depression

Miroslav

tankgirl1 wrote:

thanks for all your replys guys - its good to know im not the only one!!

if you havent experienced depression, i think its difficult to understand it. ive lost a relationship, and a job to it. my family all think its just a case of 'thinking positive, and pulling my socks up'.

it isnt though.

perhaps we could all help each other - i think posting on here, and knowing other people are going through the same thing really helps.

oh, and for what its worth- i havent been out today yet, and am still in my pj's

I've heard the "Get on with it, your partner died years ago" line and the "You should be over it all by now" and "You were only a father, not a mother" lines amongst others. Some people's ignorance astounds me.

I've not been out today either

If you look in the marriages, relationships section, a thread called 'finding friends', may be useful to you

frostyspice

you're so right funkymonkey - giving up the fags really does make you feel good about yourself. I gave up while still depressed and wondered why the hell I was doing it when I started - but as time went by and I had stayed off them I knew that to go back on them would make me hate myself even more!

(over 10 years ago now!)

As for the antidepressants issue - some people seem to be reluctant to take them, feeling that they only address the symptoms and not the cause. Well if you're very depressed, you can't even begin to deal with the cause. The drugs can get you out of the worst and darkest times so that you are physically and mentally able to start thinking about why you're having a depressive response to the world and how you could cope better.

I remember sitting in a psychiatric ward and watching a fellow patient setting his bed on fire, and I was completely unmoved about it! No panic, no feeling that I had to move or anything - now that's depression and when you're in that state, you need help and you can't get out of it on your own.

NEWBIENEW_3

Hello - hope you get this OK as it's my first post. I wouldn't take prescription drugs and instead worked on diet and exercise. Yoga is good for me. I take cod liver oil (not capsules) and molasses every day. Eat lots of fish veg and fruit esp green leafy ones. Try for 80/20 diet where 80 is good and 20 anything you want. Keep alcohol, coffee, chocolate to a minimum. Think positively - kid yourself you are OK and one day it will happen! I think our diet has changed because the way we grow food has changed, so the minerals in what we eat aren't the same - you could try asking your quack for a blood test to see what your zinc and magnesium levels are like? good luck.

EmmaLi

I wondered if anyone here has managed to get CBT? And if so, how?

I am 26 with a 9 year history of depression. For 5.5 years I was on medication but told to stop taking it when I fell pregnant in January. I was offered no support or help - my shrink actually decided to tell me to stop taking the tablets and discharge me on the same day. I have been told repeatedly by mental health professionals that CBT would be the best treatment for me but I can't even get on the waiting list. The one person who could refer me is the shrink who discharged me but he's decided that I just have to accept that I have depression and live with it - his words, not mine!

kaya

For anybody that doesnt want to take prescription of synthesised medication and wants a starting point do a google search for 5-HTP, its not 5-HTP you buy but a ground up bean so pretty natural, i got mine from a health food store in the town, 5-htp is something your body needs to make serotonin(happy juice), it is offered in many countrys as an alternative to SSRI's and MAOI's and has no nasty side effects, well at least on me!. Delayed ejaculation is a side effect that my Mrs is quite pleased about:rotfl:

frostyspice

EmmaLi wrote:

I wondered if anyone here has managed to get CBT? And if so, how?

I am 26 with a 9 year history of depression. For 5.5 years I was on medication but told to stop taking it when I fell pregnant in January. I was offered no support or help - my shrink actually decided to tell me to stop taking the tablets and discharge me on the same day. I have been told repeatedly by mental health professionals that CBT would be the best treatment for me but I can't even get on the waiting list. The one person who could refer me is the shrink who discharged me but he's decided that I just have to accept that I have depression and live with it - his words, not mine!

You could try asking your GP for referral to a different psychiatrist. I changed psychiatrists and I'm so glad I did. Just tell him you don't get on with the current one.

ILoveHenryJames

EmmaLi wrote:

I wondered if anyone here has managed to get CBT? And if so, how?

I am 26 with a 9 year history of depression. For 5.5 years I was on medication but told to stop taking it when I fell pregnant in January. I was offered no support or help - my shrink actually decided to tell me to stop taking the tablets and discharge me on the same day. I have been told repeatedly by mental health professionals that CBT would be the best treatment for me but I can't even get on the waiting list. The one person who could refer me is the shrink who discharged me but he's decided that I just have to accept that I have depression and live with it - his words, not mine!

I was lucky enough to get on a waiting list and then get accepted on a course of CBT through my NHS GP; this may have been because I sat in her room crying with fresh cuts on my arms saying 'I don't know how I kept myself alive over the past 48 hours'.

I'm really sorry that I can't offer much practical advice on getting CBT any faster; I was planning to pay for it but got accepted so didn't have to.

Miroslav

EmmaLi wrote:

I wondered if anyone here has managed to get CBT? And if so, how?

I am 26 with a 9 year history of depression. For 5.5 years I was on medication but told to stop taking it when I fell pregnant in January. I was offered no support or help - my shrink actually decided to tell me to stop taking the tablets and discharge me on the same day. I have been told repeatedly by mental health professionals that CBT would be the best treatment for me but I can't even get on the waiting list. The one person who could refer me is the shrink who discharged me but he's decided that I just have to accept that I have depression and live with it - his words, not mine!

I was told I was put on a list for CBT, but I find out now, I was forgottten about :rolleyes:

Your shrink needs shooting, no-one good at his/her kind of job would say anything like that :rolleyes:

Ted_Hutchinson

Living Life to The Full On-line is a powerful new life skills resource. The course has been written by a psychiatrist who has many years of experience using a Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) approach and also in helping people use these skills in everday life.
Don't forget also that ensuring your Vitamin d status is as high as possible will have a beneficial effect on mood see.
Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate ...
It's also important to ensure omega 3 status is adequate see Omega-3 fatty acids and mood disorders.
Do remember that in order for either vitamin d or omega 3 to be effective you have to take and amount that not only meets your current daily needs but to some extent also makes up for the deficit which is likely to underlie your current depression.
The Vitamin d is easy if you gradually build up your exposure to sunlight by going outside every day for a little longer while exposing as much skin as is decent. You need around 30 minutes for an effective amount. For those who want the supplement route BIO-TECH Pharmacal Inc. are quick and efficient and supply an effective dose.
Improving your vit d status will also enable your brain to take up more DHA (an omega 3 essential fatty acid usually low in those with depression, self abusers, potential suicides, domestic abusers, the violent, or those with less severe behaviour problems, if you're not thinking straight the chances are your DHA is low) Omega Juice from Zipvit is the cheapest high strenth source that allows you to get an effective dose in one tsp for minimal cost. Two tsps daily would be better for the first month.
If you can't stand the taste I'm told Cod Liver Oil Liquid - St Clements tastes better but you shouldn't take more than 2tsps of this and so you'd need some fish oil caps as well to make up to the effective initial 3g omega 3 daily.

Nobody has yet mentioned Exercise and Depression. It's actually one of the most effective therapies with the most beneficial side effects.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

The MIND website has good information on St Johns Wort including suggested dose. CBT is a very effective intervention, but like everything else, it isn't suitable for everyone. Living Life to the Full website is extremely useful for anyone who wants to understand why they think the way they do, and perhaps change, and is supported by the NHS.