Just laughing at myself and my goofiness xw. I'm prone to do that at times...
~Aztec
All depression sufferers (past/present) please read
by WildHorses 46 Replies latest watchtower medical
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Prisca
(((((((Wildhorses))))))
I think the others have said all of what I was going to say. Monkey made a good point about eating healthily and getting some exercise in. We can't expect our body to operate properly if we don't maintain it.
If you're still not sure whether to go on meds or not, I would suggest getting a second opinion. See a reputable doctor and see what s/he says.
BTW, I have suffered from depression since I was 11, at least, that's the first time I remember having the symptoms of depression.
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leddfootdja
WH,
I have bipolar as well and am on a couple medications to help manage it. I take Wellbutrin and Depakote(mood stabilizer).
These do help- but certainly are not an instant fix or cure-all. I've visited with my doctor recently and was telling him that
while I've felt worse, I've also felt better. He promptly responded by writing me a prescription for Klonopin AND Xanax!!!
The last thing I need is more drugs...... I held onto the scripts but am going to hold off on filling them for now.
The previous suggestions about taking care of yourself(everything encompassing that) are good ones.
I would only resort to medication if you cannot improve despite your best efforts to the contrary. If you feel suicidal-don't wait.
SEE A DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!!! All it takes is one strong suicidal impulse at the right(wrong?) moment and......... I know from experience on that one as well.......
Best wishes for feeling better.....
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ninecharger
I got terribly depressed at one point in the 80s and took an overdose.
The regime I find has helped me is to get up an hour early and take St John's Wort (prescribed in Germany by doctors for depression) a B vitamin complex and L-Lysine on an empty stomach. I then go back to bed. With breakfast I take Rhodiola Rosea - I started this a few weeks ago and it has made a huge difference. Rhodiola is a shrub which acts as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor but does not have the horrible effects of the same man-made drugs. Adding this to my regime has made a truly life changing difference to me. I no longer get the 'miseries' half way through the day.
See a properly accredited naturopath for advice, and read the book "Naturally High" - I forget the author but you should be able to find it on Amazon.
Eating a starchy breakfast is also a must. Some people feel miserable simply because their poor old brain is starving. Don't worry about putting on weight if you do what is next:
gGive yourself twenty minutes of exercise that getsyou sweaty and breathless BUT NOT IN PAIN as many days of the week you can - it makes the brain manufacture happy chemicals. Another way to do this is to stand at a mirror and do grin and giggle exercises for 5 minutes - just grin and giggle at yourself for no reason and watch your face. It sounds silly, but I have found it really does affect your brain chemistry for the better, even if you are not happy when you start doing it.
Remember you ARE LOVED
I ain't never met you, maybe never will - but if I didn't care you wouldn't be reading this.
N
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WildHorses
Thanks you all.
I think I am going to wait and see I can kick this on my own, just in case the Dr. is incorrect. rom what someone said to me, I think it may be something else. If I ever start thinking of ending my life, then I will go on the meds.
Now, about the bp meds. I am going to have to call the Dr. back tomorrow and tell him what he put me on sucks. I felt so tired today. I had to sit down every now and then in order to finish working. I came home and called my mom(she worked in the medical profession) and she told me to take my bp reading. It was 100/60, she said it was way to low. So, that explains my tiredness today anyway. I'm going to only take half a pill tomorrow and see if that helps.
Thanks again you guys.
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ninecharger
I forgot to mention
a truly life changing book that I worked through - "The Artists Way" by Julia Cameron. It scared me at first because of the Jerboa's Wtlessness brainwashing but she maintains that a lot of peoples' misery depression and frustration is because they are not expressing their true selves. Doing the little self-cherishing acts (I bet I would have been called selfish or an egotist if I'd said what I was up to) and finding a true creative outlet is so empowering, and the drains on your energy and happiness really do lose their influence on you.
Try it - what do you have to lose? (misery loneliness and frustration - that's only three!!)
I also now do ten to 15 minutes of Clinically Standardised Meditation three times a week (Mon Wed Fri) this is meditation without any of the hocus pocus of religions.
It was developed by Patricia Carrington Phd, a mental health practitioner. Damn good.
N
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Thunder Rider
WH,
I fought depression for 10 years. I was on everything from Prozac to Serzone. Nothing worked for me. I went to a therapist every week and was close to the end fo my rope twice. The meds screwed with my blood pressure and I could not sleep. I put on weight and my mouth felt like it was full of cotton all the time. It sucked!
My depression was caused by my circumstances. My surroundings and associates were initiating feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness.
I would never recommend that anyone stop taking their meds or stop seeing their Dr. but that is what it took for me to get well. Without the drugs clouding my thoughts and the therapist telling me how to feel and how to react to outside influence, I had to fend for myself and make choices that were my own and in my best interest. The rest of the world be damned. I had the support of Sheila and the kids and was able to drop all my old "baggage" and move on along a path of my own choice. I finaly learned how to tell people to #^@% off leave me alone. The biggest burden I carried was the guilt so bountifully provided by the WTS. When I left that behind I began to heal.
I'm not a Doctor, but I have dealt with and conquered my depression. You need to find out what works for you. Those closest to you should be aware of what you are doing and watch your behavior closely.
The sun comes out everyday, come out and enjoy it.
Thunder
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plmkrzy
I now have three therapists who work together but in different fields to help me with my depression and panic attacks. One psychiatrist, 1 therapist who studies and annualizes dreams among other things and another psychiatrist who I have not figured out just yet. LOL! He is new. I will be breaking him in this week. But, my point is, they have spent about 4 years now trying to determine what the root of my depression is. Is it all chemical imbalances due to genetics or is it all chemical imbalances due to massive amount of trauma I have lived through or both. In the beginning, I was treated as a patient who was expected to recover and eventually no longer need medication once I dealt with “The trauma roots” and now they are telling me I will need meds for the rest of my life. They have no clear definition to give me for the "why". The only definite cause they can offer me is a possible cause being a combination of both genetics and trauma.
Regardless, the therapy has worked very well for me since I found the right doctors who seem to be dedicated to helping people enough to be flexible and work with each other like a team. That has been a good formula for me personally. Prior to that, I felt I was better off dead with the long line of doctors I had to "mow down"
Best thing I can think to say to you is do not give up no matter what and go through as many doctors as you to need until you find the right one or ones for YOU. They are out there! (((HUGS SHERI))) plum
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laylaluv
Just a little info....
Depression can sometimes, but not always be due to a chemical embalance in the brain. Some people like myself need to take medication for depression due to this physical chemical embalance. It is like taking heart medication for your heart. You just need it.
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outnfree
(((((Lilacs)))))
I had always gotten "blue" in the winter and after several winters of increasing sadness, attributed it to SAD.
Then, I was in my grand-niece's therapist's waiting room and saw a pamphlet that had those questions that berylblue provided on page 1 of this thread. I, too, answered almost all of them "yes."
Finally went to my family doctor, who asked me many of the same questions and she thought my depression was situational -- maybe it is, even I'm not sure because almost ALL my relatives have been on anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drugs with several attempting suicide -- and suggested going on Wellbutrin (150 mg/once daily which is apparently a low dose) for 4 months.
I did the four months, tapering off the Wellbutrin slowly, but became very fuzzy brained and sad all over again. So I'm back on the Wellbutrin, same dose, and feel LOTS better.
I really, REALLY hated taking medication. After all, I was always the SANE one in my family -- fairly normal home life, stable marriage, never attempted suicide, never on any psychotropic drugs ever -- and now I felt I was crumbling and vulnerable and -- OH NO! Just like THEM???!!!!!!!!
However, taking the Wellbutrin got me through this past winter feeling the best I've ever felt, and I'm not sorry to be on them. In fact, I think I might be crazy (like them - LOL) if I weren't controlling my moods with the drugs.
So, by all means, try to slog through on your own if you can, but if not, give the anti-depressant recommended by your physician a whirl. (PS -- Wellbutrin decreases appetite.)
out