Depression

[Noomi]

Antidepressants found to be no better than Placebo. - YouTube

You are right - I was on the strongest dose of anti depressants, yet I attempted suicide on them. They don't do anything to mask the pain - its up to the individual to work out a way of coping.

Support and encouragement is what is needed to assist the person into becoming strong enough to deal with their demons.

 

[Gracie]

For starters...just typing it out last night and not deleting it..I consider a first step. I also know I have a problem I am wrestling with and believe me...I am doing the best I can. Just posting about it helped.

And for [MENTION=27324]whitehall[/MENTION], I do not drink. Never have. Can't abide the taste of alcohol. Blech. I also don't do recreational drugs. I like being in control of my own body, thankyouverymuch. I refuse to take any med a doctor prescribes until I can google it. Which is why I am not taking any meds at all for my RA. I deal with the pain the best I can because there is no cure for RA. I can mask it with drugs, yes. Make my joints move easier, yes. But cure it? No.

Same with the mental health issue I am dealing with. Nothing will cure it. It can be treated. But I refuse to be a zombie, too. So that leaves me with options on what to do about it. TALKING about it is the first step. You guys are my therapists. I got a LOT of help just by reading some of the responses and opinions. Knowing one is not alone in this, does assist in those struggling.

Will I go to a shrink? I don't know. I am kind of afraid to. Once you see a shrink, you get that label slapped on ya and no telling where that info goes (am I paranoid too? What with all the crap I read about the government, I might have good reason for that paranoia).

I am Alanon. Have been for years. All those I love or loved, were abusers in some form or another. So I will borrow their phrase they use often:

One day at a time.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

Thank you all for listening and giving your input. I needed to read it and hear it once read, in my head.

 

[Noomi]

Gracie, a shrink won't do anything more than what I can do - a shrink will sit and listen while you tell them your problems. They are a sounding board, and can't offer you a way to deal with your depression. They simply sit and listen, and get paid to do so.

We can sit and listen and not expect any payment, and that, if you ask me, is better, because we know you better than any shrink!

 

[Gracie]

I agree.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

I have suffered with Depression at least since 16. I handled it until I was 37. I finally had a break and spent almost 4 months of 6 months in the hospital.

I have recurring major depression with constant depression all the time. I have a paranoid personality disorder and delusional paranoia.

From 95 to 98 I took almost no medication and had good days and bad days. In 99 I went bad all the time, spent 7 months basically hiding in my room only coming out to work and go to the bath room. I finally attempted suicide in August 99.

Got taken to the hospital and started seeing a therapist and a shrink on a regular basis. The doctor started me on medication. I went through most of the then current meds with little to no avail. I spent some days curled in a ball on the bed cause if I moved I would kill myself.

Finally in 2004 we found celexa and Geodon which work for me. It is like night and day. I still have suicidal thoughts but I CONTROL them. Nothing I would act on. I am still depressed most days and have recurring bouts with major depression, but it is manageable now. The depression does not control me any more. And it is because of the medication.

If you are clinically depressed you should see a doctor. If you do not and it gets worse you won't control it, it will control you.

Are medications neede4d? that is between you and your doctor. Be aware it takes several weeks for a therapeutic level of the meds to build up in your system. And it is a hit and miss thing. We still do not know enough about the brain to know what works on each person. I went through probably 8 different meds in a 10 year period before I found the right ones for me.

Not everyone needs medication. Some do. ANYONE that tells you all meds are always bad are idiots. Just like anyone that tells you you must take meds is an idiot.

I and millions of others use medication. It works. But it is not for everyone. And there is about 20 percent of people that meds just don't help.

Be aware there is a problem in the field right now and most Doctors over prescribe. It is the culture. Everyone is looking for the easy way out. Pills do not make the depression go away. They, if they work, lessen the effects of the depression and allow you to manage it. But they do work.

SEE A DOCTOR. With his advice decide for your self what works and does not work.

 

[Granny]

Perhaps you didn't have a good psychiatrist - or a scrip happy one. Zoloft seems a little extreme to me for mild depression. It IS true, however, that the progress one makes toward healing depends on the patient and how open and forthright he/she can be. Some people find it very hard at first to starting talking about his/her issues but as they are able to open up more the sooner things get resolved.

Also, don't go to a psychiatrist who sits behind a desk while you sit in a chair - puts the psychiatrist in an "authoritative/intimidating" position. More comfortable if the doctor sits across from a patient without any obstacles between them.

You misunderstand me; a therapist can give you the tools to help yourself, but in the end it's you who helps yourself. One tole me he "can give the brake pads and brake fluid, but you have to apply the brakes"

It sounds to me like you're fostering dependence on the doctors, looking to them for the solution. Nope. The solution comes from within yourself.

I've been though it all. ER stints after failed suicide attempts, forced hospitalizations (TDO's). The works. And I've always been VERY open about the issues I'm dealing with. The happiest I ever was came after I ditched the professionals and took responsibility for my own thoughts and actions. A therapist might help for a little while, but don't stay in too long or you get in a rut and that's when they actually do more harm than good. Especially when you are dealing with stuff they can't "help"

I don't misunderstand you at all - I probably could have phrased myself better. [My bold.]
I've always said psychiatry is the one area of medicine where everything depends on the patient. A psychiatrist is not a mind reader - the patient has to tell him/her what the problem is before any explanations or guidance can be given. Also, the sessions with the doctor need to go out the door with you - you need to think about a lot of stuff, perhaps remember stuff and ask yourself questions about whether the advice can applied to other areas of your life. It's very personal to each patient.

And, Gracie, I'd forget the stigma part - there is not the stigma today that existed many years ago. Also, today's meds are not what they used to be. The reason I refused drugs for so long was that I didn't want to be a zombie. You're also right about writing stuff down - it's one of my best "resources" for getting stuff off my chest. Another thing to consider: it's the ones who refuse to seek help who need it the most.

I don't care too much about what others say - I do what I think is best for my well-being - I am, after all, the only person who can live my life.

 

[Derideo_Te]

I agree.

Gracie,

All of the warnings about the medications and the therapists are right up to a point. So is the advice that it is up to you to find your way out of this dark place and yes, right now that sounds like being asked to climb Mt Everest.

However you need to find out first what is wrong and none of us here are trained to make that diagnosis. That is what the professionals are for. Once you have a diagnosis then you are absolutely right that you need to find out everything that you can about it and the relevant treatments. When you know what you are facing and what your alternatives are you can make the choice on which way you want to go.

If you do go with medication you must have a therapist (preferably a qualified clinical psychologist) who can regularly monitor your progress. All that "sitting and listening" seems like an expensive waste of time but for properly trained professionals they are looking to see how you are reacting to the medications. Is the dose too high, too low or causing negative side effects? Should you be a different medication because that one isn't working? This is not something you or anyone in this forum can do. The warnings about the wrong doses and medications by the other posters are very real. So if you going that route do it properly. Perhaps the best advice is to make sure that you "shop around" for a therapist that you can trust and that you believe has your best interests at heart. Yes, they do exist and sometimes it takes a couple of tries to find that person.

Going alone has is risky because there is no one but you monitoring your progress. If you are mildly depressed then yes, you can work this out without medications and use this forum for your "therapy". But for anything else you should take the advice of the professionals as to the best course of treatment.

The drugs do take a while to work and they do have lousy side effects. However I was able to start weaning myself off them after only 9 months. I did so because I felt that I was back to 85-90% and that they were inhibiting my ability to get back to 100% normal. You can't just stop taking them either. You need to go through a reducing dosage regime in order to allow your body to readjust.

One last point that you touched on with the one day at time advice. Yes, that is where to start and this is probably going to take a long time to resolve completely. There will be both good and bad days ahead. But each time you reach a new step on the way to regaining yourself just turn around and look at how far you have climbed. That is what gave me the strength and the motivation to keep moving towards my goal.

Take care
DT

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Gracie, I am agoraphobic. That means I have panic attacks in certain situations, and because of that I avoid those situations. In my case, driving very far from home...I have trouble at intersections, when stopped at a red light I may feel trapped and have a panic attack. If you've never had a panic attack, it might not sound too bad to you, but panic attacks have been described as some of the worst discomfort a human being can experience. They're horrible. Some agoraphobics get so bad they can't even leave their home.

I live right across the street from where I work and can walk to work. But now, the company I've worked at for 20 years has been sold and is moving clear across town. OMG, I must face my agoraphobia. There are a couple of compelling reasons I want to stay with this company and not just find another job closer to home.

I am 60 years old so I am qualified to use a service called AnchorRides in my community. It is transportation I could use to get back and forth to work. But it is very inconvenient, I might have to wait as long as an hour each way for the bus to come.

My sister-in-law sent me a book called the "Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourke, PhD. I have been reading it and trying to follow the therapy it prescribes...on my own.

First I had my husband ride with me to my new worksite, so I knew exactly where to go. Then I would get myself to drive part way by myself. I have now driven the entire way there at least 10 times by myself, drove over there just this morning, actually. I am by no means cured, I am still fearful of panic attacks and had one at a traffic light on the way over there just this past Monday. But I kept going, and am using coping techniques I learned in the book. I know now that when I say, "I'll never be able to do this without discomfort," that it is the mental illness speaking. It's the negative talk I'm always doing to myself. Now I KNOW when I do it, thanks to this book, and I stop myself short and replace the negative statement with a positive. It is rather miraculous that I am able to drive over there and back at all, and I attribute my success to the assistance and coping techniques I've received from this book.

I am desensitizing myself to that which I fear. Taking away its power! But this has to be done carefully, and with knowledge, or you can just make yourself worse. The book is guiding me through it.

Also, this book doesn't push drugs, but does address them. If I couldn't ever get myself to start driving over there at all, they suggest using very small doses of certain drugs to help nudge you over the edge.

TO GET TO THE POINT...FINALLY!!! : ) I think you should find a resource to help guide you through this. I've listed a couple of links I found by Googling, one is an article to read, the second one is an example of a book you might try. Read the reviews, see what people are saying.

I'm not saying not to go for professional help if you need to, I will if I don't continue to make progress on my own with the use of my book. But this might be an easy way for you to get started on helping yourself to overcome this depression. Once you make some progress it can be very uplifting.


Dealing with Depression: Self-Help & Coping Tips to Overcome Depression

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coaching-Powerful-Program-Depression-Completely/dp/0471768286]Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression, 2nd Edition, Completely Revised and Updated: Joseph J. Luciani: 9780471768289: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Oh, P.S. I did diagnose myself with the use of my book. It was easy, a very clear diagnosis. And also, my sister-in-law who sent me the book...is a clinical psychologist. The book is what I make of it. When it just sat there unread it did me no good. When I started reading it and practicing what it told me to do, I made progress.

So, if i can succeed by working on my own with this book, as many apparently have before me, that is the best course of action for me. Also, I DO NOT want to take drugs, but I was getting desperate enough that I was considering them. But the book made me realize I don't need the drugs.

Good luck, Gracie, and whatever course of action you choose...do something to help yourself. You deserve it and you can beat this.

 

[DarkLion]

I don't misunderstand you at all - I probably could have phrased myself better. [My bold.]
I've always said psychiatry is the one area of medicine where everything depends on the patient. A psychiatrist is not a mind reader - the patient has to tell him/her what the problem is before any explanations or guidance can be given. Also, the sessions with the doctor need to go out the door with you - you need to think about a lot of stuff, perhaps remember stuff and ask yourself questions about whether the advice can applied to other areas of your life. It's very personal to each patient.

Yeah, and I had to refer a couple of them to the DSM to clarify some things. I had to become an amateur expert on psychiatry by necessity. And I never found anything profound in anything they ever told me. Mostly I just got stock answers, very generic and completely inadequate to deal with what I was dealing with.

They cannot help some things. And even with the stuff they can help with, you have to apply it yourself.

it's the ones who refuse to seek help who need it the most.

Bullshit. For someone like me, refusing their brand of help was the best thing I ever did. Besides, they couldn't help me. My issues were too unique. I simply woke up one day and decided I'm responsible for how I feel. Which leads me into the next quote:

I don't care too much about what others say - I do what I think is best for my well-being - I am, after all, the only person who can live my life.

Damn right. I decided that if I can look at myself in the mirror, that if I felt my lifestyle was moral, then to fucking hell what anyone else has to say. For so many years I let the opinions of others lead me to pain and misery, suicide attempts, self mutilation and drug abuse. But I grew up. I realized that my life was mine alone, and that I was allowing others to control it. It's been over a decade since I felt that pain. And I know it's lasting too. Since I became something of an activist people have said things to me that far eclipse what used to torture me growing up.

 

[Granny]

That's why methods, healing, etc. are so personal to each person. What works for one person might not work at all for another. In my case, seeking professional help was the best route for me and I've been blessed to have really good physicians along the way.

My children don't completely understand, and it's very hard to explain - but the important thing is that they love me with all my "warts." I think my problems probably started when my mother was pregnant. She never wanted any children to begin with and her hatred of me continued until the day she died. And then it was a good two years after she was put in the ground before I finally stopped being afraid her. I've been through the wringer over my lifetime, (and my official diagnosis is major depression recurrent), but I've come such a long way in trying to make myself well. At the age of 70 I feel quite qualified to say that child abuse has very far reaching consequences.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Most symptoms of depression can be alleviated with exercise and lifestyle changes.

You sound like a Scientologist.

Yeah I just love cults.

I followed up that post saying I do not dismiss the chemical side of depression.

But we do tend to jump to mediate when simple non medical approaches would work.

Denying that is idiocy.