Have you ever suffered from depression?

[jasperandchar]

Just be there for him when he needs you and do special little things for him (cook his fav dinner, leave a lovely note when you leave), it's very hard when you suffer from depression + other mental illnesses, however, a strong support systems is so important. Best of luck!

My 19 year old son suffers from anxiety and depression. He sees a psychiatrist and is medicated but it is still hard when things happen that he can't control. These last 2 weeks have been super stressful in that his cat jumped off the balcony and can't be found, his boss laughed when he had a panic attack, got fired after 4 years, got apologized to by the head boss and rehired at another location, didn't hear back from the other boss about his work schedule yet, no money at all, roommate was fired as well, people owe him money, etc etc etc....

He has broken down and cried quite a bit these past weeks. He says he doesn't mind the fact that he crying so much as the going back and forth between feeling okay and then emotional in a matter of minutes some times.

What can I do as his mom to help him through this?

[gryphon]

I think I'm going through one of my moods, Im finding it very hard to care about anything like there is no point at all. I'm feeling it too often latley.
I know its a chemical imbalance thats making me depressed but I still feel like right now. Sometimes it all feels hopeless I lose all motivation to do anything and people just think I'm a slacker.

[Insane]

I feel the same way right now too Gryphon. My house is a disaster, which only makes me feel worse. Then my husband makes comments about the state of the house, and I feel even worse. But I have no motivation, no desire to actually clean up or do something about it. I can't sleep either. Which I think is making things worse. I return to work after my mat leave in April and I have so much anxiety about it. Everytime I tell my husband that he says "It's a month away, why worry?" Wells, duh, cause that's what I do. I can't keep it together right now, how the h*ll am I supposed to do it while working? Sigh....

[blueeyetea]

It could be because it's the time of year when cabin fever sets in, but if it lasts for more than two weeks, a visit to your doctgor might be a good idea to discuss. You can see the most common signs here.

Depression is a vicious circle that both's physical and mental, but no one know which one starts it off. It all has to do with not having enough receptors in the brain which in turns lead to sad thoughts, which reduces the number of receptors, and on and on it goes.

The most common way to treat is to get anti-depressants to treat the physical AND get counselling to get you our of your negative thinking patterns. Once you start felling better, I'd suggest getting this book to monitor your thoughts and how they're affecting your outlook.

[vesper]

I feel deeply sad for all y'all folks who suffer depression. I am getting winter fatique and one of the above posters mentioned that is possible what many folks could be suffering from.

Only a matter of days before double digit tempatures will warm up our faces and the freshness of spring will roll in.

For what it is worth... I had a 5 hour energy drink tonight, and it make me feel horrible. Thus I wonder if things we eat or drink add to the blues?

Anyway, walk in victory y'all! Yahoo!!!

[blueeyetea]

For what it is worth... I had a 5 hour energy drink tonight, and it make me feel horrible. Thus I wonder if things we eat or drink add to the blues?

Definitely, because they'll affect your energy level. The less energy you have, the more tired and the easier to let negative thoughts take over. Foods that will affect your mood are the same ones we're being warned to remove from our diets, i.e. high carb foods and junk food.

The stimulant in energy drinks is caffeine. For many people, caffeine will help in keeping their energy up, but when it wears off, the body also crashes. It's better not to rely on those.

[thriftygranny]

After suffering most of my life with anxiety and depression I can relate more than I would like to to everyone's posts. it really is a roller coaster ride, feeling fine one day and almost paralyzed with fear our lethargy the next.
How I cope is I force myself t exercise by just walking.At first it was 5 or 10 minutes with the dogs and now it is an hour somedays Exercise releases feel good endorphins and It seems like a minor thing to do but it helps so much.I also understand about the house work getting ignored and that in itself is a vicious circle...too uninterested or tired to do it but the mess makes my depression worse.Long ago I just set small routines that I did no matter what and forced myself to accomplish one small thing.I would tell myself I would just have to finish the one task that i was committed to, I found once I completed the first task I was motivated to do another and then another.Most people with depression do live in an unorganized state because they procrastinate starting task for fear of failure of completing them well enough to their standards. So just try setting small easily attainable things and it is just a confidence booster and takes the weight of the world off your shoulders and gives you the confidence to move on to something else.

[mwieler]

Have you tried taking lots of vitamin B's? All the B's, but mostly B12. I've read about how people rely on medication for depression, when it can be fixed naturally,by giving your body what it needs. I have been having lots of problems with my nervious system,(which is where depression starts) and decided before it got really bad, I would 'overdose' on vitamin B's. (you can't really 'overdose', because your body gets rid of what it doesn't need through your urine. But I take double what it says on the bottle.) I have been doing it now for almost 2 weeks and I can tell it's helping. I`m a believer in using natural means to fix a problem, although it takes longer to feel results, because your body has to build up what it needs. Prescription meds can do more harm than good in the long run.

[Insane]

I've been thinking of asking the doctor for a prescription for sleeping pills again. I tried it before and it helped tremendously but they left a bad taste in my mouth (a side effect). Honestly, I know sleep is so important in mental health, but I have a hard time turning off my brain in order to sleep. But when I can sleep, my mood is better and I am far less short tempered.

[jasperandchar]

Could you be suffering from post partum depression instead of depression? I had both and still suffer with depression everyday it's absolutely awful. Somedays I do nothing and some days I do too much and then I'm exhausted for days.

I've been thinking of asking the doctor for a prescription for sleeping pills again. I tried it before and it helped tremendously but they left a bad taste in my mouth (a side effect). Honestly, I know sleep is so important in mental health, but I have a hard time turning off my brain in order to sleep. But when I can sleep, my mood is better and I am far less short tempered.

[PammieD]

I've been thinking of asking the doctor for a prescription for sleeping pills again. I tried it before and it helped tremendously but they left a bad taste in my mouth (a side effect). Honestly, I know sleep is so important in mental health, but I have a hard time turning off my brain in order to sleep. But when I can sleep, my mood is better and I am far less short tempered.

I have sleeping pills and although I haven't taken them since I was pregnant/had my baby, I would use them maybe once a week max. I find they would help me "re-set" on the sleep. They can become addictive though which is why it's important not to take them daily. Like our little babies (mine is 5 months), we need to learn how to relax/fall asleep without them. Bedtime routines are incredibly powerful and important. That being said, sometimes it just doesn't work properly and you need to "re-set".

I don't agree about natural remedies....sometimes medication is required. I have tried being bith on, and off of it over the past 15 years. My doctor and shrink both helped me realize that sometimes it's just the way it is. I have done a lot of work to be "mindful" of my behavior and cognitive therapy which is huge. HUGE. I also found that talking to my psychiatrist was amazing. I felt like I was "whining" and not accomplishing anything in sessions with psychologists. The psychiatrist helped me understand OCD, the cycles I go through, and how it manifests itself. I learned that my rubbing my foot against the sheet in be as I fall asleep, tapping my foot under a table, scratching, and some weird thing I do with my hand are all physical manifestations of my condition. Learning the "tells" (usually the hand thing or tapping) help me realize I'm anxious about something, and help me try to identify and alter the path I'm heading down before I lose my sh!t in an anxiety attack. Cognitive therapy...huge advocate. Seriously check it out (trendimg as "mindfulness" these days).

I don't agree about vitamin supplements for these conditions. I think natural ways of helping are more behavioural. Exercise is amazing. As someone else said, dorcing yourself for 5 mins will eventually become an hour etc.

I also have always knit and I find that helps me at night time. Gives my hands something to do (somewhere to channel my energy while I'm sitting watching tv - otherwise this may end up as an anxiety attack), I feel accomplishment because I've got something to show for my time, and it takes little to no physical energy which is good for nights when I'm exhausted. It's also repetitive which is soothing. When I'm super tired physically but can't shut my brain off, I try something like socks or mittens or a new pattern that I need to focus on. Otherwise, I'm perfectly content to knit basic cotton dishcloths. K, that's all I've got lol.

"Keep on swimmin', keep on swimmin'"

[i_forget]

I'm trying to talk my kids dad into cognitive behaviour therapy.
he has no idea what the effect of his moods and behaviour have on everyone around him, and blames everyone else.
i have heard many people say how much it has helped them, I hope he finds it useful as well.

[mwieler]

[QUOTE=PammieD;5341624)
I don't agree about natural remedies....sometimes medication is required. I have tried being bith on, and off of it over the past 15 years. My doctor and shrink both helped me realize that sometimes it's just the way it is. I have done a lot of work to be "mindful" of my behavior and cognitive therapy which is huge. HUGE. I also found that talking to my psychiatrist was amazing. I felt like I was "whining" and not accomplishing anything in sessions with psychologists. The psychiatrist helped me understand OCD, the cycles I go through, and how it manifests itself. I learned that my rubbing my foot against the sheet in be as I fall asleep, tapping my foot under a table, scratching, and some weird thing I do with my hand are all physical manifestations of my condition. Learning the "tells" (usually the hand thing or tapping) help me realize I'm anxious about something, and help me try to identify and alter the path I'm heading down before I lose my sh!t in an anxiety attack. Cognitive therapy...huge advocate. Seriously check it out (trendimg as "mindfulness" these days).

I don't agree about vitamin supplements for these conditions. I think natural ways of helping are more behavioural. Exercise is amazing. As someone else said, dorcing yourself for 5 mins will eventually become an hour etc.(QUOTE]

I know sometimes you have to use medications, and I'm not against it. I just believe in FIRST trying it the natural way, if it doesn't work, then you know you've tried, and you Need medication. Why use meds if you don't have to? They can be addictive and harmful. You notice in commercials where a medications are advertised, they list 1 or 2 ways it can help you, but then another 40 ways it can harm you. Why risk it? Unless you Have to?

[Insane]

I'm trying to talk my kids dad into cognitive behaviour therapy.
he has no idea what the effect of his moods and behaviour have on everyone around him, and blames everyone else.
i have heard many people say how much it has helped them, I hope he finds it useful as well.

My husband suffers from bipolar disorder and I wish he would do something like this. He blames my mood on "PMS" but honestly, it a reaction to his mood. When he isn't up to par mentally it affects the entire family.

[Aslan]

I've been thinking of asking the doctor for a prescription for sleeping pills again. I tried it before and it helped tremendously but they left a bad taste in my mouth (a side effect). Honestly, I know sleep is so important in mental health, but I have a hard time turning off my brain in order to sleep. But when I can sleep, my mood is better and I am far less short tempered.

You could also try Mindfulness Meditation. It does take some practice and effort, but it has calmed my mind down to where I can sleep easily, and also has reduced my OCD tendencies.

I used the book Mindfulness in Plain English. It's a simple, free guide that explains the process clearly, along with how to avoid any potential pitfalls.
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

I know sometimes you have to use medications, and I'm not against it. I just believe in FIRST trying it the natural way, if it doesn't work, then you know you've tried, and you Need medication. Why use meds if you don't have to? They can be addictive and harmful. You notice in commercials where a medications are advertised, they list 1 or 2 ways it can help you, but then another 40 ways it can harm you. Why risk it? Unless you Have to?

With Mental Health Issues it's extremely dependent on the person's situation, and it's hard to say whether the person should try a natural way first, or a medication. After my own personal experiences of taking medications as well as being in therapy for 10+ years, the only concrete thing I can say is talk to a doctor first, and get a diagnosis.

I agree that medications are risky, but the risks are lessened by working with a doctor or psychiatrist, or other professional. This I feel is much less risky than going the natural way alone, and this is from my own personal experience.

I do feel after my experiences that CBT or others form of therapy are a much better option than medication. However, the main issue is that it's extremely difficult to get therapy cheaply or freely, while medications are at least available while you're stuck on a multi-year waiting list.

In a way I'm both pro and anti psychiatry. I do agree that medications are over-prescribed and over-used, but they are useful depending on what the person is facing. I recently got off a medication I was using for 5 years, and it definitely it helped to preserve my life after a major psychotic incident. However, I do wish I got off of it sooner, as the long-term side effects were much more debilitating than I realized. I'm currently using natural methods now (Vitamin D + Mindfulness), and while this is effective for me now, there's no way I could have survived on this initially.