Depression?

Question

I know I have depression, all the signs are there. It has been going on for almost a year now. Started off slow & now getting worse. I tried St. John's wart, omega 3's and Sam E, nothing seemed to work. I dont want to go on antidepressents because of the side effects. I don't know what to do. Has anyone tried a herbalist? What options do I have?

Answer 1

If it's getting worse, you need professional help now. Maybe some type of counseling would help. You don't always have to stay on medication forever. Some of the side effect from medication go away after a few weeks. Dr's can switch meds around to find the right one for you. Please don't wait. A year is already too long .

Answer 2

See your doctor. I've known several people who have taken antidepressants with no side effects.
They do help.
If prescribed and you do have side effects, call your Dr. There is some trial and error, people who have had side effects with one often switch to another, with no problem.
The important thing is that you view it as a temporary thing, the last thing you do is to want to be popping antidepressants every day the rest of your life.

A few weeks , OK. Going on a year, not OK.
If you are firmly against
anti depressants, you may want to consider counseling instead but don't continue being unhappy or miserable. If you want to go this route, you could call a psychiatrist for a recommendation of who to see.
Caution: check your health ins coverage first.

Answer 3

There are many kinds of antidepressants and some will give you side effects and some won't. You need medical help. If you live in a large city, try to find a Chinese herbalist.

Answer 4

What side effects are you afraid of? I'm only asking because I've been on several different antidepressents (took a few tries to get it right) and I really don't notice any negative side effects. You might want to also try vitamin B, my doctor actually told me that might help me when I wanted to try just an herbal route. Eventually, though, I decided it was more worth it to me to have dry mouth and occasional hot flashes to stay mellow. They have worked great for me....they just even me out, you know?

Answer 5

yoga & meditation can really help, as well as self-talk. i'm looking more into yoga, myself and reading a lot of self-help books. i used amazon to actually go and see what others wrote about books i considered. though, i think mine stems from pmdd, i can't seem to shake the low-level depression anyway. what i learned is you can have great experiences and actual good family life and still depressed. it doesn't necessarily stem from all of your surroundings. i didn't think it could be true, that's why i had a hard time admitting it, but once i learned that - i just began seeking solutions right away.

if you feel like you can't do it on your own, by all means see your doctor. you should probably speak with your doctor about it anyway - or call a free hospital hotline or something.

i really hope you find what you need!

Answer 6

i just read what the others have wrote. let me tell u, i was on 175 ml gs of Zoloft, 50Mg's of trazadone, 0.05mgs of ativan, they help but they don't have that may side affects though,the trazadone was to help me sleep. try talking to a counselor,or even a close friend,but if you are going the herbal route look it up on the Internet , I'm a survivor of clinical depression, the meds didn't help for so i took myself off of them,well i really shouldn't say that , they helped for awhile then when i knew all there was to know about my illness i took my self off and ....exercise, eating healthy, talking to friends, etc. all these things go along with helping depression the non meds way

Answer 7

You need to find the one thing that you are passionate about;reading,extreme sports,fashion,relationships,helping people,art,religion anything you really like.Another thing is you really do not need anti depressants,you can get better by helping out in the society,go to shelters,go to hospitals and orphanages,meet the people that are ill or destitute talk to them and help out in these places. you can help clean,serve food or just listen to them,when you make someone happy it rubs off on you. Another option is sex,it helps a lot. Good luck.

Answer 8

You could try some Cognitive Therapy with a Psychologist. Psychologists, unlike Psychiatrists, cannot prescribe medication so they focus on theraputic exercises to help you get through your depression and relieve your symptoms.

Answer 9

Counceling is an option..But iI stongly suggest taking meds..I went though the same thing.I am now getting better with the help of medication and counceling...I didnt want those meds either but they were answers to my prayers.

Answer 10

Studies now show that exercise helps with depression. Maybe an aerobics or martial arts class will get your mind off your problems and help....I know when I go on long bicycle rides it helps me.