help with depression please

[sugar_mag321]

hey folks-
well i'm 17 and was diagnosed with depression and panic disorder less than a year ago. nothing really triggered it except maybe my sudden halt in exercise (i had played sports my whole life and quit after 10th grade volleyball season) and i was also a quite unhealthy vegetarian (i started eating meat agin in april though to help lessen headaches and gain energy back). my panic attacks and depression were so bad at one point i could barely go out of my house, all i did was lie on the couch and sleep...i wouldnt go out, i didnt know what was wrong. anyways i got prescirbed to zoloft but was very iffy about taking it so i put it off for almost a month until things were so bad i kind of thought 'what the hell? things couldnt get much worse.' to my suprise, zoloft has helped, expecially with the panic attacks (ive had none since ive been on the medication)....but the thing is, its not like its corrected it, its just helping with the chemical imbalance. i know many people here are against meds, but i obviously have a different opinon in my circumstance. my thing is, yes i still get depressed (usually around my period) and i get migraines too.......i feel sick a lot of the time. this started like almost a year ago and we went to the doctor and had me blood tested for various things a few times, but i was always fine. my question is....is it the depression thats making me physically ill? has anyone else experienced this? i also feel like i have an intense phobia of mental illness (such as schizophrenia)....like im afraid im going to develop it or something although i dont see or hear things or anything of that nature. so i guess im a mental illness phobic too? ahhh i dont know. just any advice, comments, whatever would be appreciated. thanks.

much love-mel

[monosphere]

I haev noticed that the more depressed I've been, the sicker I've felt. On the otehr side of the scale, my mother has been told that positive attitude will help with fighting her cancer. This leads me to believe that our state of mind does indeed have an impact on our immune system. I don't know enough about it and will try to look into it a little further.

Mono

[sugar_mag321]

mono-

thanks for your reply. your right, a positive mental attitude does indeed make your immune system better somehow, i learned that in health class. lately ive been trying to keep a good attitude by exercising, going out more, working more, etc. i think a lot of what was making me even more depressed was the birth control i was on so i quit the pill and now im trying the patch, so we'll see. apparantly, some women just cant take birth control bc of the side effects. anyways, thank you for your reply and your mother will be in my thoughts. :)

[Andy73]

This may seem strange to ask this ...

Are you double jointed? do you have soft velvety skin?

It's possible that you're problem has to do with collagen

[sweetdreadlover]

hey folks-
well i'm 17 and was diagnosed with depression and panic disorder less than a year ago. nothing really triggered it except maybe my sudden halt in exercise (i had played sports my whole life and quit after 10th grade volleyball season) and i was also a quite unhealthy vegetarian (i started eating meat agin in april though to help lessen headaches and gain energy back). my panic attacks and depression were so bad at one point i could barely go out of my house, all i did was lie on the couch and sleep...i wouldnt go out, i didnt know what was wrong. anyways i got prescirbed to zoloft but was very iffy about taking it so i put it off for almost a month until things were so bad i kind of thought 'what the hell? things couldnt get much worse.' to my suprise, zoloft has helped, expecially with the panic attacks (ive had none since ive been on the medication)....but the thing is, its not like its corrected it, its just helping with the chemical imbalance. i know many people here are against meds, but i obviously have a different opinon in my circumstance. my thing is, yes i still get depressed (usually around my period) and i get migraines too.......i feel sick a lot of the time. this started like almost a year ago and we went to the doctor and had me blood tested for various things a few times, but i was always fine. my question is....is it the depression thats making me physically ill? has anyone else experienced this? i also feel like i have an intense phobia of mental illness (such as schizophrenia)....like im afraid im going to develop it or something although i dont see or hear things or anything of that nature. so i guess im a mental illness phobic too? ahhh i dont know. just any advice, comments, whatever would be appreciated. thanks.

much love-mel

i have depression but i refuse to take prescription meds for it...id rather do much healthier things. i meditate every day for one. clear my mind and repair it daily. i also do regimines of yoga which help my body repair daily and i burn incense while doing this to make sure i am in a calming environment....if u find the simplest most natural ways to do this instead of pumping your body full of chemichals daily it WILL help

[dharksky]

My girlfriend suffers from depression and takes medicine (Lexapro) as well. Before she was on the meds, along with the few times she's lowered her dose to get off it, she's had a lot of physical sickness. I think the best advice we've heard is that you have to take a proactive approach and do something; she always feels better after doing some form of exercise (like sweetdreadlover she does yoga), doing something with friends, or even just going out to eat (I think that works because she doesn't eat when she's depressed and we sit and talk). I have known people who had bad reactions to birth control, so it could be that. It could also be the medicine. I've had several friends who had problems with medication. I'd mention your illness to the doctor to make sure it isn't a drug side-effect. And I have to agree with sweetdreadlover about finding more natural ways to combat your depression. They may not cure it completely, but you may be able to lower the dose and the lower chemical toxins in your body along with just plain caring for yourself may ease your illness. And I don't think you have a mental illness phobia; mental illness is a serious health issue and it can be scary. I've had friends who talked to green elves, smashed windows, and attempted suicide, and there have been plenty of times that I was terrified. But, as scared as I was, they were even more scared. I don't know if you're seeing a counselor or not, but they help a lot and can help you work out your fears.

[Bilby]

Since I have switched from margarine to butter I am cured of a mild case of bi-polar.As such I no longer need to smoke.

[MagnanimityMan]

hey =)
i might be able to help you with your depression a bit. i can share my experience and maybe you can make a connection or two (hopefully over maybe). i too used to play a bunch of sports when i was younger, up through middle school, but when the community leagues stopped at the age of like 14 (expecting us to play highschool ball i imagine), i just kinda stopped... but i personally dont think this is why i experienced the blues.
i'm a very loving person, i've always held good morals (i imagine, a result from my parents/that subjective wisdom we gather while growing/grateful dead =P), however i went to a highschool where people like myself were rare. i made a few friends, and we grew so beautifully close. me, anthony, and wotton. the school itself was less then 600 students, and these souls were the only people i truly related with. i always gave every student there so much heart, and had great relations with every student, but i had such a hard time really connecting with the majority of my classmates, especialllllllllllllllly the girls, who, godbless them, were just not too down to earth. these years really taught me that love isn't something you just jump in and out of, but that there are people that absolutely connect with the human you are... but around mid senior year, i was really beginning to find myself becoming depressed. Just dreaming about love all the time, while understanding that it doesn't need to be NOW (developed alot of patience), i understood that whenever it happens, it'll be true... but so much dreamin was beginning to really take a tole on a 17 year old hopeless romantic, who knew allllllllll about love, just didn't find anyone he coudl truly share it with how he imagined. i think this is what caused my depression, and i didn't realize it for the longest time. before i came to this conclusion, i thought for a while i was losing so much of the light i held in my heart, but i realized soon that this was simply just an affect of being dragged down by my lovelessness. being dragged down, this is what was making me depressed, and this is why i was feeling so bummed. I still haven't found that gal, but, thinking on it for a while (only to kick myself, and thank heavens i'm such a smart kid at the same time) i realized that jumping into things is truly not what i want, because i just haven't met that girl yet. I knew this for a long time, but just really digesting it again, it made things so much better. It refreshes that insight of how thoughts get out of control sometimes (not necessarily FAST out of control, but even over time, without us noticing), and we just need to take a step back. I lost touch with soooo much i held to be soooo god damn important to me, thingas that used to fill my soul up with sOOOOOOOOOOO much unconditional happiness... i realized how i lost touch with nature over the many months.
sometimes, just realizing things, in your head... just a few moments of thought, can shed light to soooo sooo much. even if your problem is like mine, and you just need some good lovin, well i feel for you, and i know it's absolutely horrible not having someone to share your love with, but the thoughts that kept us going all this time, these thoughts are smarter then you think =) if this isn't about lovelessness, i still hope might be able to pull something out of my little story. i can't right any wrongs myself with this typing alone, because nobody knows how to but you, but i truly do wish you to find that happiness that you used to hold so dear. much much much much love, ~ethan