Anyone suffer from depression? I have for many years, and it's horrible. It sucks having to rely on medication to keep the depression away. Have any of you been medicated for depression and if so, what are you taking? I was taking Prozac, stopped for awhile (was trying to get pregnant and my doctor said that it's not good for a pregnant woman to take Prozac), but I am really thinking that I need to get back on it soon. I have been SO depressed lately...I hate that so much!

I have a condition which causes depression (called PCOS), and it's really an everyday struggle. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. I have attempted therapy, but it really didn't do much for me. All I was able to do was to vent, but my therapist really didn't offer too much advise on what to do.

I can't say I have ever been really depressed, but I do have what is, or used to be called melancholy, more of a persistent never happy, never sad, just kinda there. A friend who has used meds for years tried to get me to try her prozac, but I know from past experience that I probably have a self medicating personality and don't want to start what could turn into an addiction.  I do think if you had a therapist that didn't do much good you should try a different therapist, sometimes you have to go through a few to find one who helps.  Relying on the meds alone is putting a band aid over a band aid, a therapist who knows what she is doing should be like salve that cures the wound.

I don't suffer from depression I just have depression in general like boredom when I have nothing to do.

I have never been diagnosed with clinical depression but I have had episodes in my life where I was depressed. The first time was when I was married to my first husband. I was also in a crappy job. Hind sight it was because I was totally unhappy with my situation-my job, my marriage, etc. Anyone would be depressed. Once I got out of both, life was a lot better.  :D ;D ;D ;D


The second time was about 4 years ago when my sister died. That hit me really hard. To be fair, it might not have been just that but could also have been hormones, too which just added to it all.


Cat

I'm lucky.  I've felt like crap a few times in my life.  (If it can be kept at bay by the temporary application of pony, it's probably not depression.  It's not a black dog, it's a cute, (albeit occasionally-annoying) little chihuahua yapping at my heels.)

But I've known people who have suffered from depression.  From observation, not direct experience, to say that it sucks is an understatement.

So if you or someone you love suffers from depression, I'm not going to tell you to "feel better" or "buck up".  Because that's a load of blaming-the-victim BS.

What I am going to tell you is that it's a chronic and progressive disease, that you owe it to yourself to get it treated, and that it's a hell of a lot more treatable than it used to be, and that it is nothing to be ashamed of.  If you're depressed, you need to know that you aren't broken (note: knowing you're not broken won't make you feel any less broken, which is part of what really sucks about it.)  But know that your brain's chemistry is a little off.  Unfortunately, brains are really really complicated systems of overlapping and interacting chemical feedback loops, and the feedback loops can be altered in part by conscious thought ("conscious thought" being nothing more than the brain running software with its own data store as the input), so to make a long story short, we don't quite know how everyone's brain works, and it sometimes takes physicians a(n excruciatingly) long time to figure out what mix of chemicals will make your brain work, but it is fixable.

And if you're depressed, you should also know that you're no crazier than Sir Winston Churchill was, and he only led the UK during WW2.  Consider yourself in good company.

Edit: Added links to "Black Dog" references.

All my life I've been having depression and still do. 

I've been off my meds for awhile, and my mom told me the other day that I should go back on them..I agree. I have been so edgy and depressed, and ready to jump down everyone's throats. Ya, it's time.

I've never had meds for depression.  I had something for my brain tumor for awhile, but I think I still got depressed.  I feel like I might hold the worlds record of things wrong with me.  There I go again depressing myself again :D

I had something for my brain tumor for awhile, but I think I still got depressed.  I feel like I might hold the worlds record of things wrong with me.  There I go again depressing myself again :D


Oh yeah.  If I recall correctly (and I may not, and I am not a doctor), you beat cancer.  And fark cancer.  Yeah, you got dealt a crappy hand, but let the record show that having been dealt that crappy hand, your brain has kicked more ass than mine is ever likely to.  That probably won't make you feel better about yourself, but it makes me feel better about you.

Well, I get depressed sometimes like any other person but I do not take any meds for it. I usually can get myself out of depression other ways like doing things I like, changing something in a room or on myself which really does it...it helps a good deal. I don't get depressed easily but when I do I am always ready for it.

Oh yeah.  If I recall correctly (and I may not, and I am not a doctor), you beat cancer.  And fark cancer.  Yeah, you got dealt a crappy hand, but let the record show that having been dealt that crappy hand, your brain has kicked more ass than mine is ever likely to.  That probably won't make you feel better about yourself, but it makes me feel better about you.


and the type of brain tumor I got was new at the time, so It may be the worst yet.  Isn't that cool?

and the type of brain tumor I got was new at the time, so It may be the worst yet.  Isn't that cool?


Well, the types of cancer don't get better or worse as we discover them - they just suck.  But you beat it.  Beats the alternative - I like that you can still post here and in so doing, entertain us, and hopefully we're providing you with some amusement in return.

Found the other link I was looking for the other night.  One of my favorite web cartoonists, Allie Brosh (probably the only person to articulate what we felt like as children when we were told not to not to eat the cake, and definitely the only human ever to express what it's like to be a simple dog), also suffers from depression. 

Here's her view from the inside: Adventures in Depression.

well, I try to post.  You may have seen me loose it once, but that is all the times I hope it will happen. 

I was thinking yesterday  about When I was considering recording Brak, Zorak and Moltar voices.  Today I'm coming up with songs I can do with my harmonica.  Think I'd like to do something crazy again if I can get myself motivated again.  I had fun when I use to write parodies and someone got me interested in recording.  Being hard of hearing didn't stop my heart.  Now I don't have to worry about being hard of hearing.

I was thinking yesterday  about When I was considering recording Brak, Zorak and Moltar voices.  Today I'm coming up with songs I can do with my harmonica.  Think I'd like to do something crazy again if I can get myself motivated again.  I had fun when I use to write parodies and someone got me interested in recording.  Being hard of hearing didn't stop my heart.  Now I don't have to worry about being hard of hearing.


I can't sing worth crap, but I've penned the odd parody on the 00s side of the 00s/amiright fence.  I don't need to be able to sing to imagine what it would sound like.  (The reason i haven't tried autotune is because I'm pretty sure it wouldn't sound much better...) 

Next time someone says something - anything - that reminds of you of a line in a song, write a parody.  Even if it's just one verse.  If anyone knows the original, I'll bet they get a chuckle out of it.

They might, but people stopped commenting on my stuff and I warned them that there gonna loose this girl.  Now I dont write parodies and probably don't need to be spending all day every day writing them.  Just one more thing I did that I really enjoyed that I became sad and lonely with.  And now you know the rest of the lonely. 


Another coke here

I went through a couple of periods in my life where I suffered serious depression. Counseling and meds did not help-and then I had a doc suggest to me to stop taking the birth control shot. I did, and it eventually got better. That is when I found out about disthymia- a chronic mild depression that some people suffer. The way the doc first described it to me is this, if depression were the flu, disthymia would be a low grade fever. It seems that the hormones in birth control can exaggerate the symptoms, and that is what had happened to me. I have made recovery, and although sometimes I feel it more than others, it can be managed mostly by using positive thought reinforcement, vitamins, exercise, etc.

Depression is not something to be ashamed of, and it is sad that so many go without treatment because they think it is.

A lot of times when I'm down, I look for something with chocolate in it.  Chocolate does help me.

I think I'm going to go back to medicene to see if it keeps me from loosing it and or gives my brain some more energy again. 

Yes, I've talked about it numerous times on these boards. 

I fell into such a bad state this past April that my family tried to hospitalize me.  I'm doing a little better now. 

Over the past 20 years I've been on most of the major anti-depressants on the market as well as numerous other medications.  And with all the kings horse's and all the king's men, I barely registered a notch above Kafka. 

I've been diagnosed with dysthymic depression with anxiety disorder...yeah, it's a dark, hellish world I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies. 

Therapy isn't much good.  I don't recommend self-help books or popular psychology.  The book that's helped me the most recently is Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground."  When you're as afflicted as I, the demons inside won't be exorcised because the demons are you.  Thus, it's good to get to know them and how they function and the reasons the demons have grown inside you in the first place.  That's what Dostoevsky is a big help with. 

The other thing.  "Happiness."  I don't believe in it.  I believe in moments of joy and contented memories, but happiness as a steady state is not something I expect to have. 

The first time you slip into an abyss of infernal despair and paresthesias run a stinging/burning sensation inside out your entire body, and you feel like you're tipping backwards off the edge of the universe, yeah, you panic.  As I got older, I found I could say, "Oh, I've been here before," and I grit my teeth and work through it.

C'est la vie.

Perhaps it would have been nice to have a career and a family and all that stuff you get if you can work hard, behave, and conform, but it's not in the offing, so I might as well not feel guilty about it!
::)

yes you usually say hey I've been here and may wonder how you got there again and can learn to solve the depression for yourself.  I have someone from the City Of Hope recommending me to get counciling that wants $ 50 bucks an hour.  I cant afford it, I seem to have some great friends around here and know I need to make some here in Modesto.  I usually know where it comes from and can stop it.  Thats what made me deside that I'd rather try taking some brain tumor medicene again instead of waisting all my money for someone to tell me what I already know. 

Ya no what? the medicine I had was Celexa and is an antidepressant.  My mom said it helped me .  I don't think it did anything.  At the time I was taking it I was still hearing, going to junior college socializing with people and such.  I dont know if it will help me now or not.  I do get mad at my mom because sometimes she still seems like the stupidest person on the planet sometimes, so that's that.,  When I feel depressed about myself, it's because of how hard my brain tumor has made it for me.  It's as if demons are trying to get me to kill myself. I say to myself  to shut the L up I'm still doing what I can.

I'm going to be e-mailing my doctor to make an appointment about this and some other stuff. 

I have sometimes wondered if I suffer from a mild form of depression.  I have definitely noticed that I don't have the patience that I used to.  Sometimes I just have an empty feeling, like I'm just plugging along with nothing to look forward to or be enthused about.  It makes me lose my appetite.  I don't know if that makes any sense.  It isn't a horrible feeling, and I'm used to those episodes and I hide them well... but it might be some sort of depression.

I think I'm going through a non-typical form of depression, mixed in with lots of anxiety and very mild panic attacks. Lots of stuff and events have happened to me in the last 12 months. 
I have been prescribed some Ativan (lorazepan), which is an anti-anxiety drug. But was told it's quite addictive. After trying one, it basically made me drowsy for 24 hours, but I did not feel depressed or anxious.

I have met with someone in the psychiatry profession, and she's advised me to get further help..to just talk about things. That's where I'm at now. I'd rather not explain further behavior right now. I know you all don't know me and I don't know you..but I'll stop here for now. No one needs to be EVEN MORE depressed reading this.

I have sometimes wondered if I suffer from a mild form of depression.  I have definitely noticed that I don't have the patience that I used to.  Sometimes I just have an empty feeling, like I'm just plugging along with nothing to look forward to or be enthused about.  It makes me lose my appetite.  I don't know if that makes any sense.  It isn't a horrible feeling, and I'm used to those episodes and I hide them well... but it might be some sort of depression.



I'm always empty and without goals.  Makes me more willing to do whatever I can to make people laugh.  I don't know if it's depression I have or if you are getting depression, but what you're saying isn't strange.  Welcome to my world.

I think I'm going through a non-typical form of depression, mixed in with lots of anxiety and very mild panic attacks. Lots of stuff and events have happened to me in the last 12 months. 
I have been prescribed some Ativan (lorazepan), which is an anti-anxiety drug. But was told it's quite addictive. After trying one, it basically made me drowsy for 24 hours, but I did not feel depressed or anxious.

I have met with someone in the psychiatry profession, and she's advised me to get further help..to just talk about things. That's where I'm at now. I'd rather not explain further behavior right now. I know you all don't know me and I don't know you..but I'll stop here for now. No one needs to be EVEN MORE depressed reading this.


I was on Valium for two years.  It is habituating, but I had no trouble tapering off of it.  I was taking a low dose for anxiety management.  When I switched clinics my new doctor wouldn't prescribe it.  I now take Vistril for anxiolytic with Cymbalta as my antidepressant.  I never found Valium lost its efficacy an an anxiolytic even after the side effects wore off.  The problem with diazepams is people try to chase the high and keep escalating the dose. 

I have also noticed that in recent years, I get fixated on things that seem positive to me at the time.  It's almost like I have to keep my mind occupied with positive things all the time.

My husband has been talking about transferring to Texas.  It would be great, since we could probably buy a house for cash and not have a mortgage down there... so I must have spent 2-3 hours a day looking at houses online for a good couple weeks...

Then we went to Reno, and some of you may have seen my thread about trying to find one of my old friends... I seem to be fixated on that at the moment.  It always seems to be something.

Does anyone who suffers from depression experience this?

I was on Valium for two years.  It is habituating, but I had no trouble tapering off of it.  I was taking a low dose for anxiety management.  When I switched clinics my new doctor wouldn't prescribe it.  I now take Vistril for anxiolytic with Cymbalta as my antidepressant.  I never found Valium lost its efficacy an an anxiolytic even after the side effects wore off.  The problem with diazepams is people try to chase the high and keep escalating the dose.



I was on Valium once-not for depression but for my TMJ (jaw) issue. I slept for 2 days straight. My poor cat. She was sleeping next to me and I rolled over on her. I sort of heard her screaming but she sounded far away. My (ex) husband had to pull her out from under me. She never slept next to me after that. And the Valium really didn't help-only made me sleep.



Cat

I now take Vistril for anxiolytic with Cymbalta as my antidepressant.

I must make a point to ask my GP about Vistaril, if she thinks it's less addictive than Ativan.


The problem with diazepams is people try to chase the high and keep escalating the dose. 


This is the primary concern of my GP. I've only taken one, and haven't found it habituating. A similar effect to a powerful  muscle relaxant is how I feel.

I have also noticed that in recent years, I get fixated on things that seem positive to me at the time.  It's almost like I have to keep my mind occupied with positive things all the time.





same here

I have been depressed, but usually don't see it until I am out of the depression, and have always been able to get myself out of it.  I feel for people who need help to pull them out.  I do think it needs to be a holistic approach, diet, therapy, and drugs, and the other 2 especially if drugs get involved.  I have been offered some before, but I know myself, I have an addictive personality and if I started I am afraid that I would not stop, it isn't easy by any means, but I have been able to avoid them.

This is very interesting to me to see you guys mention Prozac and Valium. Neither drug is prescribed in the U.K. any more because of the fact they are highly addictive and have such bad side effects!

I personally think medication alone is not the answer, I think you need meds AND therapy. If someone is on meds for 15 years clearly they are not making them better. For me CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) was the turning point. 

medicene alone definatly wont do the job. ( cant spell any more sorry) 

I personally think medication alone is not the answer, I think you need meds AND therapy. If someone is on meds for 15 years clearly they are not making them better. For me CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) was the turning point.

You may have a point there. Sometimes meds alone won't do it. Therapy ( which I need ) would help me with my depression/anxiety ( and whatever else I have).

Sometimes, you just have to laugh at everything, that helps.
http://www.real-funny-tee-shirt.com/images/Some%20Days%20Youre%20The%20Pigeon%20AW100054.png

if I couldn't laugh  I'd be dead. 

if I couldn't laugh  I'd be dead.

Same here.

As the Duly Appointed Rule 63 version of ESAD#214 (07-16-2012), I'm pleased (?) to present:

http://i.imgur.com/X2toC.jpg

  - Akimbo Comics, ESAD #164, 2010-10-04.

And now I have a new short-duration-personal-favorite webcomic, because that's exactly what I was trying to say a couple of pages ago.