Has anyone overcome clinical depression or kept it at bay?

Question

If you have how did you do it? What kinda steps did you take? Please answer in detail if you can?

ReneDS · Accepted Answer

ok so first of all why do you want to know?

well, last few months i felt really depressed. It just became to much to handle. so i really tried to make sense of things but i just couldn't. my thoughts just went back to the person that caused my depression. I needed a way to controll my emotions, so i talked to my doctor. he subsribed me anti depressants. they really helped , you feel numb, almost emotionless. you can't start to think more rational about everything that happened and is still going on. downside, you get extremely tired. if i take one i sleep all day. next to that i went to a psychotherapist. My ex girlfriend is a narciscist/ borderline individual. Not that she ever will get an official diagnoses, since she won't go to a psychotherapist. so talking to a psychotherapist helped me a lot. i got so many answers that i would never get before. My ex girlfriend is extrmely selfish and cruel. regardless of sharing a pregnancy and miscarriage i mean nothing to her, what happened means nothing to her. you can't reason with her let alone talk. i tried so hard and it wasn't possible. i was in love with someone that hated me, hated herself and hated the whole world. it makes no sense. so your life stops, because you try to make sense of it all. at work i couldnt concentrate. at home i just couldnt do anythign productive. i felt sad, empty and alone. i went from being a happy person to a lonely individual. I dont know if i could have managed without the anti depressants or the psycho therapist. but i also realize i have to do it myself. i need to go out there, meet new people, try to achieve my goals and find a girl who is truly worth the effort. someone who loves me back and isn't afraid of saying so. i do have moments , days were i wonder, if i would kill myself, would it all be over. but its not worth it, i still want to become a dad and a loving husband. i still can achieve that but i need to work on it. sitting back doing nothign takes me nowhere.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Hello,

I was diagnosed with clinical depression at age 12. I was incarcerated (yes, that is how I see it) in a mental health hospital for teens the same day I was diagnosed. I was given my first dose of psychiatric medicine the first night. Around 30 minutes after the first pill, I hurt myself. Never had I injured myself on purpose in my life. I know the medicine I was given triggered my action.

I was kept on the same medicine, against my will, for 6 more years. The doctors and hospital therapists scared my parents into allowing me to take the medicine. I complained that the meds were in reality harming and that I needed to get off them. I'm not exaggerating when I say this: I was a genius when I was younger. After the meds I was a student of horrible grades. It wasn't because I was lazy, but because I could not think farther than a minute. I became even more depressed that I wasn't myself and the doctors threatened my parents with CPS if they didn't agree with their "treatment plan".

Last April 2014 I was incarcerated again in another mental health hospital at the age of 18... adult mental ward. I met a promising doctor (at first) who gave me Cymbalta, 60mg. I felt awesome! I felt better and smiled even more than before. However a month after leaving the hospital I turned for the worst. I couldn't sleep, anxiety attacks every night, gained a lot of weight, concentration again severely limited. Some nights I felt like a zombie, just living with no real purpose in life. Suicidal thoughts returned (these thoughts were created by my first meds, age 12).

The doctor who prescribed me Cymbalta even laughed in my face when I told her about the side effects. She compared them to my "wild imagination" and refused to decrease my dose. My parents, confused but scared of change, did not fight back.

But I did. I slowly withdrew from Cymbalta (DO NOT TAKE IT! IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET OFF OF IT, DON'T DO IT! IT'S A HELL OF A TRIAL!!)

Hannah591 · Accepted Answer

I kept battling it, almost denying that I had a mental health condition but when I started having panic attacks frequently for no real reason (I wasn't even sure they were that, I kept denying it), I knew that I definitely had a neurological problem and that it was getting out of my control so I was kind of pushed by my mum to go to the doctor and I was put on Citalopram to deal with the depression and anxiety.

I haven't had a panic attack since I went on, though I do have anxious moments. My depression has been more manageable, but again, I still have bouts of severe depression and suicidal thoughts but they can only last for a few hours, especially if I'm late taking my tablets. I still regularly think about how I would commit suicide if I wanted to, those tablets don't stop everything.

I believe, when my life becomes a little easier (finish college, deal with heartbreak, get a good job), I will try to come off the Citalopram gradually and try again without medication but just thinking about that makes me anxious! I don't want to go back to how I felt and that anxiety could cause a panic attack. It's a hard cycle to break. :

I will try to get through it though, it just doesn't help having people say "there's nothing to be sad about", "you're attention seeking" etc. People can be so ignorant and cruel.

existing_not_living · Accepted Answer

Not yet I have not. I am still working on it. I have Bipolar Disorder so I have my highs and lows in my moods. I try to take my meds everyday, but I sometimes fall off the bandwagon. I also go to private therapy sessions, but I am also in a DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) group. I also try to hang out with my friends as much as possible and involve myself in different activities at school to keep myself busy so I don't just sit at home with myself and my thoughts. Being alone has only caused a lot of self-destruction. I do a lot of things that I enjoy such as singing. I listen to music as much as I can. It's not easy, but it's what I have to do to keep surviving.

AdamThomas · Answer

I just learned to deal with it. The most important thing for me is sleep, followed by good food and good exercise. I just realised eventually that my depression will come and go, and when it does I know how to handle it (sleep, rest, take it easy, make sure I have time to myself) because I've done it all before and been fine. I have had suicidal thoughts but that doesn't happen anymore, like I said I acknowledge that it comes and goes and that I'll be fine. It will never go away completely, just do what you can to prevent it and deal with it.

I would never take meds though. A lot of them have bad side effects, and you don't want to be reliant on drugs anyway, it's always better to deal with it naturally.

Spencer10 · Answer

I had a close relative diagnosed with clinical depression. She responded well to a combination of meds and therapy. She is very content now. Just finding out she was not alone was of great help by its self. Like everyone she has her good and bad days but the cloud has lifted.

BelleGirl21 · Answer

Kept it at bay yes.
Sorry I don't want to go into too many details but basically I had to acknowledge that I was depressed and learn to recognize the signs of it coming on. I opted not to go onto medication even though my doctor recommended it.
For me I learned to deal with it with exercise, sunlight, sleep, church, music... different outlets. I also feel like you have to constantly be on guard for it returning. Try to avoid situations and people who you know trigger it.

MikeD88 · Answer

There is nothing worse, then going through hell of depression. You wake up each day, not knowing if you will make it
'till night, or you will simply give in, and end it all yourself. The drugs sometimes help, and sometimes make it worse.
Felt like I had no control whatsoever over my own life. It took me a while, but I managed to teach myself how to push trough the day, and keep on fighting.
In the end, it all comes down to helping yourself get up and fight, because without that no one can truly help you, no matter how much they would want to.
To conclude, help yourself, so you could go out into the world, and start truly living, and that will be a cure on it's own.
For anyone suffering from depression,
I recommend something that has helped me a lot. It is James Gordon’s system at lookingupstuff. com/mentalhealth/2015/02/06/how-to-destroy-depression/
He is a former depression sufferer, and teaches a totally natural 7 step process which relieves depression from your life.

beachflowersmusic · Answer

a lot of these comments aren't Clinical Depression. I have mild Depression; so I don't know how it feels to have it in a severe way, I was turned down by seeing a physchologist. It's true that it gets worst before it gets better. My Depression is slowly dissappearing. For any person who has any form of low, mild or severe Depression I 100% reccomend that you try the app Talklife.

This_guy_here · Answer

I can say I overcame it. I was on Zoloft, it went wrong and I was given two choices, get my shit together or institution.

RainbowFanGirl · Answer

I did, I actually wrote a myTake on it if you wanna check it out. I was in an abusive relationship.

Anonymous · Answer

Never really figured it out, but accepting it and working with it seemed to help a bit for me.

MyNameIsJonas · Answer

Yes. Believe.

Has anyone overcome clinical depression or kept it at bay?

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