poor thing. i know the feeling. i started on wellbutrin in grad school things got better and then lost 3 family members and my first "proper jod" after 4 yrs (elementary art teacher) and just went kookoo banannas... went to bed and woke up 2 wks bfore my 35th bday and realized i had slept 2 yrs of my life away.....

i did get a job at wal-mart which is somekind of hell in itself. but im keeping the bills paid, barely and hanging in. that's really all you can do. i hope you will give meds a try. i refused to take zoloft etc but i have no doubt that they would help get out of the darkest parts of it. i still require exercise to stop the crying jaggs but i wouldn't be out of bed w/out the meds.

good luck to you finding some relief.

Sorry about your losses. So are you zoloft or wellburtin now?

alphastreet said:

Sorry about your losses. So are you zoloft or wellburtin now?

wellbutrin. i refuse to take anything else. the dry mouth isn't fun but its a worthwile sideffect for me so i continue with it. its in a different class than the others and i don't feel spaced out or "flat" like some of my collegues have described being on ssri meds. if anything i can't take after 3-4 in the afternoon or i cant sleep.

wavesofbliss said:

poor thing. i know the feeling. i started on wellbutrin in grad school things got better and then lost 3 family members and my first "proper jod" after 4 yrs (elementary art teacher) and just went kookoo banannas... went to bed and woke up 2 wks bfore my 35th bday and realized i had slept 2 yrs of my life away.....

i did get a job at wal-mart which is somekind of hell in itself. but im keeping the bills paid, barely and hanging in. that's really all you can do. i hope you will give meds a try. i refused to take zoloft etc but i have no doubt that they would help get out of the darkest parts of it. i still require exercise to stop the crying jaggs but i wouldn't be out of bed w/out the meds.

good luck to you finding some relief.

For me, the best way is just to shake myself of the funk.

If I get depressed, I'm likely to dwell in it and make it worse. But if I do something, like something physical, or fun, or just slap myself like Cher and scream "SNAP OUT OF IT" it tends to work better than medication or writing/talking about it.

Just have to break the cycle.

This time of year can be really depressing. Even surrounded by family and friends, you think you are the only person who is not overjoyed with the season. But in fact, almost everyone is feeling the same as you!

But it's been proven in experiments that the expressions we make on our faces actually cause the emotions just as much as the other way around.

Maybe it's phony for someone to laugh and smile when they really are not happy, but smiling makes a person feel better. Some people intuitively know this and smile a lot. Some people need to be told that smiling releases chemicals that make you feel better.

That is the best and easiest solution, if at all possible (and I think it's possible for most depression)

wavesofbliss said:

alphastreet said:

Sorry about your losses. So are you zoloft or wellburtin now?

wellbutrin. i refuse to take anything else. the dry mouth isn't fun but its a worthwile sideffect for me so i continue with it. its in a different class than the others and i don't feel spaced out or "flat" like some of my collegues have described being on ssri meds. if anything i can't take after 3-4 in the afternoon or i cant sleep.

I'm glad it works for you. I tried it for a few days with my mood stabilizer a long time ago, and was getting shaky so I stopped it after 3 days or something.

alphastreet said:

wavesofbliss said:

wellbutrin. i refuse to take anything else. the dry mouth isn't fun but its a worthwile sideffect for me so i continue with it. its in a different class than the others and i don't feel spaced out or "flat" like some of my collegues have described being on ssri meds. if anything i can't take after 3-4 in the afternoon or i cant sleep.

I'm glad it works for you. I tried it for a few days with my mood stabilizer a long time ago, and was getting shaky so I stopped it after 3 days or something.

I have heard wellbutrin makes you shaky, but mellows out after a while. You get used to it.

But I have no idea how it would be if you're already taking another medication. I'm really leery of mixing meds

NDRU said:

For me, the best way is just to shake myself of the funk.

If I get depressed, I'm likely to dwell in it and make it worse. But if I do something, like something physical, or fun, or just slap myself like Cher and scream "SNAP OUT OF IT" it tends to work better than medication or writing/talking about it.

"Just have to break the cycle."

and o/\o

b4 the word stress appeared on the horizon, our parents and the parents survived w/out the numerous (so-called) depression lifting meds that come with serious side-effects.

in my hall way, i have a white board that i write quotes on to help me overcome various states of mind. here's two of the quotes that are (currently) on it.

"Get over it - Life isn't Supposed to be fair. Get over yourself, and be of service to others."

jonathan lockwood

and:

"Move on. It is just a chapter in the past, but don't close the book- just turn the page."
author unknown

note: i change and update my quotes to match whatever i'm facing at the time. they really help.

i also post funny quotes.

NDRU said:

For me, the best way is just to shake myself of the funk.

If I get depressed, I'm likely to dwell in it and make it worse. But if I do something, like something physical, or fun, or just slap myself like Cher and scream "SNAP OUT OF IT" it tends to work better than medication or writing/talking about it.

Just have to break the cycle.

AGAIN, this is wonderful if it works for you.

But people with clinical depression and other chemical imbalances can NOT always "SNAP OUT OF IT."

And it's not their fault.

free2bfreeda said:

"Get over it - Life isn't Supposed to be fair. Get over yourself, and be of service to others."

jonathan lockwood

I like this quote very much.

I fancy you.x

I'm manic depressive, and chemical anti-depressants absolutely terrify me, so I understand your concern. I tried the organic way, but I didn't stick with it for too long. They're the safe alternative and you might seek assistance before you take them.

However, my condition improved since last year because I found solace in working out, its surprising how an hour @ the gym could physiologically change me, and it did. In my case, standing still is the prelude to my depressive episodes, so I always try to find something to do. I work as a volunteer in a hospital for the elderly couple of times a month, and it has been rewarding because it makes you thankful for still having health & strength, even if you're indeed sick.

Basically, try to find something that could occupy your time and brings satisfaction, I know this ain't helpful but if you look hard enough, you'll find whatever it is you wanna do. I've been in the same mess you're in now, and I'm sorry I can't offer anything but words, its another hell when folks who don't have depression misunderstand your behaviour.

I hope you find peace of mind.

Harlepolis said:

I'm manic depressive, and chemical anti-depressants absolutely terrify me, so I understand your concern. I tried the organic way, but I didn't stick with it for too long. They're the safe alternative and you might seek assistance before you take them.

However, my condition improved since last year because I found solace in working out, its surprising how an hour @ the gym could physiologically change me, and it did. In my case, standing still is the prelude to my depressive episodes, so I always try to find something to do. I work as a volunteer in a hospital for the elderly couple of times a month, and it has been rewarding because it makes you thankful for still having health & strength, even if you're indeed sick.

Basically, try to find something that could occupy your time and brings satisfaction, I know this ain't helpful but if you look hard enough, you'll find whatever it is you wanna do. I've been in the same mess you're in now, and I'm sorry I can't offer anything but words, its another hell when folks who don't have depression misunderstand your behaviour.

I hope you find peace of mind.

so you have bipolar disorder like me then right? I was told I should work out but I get lazy. I've been so depressed tonight though I was somewhat okay for days except when in bed or thinking too much about the past and future and getting agitated and aggressive if it wasn't going away

I work somewhere where we help those less fortunate and it's nice if they are thankful for what we do, but I don't feel satisfied at all, like I'm not the one who did anything at all.

My problem is I can't get over the past though I have come a long way, and I just have my head too far up my ass and want to get back this rush and feeling of excitement, cause other than working and trying to manage my mental health and spend good time with family and sometimes friends, I need something to give me sky-high excitement, cause whatever did it for me before is not working now. I have stopped the excessive shopping at last, and a few other things.

IamFunkay7 said:

I hate putting my business out there on the spot, but I suffer from depression. I hate antidepressants because they don't really help me. Currently, I feel so disconnected from everyone around me, nothing seems to be going my way and I try to act like this anxiety and depression doesn't exist.

I really started battling with this 2 years ago and its been on and off, I tried to the school therapist and she helped me alot, but I just want to shake this thing. It tends to happen when I'm really stressed out or I reflect on where I wish my life would have been. I'm just reaching out to see if anyone has been through the same thing and how did they learn to cope with it. I hate the restless nights, racing thoughts, and feeling of despair. I pray about it all the time and I tend to feel empowered when I do, but the feelings always manage to come back. I thought I shook it, but apparently I did not. Maybe it is school and bills, not finding a job, family issues and being sad because I've always been alone...

Please don't down me for this, I accept it on any other thread, but I just want to know how someone else got through this. I really appreciate it.

I've had depression for half of my life, 21 years. It is possible that you will not be able to "shake this thing". If it were that easy, I think I could have shaken it in all this time. However, I've gone through several psychologists and psychiatrists, some will good results and some with pretty bad ones. One therapist spent my sessions going through other client files or just saying "umm hmm". I felt as if I didn't matter to her so I stopped going.

Dealing with depression takes two things: medication and therapy, in my opinion. Praying does not work for me because as I have gotten older, the less a deity makes sense to me. I have learned to rely on myself, too because humans will let you down sometimes.

Right now I am on Cymbalta. I used to be on Prozac. The Cymbalta doesn't seem to work as much as the Prozac did but since I am using it to treat another health condition, I've decided to stay with it. I believe most of my depression stems from situations I have no control over so I recently decided that I have to be more in control of my thoughts.

It also helps me to discuss my depression with someone who is going through the same thing. The things I go through in my life can be a lot for anyone to take but I have a close friend who I pretty much dropped my depression bomb on and he didn't run in the opposite direction.

I hope some of this makes sense to you. I wish you the best of luck.

PunkMistress said:

NDRU said:

For me, the best way is just to shake myself of the funk.

If I get depressed, I'm likely to dwell in it and make it worse. But if I do something, like something physical, or fun, or just slap myself like Cher and scream "SNAP OUT OF IT" it tends to work better than medication or writing/talking about it.

Just have to break the cycle.

AGAIN, this is wonderful if it works for you.

But people with clinical depression and other chemical imbalances can NOT always "SNAP OUT OF IT."

And it's not their fault.

of course, I'm not a doctor, I'm just saying that's what works best for me

I certainly wasn't blaming anyone for being depressed, but I do think most people have the power to manage it

I might add, I'm not talking about an afternoon of being depressed, I'm talking about decades of it, complete with suicidal thoughts and self-destructive behavior.

And saying "snap out of it" isn't a magic cure any more than putting on a pair of running shoes instantly makes a person fit, but both things might be the first step of putting you on the path of managing a chronic condition that can be utterly debilitating without constant management.

[Edited 12/28/11 15:26pm]