Depression, how did you deal with it?

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  • Leo7777
    Leo7777 Posts: 25
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    I personally up until around 8 months ago suffered with severe depression on and off since a teenager.

    I went on medication on 3 different occasions and didn't find it helped, although it can help in the short term in a crisis situation I appreciate and it did for me at one point.

    I learnt a few things over the years, firstly I drank far too much and I am certain this had a depressive affect on my mood and induced panic attacks. Now I still drink but not to the levels I did. Looking into my diet seemed to have a positive impact, even before I was looking to lose weight I limited the amount of 'white carbs' I ate, and found that when I ate good healthy food my mood improved.

    I left my stressful sales job and became a freelance writer, I was poor for along time making the transition but god it was worth it.
    I started to think 'outside of the box' with the way I conducted my life, I tried to be more creative, and not be around people that had a negative impact on my self worth. Unfortunately sometimes that means spending a little less time with family members that make you feel bad.

    I read up on cognitive therapy and really tried to change my negative way of thinking... when your depressed, the internal conversation you have with yourself can be terrible.
    I also appreciate when your in the black hole its tough to pull yourself together as others advise. However there are ways of avoiding depressive episodes. I started to notice triggers in the way I was thinking and behaving, and I knew if I didn't force myself to make positive changes I would sink into another episode.

    I also chose to live and not dwell on the bad things that have happened in the past, we can all choose to be strong and be kind to our minds and bodies. Also keep busy!!! I cant stress that enough... don't give your self time to dwell on the negative.

    I think that looking after your mental health is as tough as looking after your body, it needs caring for, if you make that a priority and realise that with a bit of hard work you can change the way you think, there is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel x
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    I learnt a few things over the years, firstly I drank far too much and I am certain this had a depressive affect on my mood and induced panic attacks. Now I still drink but not to the levels I did. Looking into my diet seemed to have a positive impact, even before I was looking to lose weight I limited the amount of 'white carbs' I ate, and found that when I ate good healthy food my mood improved.


    Definitely watch alcohol. It's a depressant, and I cut out drinking because I noticed the next day I would have NO motivation to do ANYTHING. I could barely even talk myself out of bed in the morning. One of my friend's got pretty pissy with me about cutting out alcohol and thinks it is because of the calories, but I don't care. I prefer to feel normal.
  • Leo7777
    Leo7777 Posts: 25
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    Yes you said it girl! its pretty scary the affect it has on people
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    Ok, so I personally am not sure if I am going through depression but it maybe the cause of why I have been feeling the way I do and why I have been acting how I have for the past year and a half. And I am sure it can be some of the reason why I have failed to do anything about my weight other than complain. So I am just interested if anyone has gone through this and if so did you take the medication or did you try to beat it the natural way. I have an appointment this Friday for this but I am unsure what way I wanna go if I do have depression. I am not sure if I want the medication. But then again this all could just be me and I just to deal with it and fix it and stop my complaining, but I don't know. Just kinda looking to hear from your experiences and maybe it will help me. Thanks in advance. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    I've dealt with mental health issues most of my life. I've found that I'm the type of person that needs medication (I've tried meditation, exercise, "natural" treatments, etc). And probably will for the rest of my life. I'm okay with that though - because it helps me enjoy my life. If you are going to try medication, make sure you really give it a chance (at least two months). It's not going to instantly make you feel amazing - but it can help. Also, it might take a while to find the med that works for you.

    And I really cannot stress enough that taking medication shouldn't feel bad or shameful.

    Good luck to you. :heart:
  • LazyCatPame
    LazyCatPame Posts: 112 Member
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    Ok... I'm not the best to give any kind of advice at all, but don't go with the medication. It makes you feel numb the whole day. Try with other kind of therapies or switch/start activities that you enjoy and might help you to lose weight. Pills won't do the trick, good luck. Get better!
  • jaynalawayna
    jaynalawayna Posts: 80 Member
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    You need to talk to a doctor about this. If you need medication follow the doctors advice. Be honest about your results. It generally takes a period of time to adjust to medication and dosages need to be adjusted especially at the beginning of treatment. Your diet and exercise will help - but don't shrug off medication because you think you should be able to manage your blues yourself. Talk to a professional and get professional advice.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    Ok... I'm not the best to give any kind of advice at all, but don't go with the medication. It makes you feel numb the whole day. Try with other kind of therapies or switch/start activities that you enjoy and might help you to lose weight. Pills won't do the trick, good luck. Get better!

    I've been on medication for years. I assure you that I'm not numb - at all. While medication isn't the answer for everyone, it's not some terrible thing that people should be made to fear.
  • da1128
    da1128 Posts: 212 Member
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    Years ago, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and my wonderful doctor suggested I try Cymbalta, which is used to treat both fibro and depression. I was a bit hesitant at first...."Waaah, you think I'm losing it and just want me to go on an antidepressant!"

    He very nicely informed me that he was NOT prescribing it for depression, but for pain, so I agreed to give it a go. It has worked wonderfully over the past 6 years, and obviously I 'did' have some depression going on because I felt a thousand times happier taking the Cymbalta. Maybe it was just happiness that the pain was relieved, but it also knocked out the occasional panic attacks and anxiety I experienced due to the fibromyalgia.

    Still take it, still feel great, and back to doing my regular workouts and even rejoined the gym.

    So, don't be afraid of medication.

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