anyone ever suffer from major clinical depression (not the "ohh, i feel a little down " kind).?

Question

. I'm going through therapy and seeing a pychiatrist, but nothing is helping. how did you finally get out of it and how did you help yourself get out of it. ?


thanks very much

Answer 1

This is such a difficult question to answer but I will try.

I suffered from depression as a teenager, and was considered severely depressed for almost a year. Luckily I had a psychiatrist who was not medicine crazy. He tried to work through my issues without medication and it worked. However, not everyone is like this and sometimes a period of medication helps even people out and get on their feet. Here is basically how I have managed the depression, 18 years later.

1. I basically refused to believe that this condition would control the rest of my life, so I did everything possible to keep the depression under control. This includes diet, exercise, refusing to listen to long to depressing music (sounds silly but true), setting goals (in all areas of my life like education, professionally, etc) and talking to other people for support when I could not be strong enough to handle things by myself.

2. I won't go into much detail, but my faith has helped me a lot and is a source of rejuvenation and strength at times. In all honesty, not all the time does prayer, meditation, etc seem to work in practically helping me, but it does often so i keep doing it. :)

3. Creating a support network so I can call, write or visit people who make me remember that there are lots of wonderful, beautiful things in this world. All of these people know my situation and have always been there to pull me out of dark times.

4. I have taken a more existential viewpoint of life, in its absurdity, and it really makes me laugh, literally. I really try to see and interpret situations as they really are, without letting my emotions take control and confuse me. Things are truly never as bad as they seem and even if they are terrible, they usually pass by relatively quickly. I believe that people who have experienced much worse things than me would agree.

5. Accept that sometimes there is nothing at all you can do but just wait a few days or so for the dark hours to be over. As much as I would like to say that my depression is gone all the time, it is not. And sometimes I can do absolutely nothing to control or stop it. On those days, I just remember to eat well, sleep well, exercise and honestly just wait for the storm to be over. And it usually is over in a few days if I dont force myself to dwell on things for too long.

Finally, take all I have said here with a grain of salt. Your depression may need to be handled in a completely different way. I just gave you the basics about how I have dealt with my own struggle. It is not a perfect way, but it has worked for me so far. Take care and good luck. I'm sure you will figure out a method to cope.

Answer 2

First you have to really want this. I know you probably do but it's different to say it and then actually work towards it. Start by building your self-esteem. Find some affirmations and then make copies of them to tape up everywhere. In the morning get up get dressed and say the affirmations outloud. Research shows that the more sense you use when trying to learn something or change a behavior (this can even be thoughts) the better and faster you learn it. Although you are seeing a psychiatrist it's also a good idea to check with you GYN and get a complete physical. Ask for them to run blood work to see if there are any chemical embalance, vitamin deficiencies, etc. Women will often experience depression as a result of an imbalance and don't even realize it. Most medications won't work if your body is out of sink. Work on things in steps. Do the affirmations then set some goals for what you want out of life and how you will go about getting them. Then write down steps you'll take to get there. The smaller the steps the better. It will help build your confidence the more successful you are. Keep in mind that your a beautiful person who deserves to be happy. You have a right to feel this way so keep telling yourself that. If something doesn't work out tell yourself you've just learned something new rather than it's another failure. Failure only happens when you don't try. When you do try it's a success even if you don't get the results you want or like. Take time before rushing into decisions. Get all the facts and information you can so you can make choices that will work out best for you in that given situation. Remember we don't live in a box so something that worked once may not work again. Again, if it doesn't it's not a failure if you try. Hope these suggestions help.

Answer 3

I've had major clinical depression for about 16 years. I've been in and out of hospitals, taken practically every medication out there. I'm in therapy which has helped. I think it really takes the right therapist and a strong willingness to get better. As far as I've come, I still have a long way to go and it's a struggle every day, but you just have to keep at it.

Answer 4

I don't, nor ever had a depression but i have studied it for a long time. I have recommended this to others and i will recommend it to you "Feeling Good the new mood therapy" by Dr. David Burns M.D. It is an excellent book. but you will have to work to get better. No free lunch. Others can be found at the Albert Ellis Institute. check out the web site.

You should also get into therapy and as soon as you can.

Good luck

Answer 5

I suffer from major clinical depression brought on by meds for other problems I had but through all the meds (cymbalta, lexapro etc) it took a good therapist to talk and listen to me instead of just medicating now I take nothing for the depression and see the therapist when needed.

Answer 6

i have major clinical depression and severe anxiety, what helped me was when i was hospitalized this last time. at first they put me on klonopin and lexapro and that didn't seem to work, so then they put me on klonopin and effexor. that along with therapy i have been feeling gradually better. i feel like i can get out of bed and not always want to sleep the whole time and i am not wanting to kill myself all the time either. i have been on this for a few months and started noticing the difference after about the first month. if you feel like your therapist is not working don't be afraid to change and if you feel that your psychiatrist is not listening to your needs then get a new one of those too, make them listen to you, hope that this helps

Answer 7

I've had it for over 15 years. Writing in a journal helps a lot. I've had counseling for periods of time over the years. I have been on Zoloft for about 14. All of this together has made it to where I'm OK for the most part. Sometimes things get bad but they change if you keep working at it.

Answer 8

Yes. See depression treatments, at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris in section 2.