Depression

[Kittyfu]

going to see the doctor today.
i will probly be put on anti-depressants..
and i've only told one person because i know the rest of my..friends, will judge me. sad, isn't it? not even sure to tell my boyfriend or not.
:(

[Aaron]

A lot of people don’t realise that depression is a real genuine illness, it is!

What I would suggest you do is speak to someone, see just why you are depressed and get to the root of the problem, and use anti depressants as a last resort… because a simple change of lifestyle and activities can cure depression :]

I never have and never will take anti depressants... I personally don't think they help you at all really, and think they can affect a person for the worse if anything. I have known people to become addicted to the drugs and I have heard stories in the rare cases of people becoming co-dependant on them and overdosing on them. I would much rather talk to a professional like a councillor or something rather than fill myself with drugs, but that’s my own personal opinion.

I would suggest speaking to someone about your problems first, rather than going straight to anti depressants though.

[Kittyfu]

Yeah i know.

I mean, I have talked to my mother and such. I really don't think a psychiatrist or whatnot, because I do not think they would be much help. (For me anyway.) And it's not as if I was like, "Oh i feel sad for a month, anti-d's!" i've felt this way for...more than a year perhaps. And, i have cut myself... So i believe i should get something to help..(i know people who used to take them and then they got better and didn't have to use them really, so hopefully that will happen..)

[Emma]

Alot of people claim to be drpressed. I was on mild anti-depressants for about 6 months. It annoies me when people are like "oh ma god end ma life cos im so depressed". alot happend to me over these last 4 years with stuff to do with family, i still have to take kalms to help me sleep, lol.

anyways hope it gets sortedd.

[Kittyfu]

yeah, i'm definetly not trying to be one of the people who are like that. that's why i've waited a while i guess. and im not gonna go around going, "guess waht! im on anti-depressants.blahblahblah." (like one girl i know did. it was really dumb)

[Amy]

I know you say seeing a psychiatrist wont help you, but how do you know that?.....

I'm studying psychology at A2 level in college and a module we've just done is depression, and the causes of it.

All anti-depressants (ie, prozac) raise levels of brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline to make you think you feel happier.
The actual reason why you're feeling so low won't go away. Many people get hooked on anti-drepressants because of the relief they make them feel, but then they can't stop taking them because facing the real world isn't possible.

My suggestion is talk to a few more people about it, people you trust.
Figure out with them what's getting you down.
As Aaron said, trying to get prescribed medicanes should be a last resort.
Maybe its because you've kept it to yourself for so long that you're feeling this way.

As for seeing a counceller/psychiatrist, this in my opinion is the best way forward. As many people don't understand, they dont intentionally dig up your past and make you tell them everything. They'll simply ask you some questions about your lifestyle, think about what changes you could make, you'll find yourself opening up and voila, you're on the right track.

Im here if you wanna talk. :)
x

[Samual]

i seriously doubt you'll be put on anti-depressants! thats a last resort and any good GP would offer physiological help. counselling etc which would go to the route of the problem and not cover it up with drugs!

if you cant physically talk to someone i suggest emailing the samaritans, you will get a reply usually within 24 hours and it is a really good way to get help and information if you're unable to use the phone

email: jo@samaritans.org

http://www.samaritans.org/talk_to_someone/email.aspx

[Something-Witty]

Lolz, Amy just beat me to what I was about to say xD
*high fives*


But yeah, anti depressants aren't always effective, you've got a better chance with therapy if you can get that first.
Cognitive therapies have an 80% sucsess rate for treating depression.

I've suffered depression myself, so I know how it is, and as I recall it wasn't too fun.
Anytime you need to talk just give me a shout :)

[Kittyfu]

Thanks for all the help guys. the only other person i can talk to is my best friend. I'm guessing the best choice would to see a psychiatrist or someone..I just think they would drive me insanee. I hate talking about my problems with people. It took me for-ever to even tell my mother..and i know it sounds bad and all, but i just want something to fix this. it drives me crazy feeling like this..

[Emma]

Being on the computer could make you feel worse. Anything stress-related.

I sometimes find depression to be so "over rated", and people often claim they have it when they just want the attention, and it's pretty low if anybody on here is doing this cos it's sick to have to lie about being depressed.

Moving on, instead of taking anti-depressants, I'd recommend Kalms. I take them and they really relax the mind and help you sleep. They're all herbal so none of this crap that's going to make you feel worse.

x

[ohjulian]

I've been on anti-d medication for several months now, and I can attest that it has made things infinitely better, even on the dose I'm on now, which is like tiny. But I agree with the others who say that counselling/therapy should always be your first choice. I didn't go on anti-d medication until it was pretty much proven that I wasn't benefitting as much as I could have from therapy, and needed something more. And even then, I was put on the lowest dose possible. Medication will not fix all your problems, and that's the biggest thing I want to say. And medication only works if it is coupled with therapy. It's not a miracle drug or anything.

[Kittyfu]

I definetly am not saying i think i have it because i want attention. i've told a total of 2 people (excluding family)
I've never heard of Kalms..
I might be considering therapy or whatnot, but i don't know if i will do it or not. i'm really bad at telling people my feelings..sooo...yeah.

[Something-Witty]

Therapy is hard at first, but it does get better.
And it does pay off in the long term :]

[System Malfunction]

I've been on Anti-depressants.
They are not anti at all.
What they are, are stimulatores.
or however you spell them.
They just enhance whatever mood your in.
if your depressed it will make you feel horribly ill.
if your happy, you will feel high.

The point is, when I was on them, I hadn't ever been so depressed, I even wanted the world to end, thought people were after me, and I couldn't think of anything other than just killing everyone.

Depression hurts, and it is to overly used.
people become "depressed" because of a break up, or something stupid.

BTW,
SOMETHING WITTY- isn't a browncoat a follower of Hitler?

[Something-Witty]

Nope.
(Though I think the hitler youth wore brown shirts *ponders*.)
It's just a term for fans of this show called Firefly. Which got cancelled half way though it's season, and after a massive fan campaign still managed to become a major film xD

[Jaymee-Marie]

I used to be depressed about 3 years ago. I suppose i was lucky i had friends who helped me i didn't need Anti-D's.

My dad is on them and he is trying to come off but as he has been reliant on them for some time he is finding it hard

[Darren]

I was put on anti-depressants during my second year of high-school.


Although i refused to take them because i don't want pills to give me the lift i need to be happy.


If i was meant to be unhappy i was meant to be unhappy, things get better naturally...well they did for me!

[Vampi]

I was on anti-depressants for about a year and a half, and they kept me at a flat-line position in my feelings at all times...never happy, never sad, just unfeeling.

I now CHOOSE not to get on them again, because living a life with an altered perception of ANYTHING isn't living, not really. I'd rather experience it all the way I was made to than to miss out on something my true self might have found important because I was high or low.

-Vampi

[_Davey]

Depression is one of the most difficult things to talk about in this kind of environment, or any really. Because its all relative. Some people might be really affected by something that wouldn't bother another person so much, so you have to keep that in mind before you start calling people liars or attention seekers.

Therapy is a good idea, I went once and the woman annoyed the living hell out of me so I never went back, but I know a fair few people who have benefited from it. But it always gets worse before it gets better, because as you talk to him/her (you can sometimes choose if you want a man or a woman, which is great) you will remember and uncover things you had previously forgotten or repressed. So it does bring out things that you don't want to think about, but thats the whole point of it really. Remembering so you can move past it and forget.