Please help - depression

I have severe depression, and I have tried so many different medications. I've been on Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin XL, Topomax (for bipolar disorder), Celexa (shittiest anti-depressant ever), Lamictal, and Zoloft. Possibly a few others that I can't remember. Please, if anyone else has horrible and unovercomeable (is that a word?) depression, please respond and give me some suggestions. Even if they're just self-medications (not drugs, something like meditation, etc), I would appreciate it more than anything. Thank you so much in advance.

 

I read that exersise raises your levels of endorphins (feel good chemicals). I like to walk for a half hour at a time several times per week. Also, try writing a list of everything that makes you happy and then surround yourself with as many of those things that you can . Feel better.

 

Thanks for your "active" advice. I do need medication though. I have emotional issues as well as serotonin/biological problems. I hate being on meds. It really sucks.

 

Antidepressants make me feel woosy and like I'm looking through a haze, so I can relate to your disdain for the meds. I think pot works much better, but you seem to be discounting that as an alternative. I wish I could be more helpful. Are you bi-polar, too?

 

Sort of. I used to be totally bipolar, but it's faded to unipolar depression, which is pretty much bipolar disorder w/o the mani mood swings. But I suffer from every other mood swing. It sucks. I wouldn't mind weed, but I just want maybe meds that can help. I'm not gonna rely on drugs to make me feel okay. I do them for fun, not to keep me alive.

 

I tried anti-depressants + each one gave me a headache + interfered with my spiritual + psychic abilities, thus I stopped taking them. I also have many emotional problems, but I all is meant to be anyway + that we are here to learn emotional / spiritual lessons. Although recently the depression is almost winning over me too. but i value all life + life itself + am greatful to be alive. I tried running away once to the other side of the planet, but even that did not help.. we are all having to go through some crap eventually, but 1 way to try to deal with stuff is with love + do not act angrily or harm any other people physically or emotionally if we can help it + our life will calm down. but even then, we all have to face certain horrible feelings + we need the strength to carry on. Do do many things like has already been suggested E.G clear your mind, feel a LOAD of love in your heart + brilliant bright light all around U surrounding you + creite an auric shield of love + light around your very being itself + try to see life from a slightly more loving angle to all beings. + no matter what we do, we do have to accept certain responsibilities eventually, although it hurts like ... **** . . My problems are getting closer + I'm weakening, but I know it all has to be coped with. + I have let my karma catch up with me in the past to ballance felt much better for it. But in life + its cycles, we all have to face certain things + responsibilities + it all comes down to out own free will as to how we react + cope.

 

Hey hon. I recently read about a vitamin you can buy online or at health stores called 5-HTP (Or it might me 5-HPT, you'll just have to do some searching for it. Sorry, bad memory). Anyways, they say it boosts seratonine levels in the brain. Also, I've read that eating carb-enriched foods helps. Vitamins B-6 and B-12 as well as Magnesium are supposed to be good. Here's a web site for some other more natural anti-depressants: http://www.nativeremedies.com . I hope I have offered some help. Also, exercising is a REALLY GOOD thing you can do to help yourself. One more thing, if pot helps you, then consider it your medicine. It's a lot safer than a lot of perscription drugs out there. I have not tried any of these methods, but hopefully they will work for you. Peace and healing x x x

 

No matter how dark things may seam, they soon will be brighter if you fallow your dream... and try this formula.... I got this off an old psychic i met while i was working at a campsite....

Add the following into a small pot and use low heat

1 cup milk
1 cup of oatmeal
1 pinch of salt
2 egges and crusher shells
stir and mix while on heat untill it thickens....let cool
wrap head with a foil like crown and put the paste on top of head...
Wait 15 min and meditate on love compassion and peace, and any other happy thoughts....
then take a shower or wash your head
You should feel a tingling on the top of head as it clesanse your aura....
Repeat this once a month or till you feel better....

Look into a mirror about a foot away
look in to your eyes they are the windo to your soul
relax take a deep breath and repeat out loud;
I am mentally physically and spiritual perfect...
You should do this 5-6 times a day for 30 days in a row....
If you miss a day you will need to start againg for 30 days in a row.....


This old guy changed my life then disapeared I was unable to track him down then one day I have this dream he came to me and told me he died and to stop looking for him..... So i did but I kept all the secrets he gave me and the trick to help life go better..... I hop you well

 

Definitely exercise. This year I started jogging. It's better than sex. I've never been better. Not only do I feel great physically after finishing a run, but mentally, I feel quite accomplished. It's helped my self esteem too by getting me in better shape. I feel for you, babe. This is going to sound so cliche, (even THAT sounds cliche), but you've just got to keep moving forward and realize that you WILL get better. I personally would have ignored someone if they had said that to me during my worst times of depression. Life seemed meaningless, void, over, nothing I could do about it. But 90% of those feelings have passed and I am now just enjoying life for what it is. The best of luck.

 

Ozzy,
I like your ideas. I will try them sometime in the near future.

Peas,

 

what makes you say that? i just started celexa a couple weeks ago, and i'm curious to know what you didn't like about it.

 

hey there! sorry to hear about ur depression, its a fucked up illness. ive been on and off effexor for a couple of years and it works but has shit arse withdrawal. i wouldnt like to be on it but i have to this year because im doing my HSC (leaving certificate thing) and have vowed to get off it next year when im out of school. anyway my dad also has depression and drugs dont work for him, he gets ill and turns manic so the thing that works best for him is to wake up half an hour earlier than usual and meditating. it starts off his day and keeps him balanced and happy, ive never seen him better.
also i suggest a creative release, when i feel upset i sing with my guitar or i paint and it helps to take the edge off the pain.
peace

 

Squeesh,

I really like your ideas, they are good ones. Meditation is good, it helped me through some mild depression last year. Actually, I need to get back into doing it, because the depression is creeping back in. It just made me feel so peaceful inside and I could project that out into the rest of the world.



Journaling is really important to me also. I used to write poetry and short stories all of the time before my depression. Then I just couldn't do it after going on meds. It was horrible. It was as if the meds stole that creative part of my brain away from me. I thought I would never be able to get it back, but I have found over the past few months that journaling is helping to get those creative juices flowing again. Hopefully soon I'll be able to write my poetry again.



But a creative release could be other things, like taking a sewing class then you can make your own clothes and handbags and stuff. Or painting or baking a cake (yes that is creative). Getting a video camera and making a "movie" of people. Making soap, or candles (I love that!).



All meds aren't bad, but I personally believe that they need to be supplimented with other things in order to keep you completely in balance, and I think people should try these simple alternatives before going on meds. It often takes a long time to find the right meds and the right doctors. I mean if you have a "chemical imbalance" sure the meds can help fix that for the future, but they can't undo the damage and negative thinking that you have done your entire life thus far. You need some other release for that.

Best of luck to all of you.

 

excersize, meditate, walk around, eat VERY healthily, drink water

 

hmm sounds like im kinda in your boat. anyways i just developed depression this year, for no reason really. just bicochemical factors. its def. been the hardest most terrible thing ive ever had to live with. i started zoloft in feb. for my depression as well an anxiety (my attacks were so bad i could barely leave me house at weeks at a time)....i was VERY skeptical ab it as first, as many people are, but everything was so bad i thought what the hell? and just decided to take it. it really did help a lot, esp. with the anxiety....i havent had one attack since i got on it. it does help with depression too, although there are times i feel it isnt working and i want to stop it, but the truth is, im MUCH worse off when im off of it. i made that mistake a few weeks ago and i was so miserable. i'd def. like to be off of it one day soon and my doctor is saying maybe decemer-ish, so i'm just hoping! exercise is def. a big part of it as others have mentioned, basically no matter how bad you feel you just have to get yourself outside and do normal things, even if you dont feel good doing them.

now for my question. does anyone get headaches and sometimes nausea with depression? ive noticed i get headaches like almost daily (i also get migraines around my period) and sometimes i get nauseas for no reason. it can really make daily living a lot harder when you physically dont feel well. anyways if anyone knows what the hell im talking about, any response would be great.

thanks and be well
mel

 

Anti-depressants will not make you feel better. They are doing the same thing that your brain can do. I know that it sounds hard but you just have to make the decision to be happy. I went through years of depression and have been on more drugs than you named and none of them did a damn thing. It wasn't until I realized that it was all up to me that I got better. It really is the hardest thing I have ever done, but I am such a better person because I did. I hope that you do too. You just have to try to understand that happiness is just another chemical in your brain, all emotions are just chemical, and there are certain things that trigger certain chemicals. So you have to find those things. Expiriment with things to see what kind of reaction you get. I think it's all about listening to the dead outside in the sun while stoned, but that's just me. Good luck.....namaste

 

hey,

exercise might sound like a lot of effort to pull off overnight, especially if you dont do any. Start off doing little things, like climbing a tree or short walks around the neighborhood. I think people are generally happier when they are doing something, and the more someone sits and seperates themselves from reality they can lost their mind and soul. Learn to control your body and you'll begin to feel better. Actively doing things, big or small, youll start to feel better and depression should subside.
I went through most of those meds you mentioned and didnt find any good results that i wanted. But that was me, and im sure they work for some people, but they wont do what you want them to do, they will do what they are supposed to do, whatever the hell that is. Have you ever thought about talking to a psychologist? They are great fun! They really become personnel with you and they offer great advicce. They wont push drugs on you, or anything that you wont want to do! Unlike a psychiatrist, they dont prescribe meds. They will actually talk with you too! Dump a psychiatrist and seek a psychologist if possible!!

 

and 1 more thing, you cant expect overnight changes in the depression. IF you feel good doing something, then keep doing those kind of things often. After some good time, youll hopefully be able to look back and say you feel a lot better now then you did before the gap.

 

I totally agree with you, Lotusfaery8, I grew up being really depressed all the time and it never got any better until I reached kind of an enlightenment stage a few years ago when I started thinking about life a lot and I realized that you make the decision to feel sad or happy, good or bad, and I knew how fun it was to be depressed all the time and I was so sick of it. I reached the point where I didn't care what I had to do to get rid of it, if I had to change all of my beliefs and break all the attachments to whomever, whatever, even if that meant getting rid of everything and everyone I had known for so long. That started the process of realizing how great and beautiful and awe-inspiring life is and it got me to the point I'm at now and I couldn't even imagine being depressed like that anymore. I love the person I am now.
Everyone's got their own ways of dealing with things and once you find what's right for you and want to change badly enough, you'll know what to do.

 

choosing to be happy.....everyone would do that if it was that simple. depression isnt oh im a whiney teen and i hate my parents, how a lot of you say you once were basically. depression in its severity is a lack of serotonin.....you cannot necessarily control that...thats what the medication is there to help, the chemical imbalance. just because you start on a medication doesnt mean you have to be on it the rest of your life....some people do, some dont. either way, it has helped me....but some dont like it. if you have severe depression talking to a psychologist (or whichever it is that does not prescribe meds) really helps. it has helped me a lot. they dont force you to take anything you dont want to but they will give you their educated opinion. good luck to you and anyone else trying to figure things out in this difficult time. keep hope