Depression

I also have a "mood disorder" (my psychiatrist never said bi-polar, but it's what she meant) and have been on and gotten off medication for it. I would go for weeks being depressed, and then I'd have a week or two where I'd bounce back and forth between being happy and angry. Here's what worked for me:

Birth control - A lot of my issues were caused by hormonal imbalances. If you are a woman, which your profile pic appears to be, you might want to look into this if you haven't already. Even if a hormonal imbalance isn't the root of the problem, balancing out your hormones can go a long way to help.

St. John's Wort - I have been taking this since I got off my meds, and it really helps. The chemicals in St. John's Wort are similar to those in anti-depressants, and they are believed to interact with the brain in a similar way. Thus, it has the effect of improving your mood, without many of the negative side effects of anti-depressants. Just make sure not to take it with anti-depressants, as it can have the effect of an overdose.

Exercise - This has also helped me (though I haven't been able to do much lately since I've had bronchitis for over two months). I did yoga, and not only was it good exercise, but it was also very relaxing and reduced stress. All good things, whether or not you have depression.

Sunlight and Vitamin D - One thing my doctor recommended was getting lot's of sun exposure and vitamin D. Vitamin D improves your mood, so I make sure to get out in the sun every day I can (which causes your body to produce it's own vitamin D) and I take calcium and D supplements. Going along with this, make sure your getting good nutrition in general, since a deficiency in nutrients could negatively affect your health and mental state.

Social interaction - Another one recommended by my doctor. Humans are social creatures. Positive interaction with other people can go a long way to boost your mood. I've noticed that I'm a lot happier when I actually spend time with other people.

Determination - Don't let yourself fall back into the habits of depression. This can be the hardest part. Some days you just have to force yourself to get out of bed and do something. It may suck at first, but over time you'll feel better. Make sure you are active, and not just physically. Don't allow yourself to have long periods of time where you do nothing. Activity can make you feel better about your life and that you're doing something worthwhile.

I would recommend that, unless you know for sure that you have a chemical imbalance, that you do everything you can without meds first. If you've done all you can, and you're still stuck, then talk to your doctor about taking a low dose to help you get past the last hurdle. You can do this!

Hi

It is taking me a lot of courage to post this so please don't judge me, I am looking for advice not sympathy.

I have suffered from depression in the past and spent many years on anti-depressants. I came off the tablets about three years ago and I felt great. About two years ago my weight loss journey began and for a long time I have felt 'good'.

Recently I have felt myself 'going down' again and I am increasingly feeling like I'm on the way to another 'meltdown'. I saw the Dr yesterday and he wanted me to go back on the tablets and to be signed off work. I said no to both, but promised to go back if I don't feel better soon. I want to beat this and see going back on the tablets as a backwards step. Most people I've spoken to automatically say 'don't go back on the tablets'. I need some impartial advice. What should I do?

I just want to ask if anyone who's been a situation like this can give me any advice or suggest any alternatives to anti-depressants. I am going to try to up my exercise to see if that helps (sometimes a real struggle because I just don't have the energy).

Thank you for not judging me.

S :blushing:

Been there. Here's what I found helps:

Find something that makes working out fun. I found that just going to the gym bores the hell out of me, so I took up martial arts. Nothing helps me better than beating stuff up. Whatever you choose, it should be something you look forward to, and something that makes you feel better even when you have to drag yourself there. When you know you'll feel better afterwards, it's easier to talk yourself into going. I noticed that my mood literally did a 180 the very first class I took. Listen to yourself and see if you can get an idea of what you really want to do, then make that happen.

Consider a job change. This may or may not be necessary, but take a good look at your job situation. Is it draining your energy? Is it stressing you out? If it's been that way for more than a month, it may be time to go elsewhere if at all possible. Sometimes, an environment is just poison to you, and for the sake of your health, you need to get out of it.

Meditate. I don't think I need to go into the benefits of meditation.

Don't be afraid to take the meds. Depression is an illness, just like anything else. Just like any other illness, something went "wrong" somewhere and it may be beyond your body's ability to fix it. Just like you take antibiotics if you get a bad infection that you can't kick, or you take something for a headache or allergy medicine, you should not rule out taking medicine for your depression. If nothing else, take them to get them out of the darkest part and to get you going again. Once you've bootstrapped the rest of your life, you can work with your doctor to see if you can maintain that over the long term without meds. You may be able to, you may not, but you should never be ashamed to get a little medical help for it.

Build a support network. Places like MFP and Fitocracy have some awesome support groups for people with depression who want to get healthier. Join them and let them help you. Get the support from your loved ones and remember that they're there to help you, too.

See a therapist. Like the meds, sometimes you just need to get professional help. That's nothing to be ashamed of. Therapists are great, because they are someone you can vent to and talk with that you don't have a conflicting relationship with, so you don't have that fear of "I need to deal with the person in X setting every day," which often makes it hard to open up to loved ones.

Do affirmation exercises. When you get up in the morning, tell yourself "today, I'm going to feel good!" and whatnot, and do what you can to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's amazing what a little positive thinking can do.

Get more sun. Seriously, sunlight does wonders for depression (yay, Vitamin D!). When it's nice out, go for a walk. If you can, see about getting an office or desk by a window at work. Eat your meals outside. In the winter, or if you live in an area that doesn't get much sun, get a light box. Your doctor may be able to prescribe you one, so your insurance may cover it. Barring that, try Vitamin D supplements, or talk to your doctor about other vitamins/supplements that may be able to help.

Good job for having the courage to seek help from your dr and then here. I suffer from Bipolar disorder(along with a few other things like anxiety, PTSD, etc) so I do understand this. And oddly enought I started back on my anti-depressat yesterday along with my mood stabalizer. I completely can relate to wear you are coming from. But sweetie, I know you won't like this answer---even thoug you up your exercise, you still have a chemical imbalence going on. You need the antidepressant right now as well. I know it sux, TRUST ME I know I take an array for my bipolar and anxiety...but somethings you CANNOT control. You are not weak or any less for taking the medication right now....work to get better and when you are in the right place you can come off of it when the time is right. But don't test depression-it's a scary and dangerous thing. Rememeber this is just temporary...

I am here for you, feel free to contact me if you need anything...I mean it

I have depression and anxiety pretty bad. It has caused me to not be able to hold a "normal" job.

I recently went through a small melt down and had to make myself go back to the Dr. She put me on Welbutrin (per my request). We chose that one because it also substitutes as a hunger suppressant. Which I am all for

She also put me on Vistaril for the anxiety.

Something I had to come to terms with in my own case, and it sounds like you are dealing with the same issue... having to take medication for this is not a step backward. It is the same as high blood pressure or diabetes. It doesn't mean you, as a human are being are weak, it means your body has an illness that it cannot fix on its own. Also, this is like asthma or allergies. You try to avoid the situations that trigger the episodes. If your work is causing you to fall deeper... it may be a trigger.

Other things that help with depression and anxiety that you could try are:
- Green Tea
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin C
- Going outside as often as you can
- Water
- NO soda
- Cut down on sugar
- Cut down on gluten such as wheat breads, pastas, etc.

I, personally, had to stop watching the news. All the republican tea party comments about those of us with mental illnesses was actually adding to my anxiety.

Good luck!

I've gone back on my pills recently.

It was a hard decision, and I tried many things before coming to it: sunlight therapy, Vitamin D, exercise, supplements from my naturopathic doctor, food changes, no caffeine... a few made small changes, but in the end, it was too much for me.

I'm feeling for normal, for lack of a better word, now and can see how bad things had gotten.

(I had gradually weaned off of them nearly 2 years ago, under direction of my doctor.)

It's a hard choice. And a personal one. I still wish I hadn't - wanted to beat in on my own, you know? But I had to admit I couldn't. That was and still is the hardest part. That I needed help.

wow I had a LOT of spelling and grammar mistakes! I'm sorry, I'm just passionate about mental health stuff !

Positive thoughts to you as you struggle with this. Coming from someone who has experienced depression (both on and off meds), I thought Dragonwolf's advice pretty much covered anything I could tell you. I just wanted to add my support and let you know you're not alone. I'm currently off medication and I try to be sensitive to my emotional health and step back when feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes that means taking a day off work just to decompress or taking an evening just doing something I really enjoy with no goal in mind but to have a good time.

I hope you find some helpful suggestions for fighting the blues!

I do actually feel I need some sun. Trouble is the weather is so bad here at the moment. My mum has a sun lamp - maybe I should borrow it?
Thanks

Light therapy can be very beneficial--I use it as well--but if you do decide to try, make sure you use it early in the morning, like before 9 AM. If you're on a standard schedule using it later in the day can mess with your circadian rhythms.

I have PTSD and depression which comes and goes because of it, I'm having counselling via skype with a counsellor in the UK, because where I live there's no mental health services. This means that I've never had the option of medication, so have to manage without it regardless. I have days where I really think I should be on medication, and other days where I;m glad that I'm not.

Anyway the following things help:

- counselling/therapy - this has been an absolute lifeline, thank God for skype. make sure that the counsellor/therapist is qualified and experienced in treating the problem that you have. Some counsellors/therapists are not very good and in some cases can do more harm than good, but a good one should be able to help a lot. If you cant get someone locally then use skype or the phone. Also, counselling is not just about treating the condition you have, it's also about learning to deal with everything better. Some mental health problems can't be effectively treated with counselling, but it can still help with learning to live with the condition and in stopping it from affecting your whole life so much. Definitely worth considering.

- exercise. this helps a lot, because it converts stress hormones (which i have way too much of in my system) into "happy" hormones. sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself to do any exercise because of the depression but what I'm finding helps with that is to break it down into small, managable chunks. So my weights workout instead of doing three sets one after the other I spread them out, so any time I exercise it's one set, easier to get through, easier to motivate myself etc. also other short bursts of exercise like even just a couple of minutes of bodyweight exercises etc. Also exercising helps with dealing with flashbacks/panic attacks, better than lying down does (that's for PTSD related panic attacks, don't know if it's the same for other problems that cause panic e.g. panic disorder, so check with a doctor/therapist etc) Also I don't have rest days, it seems to upset my brain chemistry, but I do have no weights days, and I'm on a split routine so upper body one day lower body the next etc, plus one day of no weights. I do low intensity cardio 7x a week at the moment. I'm not bothered if this has a slight negative effect on recovery because IMO mental health is more important. I don't think I do enough even on weights days to be at risk of overtraining anyway.

- getting enough sleep - easier said than done because I get insomnia a lot but I do feel better generally when I manage to get more sleep. avoid anything that's making insomnia worse

- eating enough carbs early in the day and eating regular healthy meals through the day - I eat 4-6 meals a day. low blood sugar makes anxiety, depression and issues related to it worse. I track my food intake on here to avoid undereating as much as to avoid overeating (I'm inclined to doing either of those and was in a cycle of undereating followed by compensatory overeating before I started getting back into shape physically)

- eating enough healthy fat

- being around supportive people and not being afraid to ask them for support when you need it,

- ways to offload your feelings. a punch bag helps a LOT but also someone you can talk to about how you feel

- being kind to yourself

- getting out of the house regularly

- I have a file of inspirational/motivational quotes, pics etc on my computer for when I'm feeling really bad, I chose things that I know I'd find helpful/uplifting. You need to choose your own things, because it's very individual, some things that others find inspiring or motivating would make me feel 100x worse so choose what you know will make you feel better

Hope some of those things help!!

I think this thread is wonderful!! There is no judgement here, just helpful suggestions and lots of support.
I've been on meds for depression since my third child was born (13 years ago). It's just something I need to take, like vitamins to keep my mind and body in check. However, I know i need to do other things as well... all things that others have suggested here.

Thank you to everyone who made suggestions because I think we all really need those reminders!

Hugs to all of you. It's nice to know we are all supported!!

I'm in the EXACT same boat. Was on Zoloft for a few years, but been off for about 3. Started having problems again recently. I just went through a few tests to make sure the problems I've been having weren't something else. I'm not real excited about it, but my doctor thinks I need to go back on some meds. I figure if it helps, I might as well. But... when I get depressed, I either get suicidal or homicidal. Since I don't want to be in jail or worse, I'll take them. You could definately try the exercise to see if it helps, maybe try something fun like a punching bag to see if it helps you!!

<~~Am terrified about even thinking of going off meds...although sometimes I think of them as a Crutch!

I haven't read through all the posts so I don't know if anyone suggested this already but you may want to check other meds your taking or foods you eat.

I found that my birth control was was making me a crazy person. As soon as I got of the pill I was better but then I went to the Nuva Ring and found myself in the bathtub thinking of 5 different ways to end my life. I took it out and the next day I felt like someone flipped a switch and suddenly the sun was out.

I also found that I don't do well with Aspertame. I have no problems with Splenda, however. Research other foods or meds that seem suspect. They may not be causing your depression but they can certainly aggrivate it.

As far as meds go I would suggest listing symptoms you remember having in the past and then set a limit to what you will tolerate. Check your list regularly for red flags. Don't wait to dip too far before deciding to get help though, as coming out of a deep spiral is sooooo much harder than if you catch it earlier.

I did not take the time to read through all the posts or check out your diary, but I have been reading up on depression and diet. A low fat, high carbohydrate diet has been shown to produce depression in some individuals. If you are eating tons of carbs a day, you might want to limit them back to say under 150 or 100 a day and see what happens for two weeks. You never know, it just may help.

EDIT: When I say carbs, I mean the high glycemic index type.

Good luck.

It took me really being crushed to finally get some help from a Dr. Now I take Buproprion and Viibryd together.

Sure, there are some side effects, but mild. I feel so much better emotionally and I am able to be productive and in some control.

I openly tell people that I take them, I refuse to let this be embarrassing. Before I lost weight I was diabetic, I took metformin, I wasn't embarrassed about that, so why be embarrassed about this.

This is coming from a guy who avoided Drs for 20 years.

My brain chemistry is a bit out of whack, so I take a couple pills. No biggee to me.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^ could not put it better.