is there any hope for someone with chronic depression...?

Question

who is not allowed any kind of medication due to past severe addictions?

Answer 1

I suffer from depression from time to time and I don't take meds - Try exercising - Cardio releases endorphins in your brain that will give you a feeling of calm..it really works....

Answer 2

What kind of addictions have you had that will not allow you to be on anti-depressants? I'm a nurse, also with chronic depression and addiction issues. I know just as well as you that most anti-depressants don't give you a buzz and certainly can be prescribed in your case. Anit-depressants DO cause dependancy issues, but ths is the case for anyone taking them. I would urge you to talk to your Dr and find out why NONE of the hundreds of different types of meds available for this condition won't work. If you don't get a good answer, talk to someone else. Yes, you can do therapy and positive imagery, but depression is chemical as well as situational and you need meds to address part of the equation. I hope you get the help you need.

Answer 3

As some one who's dealt with depression for over 40 years and have yet to develop a dependency on anti-depressants I'm not sure what doctor told you that you can become addicted to anti-depressants. Think about it how many times do you know or hear of someone dependent on anti-depressants, It's pain medication or sleep medications that people get dependent on. I have a sister and brother who have addictions issues and who both take medications for depression and my brother is a psychologist and his partner is a psychiatrist so I'm sure if that was an issue they would not be using medications to deal with my brothers issues.

Answer 4

just to add one point: Get to know what your triggers are. In other words what thoughts or external things start you down the slippery slope? Get to know what they are so that you can avoid them.
Our central nervous system is not that bright. Why you ask? Let me give you an example. Have you ever felt really sad because of something that happened and you did not know why? Let's say you started to cry. And again you did not know for the life of you what made you do that! What happens is the CNS picks old routes the neurostransmitters have been down before, and sparks them up and the same old reaction. So often you can have a reaction to something that has absolutely zip to do with what 's going on in real time.
There is hope-we are just finding out that the brain is quite elastic and that we can create new neurotranmissions! That 's fantastic news. So you have to teach yourself new ways to react to things. So after 40 years I am learning that I have to do everything in my power to not put myself in a position to get depressed. You see it's just like doing the right things for yourself so that you don't get a cold. Prevention is the key! So to answer your question you bet there is hope and that depression is really a choice...

Answer 5

DBT, or dialectical behavioral training, is a skills training course originally designed for suicidal people, then found to be extremely effective in the treatment of borderline personality disorder. It teaches borderlines how to experience feelings, positive and negative, without feeling the need to act on them or correct everything they (we) (I) don't like around them. You don't have to be borderline to benefit from DBT.

Dysthemia, which is mild, long-term depression, might respond to St. John's Wort or another herbal remedy; some people find relief in amino acids (I did fairly well on a trio, I just can't remember their names right now).

Psychotherapy, hypnosis, EMDR and other forms of therapy can also make a big difference. Oh - and it might sound silly, but eat well and take vitamin supplements. They won't cure your depression, but they will affect your body positively, and believe me, being overweight and out of shape feeds depression. Also, exercise releases endorphins, another natural feel-good.

Answer 6

Current pharmaceutical treaments for depression are not habit forming in the slightest. The medications have absolutely no potential for abuse.

Being an addict would not preclude being treated with antidepressants.

Answer 7

Of course there is hope. There is always hope. Do not give up. Talk to a compassionate doctor. Depression is treatable.

Answer 8

See page 2; depression, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris

Answer 9

hullo
there is always hope, but if you are against drug therapy, then there is the possibility of non drug therapy as psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.

dr solo

Answer 10

wow... is this because of her?