Though a spiritual element to your life can be helpful, it does not take the place of a doctor's care. Get yourself back to your family doctor and get a referral to a therapist or psychiatrist. And, next time before going off your medications cold-turkey, bring up the side effects to your doctor. It is up to you to communicate to your professionals so they know what is working and what is not.
Depression Therpy
by Pbanna 28 Replies latest watchtower medical
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Ingenuous
I started meds and talk therapy for depression and anxiety while I was still "in". Those few, select friends I talked to about my treatment seemed relieved to hear from another JW that they, too, were suffering and they weren't alone. Many, many more Friends than anyone knows are suffering. Many suffer in silence, ashamed and uninformed about the help available. Many who've never dealt with clinical depression assume those who suffer from it are mentally and spiritually weak and could just snap out of it if they wanted to/trusted Jehovah enough/weren't hiding some type of sin, etc. There are many who have no idea how clinical depression actually works and it can be a slap in the face to run into such people, especially once you know how many are slowly dying from this disease and aren't saying a thing. I think many people, consciously or otherwise, realize the elders aren't equipped for this type of situation and may, in their ignorance, actually do more harm than good. Many more realize they can't entrust their spiritual welfare, much less their mental health, to certain bodies of elders, depending on the atmosphere in a certain Hall.
Talk therapy was especially helpful to me after I started meds. Once the chemicals in my brain started to adjust, I still needed to re-learn how to think and needed to un-learn the habits my brain had gotten into when it wasn't functioning properly. But there was no way, before medication, that talk therapy would have worked for me - my brain simply was not functioning properly and needed to be "re-wired" before I was capable of healthy functioning. I went through a dozen meds/combinations of meds before we found the right one - a frustrating experience that can drive a person crazy all by itself. "Side-effects" (I don't like that term - effects are effects, whether intended or not) can be enough to make a person desperate. But finding the right combination resulted in my feeling "right" for the first time in my life.
I've been on the upswing for about 2 years now. Since leaving the Org, I've been able to reduce my antidepressant to half. I've also got a great relationship with a wonderful therapist who I can drop-in and see at any time, even though I'm not going regularly anymore. There's nothing like having a good relationship with a professional who is in-tune with your personality. Don't be afraid to hunt around until you find the right person. You'll know them when you find them. I was fortunate to find a psychiatrist and therapist (a clinical social worker) in the same office, and they could communicate with each other. My psychiatrist, who I saw first, knows all the therapists in the office and was able to point me to the right one for me.
All the Best!
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Pbanna
Just an update: I called around to find a diffrent therepist than I had before--the one I had before we connected well, but right before I gave up going , it would be interuption after interuption during my sessions-one time I went there and she was making a call to anouther patients insurance company and used up most of my time on the phone. Anouther time I was in session and her co-worker friend came in and would do a little chit chat, in Russian for about 6 minutes. So I got discouraged and gave up.. I feel emabrassed to go back to the same place and she is there and have a diffrent therepist, I know it happens but I feel funny. And I know she will make me feel awkward. My insurance co is going to call me back with a new place(I think).
Dont think Ill do the meds yet unless I can be asured Im not going to have terrible side effects. before when I was on Wellbutrin, Id be on a bus going somwhere when it was like 50 degrees out and Id be sweating like a maniac. Actual sweat beads running down my face.And it would happen suddenly. That alone is enough to bring up the anxiety that everyone is staring at you.
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AuntieJane
Welcome, Pbanna! You have received many good words of advice from the great people on this board. I want to join them in wishing you well...and encouraging you in your therapy. I think you will find that depression is a common ground for the majority of JW's; something you don't need in your life right now is to be around all that negativity (which might not appear to you at first, but will no doubt surface soon). At any rate, I have 2 young adult daughters who have dealt w. depression. There are SO many different kinds of meds, I'd think your therapist, the new one, hopefully, would advise you to try something else. The combination of therapy and anti-depressant is the best treatment for depression and anxiety.
I'm glad you are on this board and I do wish you well. Please feel free to email me if you'd like to 'talk'....
Peace,
AuntieJane
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Pbanna
Thank you everyone you all gave me wonderful advice. I hope to see happier moods.
thanks for the email offer auntiejane
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rachgurl
If you believe it is the truth, then why are you at this forum? Isn't this forum for people who have turned apostate, which is worse than a person who has never known the truth. I would suggest writing your local branch and praying, he will draw close to you if you reach out to Him, but this is not the place.
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mrsjones5
If you believe it is the truth, then why are you at this forum? Isn't this forum for people who have turned apostate, which is worse than a person who has never known the truth. I would suggest writing your local branch and praying, he will draw close to you if you reach out to Him, but this is not the place.
rachgurl, my dear
It may behoove you to read more of the topics and posts on this board.
Youre not where you think you are.
Josie
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twinflame
You didn't mention how long you had taken the meds. Having taken them off and on many times in the past, I found the side affects you mentioned didn't continue after taking for a while. You can also go to you doctor and discuss the side affects and see if something else would be better for you.
I would also recomment therapy along with the meds, for the best results. As an Ex-JW for 20+ years, I would NOT recommend seeking advice from untrained persons at a Kingdom Hall. Many there suffer from frequent depression and I haven't seen counseling by Elders to be of any benefit; if anything, it could tend to make it worse.
Good luck to you and take care of yourself.
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LittleToe
Pbanna:As a Mental Health Services manager (not a medical professional, yet) and a devotely religious man who was previously a JW Elder my advice is as follows:
You're taking the right course in getting counselling, though, as has been suggested, going to a consultant Psychiatrist would also be a good idea. There may be any number of factors that a General Practitioner is missing, including the possibility of menopause.
I rarely recommend religious-based counselling, as there are often hangups that restrict some of them from offering the full range of possible treatments. The neutral ones are ok, but they are few and far between, if they are advertising as being associated with a given church.
As for the JWs, they would totally screw with your head. I would give them a wide berth. In the years that I was a JW Elder we never once got offered any kind of proper counselling training. It simply wasn't available, and medical courses were frowned upon.
There's simply no substitute for appropriate professional medical/clinical care.
Good luck