My therapist says that I have "Non-biological depression". Can this be treated ??

Question

I am 28 years old and have been seeing my current therapist for about a year now for depression, social anxiety, general anxiety, and very pronounced low self-esteem isssues. He is the 6th therapist I have seen in my life--I have literally suffered from depression/anxiety since I was 5 years old, and over my lifetime I have been on a total of 12 antidepressants/antianxiety meds, including Paxil, Buspar, Wellbutrin, Serzone, and so on. This list includes benzos like Klonopin, too. NONE of them have helped for longer than a week at most, some had no effect at all. In addition to therapists, I've seen scores of medical Dr's to try med combonations, and to rule out other physical problems, but no luck.

With the therapists (including my current one) I have tried a variety of treatments, (EMDR, CBT, psychotherapy, etc). During our last session, my psychologist said that my condition seems to be "non-biological" and unable to be treated medically.

What does this mean??

My therapist also said that my biggest issue seems to be from suppression--if someone had to use a word to describe me, it would be "uptight". What makes this more confusing is that I have a type of depression where my mood can be improved by outside things, but that my negative thoughts about myself and the need to "hold back" stay intact no matter what. We have even discussed a time several years ago where I was so drunk that I could barely stand, but was still as uptight, reserved, and fearful as ever.

My therapist has also tried hypnotism with me, and after that session told me that it seems that these negative thoughts are so deeply ingrained into my identity that they will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to "undo". According to his findings, these are as deeply ingrained into my mind as the basic facts about myself (name, age).

I am at a loss as what to do :(

Answer 1

There are two main types of depression - for some folks, even if they have a wonderful life, a neurochemical imbalance, thyroid problem, or other physical problem causes depression. For other folks, their past and present experiences, their current situation, past trauma and/or their current environment causes depression. A combination of anxiety & depression is quite common. You may simply not have found the right therapist for you or you may be holding back from discussing past or present experiences that drive your depression/anxiety. I'd strongly recommend learning and actively using coping skills and strategies. Meds can give support - but they will not change you. I strongly recommend to my clients that they become mindful of the ways in which they treat themselves - are you your own best friend or your own worst enemy? Notice your own feelings and thoughts and take control of them - be kind to yourself - don't beat yourself up - journal your feelings - ask yourself if you are being active or passive in your therapy? Personally, I'd recommend an LCPC or LCSW - psychologists tend to focus on behavior - I prefer therapists who treat the whole person from a "strengths perspective." Good luck

Answer 2

Honey, your current therapist SUCKS! Lose him like a cheap pair of shoes. He isn't worth your time, let alone the money you are spending on that worthless psycho-babble therapy.

No competent therapist would declare something difficult or impossible to cure. You need a cognative behavioral therapist, they will work with you on the negative self-talk and teach you new ways to talk to yourself in ways that are not self-defeating or are repeating your patterns. They would teach you a new way to nurture yourself through negative self-image. You truly are what you think. To have a therapist basically labeling your "incurable" is more harmful to you than you can even comprehend right now. No one is beyond help.

Take the bull by the horns. I find exercising greatly improves my mood. Exercise to the extent of 5 mile walks every day. That sounds like a lot, but it is about what I personally need to keep my mood up. Try it. You should notice an improvement after about 6 weeks. Don't try and do 5 miles off the bat, work up to it. Either join a gym or carve out some time to walk your neigbhorhood. It took me almost 2 hours to walk 5 miles at the beginning, now I am much faster and I have added intense cardio to my routine and cut down on the slower paced walking.

Have you been tested for any thryoid abnormalities? Having low thryroid can cause general listlessness and depression, I felt mentally foggy and incompetent. I didn't have energy for anything. When I got the proper replacement hormone to make up for what my thyroid wasn't producing, the effect was dramatic. I felt more mentally clear, less depressed, and more capable of tackling my life.

Good luck to you...and fire that stupid, stupid therapist you have. How in the world can someone like that even begin to help when it seems like they don't really have any respect for you?

Answer 3

I am taking a psychology class right now so I'm no professional or anything, but the instructor told us that some forms of depression can be cured by removing yourself from the situations that make you depressed, I know you said you lived with this your whole life, but what was your family life like, did you have a good childhood, if not maybe you have been situationally depressed your whole life because you weren't happy with your surroundings. I'm 25 and use to suffer with all of these problems made me quit college, but I found things to do that truly make me happy, even my job is something I enjoy doing, and I have worked up enough self-esteem to go back to school. To sum it all up, find out the things you like to do that truly make you happy, dedicate your time to these things and maybe you will feel happier. I hope you can find your "path" because once you do you will feel happier. Oh yeah, try some yoga too, it is really relaxing.

Answer 4

The good news is that it is mental or situational. Sound counseling has proven to be far more effective than pills. Today, no one really wants to hear your problem with the intent to help you process them on a healthy level. It is all about keeping the client heavily sedated. Your progress largely depends on the therapist and his/her approach. If he/she encourages you to feel sorry for yourself, drop him/her. Go to someone who uses Rational Emotive Therapy or a behavioral approach. You need to hear the truth, so you can move on with your life. When I was in college, I went into a deep depression that was almost clinical in nature. I was fortunate enough to get a therapist who layed it on the line with me. In thirty minutes, twelve months of depression had lifted. I am certain had I gotten someone to say what I wanted him to say and agreed with my every word, I would probably have Schizo Affective Disorders. Without a doubt, you can go free to live life at your fullest. I have worked in mental health for over twenty years, and most of the persons I have seen did not need medication. However, all were given meds of some sort.

Answer 5

I am not a doctor nor a therapist, but I would imagine a "non-biological" depression would be caused from extrinsic sources. Meaning, the source of your depression is being caused from something in your life or something you're exposed to -- not a chemical problem in your body. That's a good thing, though -- you should be able to treat your depression by changing the thing(s) in your life that's causing the problem. Eliminating the source should eliminate the problem.

Although you'll receive a myriad of responses through Yahoo! Answers, your best bet is to speak with your doctor or therapist again and get their opinion on non-biological depression.

Answer 6

Non-biological means that you don't seem to be responding to any medication, apparently because your brain chemistry is already within normal range. (Although this cannot be tested for sure, only inferred as they are doing.)

Any change in mood is associated with change in brain chemicals, and any set of brain chemicals can become addictive. The brain can become addicted, that is, habituated, to the chemical levels associated wiht depresssoin just like it can become addicted to alchohol, pot, etc. This is explained further in the film and book, -What the Bleep Do We Know?-.

I suffered from longterm depression as well. My healing was complex, involved facing up to abuse memories, CBT to address the cognitive distortions that were implanted during the abuse, etc. Spiritual technology helped as well, especially Zen meditatoin and Hawaiian mysticism (see URL below.) Sometimes ECT helps with longterm depressoin that does not respond to other treatments. These all have this in common: The trick is to shake the mind/brain/ego loose of the depressive patterns, and then provide alternative states and the energy necessary to remain in alternative states.

Answer 7

Well, try something completely different: Enjoy the Swiss one-time treatment called Atlasprofilax - and the self-healing power of your body and soul will be boosted amazingly.

Just - the treatment is available in California and Europe only, costing approx. 220 dollars. It's really worth travelling a far way! :-)

Answer 8

I am not a doctor, but like some of the other answerers, I think depression is due to body chemistry. Please consider getting yourself checked for hyperinsulinemia by having a fasting blood insulin test. If your insulin level is high, it can be causing over/under production of other body chemicals.

Your brain's reaction to this over/under production may be to try to reduce your activity levels by putting you in a depressed state.

If you want to try to check this out by trying a diet that helps to lower insulin production, either check out the below noted book from your library, or check out www.hufa.org

Answer 9

i've dealt with depression just about as far back as I can remember, the medication i don't think are necessarily intended to make you happy but to lift you up to a level where you are able to deal with any issues you have concerning depression, i doubt you would be very open to a stranger, because i know how skeptical i am, but if you wanted i would be willing to dicuss anything you wanted about depression and whatever else, i believe it would beneficial for the both of us