Depression, how did you deal with it?

This is my own personal view having suffered with stress and depression for almost 15 years.

Some people dont make enough insulin. They're diabetic and have meds (or diet) to fix it.

I do not make enough seratonin and therefore I take meds to help.

There is no shame in being ill. And its an illness. There is also no shame in seeking help for that illness.

If you have an infection, you go to the docs n get antibiotics. Same thing.

Oooh, saw you got meds, well done for being brave! Its hard to do! Will take 2 weeks to a month to kick in.

Exercise does help but its hard to get motivation when feeling poo

Good luck! xx

I've never gone to the doctor about depression so I've never been diagnosed.
I kind of want to go a counsellor to talk about it but at the same time I really don't.

I felt a form of mild depression in the past during a phase where I felt quite indifferent to everything going on around me.
I became careless with my appearance, lost interest in all hobbies, just wanted to eat and sleep all day and do nothing, not even watch tv, literally just lay in my bed thinking and napping. I lacked the motivation to get out of bed in the morning and the thoughts of trying to decide what to wear and wash my hair just seemed like the most impossible tasks to complete.
So whether you call this depressed or just pure laziness is up to you! I felt **** anyway - inside and out.

How did I get over this?
I still haven't got over it fully, I still go through smaller periods of this happening but in general I just try to keep busier.
Working more, doing more things with my friends etc.

I know for fact I don't need any medication for my particular case - a healthy lifestyle will fully cure me but that's easier said than done.

Good luck to you - I hope we all find happiness

Volunteer work will help your depression.

What the?

It may help boost self esteem but I think thats over simplifying mental health a smidge!

Exactly. Actual clinical depression will not be cured by doing good deeds or thinking happy thoughts, any more than a broken bone or schizophrenia can be cured by being nicer to other people.

Volunteer work will help your depression.

What the?

It may help boost self esteem but I think thats over simplifying mental health a smidge!

Exactly. Actual clinical depression will not be cured by doing good deeds or thinking happy thoughts, any more than a broken bone or schizophrenia can be cured by being nicer to other people.

I know. I get properly p*ssed off by people thinking I can just out think my depression. I'm sorry am I choosing to feel this way? CBT does show that changing negative behaviours to positive ones will influence thoughts and feelings but its rather less simplistic than doing something nice=happy person. Even the thought challenging you learn to do can't just be done once you have to constantly challenge yourself and thats not always easy.

OP well done on taking your first big step. I am glad you are trialling some meds and hope they work for you. I can hugely reccomend counselling and CBT. Its if nothing else time that can be used to focus on you and your needs. Give yourself time. Its been 2.5 years for me now and I am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, am down from 2 ADs to 1, back exercising and going for promotion at work. You can and will get through this just give yourself time to heal like you would with any other illness

This is my own personal view having suffered with stress and depression for almost 15 years.

Some people dont make enough insulin. They're diabetic and have meds (or diet) to fix it.

I do not make enough seratonin and therefore I take meds to help.

There is no shame in being ill. And its an illness. There is also no shame in seeking help for that illness.

If you have an infection, you go to the docs n get antibiotics. Same thing.

Oooh, saw you got meds, well done for being brave! Its hard to do! Will take 2 weeks to a month to kick in.

Exercise does help but its hard to get motivation when feeling poo

Good luck! xx

Completely true!!

Hey! Ive been on celexa for around 4 years (20 mg). When I got prescribed my pharmacist said that for some people it makes them sleepy and for some people it makes them hyper. You just need to figure out which you are. Also I was super groggy for like a week when I took it. And when a doc stupidly told me to double my dose I slept for like 16 hours a day.

Give it a week or so and if you are still feeling off call your pharmacist for suggestions.

Also it can take over a month to start feeling any measurable changes in your mood. Hang in there. just know the meds are working it just takes time for you to notice.

The other thing is celexa hurt my tummy at first - so i eased into it with half pills - but that isnt listed in your complaints so you may be lucky on that one.

Feel free to ask me more questions about this med. it has literally been a life saver for me.

Somewhere I read that in cases where a patient does not respond to the usual medication for depression they will respond to thyroid medication! The reason, many people with low thyroxine levels can and do present with depression. Having a full blood test might also be advisable just to make sure though it can be a lottery how your results are interpreted.

The recommendation in the US is that patients should be tested for their thyroid levels ever year after the age of 35 and annually there after. Consequences of being undiagnosed and untreated can be life restricting in many many ways.

I had all kinds of recommendations for pills but I did not want to go that route. And the following is just what worked for me, so take it for what you will.

First thing, it was not a quick or simple fix. The things that lead me to depression did not happen over night and it has taken a few years to get past some of it.

Next important step was to read up on what exactly causes depression. I keyed in on the physiology of it all first. I resolved myself to the fact that my body chemistry was out of whack and that was what those lonely feelings and awful thoughts were (I was going to get divorced, leave my kids, quit my job...and even had thoughts of suicide). A big step for me was learning to detach a bit from that physical sensation so I could operate daily. I would actually say the word "float" to myself often, reminding myself to clear my head and try to relax, no matter what turmoil my body was in. I did study meditation and use prayer. I focused on living in the moment.

After getting better at dealing with the physical side, it got down tot the nitty-gritty of the mental side. I knew I had to address some things that happened in my life, no matter how hard or life changing they might be for myself or others. Essentially, I needed to clean up, tie up loose ends, makes mends where I could, and just get things off my chest. What is interesting is, there were so many small things that seemed like nothing when they happened, but they had built up over time. I don't think people realize how little things build up and compound over time. It's akin to holding a pencil in your hand with your arm out straight. It really isn't heavy and seems like nothing to hold it, but try doing that for an hour...a day...a week...or years. At some point, even a light pencil held like that becomes a VERY heavy weight.

I did not want to talk with friends since some issues I wanted to remain private, as well as not freaking anyone out. I opted to talk with a counselor, which gave me an outside, completely unbiased opinion. I did not have to be anyone with them, I could just lay out everything as it was and have them interject as needed. For me, just being able to vocalize many issues to someone was a HUGE relief. I was lucky enough to have a counselor that was very open-minded, understood, and good at evaluating me and my experiences. Most the time I was able to hash through issues myself with little input. If you do see a counselor DO NOT go to think they are going to have all the answers. They should make suggestions and ask questions that might help guide you to figuring out core issues, but really, deep down you KNOW what they are. A good counselor will coax them out and let you sort them out as you need to.

For me, the last part was spiritual. If that ain't you, feel free to skip this. But I had really turned away from my own soul and had been too focused on myself and the daily grind. My realizations was, the more I thought I was finding myself in this reality I built, the more I actually lost myself in the world and universe. I have always been spiritual and felt connected to something more, as well as to others around me. I very much lost that part of me and until I quieted my mind I didn't even realize its' importance. So I got back to making time to be quiet and listen. Call it what you will - meditation, thinking, reflection, prayer, whatever. I truly believe that one cannot find peace in their life until they tackle mind, body, and spirit. It was not about religion or focused on Church, though I found help in both. For me, spiritualism help bind me to everything and keep hold of myself in the grand scheme of things. It is part of my questioning nature, and I feel that spiritual inquisitiveness feeds my personal growth and need to learn.

And since this is a fitness website, the physical side ties in well. I can't even begin to explain how helpful consistent exercise is for correcting chemical imbalances that are part of depression. Same with proper eating. Suffice to say, they are critical. Along that line though I also found one thing missing in life is something that is a big part of my being, and that is competition. Not the bad kind, but like in sports. I found that being part of competition challenged me in a way nothing else does and helped me feel fulfilled.

Anyway, all that helped me keep off meds, but it was not easy and there were plenty of tough times I was ready to take ANYTHING if it would get rid of those dire feelings.

I'll just stop there.

Best of luck.

Depression runs in my family, so it's not that surprising in retrospect that I started having symptoms as a young teenager. Fortunately my illness is mostly managed these days (fingers crossed). I take Paxil daily, and I've been in regular therapy over the years; I'm not going regularly now, but I have my therapists' number always available in case I want some assistance figuring things out and/or getting over a rough patch day to day. These are the main things that keep my illness in check, and I honestly would not be able to function otherwise. There are a number of smaller things I also do, though, that I find keep me stable.
1. I have a SAD light that I use during the winter- I'm not clinically diagnosed with SAD, but I've found it really helps my energy and mood during the dark months.
2. It was very, very difficult to get in the habit of exercising, but once I did I started noticing an improvement in my symptoms- less frequent and less severe. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, a 10 or 20 minute walk helps me.
Sometimes, though, all my best tricks don't work and I head back to therapy- and that's OK. I've started to think of my depression as like having a bad knee; there are things you can do to help keep yourself afloat, but sometimes it'll go south for no reason you recognize and you need to call in the pros. I'm glad you were willing to go to your doctor with your concerns- I hope the two of you working together can find the treatment that works best for you!

I tried medications, and I didn't like them. I didn't like knowing that I HAD to take a pill every day or deal with the effects of not taking it. And I didn't like the side effects. When I tried Zoloft, it DID make my sad times not as sad, but it also kept me from feeling happy. I always felt like I was stuck in the middle just existing. And all of the ones I've tried have killed my sex drive. So now I am trying to deal with it naturally.

I exercise because that is one of the best ways to help. Even if I don't feel like it, I make sure I do SOMETHING for at least 30 minutes. I also try to make sure I eat healthy. If I eat WAY too much sugar or junk food, I feel really tired and down. Getting enough sleep is also important. And I also take 5-HTP and melatonin before bed. They help me sleep, and they are supposed to be natural mood enhancers.

I think it depends on your level of depression as to whether or not you can try to treat naturally or if you need to be on something. My grandmother NEEDED to be on something. She quit taking her medicine without telling anyone and ended up committing suicide. My mother also needs to be on something. As well as my older brother. I feel better not taking anything. Although once it hints winter and sun is limited, I have slightly more issues than during the spring and summer.

Good luck.

I was on antidepressants for six years starting when I was 14 and tied a mini-blind cord around my neck with thoughts of suicide. Then, I went seven years without them. Now I started back on them because through my second pregnancy and after my sons birth I noticed I had no control over my emotions. I was always angry and blew up for no reason, I was constantly stressed, very nervous when I left the house, and I felt guilty for being so volatile. I told my ob-gyn about it when I had my post-partum check-up and she put me on Zoloft. I feel much happier now. I feel more bonded with my baby, I am not nearly as stressed (though the house is much messier), and I don't get angry at my husband every time I see him. Depression runs heavily in my family, and many of my relatives have been on anti-depressants for years. I am feeling much better and am willing to stay on them for awhile if that is what's needed.

Prozac. It did wonders, it completewly changed my whole life.

I'm currently unmedicated, I find that exercise is enough of a boost to keep endorphins high.