therapy in addition to medication
-go back to your psychiatrist and let him/her know you're not doing well and need a change in medication
These suggestions have all personally helped me, so good luck! You can get through this!
I totally agree about good sleep patterns. Getting enough sleep is probably half of the battle for me. You may even need more sleep than the average person. Usually I need 8-10 hours of sleep just to function.0 -
Stay around positive people and try to make a goal . I was going through depression so what I do is keep my mind busy and try to make a better me & stay around the people who loves and supports me .... you'll do just fine just fight for your goals
) 0 -
I'm sorry hon... I have severe anxiety and pretty bad depression. I set a small goal, like to exercise for at least 17 minutes that day. Once I get going, it's hard to stop, it's just starting that's horrible. At night, find a routine that you will do the next day, and literally force yourself to do it. Also, try and stay around people who love you and will support you, and that will help millions.
We're in this together 0 -
First of all, only your treating psychiatrist can give you specific answers/recommendations for your individual case so have a frank discussion with him/her. Here are some of the things that you may want to discuss: Ask about the type of anti-depressant that you are on and the options for combining it with another antidepressant from a different class, i.e that acts differently on the brain. Secondly, ask about switching to a completely different class of medication or about augmenting your current medication with one that's a completely different type (e.g. anticonvulsant, mood stabilizer, antipsychotic). You would also want to consider seeing an internist or other primary care physician to determine if there could/may be physical reasons for your depression and/or for it failing to respond to your current treatment. If none of this proves to be helpful, then discuss with your psychiatrist ways in which treatment-resistant depression is addressed and your options in that area. Additionally, there has been a lot of research findings that strongly indicate that a type of meditation referred to as "mindfulness" is extremely helpful in cases of severe and/or recurrent depression. Consider trying to find and seeing a psychologist experienced with using that technique. These are only general suggestions to guide your discussion with your physician(s) and should not be taken as "prescriptions"/recommendations specifically for your individual case. Keep the number of a hotline handy so that you could have someone to talk 24-hrs per day. Try not to give up. A great deal of progress has been made in treating and understanding mental illness so there is definitely reason for hope. If you can muster the emotional energy to do so, try to get a bit of exercise no matter how short the length of time...even something like walking may be helpful. Good luck!0
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