How do you deal with Depression?

[Chemahkuu]

TrekNut87 wrote:

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I was just recently put on medication for Anxiety, OCD and chronic insomnia and I also have a history of depression. In conjunction with the medication, I'm also seeing a therapist every two weeks for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. So far it's been very helpful to me.

Three years of that here, and it's been very helpful to me also. I was lucky to find two very good doctors though, friends with other problems have had a far harder time finding doctors who are willing to really help.

[Rhubarbodendron]

I live in a small country town - there's no specialist here and I don't have a car It's not easy to deal with it alone, but so far I have managed, with a little help from my friends.
My job requires me to drive a lot and to move in difficult terrain - taking medication would be out of the question as it'd influence my reaction time. Accidents would inevitably follow. Therefore I take chocolate instead . I lost my depression but gained a few lbs. Not really a bad bargain, if you ask me.
Also, there's this actor I adore and who has such a pleasant voice. He has a video diary and I copied all entries and all interviews with him I could get to mp3 and put them on my walkman. It helps me a lot when I am nervous or under stress. It's like talking with a friend.
My job keeps me to busy/tired to go out and make friends. After 5 years in this town I still know only colleagues and the staff from the shops and restaurants I frequent. That's going to change in February when the new semester starts, as I intend to take evening classes (either Italian or French - haven't made up my mind yet) and maybe find a few friends there.

[Tora Ziyal]

Donald, you've already gotten lots of good advice, so I'll just wish you well and comment on this:

Donald Draper wrote:

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Was it suicide? I don't think so. But I was being reckless in how I was riding. Maybe on some subconscious level it was.

Maybe (or maybe not, of course). Years ago when I was severely depressed, I did a lot of foolish stuff like crossing streets without looking. It took a while, but I eventually recognized that I was kind of passively suicidal.

Rhubarbodendron wrote:

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I don't think it was a conscious or subconscious suicide attempt. In a country where weapons are so easlily available there'd have been numerous more effective ways. I think you were just absentminded.

Actually, firearms are used in only about half of suicides in the US.

[Rhubarbodendron]

interesting. Here it's very difficult to legally get any, so most people crash their cars, throw themselves before a train or drown themselves. I find the first two to messy and I certainly don't want to die with wet hair, so I'll be around another 50 years, I guess

[Donald Draper]

My first experience with therapy was in 2000. Nice woman but she seemed be too focused on current issues in my life at the time. Not really understanding the picture long term issues.

Than I moved and it was a while before I saw someone. Than i saw this guy for over a year. I never really liked him. Looking back I am not proad with how I acted toward him. I really vented on him, I mean real rage, for everything. But some of it was deserved. I stayed on for so long because he said I would be part of a job assistance program. But it was discontinued and he waited to tell.

I tried medication. Never seem to do much. Like I said I never got a diagnosis. While I do have a family history, more and more I think its mostly situational.

In general I am suspicious of medication. I don't drink, smoke do anything. Mostly because I was the stereotypical geek as a kid and did not social like that. Plus I always figure I have a hard enough time controlling how I feel and concentrating having outside substances would make it harder.

So given the accident I had, you can imagine the amount of meds I was put on. It was a shock for someone who never took anything. Now I am on anti seizure meds. Those have been slowly reduced. I need to see a specialist soon. Hopefully I can be take off the stuff completely.

After seeing that last therapist 2006 I starting volunteering at local Art Museum. Mostly working with kids. That did more for me than therapy ever did. I did not get a driver's license until I was 28. But that changed things. I got a job out of the family, got a personal behind the wheel teacher. About 4 years ago I lost around 100 pounds.

I did over do it though. Over the course of 2010 working out took over my whole life. It was way of proving to others and myself I could do anything. I eventually I leveled it off.

The last year has been hard because I have to really limit my physical activity. Now things are close to normal that I can start again.

Yeah, I need friends. Thats always been the great mystery of life to me. I never been good at it. I been trying. Even posting all this is an attempt.

[Rhubarbodendron]

and a very good one, imho
Some of my best friends IRL have been online acquaintances, originally. The only disadvantge is that they are from all over the world so that we can scarcely meet, but thanks to the marvels of modern technology we can always send text messages, call each other or chat online. And in case of a power failure there's always snail mail =).

[JarodRussell]

I strongly think that for every depression there is a reason. Or multiple. Doesn't matter really. If you find it and deal with it, it's over. Medication is only treating the symptoms, but not the cause.

[Chemahkuu]

JarodRussell wrote:

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I strongly think that for every depression there is a reason. Or multiple. Doesn't matter really. If you find it and deal with it, it's over. Medication is only treating the symptoms, but not the cause.

Um, no. Several forms of depression are caused by abnormalities in the brain or it's day to day function.

Mine is a neurotransmitter level inbalance caused by irregular re-uptake of serotonin causing the levels to be too high or too low. It was not "caused" by anything, as in it's more likely genetic, not social/environmental, enzyme activity regulating the re-uptake is...broken.

[Donald Draper]

I have seriously thought of going back to therapy. When I went before I was very removed from the world. It was hard to really answer the questions in the tests I was given. I have much more experience to explain my feelings and moods. But so much has happened in the last year that would probably influence it. Not really my "normal state".

I used to be very dubious about online friends. I never used Facebook much. I would have people I knew from work or relatives. Both that I had little to really say to or really had not much interest in. I have started to add people I never met with similar interests which helps.

[Chemahkuu]

Socialising certainly helps, it'll lift your mood and give you options for dealing with low moods, even just the odd afternoon with friends can be great for dealing with it.

My mental health has taken a turn for the worst these past couple of weeks so it being my birthday tomorrrow I've got a few things planned with family and friends.

There are plenty of people here you can talk to if you need to.

[Maestro]

I'd really like to say that there is a curable "cause" for depression... that alcohol, finding that cause, exercise, or etc. would solve it. But after watching its affects on my family, I'm firmly convinced that it can easily be genetic and "dealing with it" or "finding the cause" aren't typically the solution. Rather, if it runs in the family, it's clinical, and it's not a "some thing" that you can just fix. Dealing with it is in the treatment. Some people, they may no longer need medicine. Some of the rest of us have valid medical reasons to consume the medicine, and to expect to need it for the future.

I wish I could cure my asthma too, but I've come to grips with the fact that I will always need medicine to treat it. Period. So it is true with clinical depression.

[Kestra]

Medicine isn't for everyone and shouldn't be the only thing someone tries. But that's true of most things. I think for me, medication helped me reach a level where I could work on other things like CBT. I just wasn't in the state to do that before.

[Chemahkuu]

I've been off the medication for several months now, but that may not be permanent. But it's an option for the when it becomes otherwise unmanagable for me. The doctors were pretty good about finding the right one, dose and how little it needed to be used, therapies etc.

[sonak]

depression is a very complicated thing. It could be a chemical issue in your brain, it could be situational, it could be a lot of things.


My advice is to do what you need to do to help yourself. Don't listen to people who have an agenda who are trying to tell you that "drugs are bad," or that they don't work, or that seeking therapy means you're weak or can't handle your problems, etc.

You know yourself and your beliefs. I hope you find the answer that works for you.

[JarodRussell]

If you break things down, it's always a chemical issue in the brain.

Every human is different. Under the exact same level of stress, one makes it and feels fine, and the other one suffers from a burn out, for example. Of course because the body reacts physically differently to outside influence.

Of course you can go all-in with medication, and thus change your physical properties to solve that issue, but I really believe that it's better in the long run to solve the individual problem. In the case of the example above: reduce stress or find another form of stress that you can handle. It's not solved by "Try harder", mostly it's solved by "Try something different."



Basically, it's the alcohol thing. You have problems in life? No worries, let's have a drink and forget about it.

And it actually works, for some time at least.

But in the long run, it's better not to drink and solve the problems instead.