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need advice:depression
- Thread starter grahf2
- Start date
You DO need a doctor. If the first one sucked, find a DIFFERENT one. There are good ones and it can be a challenge to find one, but it will make ALL the difference. Depression can be a symptom of many other things. It can also be chemical, meaning you just can't think yourself well. There are numerous chemicals in the brain and you've got to treat the right one (sometimes more than one). Our balance of brain chemicals is as unique as our fingerprints. There's no 1 size fit all drug. It can take some trial and error to find the right medication for you, so don't give up if the first one doesn't work. Sometimes even the right drug will start out with some bad sides, but they get better. Having a doctor with experience in this makes all the difference.
Zebo
New member
I would give the docs and the meds another chance. Find the right ones for you.
Also, something that helped me was to get a project or hobby and stay busy.
It sounds silly but it worked for me. Build something, paint something, sand down an old dresser, hell paint by numbers...but do something. Not video games or listening to music about how fucked up the world is. Sitting around doing nothing but thinking and worrying about things is unhealthy.
Get your hands busy. Create something.
Just my .02....good luck.
Also, something that helped me was to get a project or hobby and stay busy.
It sounds silly but it worked for me. Build something, paint something, sand down an old dresser, hell paint by numbers...but do something. Not video games or listening to music about how fucked up the world is. Sitting around doing nothing but thinking and worrying about things is unhealthy.
Get your hands busy. Create something.
Just my .02....good luck.
grahf2 said:
Yeah, try prozac, it helped me. But start out small, 20mg a day, because if you take a bunch at first, it might make you worse. I stopped taking it for about 2 years and then I tried it again on the same 80mg dose, and I just slept and was more depressed and disoriented. Your system has to adjust to it, so start out small.
c-sharp minor
Well-known member
FitFossil said:
Well, this is what I was going to suggest, in a nutshell.
Don't give up on treatment, it works.
I agree with try another doctor. Not all are incapable of handling the situation you may have.
Whatever you decide, let us know how it goes. Keep us updated, ok?
Whatever you decide, let us know how it goes. Keep us updated, ok?
juve
New member
Uh, don't listen to all that non-sense. You're 17, lay off the drugs, especially SSRI's. SNRI's or SDRI's might be an option, but counseling is much more pertinent. Drugs are only a patch, they make it ok to forget to deal with the issues. You're in no way qualified to self-medicate/self-administer psychoactives. SSRI's for one can cause serotonin syndrome among other things (can be fatal), onset of suicidal thoughts, exasperate fatigue/indolence issues, etc.
Definately cease diazepam - extremely addictive, xanax is a viable option (at least it was actually SHOWN to allay depression sysmptoms unlike many marketed crap). What are you taking for insomnia (specifically)? Sleep meds have rather high addiction potential, especially the likes of xolnox, etc.
Although, it might seem a doc is inept, but you're no more competent than him, trust me. Get advice from above, not yourself, or the specs on this board (unless they're actual docs)
Definately cease diazepam - extremely addictive, xanax is a viable option (at least it was actually SHOWN to allay depression sysmptoms unlike many marketed crap). What are you taking for insomnia (specifically)? Sleep meds have rather high addiction potential, especially the likes of xolnox, etc.
Although, it might seem a doc is inept, but you're no more competent than him, trust me. Get advice from above, not yourself, or the specs on this board (unless they're actual docs)
Going on vacation to a pretty place ie. the rockies, the hill country, a pretty lake, grand canyan, carlsbad caveren etc) always popped me out a depression. I had the dark side of life three times now suicidal all three and going to a pretty place God made snapped me out of three. Shrinks don't do crap but make you more depressed about the money you have to pay them to listen to ya. I mean how pathetic is that? I mean I would rather give my friends a $100 than some shrink that could care less about me other than will my check clear?
c-sharp minor
Well-known member
Depression, in all its varieties, is very treatable. The tragic part about this illness is, by definition those afflicted with it, either don't believe they are worthy of treatment for depression or they believe that no depression treatment will work for them. Both of these ideas are completely wrong, but they are, in themselves, symptoms of the depression.
Physiologically, depression can be treated with medications known as anti-depressants. These will raise the levels of various neurotransmitters, thus relieving some of the depression symptoms. Also they help give the person a bit more control over their emotions and thoughts, which goes a long way to alleviating the illness altogether. Over the past few years, a lot has been said about anti-depressants. They're alternately vilified as inducing--rather than alleviating--psychosis, and as absolute cure-alls. In fact, they are neither. They do not "cause" people to become psychotic or suicidal, as some news stories on Prozac (probably the most famous anti-depressant) claim. In cases like this, it's much more likely that the anti-depressant medication just didn't work as well as expected. And they are not cure-alls, since they are not "happy pills" which suddenly provide a euphoric state. When they work, they simply take the "edge" off of one's mood, and do not altogether eliminate depression. Rather, they make depressed moments shorter, and less frequent. It's best to think of these medications as helpers or guides, rather than as cures.
Psychologically, therapy is a great help. There are several types of therapy available for depression. Different types of therapy work differently on various patients. For the most part, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy work best. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps the patient examine his or her thought processes, allowing him or her to uncover erroneous ideas, assumptions, and so forth. Interpersonal therapy helps the patient explore other learned thoughts and behaviors that create problems and contribute to depression. For example, therapists can help depressed individuals understand and improve patterns of interacting with other people that contribute to their depression. Both therapies involve raising self-esteem, which is a great help. Often, a therapist will incorporate components of both of these therapies in sessions with a patient, depending on his or her needs at the time. (This is called an eclectic approach--eclectic meaning simply that different techniques from different therapies, are used.)
Most depression patients require both anti-depressant medication and therapy. Nearly all will benefit from at least a little therapy, and many benefit from medication. It's a mistake, however, to rely solely on anti-depressant medication to relieve depression. In the long run, I've never known this to work. At some point, therapy is usually necessary, and there are a number of patients who are helped only by therapy, without need of medication at all
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Depression/living/general2.asp
Physiologically, depression can be treated with medications known as anti-depressants. These will raise the levels of various neurotransmitters, thus relieving some of the depression symptoms. Also they help give the person a bit more control over their emotions and thoughts, which goes a long way to alleviating the illness altogether. Over the past few years, a lot has been said about anti-depressants. They're alternately vilified as inducing--rather than alleviating--psychosis, and as absolute cure-alls. In fact, they are neither. They do not "cause" people to become psychotic or suicidal, as some news stories on Prozac (probably the most famous anti-depressant) claim. In cases like this, it's much more likely that the anti-depressant medication just didn't work as well as expected. And they are not cure-alls, since they are not "happy pills" which suddenly provide a euphoric state. When they work, they simply take the "edge" off of one's mood, and do not altogether eliminate depression. Rather, they make depressed moments shorter, and less frequent. It's best to think of these medications as helpers or guides, rather than as cures.
Psychologically, therapy is a great help. There are several types of therapy available for depression. Different types of therapy work differently on various patients. For the most part, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy work best. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps the patient examine his or her thought processes, allowing him or her to uncover erroneous ideas, assumptions, and so forth. Interpersonal therapy helps the patient explore other learned thoughts and behaviors that create problems and contribute to depression. For example, therapists can help depressed individuals understand and improve patterns of interacting with other people that contribute to their depression. Both therapies involve raising self-esteem, which is a great help. Often, a therapist will incorporate components of both of these therapies in sessions with a patient, depending on his or her needs at the time. (This is called an eclectic approach--eclectic meaning simply that different techniques from different therapies, are used.)
Most depression patients require both anti-depressant medication and therapy. Nearly all will benefit from at least a little therapy, and many benefit from medication. It's a mistake, however, to rely solely on anti-depressant medication to relieve depression. In the long run, I've never known this to work. At some point, therapy is usually necessary, and there are a number of patients who are helped only by therapy, without need of medication at all
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Depression/living/general2.asp
c-sharp minor
Well-known member
Here is a very interesting study done on hippocampal volume of severely depressed individuals.
It is still in the early stages of research, but does sound interesting, nonetheless.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/2/2
It is still in the early stages of research, but does sound interesting, nonetheless.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/2/2
