I feel down ALL the time, everything is really overwhelming for me, but I dont want to be medicated?

Question

I am pretty sure that I am a chronic depressed person, but I do not want to be on medication, I have been on alot and at one point tried to kill myself when I was on a whopping dose of uppers and downers. I have also seen many counselors, MD's, psychologists etc... and talking makes me feel ok for the time but 3 days later I am overwhelmed by life again, normal things like what to make for dinner and what to play with my son and how to handle bills etc etc etc... things that other people just do I have to really plan out and dwell on and get severely anxoius about. I never have thoughts of hurting myself or my son or anyone else I just feel down and out... do you have any suggestions of things I can do short of medicine to help curb this?

I only tried to hurt myself when I was on medication. Off medication I have NEVER had a bad thought

Answer 1

Medicines and therapy go hand-in-hand. You have to really want to get better, Amber. The therapists give you the tools so that you don't dwell on things until you want to die. Then you have to put them into action yourself. Then you said you tried to kill yourself once, then you said you never have thoughts of hurting yourself? A LOT of people are addicted to misery. It's true. If you've felt this way for years, in a strange way it's comforting to just stay in the negative. Only you can stop that.

Answer 2

It sounds like you have TRD, Treatment Resistant Depression. A very safe and solid option that is a little scary to you if you don't know how well it's done now is ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

It's very gentle now. You get muscle relaxants so you don't jerk muscles and hurt yourself. You get anesthesia so you are unconscious. They use very little electricity. And they only stimulate one side of the brain at a time so there is very little risk at all.

It works well for between 60 and 80 percent of patients where other things have not, if I'm remembering my numbers right. And it often lasts for months and months. On NPR recently I heard a U.S. Senator (I forget who) talk about how his wife gets it every other year or so around Thanksgiving which is when her symptoms are usually worst. And then she's fine for around two years.

He said he drops her off at the hospital in the morning and picks her up two or so hours later.

I've never had it but if my psychiatrist ever suggested it, I'd jump on it.

Good luck in whatever you try.

Answer 3

I know how you feel get to the gym or do some fast paced walking also try one St Johns Wort capsule nightly it helps feel like you do its just some days are so overwhelming I do not want to get out of the house just sit and read a good book bu I make myself get up and go. I work but I have not had a job in three months but I have been depressed for about ten years Just try what I suggested.
God Bless you ...... Keep the faith.....

Answer 4

Have you ever heard of a kind of cognitive-behavioral treatment called DBT? It's really helped me change my life by helping me see things in a different way and giving me coping skills I never had. I've been in and out of treatment for 24 years and DBT is the best thing that happened to me. If you want to check out what it's all about, go to www.dbtselfhelp.com, although it really is not a program you can do by yourself. It is taught in a group setting usually. But it's worth looking into. For me, being bipolar, not being medicated is not an option if I want to be stable, but medication is not a must-have in order to learn DBT skills. It has really helped me learn how to cope with things (often exactly the things you mentioned) when I am overwhelmed by them (which is frequently).

Other things that can help when dealing with depression are eating a healthy balanced diet, getting regular exercise (especially something you kind of enjoy doing), sleeping on a regular schedule, avoiding mood altering substances (drugs and alcohol), and using relaxation techniques/ breathing exercises/meditation.

Answer 5

I recently found a great forum called depressionforum.com. It has a lot of really great, kind, understanding people on there who know exactly how you feel and what you are going through. They are all very supportive of one another and you get a lot of great advice. Good luck and God bless. Have a wonderful blessed day!!

Answer 6

Are you my long lost twin!!! lol
I'v tried EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! The best thing for me, is yoga, natural herbs, breathing exercises, and "me" time. It takes a while to get totally in control. But you can do it. Surround yourself with positivity. It's ok to talk to yourself in the mirror in the morning and tell yourself "today is going to be a good day, because I'm in control". I know, sounds kinda corny, maybe even crazy, but it helps.
Good luck to you!

Answer 7

i don't comprehend why you attempt to excuse your guy or woman reaction, which i'm particular is valid in lots of situations. now and returned i think like only a sprint a misanthrope myself. Do you reside interior the Northeastern component of the U. S. by using any probability? Rudeness and aggression look deeply embedded in our interior of sight subculture. in case you circulate to acquaintances interior the South or Western states, you will hit upon a much extra comfortable and much less unfavorable atmosphere. in my view, I honestly have particularly a quantity techniques of coping with it. i attempt to forget approximately approximately it many times, yet whilst it gets relatively undesirable, then i will do "snob" too. once I instructed a banker to "only circulate interior the returned and consume your little baggie lunch," and that i've got been rude to human beings in return assorted cases. yet you finally finally end up no longer feeling to any extent further acceptable approximately your self. in case you only return the essential in sort, you have neglected the prospect to learn something from that individual, albeit a unfavorable lesson approximately why that right is disrespecting you. docs are something else entirely. maximum of them run their practices like an assembly line - $one hundred-2 hundred for 10 minutes. they do no longer ask any questions approximately you. they do no longer hear to you. in case you're in super soreness or suffering, they make you experience like a hypochondriac on your lawsuits. There are some sturdy ones, yet I honestly have not got here upon a single one that would desire to learn with my chiropractor or my son's former pediatric neurologist, who instructed me "we don't understand precisely what we are doing. we are experimenting with those drugs fo epilepsy." maximum docs are little extra desirable than glorified technicians. Now that i've got stated that, i could additionally opt to point out that people who're tops of their fields are probable much less conceited than their lesser colleagues. tell docs good awya which you already know the scientific situation under communicate, due on your education or huge outdoors analyzing. Library workers tend to the two be pathetically lazy and unknowledgeable or particularly nicely counseled and prepared that can assist you. attempt to discriminate between the two categories and follow the 2d. ok. i've got rambled on for too long.

Answer 8

This is a very good blog, a beginner’s guide to abnormal psychology.
Short, clear and simple; and you can even post your question and contact the author regarding particular subject you are interested in, for FREE

http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/

Answer 9

Have you ever tried taking stress, time, or anxiety management courses? Those may give you some helpful and creative tips on managing the problems you're having.