Depression - therapy

LegacyUser

I have a question re depression. I'm 25 and have been suffering fairly persistently from depression for more than nine years now. It goes way back to early childhood.

I have a good understanding of where my problems originate. I have had cognitive behavioural therapy which did help me some bit. The therapist was very good and I have found many of the techniques and strategies very useful. I have a good job now, live an active life and do my best to stay positive and proactive. Given what I have been through I have done surprisingly well.

My problem is I haven't fully succeeded in beating depression. I'm better able to cope now. I can hold down a good job and maintain friends but I still feel I am struggling or just getting by. I told my cognitive behavioural therapist this and he recommended psychoanalysis which I have been doing for the past year. It’s interesting but very slow progress. Has anyone else benefited from psychoanalysis? I would be interested to know.

I would be also interested to hear from other long-time sufferers of depression who feel they have recovered fully through psychological intervention, ie they feel they no longer suffer from depression. What kind of therapy worked?

Cheers

Cordette

Hi there.....I am 33 years old and have suffered with depression and anxiety since I was 15. I wish I could tell you there comes a point when it ends fully, but I've come to the obvious conclusion that while some people seem to sail through life others are destined to trip up occasionally along the way. I've been on various medications and have tried many things but only really looked into counselling and psychoanalysis in the past few years and can honestly tell you it was the best thing I've done by far. You're right, it's such slow going and I think there are times when you still feel disconnected and wonder can you feel truly happy.

The only real thing I can say is that I have real hope that it will go away.
And there have been times when I know for sure that I have been happy.

Can I ask you, do you enjoy what you do work-wise? Have you ever done meditation? Are you creative or musical?

I hope with this message I haven't made you feel any worse. Have a little bit of hope, you're so young and I'll have some hope for you too.
C

LegacyUser

'I am suffering very bad depression also. at 22, its terrible not having the connection to life to be able to do anything.
Nobody understands and its like I'm just lazy or a boring person or something. I am very lively when I'm happy but due to circumstances now and my upbringing, I'm getting a accumulation of the past hit on me now, and it's painful.
I checked myself in for an evaluation and I wasn't kept at a psychiatric hospital, but I am going to see a psychiatrist to help me out next week. I am very hopeful some good will come out of it, but I hope that my depression is manageable I can't see myself living life long like this.
I'm worried also.'

LegacyUser

'I am mid 30s and have depressive tendencies since my early teens. Where can I go for help? I don’t want to approach my own doctor. Is it possible to self-refer to a shrink? I empathise completely with what one poster said about appearing lazy or boring and how some people can just seem to sail through life.
Sorry, I don’t mean to hijack the thread.'

Mezcita

VanGough and Downout, you're doing the right thing by seeking help with this.
Being willing to open up and talk about your own personal problems with somebody is a difficult thing to do at the best of times. Especially with somebody you don't know.

However, it is a step in the right direction. Life has a habit of kicking you when you are down but if you can manage your depression it enables you to move on with things.

As weird as it sounds, I would really recommend exercise as a good start to feeling mentally better. Don't get me wrong, I'm the least sporty person on the planet. But it is a good way of clearing your head.

Put your faith in the people you have spoken to about your problems. They are there to help you.

John

I would second the exercise recommendation, in some studies it has shown to be as effective as treatment with anti-depressant drug therapy (exercise and drug treatment seem to work through the same biological mechanisms but obviously exercise is a more natural anti-depressant).

Note that it is aerobic exercise that works up a sweat like running that works, not something like weight lifting. However, if jogging really isn't your thing (it isn't mine!), a good walk could be enough to push you a little further in the right direction.

Best of luck to you all, hope that whatever you do works well for you.

Odysseus

Personally I know quite a few people who have benefited from from psychoanalytic psychotherapy, I was in analysis for five years, but your right it is a long and slow process. However, the fact that you asking here about its efficacy suggest that you feel that you not getting want you want from it, which is part of the process. If this is the case I would suggest that you speak about this in your sessions, that is presumming that you are not already doing this. Best of luck with it.

LegacyUser

'I'm pretty much in the same boat - i have depressive episodes that take a lot of effort to recover from.

The problem i have is i feel really uncomfortable going to my GP (well, i've only seen him twice in 10 years....) and saying 'i'm depressed, help me'- i don't want to appear.... well, i don't want to appear stupid and pathetic.

I've seen a support group recommended here on boards but it appears to be a religious thing, and i don't like religious things. What other options are there?'

LegacyUser

Thanks for the responses. Appreciated. Cordette, I think you're right. No-one makes one clean break with depression. Its a slow recovery and bit by bit you find yourself enjoying life again. When I posted first I was having one of my bad days.

Alot of people recommend exercise for depression. While exercise is good, its not a long-term cure, depression is much more complicated than that. People who are very good at sport, even professional athletes, can get depressed.

For those afraid to go to your GP, remember anything you say has to be kept secret. He can't make you do anything. Just ask for a referral to someone better qualified, like a psychologist, to help you out.
Everyone one needs help sometimes. Tony Bates book 'Depression, The Common Sense Approach' is excellent. Good place to start.

Cordette

Hi Again.....I just wanted to let you know about an amino acid I read up on recently. It's called Tryptophan, and in studies it has had exactly the same, if not better results than the best anti-depressants out there. The reason it's not advertised by pharmaceutical companies is because they can't patent it....I've been taking it 2 weeks now and it's fantastic, along with Omega 3, regular exercise and a good diet. But I can't speak highly enough of the Tryptophan for anyone out there who doesn't want anti-depressants....not that I'm knocking that either, its just not for everyone.

Glad you're feeling better Van Gogh.
Cordette

redtom

Tryptophan is available in any protein you eat, and is a precursor to serotonin, that natural feelgood chemical that SSRIs work on - certainly, exercise and eating well would be a great course of action

If you can remember what it was like as a child to come in after a day's running around the garden, hangin off trees and jumping over hills and stuff, your heart thumpin, the explosions of adrenaline - well, this is what you try to have flowing through your veins again when considering exercise as a method for improving depressive periods - unfortunately this adult 9-5 system we find ourselves in just does not lend itself to spontaneous activity (which we may have had the freedom to do while growing up)

Psychoanalysis is good for understanding the why's and stuff, coz, let's face it, how the hell are we to understand the types of feelings experienced during depression when its not something taught as we're growing up

Just a couple of thoughts after reading this thread

greenteaicedtea

I'm 36, I've been depressed on and off since I was 14, I've had analysis and cognitive-behavioral therapy, been on ssris.

I found the cognitive-behavioural therapy helped the most.

I do find that the depression is not 100% gone, sometimes when I'm under stress, I get anxious and I snap at people & stop eating cant sleep etc. So my solution is to be proactive about stuff that stresses me out - I try to keep my life simple where I can, and if toxic people at work bug me I make my thoughts known that I need less stress to get by (I have to word it carefully but I do tell people to tone it down if they're stressing me out, instead of just taking it)

When I take the train to work instead of driving, I end up walking part way to work, on those days I find I feel better, so I second all the suggestions about staying active being a help with depression.

I have accepted the fact that the depression and anxiety are likely going to recur from time to time throughout my life.