Am I depressed?

Question

I am think I am. I worry all the time about things and it usually will take up my day and make it so miserable. I don't care to hang out with friends, just my boyfriend. I don't liek big crowds. I have a low feeling most of the day. I change moods every hour and I have been going through for a long time. I am just now deciding to do something about it before nursing school starts this fall. My mom is going to try to get me some pills from her doctor or I will get them myself. Also, what do you recommend? My mom heard a ad on tv that is suppose to be really good and it started with a P. It wasn't prozac-i heard that stuff really can make you crazy. Thanks~

Answer 1

First, I am sorry you are not doing well. You sound like you are experiencing both anxiety and depression.

Second, do not believe everything you hear from people about medications. Most anti-depressants have been tested on lots and lots of people before they ever come to the market. Prozac has been around for a while and is pretty safe. However, you need to talk to your doctor and tell him/her your symptoms and they can pick the drug that is best for you.

I also would recommend considering counseling. Medication can help, but the research shows that the best treatment for depression is both medication and therapy, at least if it is a moderate to severe depression.

Good luck. And people do care:)

Answer 2

It sounds like you could be depressed. It depends on how long this has been going on and what other symptoms you have.

However, do NOT "get pills from your mom's doctor." That is a very, very bad idea. You need to go to the doctor yourself, perhaps a psychiatrist. No one can recommend what you should take except a doctor experienced in mood disorders, especially among young people.

All antidepressants have potentially serious side effects, and you need to be monitored while you are on medication. You have to take exactly the dose prescribed for YOU based on your medical history and other conditions. You have to be monitored if and when you go off the medication.

I know what drug is advertised on TV, and I'm not going to tell you what it is because I don't think you should take prescription medications just because they are advertised on TV! You have to ask the doctor about all of the potential side effects and see which set of side effects is best for you.

I am glad you are thinking about getting help, but please try to get it for yourself and in the right way. You might want to consider seeing a therapist as well. There are some low-cost options out there if you can't afford it. Check around at your local mental health facility or ask your school counselor for referrals if you are in school.

Good luck.

Answer 3

It really does sound like you need to see a Dr. soon. You describe feeling low which could be depression but the other symptoms you have described such as not liking being around crowds and changing moods every hour and the fact that it has been going on for a long time indicated that there could be more underlying conditions and I would take it more serious than ordering something off of the television. I hope you get the help you need~

Answer 4

Sounds more like anxiety to me. But feeling anxious can also bring on feelings of depression. I'm on zoloft for anxiety/panic disorder and it covers depression as well. Many people mistake anxiety for depression because they both seem to go hand in hand.

I recommend talking to your doctor and possibly getting a referral to a psychiatrist and a therapist. I am in the process of recovery myself and medication is not a cure all. Fixing anxiety often requires learning how to change behavior that causes you to worry and feel anxious, so that is why I recommend a therapist. As for the medication, you could get your general practitioner to prescribe, but most of the time it seems like they are just blindly prescribing and I have had many bad experiences as a result. A psychiatrist will make a more informed decision on what medication is best for your particular condition.

Oh and ignore the ads on TV...the doctor should know what is best for you, so don't make suggestions. Pharmaceutical companies make those ads to get people to request their products...that doesn't mean they are necessarily good for you. Cymbalta is one of the newer antidepressents that is advertised on TV and I had the most horrendous side effects while on it. So far, zoloft has been a miracle pill for me and the side effects have not been too noticeable.

Anyway, good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

Answer 5

Stay away from the damn pills!

Set some goals. You can't and wont be happy without a dream, a goal, or a passion for something.

Doing this does two things. First of all it takes your mind off you. Second, when you spend enough time at it you'll get a sense of pleasure of accomplishment you may have not had before.

As you traverse that time from teenage to early adulthood, we adults learn that feeling good comes from what we do and accomplish.

When you're a kid you can care less cause you have goals established for you. School until you're 18, and then off to college. But that's all they say. They don't tell you that college is an on-your-honor institution where you don't have to go, you don't have to perform, and you don't even have to show up because the college/university system recognizes you as an adult and not a juvinile anymore.

From now on you need to start choosing your goals and reaching them. It will drive aways the blues. Also, don't be afraid to work because being afraid can limit your passion towards accomplishing that goal.

If needs be set one or two small goals. Put them on paper, and plan out your reward. The bigger the goal the better the reward. Its a feeling you can only feel after accomplishment. Congratulate yourself on the accomplishment!

Answer 6

It may be anxiety combined with depression, or it may possibly be a type of Bipolar Disorder, but it is important to see a doctor, and ask to be referred, as doctors are generalists, and few are good at diagnosing which type of Bipolar Disorder it is: many errors occur, and years can be wasted, if the correct diagnosis and treatment are not provided first time. General advice for either: Practise one of the relaxation methods at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris on page 2: depression treatments/resources (read the whole page). Take a vitamin C, a B complex, and 4 fish oil supplements, daily. View http://www.dbsalliance.org & phone them on [phone]. Exercise daily & keep occupied. Arctic root & St. John's Wort are effective with both anxiety ( a section on this will be added to the "ezy-build" site in the next few days) and moderate depression, if it has no physiological cause, like a thyroid disorder.

Answer 7

You may or may not be depressed. Do not medicate yourself without proper diagnosis. If you take medicine that is not appropriate for your condition then you could do yourself serious harm. See your doctor and describe your symptoms. Your doctor will ask you questions that will give a clear picture as to what the next step in helping you might be. You may have another disorder that requires different medications from antidepressants and you may also need counselling to help you cope with your illness and daily living. Also, advertisements on t.v. never say that they are awful, they want you to buy their product. It is best if you ask the advice of your physician. From what you describe here it does not sound like just depression. Please see your doctor before you take any medications. If you need to do something for yourself try swimming, walking, bicycling or dancing. You don't need to be in a crowd to do these things and it will help with your mood. Stay away from coffee and pop, junk foods and do not smoke...anything. Good luck and good health.

Answer 8

Haha, you sound like me! I have depression and I have a psychiatrist appointment in May. I've been on Lexapro, Zoloft, and now I'm on Celexa. Lexapro worked the best for me, but everyone is different when it comes to anti-depressants. Finding the right one that works with your body is hard! You should also check your thyroid gland, because it can greatly affect your moods. Also, if your moods change a lot, you might be experiencing "rapid cycling." If your mood changes are very severe, you might want to consider looking into bipolar disorders. Hope that helps! Good luck and keep your hopes high! You'll be happy soon!

Answer 9

If you think you have depression you need to see the doc for an proper diagnosis. Your mom cannot just ask her doc for some pills and hope they do the trick . You need to see a doc and get checked out. You may have something medically wrong that can be corrected or it could be just depression or nothing at all. No matter what YOU have to go see the doc. You talk of nursing school in the fall but you need to remember that for a proper diagnosis you have to see the doc not just guess. Guessing does not count in nursing school.

Answer 10

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Self-esteem Makeover

Do you need a self-esteem makeover?
Here are the essentials you will need to do it!
Do not use your weight to measure your self-worth What does weight have to do with self-worth? Your self-worth is the sum of everything that makes you special and unique - not just your thigh and waist measurements! Add up your assets, talents, how you treat others, how you treat yourself, the contributions you make to your family, friends and community. Now you have self-worth.

Count your blessings. You have a lot of things to be thankful for a home, a loving family, friends you enjoy, a job, a sunny day, the knowledge you've acquired - even things like shoes, a coat. Many people don't have these things. A mind that counts blessings has no room for self-pity. So you don't wear a size 2? Neither did Eleanor Roosevelt!

Are you continually playing negative tapes in your mind? Eject them and insert new tapes! You may have to make a conscious effort. When the critical tape starts playing, picture yourself hitting the "stop" button and insert a new, positive tape.

Don't use "all or nothing" thinking. No one is a "total" failure. Most things you do right. Just because you sometimes make a mistake or take a wrong path does not make you a "total" failure. It makes you human. Besides, the president of CBS was recently asked for his secret to success. His answer: failures - because how else would we learn?


No one starts from zero. You probably eat pretty well a lot of the time. We can always make improvements, but consider the glass half full, not half-empty!

#
"How To Be Happy"

1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. ~

2. Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears. ~

3. Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people. ~

4. You can't please everybody. Don't let criticism worry you. ~

5. Don't let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself. ~

6. Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt. ~

7. Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones. ~

8. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy. ~

9. Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about new places. ~

10. Don't hold post-mortems. Don't spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don't be one who never gets over things. ~

11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself. ~

12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy. ~

- Robert Louis Stevenson
#
Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of human existence.

A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he
could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered. Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, "Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

The above story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health , time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding
beauty
and the hobbies we love.

One day when we look back , we will realize that we don't really need
that
much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed.

Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition . Life
is
definitely not about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living
so as
to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of Work
and
Play, Family and Personal time. You have to decide how you want to
balance
your Life. Define your priorities, realize what you are able to
compromise
but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts.
Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of
human
existence.

So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life
is
fragile, Life is short. Do not take Life for granted. Live a balanced
lifestyle and enjoy Life!



Watch your thoughts ; they become words.

Watch your words ; they become actions.

Watch your actions ; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character .

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny .

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