Been depressed again lately.?

Question

I have struggled with depression for pretty much my whole life. I've been in therapy, taking medications, and all the things I should be doing. I've been through so many medications, I don't know what else is out there. Everything that seems to work only has terrible side effects for me.

I was just on 500 mg of Lamictal, but it was causing me to black out. Just Tuesday my doctor told me to go down to 200 mg. But now I've crashed. I'm feeling so low again and want to kill myself. I just hate this. I want something to work out.

I feel like I have nowhere else to turn.

Answer 1

Well, you did a very sensible thing turning to your friends on Answers. After all, you know that you are doing what you can at the physical level, going to doctors, taking medication, etc. So what you need now is something to occupy your mind and your hands.

Not long after my husband committed suicide on December 16, 2005, I discovered Yahoo! Answers early in it's beta testing. (My profile does not reflect this for technical reasons.) I found that it is indeed possible to feel connected to people you get to know only through the Internet. It's a real boon to people like me who don't get out much, don't find it easy to make friends when people see me and immediately classify me as "You know, the great big fat one."

Don't end your life, improve it! Discuss the medication problems with your doctor at some length, and don't accept his "trust me" attitude. Talk to the pharmacist, too; they tend to know more about the details of the drugs and their side-effects than the doctors do, especially when you have been through several. They can often tell from the side effects you get with each drug what the chemical problem may be. Then the pharmacist can call your doctor and discuss whether dispensing something different from what he has prescribed might not be advisable.

But once you get the medication reasonably under control, you still need to do the work of creating your own life. It is yours to create, you know, which means examining your values and goals, or developing them if you find you don't have any -- that was my problem. I had set all my values and goals to what Steve wanted and needed, and had nothing once he gave up. Suicide may or may not be the right answer for some, but it clearly is NOT the answer for anyone who loves a person who cops out like that!

Answer 2

My greatest successes in the ongoing battle with depression, came through a combination of meds (I took a low dose of prozac daily for about five years) and hard work, and even though I am "blue" sometimes, I have considered myself essentially "depression free" for several years.

Drugs are fine as far as they go, and since depression is basically a chemical imbalance, they can go a long way. (Clearly one that is causing you to black out is the WRONG drug!) But you bear some personal responsibility in fighting your depression.

I'm not talking about religion. Religion is a perfect example of that old saying: The remedy is worse than the disease.

Keep remembering it's a fight. You against depression. Sort of like a cold. Once you get it, you've got it. The most you can do is mask the synmptoms and carry on as best you can til the cold is gone. That's where drugs and other therapies come in. Once you beat that depression into submission, you have to keep it under your control so it doesn't get strong enough to fight you again. Think of a huge computer game. Give your depression a personna if you have to--a big dark shadow looming before you! Don't go overboard on this, because it could lead to psychosis and that's much harder to cure than depression. (lol)

Oh, and that reminds me of the greatest weapon we have against depression--our sense of humor.

And to summarize:
1. The right doctor--shop around if you have to
2. The right med
3. To the extent that you are able, be a part of your community
4. Keep your courage up--keep your sense of humor!
5. Whenever you think, even for a moment, of dying as a solution to your depression, talk to someone. Anyone. You could even email me!

Answer 3

Make yourself busy. We all need to feel like we're involved in something significant. We need to participate in something outside ourselves. You might consider volunteering at a local women's shelter or food pantry. That will elevate your mood as well as your self esteem.

Exercise is good for us, but physical contact is equally important. Exercise affects brain chemicals, and the healing touch of physical closeness does too. If you're depressed, hug somebody - anybody, everybody! A hug is good medicine. It reduces stress and tension and it boosts your immunity to illness. Hugs raise self esteem and lower blood pressure. They feel good and make people happy. And they're free! Hugs are the universal language that communicates love and acceptance. They're healthy for the "hugger" as well as the "hugee."

Take up a sporting activity like walking, cycling, tennis, golf, water sports, riding, gliding, sailing, football, badminton. Something with a personal achievement goal. Spectator sports do not count and have little value for the purpose of defeating depression. Like alcohol (with which they are often associated) and television, they are simply ephemeral distractions. Depression cannot exist when the adrenaline is surging. Try bungee jumping.

Avoid substances that are unknown to cause mood swings or depressionlike alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and high sugar foods.

Learn to laugh. It really will make you feel better. Visit a local joke shop or toy shop. Buy books and magazines that you find entertaining and amusing rather than just educational. hire a funny video and invite one or two friends round to enjoy it with you.

Build up your self-confidence. People who suffer from depression often lack self-assurance. Write an advertisement for yourself listing all your good qualities. Carry your advert with you and look at it whenever you’re feeling down.

Have a pet. The pet, however, be it a parrot, a cat, a mouse or a dog do not have this problem. They love their ‘master’ unconditionally and this is fully reflected through their behavior. It is much easier overcoming depression and making your way back to normalcy when you are faced with the exceptional love of a pet (or more). It was observed that people whom pets were given want to become better, want to become useful, want to love back and hence slowly escape the clutches of depression and return to their old selfs.

Talk to someone about it. A problem shared is a problem halved. Have you ever felt better by getting something off your chest? Of course you have. Did talking about a problem in the past help to put it into perspective and perhaps make it easier to deal with. I would guess you have probably been there too. Depression is no different. Find someone you can trust and get talking about it. Friends, family, your doctor, support groups both online and off....You might even find that someone comes up with an idea you have never thought of which just might work for you.

Answer 4

You can just keep on with the medications and therapy. Maybe think about adding some doses of exercise and stretching and deep breathing to your life. These are natural mood enhancers and mood stabilizers. Also, watch your diet. Eliminate starchy and processed foods as much as possible, and omega fat rich foods are supposed to be good for helping combat depressions.

Answer 5

Ya I've seen the dark side ,, but you can beat this , but you have to walk before you can run ,,, Literally,,,, ! don't get in a hurry , but,,, walk ,,round and round if nothing else , round and round , keep it up till the chemicals start to flow , pump that heart , but start slow , walk around,,,, just let your body know that you are there .. it will do the rest , be patient...