Depression

[chaosyoshimage]

Double post, wasn't showing the first time and I noticed I quoted the wrong guy when it did pop up...

 

[chaosyoshimage]

The other reason isn't as simple to cure. As said I don't have many friends. I have a few on the internet but no one in real life. I'm single, lonely and well... Stuck that way. Its honestly starting to eat away at me too. Waking up everyday to a empty bed, having no one really to come home to. Having no reason to wake up the next morning. That's also got to me and again making me depressed.

There's a third reason which sounds a little too self centered, whiny and egotistical which is why I don't like the mention it often and I'm honestly ashamed to feel this way. Just, I feel unknown, unneeded and at times unwanted. I feel no matter what I do, it makes little to no impact. As vain as this sounds, I want to be remembered. I feel I could die at any moment and outside family and few people I know... I'll not be missed and it will soon be as if I never existed at all. I try and fix this but I honestly don't know how. Again I'm not proud of that one but you've helped give me advice here and I feel I should be open with you on this.

Thanks for listening and I hope I don't come off as too much of an egomaniac.

I have the exact same problem. All I can do is try distracting myself with my various fandoms and hobbies while looking towards a future that might never be. I'm sorry I can't really help, because I haven't really figured out my own problems...

 

[Rin Little]

Try taking either St. John's Wart or extra vitamin B12. Both are supposed to help with depression and it seems to have a better effect on me. Honestly my main coping mechanisms are drawing, reading, writing, and music. If I have easy access to those then I'm usually ok unless something is majorly, majorly wrong.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

I"d recommend volunteer work. You get out and talk to people, avoid loneliness, build self confidence, all that good stuff, while directly benefiting others, as well. It's a win-win.

Go for Habitat for Humanity, or the Red Cross, or something. They always need more people.

 

[mrkeebz]

Loneliness fosters depression.

 

[Sovvolf]

Just to give an update on this as I haven't logged on in a few days. I wasn't ignoring any of the advice given and I thank you all for it. Just, Friday evening I moved out of my brothers house and to my parents. My computer got damaged a little in the process and currently looking for it to be repaired until then I just have my dads labtop and I don't always have access to it so sorry if I hadn't got back to you guys.

I'll say that since moving back with my parents, I feel like a boulder as been lifted and I feel much better. Not in quite the depressed state that I have been in the past few months. I'm getting regular meals and a decent nights sleep .

Still a little depressed with the loneliness but its not quite at the level it was and I've been talking to a few freinds. Going to have a drink on Saturday maybe hit the town.

So otherwise I'm in a much better mood. I thank you all again for all your advice, I wish you all the best .

 

[WolfThomas]

Anti-depressants and SSRIs are heavy meds. They should not be taken lightly. However, between drug companies and some people who do take them (and who push them onto others out of a desire to feel like their use of antidepressants is more normal) one sometimes gets the impression that they should be taken lightly. I once had a GP hand me a sample of one SSRI (in a brown paper bag, no instructions- I'm sure this was incredibly illegal) when I was battling depression to see if they would help me. Her husband was on them, and she was very keen on convincing me that they fix your problems.

I don't think it was necessarily illegal GPs get free samples all the time from drug companies that they're allowed to give without prescription. But it does seem that he was very poor at explaining why you're should take them and how. Most GPs I've worked with would just prescribe rather than what you experienced.

It turns out they didn't fix me. It turns out my problems were not brain chemistry problems, but rather my bad reaction to a bad situation and an internalization of bad thought patterns. For the two days I was on those drugs I felt like a crazy person. I was constantly anxious, I couldn't get more than 3 hours of sleep a night, and whenever I encountered anything related to some of the causes of my bad situation, I would have a panic attack so bad I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. Thoughts of suicide increased. So I stopped taking the sample meds, vowed never to see that GP again, went to an actual counselor, and got my life on track.

This why apropriate explaination from the GP or a Psychiatrist is essential, most anti-depressants actually make people initially worse (ironically enough), but this settle after a week or so. Also something like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy should be utilized not just the drugs, this would address the negative thought patterns you mentioned. Leaving a GP if you're dissatisfied with them is perfectly fine, however it is good to find a second oppinion, because only a Doctor can eliminate organic causes of depression.

So ignore the advice on here, and instead go to a psychologist/counselor and get their advice. Only they have the expertise to really know how to help you. And maybe you don't need medicine. Maybe all you need is a strategy for dealing with your life. A counselor can help with that too. If you don't want your family to know, you don't have to tell them.

You sound like a really responsible guy who is trying to make the best of a bad situation. Well, the way I see it, a person who is continually depressed has a responsibility to the people around them to solve their problem. That doesn't mean to just suck it up and pretend you are happy. It might mean the exact opposite, that you need to let people around you know what is happening. It might mean that you need to take medicine under a doctor's guidance. It might mean that you need to make serious changes to your life. So don't feel bad about going to an expert to help you sort all of that out. If your computer wouldn't boot, you wouldn't feel bad about taking it to an expert for help. Why feel bad about seeking professional help for the computer that runs your body? It's not going to magically fix itself, and no one else has a responsibility to fix it for you.

This is the BEST advice in the thread. For the record I'm a fourth year medical student. Might I stress that seeing your GP or (Family Physician in the US) is an essential step. A psychologist or counselor is not medically trained, their intervention is pointless if an organic cause is present (e.g. Hypothyroidism). A doctor should also know when it's appropriate to refer to a psychiatrist. I saw a case of a woman with depression and poor memory who a counseller had labelled as having "empty-nest syndrome", she actually had a large mengingioma, a rare benign cancer, that causes trouble from occupying space rather than malgignant effects. Without surgical intervention she would have died. Even if something is rare, it would be terrible not to pick it up.

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

Counselling is a good outlet for depression, taking one day at a time and just trying to talk to people you care about it openly. Medication isn't always the answer, but every depression is different. Make sure you talk to your GP about this too.

 

[Raideh]

Cleaned.

 

[Esotera]

Regular exercise, ensuring you have a good diet, and cutting out as much stressful activity as you can from your life (or trying not to care about it as much).

If that doesn't work then it would probably be worth talking to someone about it..be it a friend or a professional. It can be helpful just to get things off your chest.

And if this is severe depression then you're going to need medication/treatment at some point. With moderate depression it's not so concrete.

 

[Zaverexus]

I have also always been a proponent of the "deal with it" approach, and have had to do so myself before with decent success, but I know it can be hard.
Another thing I found was completely incidental and perhaps most helpful:
My music tastes changed and instead of harsh, sad, or angry music I began to listen to a lot of whimsical indie bands and found that my mood was almost constantly better than it had been before. So if you're open to new music, you can give it a shot. I started with Iron & Wine, but you can message me if you want to know about other bands.

 

[Avistew]

It's a medical condition, so I suggest you see a doctor. They might suggest medication, they might not.
In my opinion, the possibility of it creating a dependency isn't that much of a concern. Lots of medication need to be taken for all of your life (diabetes stuff, thyroid stuff...) what matters is that you feel better.
So sure, try the rest first, but if it doesn't work, better be healthy on medication than unhealthy without taking any meds, right?