Is it possible to cure yourself from real depression without medicine or therapy?

LegacyUser

I've been feeling unable to lift my mood for almost 2 years now and its starting to hinder my ability to get on with life or enjoy doing anything. Everything feels like a massive effort to me. So basically, I'm wondering has anybody here ever overcome feelings of great depression without reverting to medicine or counselling etc..

LegacyUser

I was diagnosed with depression and was on anti depressants for over a year. I quit them because of the inevitable side effects (all meds have side effects btw). I read in another forum that it is possible to keep depression in check by doing vigorous exercise and eating lots of foods with B vitamins.

*Honey*

I think it depends... did something bring on this depression or has it just overcome you with no apparent reason?

I believe if it came out of a particular incident, ie death of a loved one for instance, then it may be possible to come out of it but with the support and love of your family/friends. If it came out of nowhere for no apparent reason, then I would think it needs to be investigated more.

Either way, do you want to avoid counselling and/or meds or have you tried them and they not worked for you?

LegacyUser

Me again. I wasnt the 2nd poster there..Ive never taken any medicines or had therapy and id rather avoid it because I dont want to be dependant on anything like that. I know you can use the arguement that I'd likely use medicines to treat other illneses but, while I know depression also has a completely physical basis, I'd still much prefer to overcome it without medicines.

Bill Cosby

I think it can be done, i spent 2 years in recovery after a meltdown. I spoke to a doctor and he said he could put me on zanex to help deal with the anxiety side of my problems. For some reason i was adament that i wasnt gona be medicated for my problem.. I thought i could get through it.

I had huge support from my friends and family..I couldnt leave the house in the begining and slowly but surely i took on a bit at a time.. I used to wake up some mornings and have this overpowering weight on my head, that i struggled to shake off..It took time.
I found that eating well, and excercising helped me a lot. When i excercised i didnt think about being depressed and afterwards it would help me sleep.

Its a slow process but i do believe that you can recover without being medicated. I had a lot of support but i cocncentrated on doing things that made me happy IE i stopped pleasing other people and just concentrated on myself. It took 2 years but i feel better now than i have ever felt.

Hope this helps.

Wibbs

IMHO it entirely depends on the severity of the illness. I look on it like any other illness or condition. Lets look at say damaging your ankle. Bear with me, mad wibbs analogy ahoy. You can twist your ankle, sprain your ankle, all the way up to breaking your ankle. Now you could go to a doc with a twisted ankle, but chance are they would tell you to chill the fúck out(medical term) and try to rest it. A sprain and they might likely bind it. A break and it's xray time with plaster cast, decent painkillers and possible physio down the line. So yes if you have the depression equivalent of a twist it may well get better on it's own. A sprain equivalent and it may also get better on it's own with some help. A break and you need the therapy to fix it. The thing is if you hurt your ankle you should go to a doc to figure out how serious it actually is. That's their area of expertise and their job. Same with depression. If you're still "limping" emotionally, then I would go to a doctor to find out what's what. I would.

Queencake

I've been there - I've been through two bouts of severe clinical depression. I was suicidal. The first time I was like you and tried to fight it but I felt overwhelmed. I kept trying to fix things but the depression left me feeling incapable and overwhelmed. It took me ages to seek help. First I tried counselling - it helped a little but I still thought I could fix things. But it wound up a few months until I broke down in counselling and told the woman I was suicidal. It felt by that stage the only way out.

I think that for a slight case of depression it's possible to go through it without medical help ie. anti ds. But a therapist/counsellor would be imo essential. It's nearly impossible to discuss these issues with a family member or friend when you're that low and they aren't equipped with the training to help. It actually probably unfair on them and you, to have them as your only source of support.

I honestly dread to think where I'd be if I hadn't gone for counselling and subsequently medical treatment.

Excerise, diet, fresh air, positive thinking etc all greatly help improve depression but to be quite honest - if you haven't been able to improve it within two years you would benefit from consulting a doctor or counsellor imo as someone who's been there. Those ways (diet etc) of coping with depression may be all you need for mild depression but if you're feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated you need to get help.

I've been on anti ds over a year. I haven't noticed any side effects. I don't feel like a less capable person. I have recovered from my last bout and I'm hoping it will be my last as I now know my triggers - however if it happens again, I'll fight it with every bone in my body. That's something I would have been incapable of doing without previously having the support of doctors and counselling.

Queencake

Wibbs wrote: »

IMHO it entirely depends on the severity of the illness. I look on it like any other illness or condition. Lets look at say damaging your ankle. Bear with me, mad wibbs analogy ahoy. You can twist your ankle, sprain your ankle, all the way up to breaking your ankle. Now you could go to a doc with a twisted ankle, but chance are they would tell you to chill the fúck out(medical term) and try to rest it. A sprain and they might likely bind it. A break and it's xray time with plaster cast, decent painkillers and possible physio down the line. So yes if you have the depression equivalent of a twist it may well get better on it's own. A sprain equivalent and it may also get better on it's own with some help. A break and you need the therapy to fix it. The thing is if you hurt your ankle you should go to a doc to figure out how serious it actually is. That's their area of expertise and their job. Same with depression. If you're still "limping" emotionally, then I would go to a doctor to find out what's what. I would.

That's EXACTLY it. Great way of putting it. Kudos.

fugazied

I've been depressed for about 15 years, never sought treatment for it. 'Sometimes' mild depression can be overcome with exercise and a good diet. But if you are talking about serious depressive states, exercise won't do the trick (however try to keep doing it regardless). Also get out in the sun, you need sunlight on your skin to increase vitamin k in your system. Skip alcohol and pot COMPLETELY. Far too many people suffering from mild depression get pharmacological treatment for their illness when they can get rid of it themselves.
For me, the exercise gets me by and keeps suicidal thoughts at bay. As nietzsche said "The thought of suicide is a great consolation; by means of it one gets through many a bad night." Basically if it gets worse I can always opt out of life.

But it's like I am never happy now so I have been comtemplating medication. After all these years of 'managing' the illness I might have to finally get some help. So my advice is exercise, sun, no booze and a good diet. If your mood doesn't lift, then get some help. Also positive thinking, as already mentioned. One strategy is to be VERY aware of your dark thoughts, as they enter your head, break the pattern immediately by moving around, doing pushups, changing your focus. Anything to break the pattern, because when you snap into that dark thought downward spiral you are damaging yourself. 10 minutes of depressive dark thoughts does damage to your psyche. BREAK the pattern, get a routine to stop it.

af_thefragile

Hmm...

I was pretty bad last summer and the summer before. Like really freaking bad. I was trying to recover from a very painful and bitter break up, i had lost all my friends and ended up a loner. I was rarely getting out of my house cuz i had developed a certain fear of the outside world. I was convinced i had the social anxiety disorder and all that crap.

All i had left with me was this constant desire to turn my life around and fix myself. Although at one point i had even lost that (thanks NIN!), that was when i had hit rock bottom, for like the 5th time. I was like constantly hitting new lows!

Anyway, i went to this counsellor guy, i don't think it was working with him. But what worked was some self-help stuff i had. Especially stuff from Tony Robbins. I remember the very instant when i changed. It literally took a second. I went from being a mess to being back to my normal self. It happened while listening to one of Tony's tapes. All i had to do was to put a stop to my self destructive mindset and start a new way of thinking.
That was the last day i suffered from social anxiety disorder. I just told my mind, myself, made myself stop believing that i was suffering from any sorta crappy disorder and that was it. It happened, i had made my mind believe i was normal, confident and doing great and i rocked from there onwards!! Well, no it didn't. It took another year for me to get to the stage where i could say i'm not a piece of distraughted mess anymore.

Actually it happened from me getting a life. I did that by diverting my attention towards developing some new interests along with the deranged musician type i was. I got into photography so now i spend more time contemplating the perfect picture scenes than contemplating loneliness. Works.


In short, i did go to a counsellor but he was useless. I didn't take any medications cuz i strongly believe medications don't help with treating depression, it only suppresses the symptoms and not the cause. Though i'll have to say what helped me most was some invaluable self help stuff and managing to take control of my emotions and my life. So if you consider Tony Robbins to be my virtual counsellor, then guess i did have a counsellor who really helped me.

LegacyUser

Another effective therapy is CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy. Do a google search for it. There is a lot of material (and counselors) out there and I found it helpful in helping me identify 'triggers' and also challenging automatic responses or outdated psychological processes.

LegacyUser

fugazied wrote: »

Also get out in the sun, you need sunlight on your skin to increase vitamin k in your system.

It's vitamin D. We can't make vitamin D and it's almost impossible to get enough through diet alone so sunlight exposure is essential.

LegacyUser

I believe anti-depressants do play a small vital role in defeating depression.
They help to alleviate some of the most crippling symptoms when you are at rock bottom & can help you start getting your life back on track. They can help mood & everyday tasks which you no longer feel you can do
If after 2 years you feel no better, I see no harm in going to your gp & asking their advice or for a referral to a psychiatrist who are slightly more informed on depression & anti-depressant medication than your gp or go see a counselor. I suffered from severe depression & reluctantly went to gp and started taking the medication. I feel it helped me improve my moods, sleep (also took sleeping pills for a while , as with some suffers, getting sleep can be a big problem with depression). They helped me get up in the morning to go to work, which I rarely did at times.

You also need to see a counselor or psychologist to talk or to identify the issues that may be causing you to be depressed, which may or may not be apparent to you. Be honest & open & you;ll soon identify why you may be depressed. This will help you & after a while you may no longer need medication.
I didnt like like taking anti-dep's but they certainly helped me while I was trying to recover whilst also getting counciling. They help, I think most people think there is form of stigma attached to taking them, but if you need them, you need them. I believe they are short to medium term solution while you address the issue of your depression. My advice to you is to see your gp & take it from there. Side effects for me (being male) was slight loss of libido & a little weight gain.
If you leave this unaddressed you may get even worse, as I had.

I asked for a referral to a psychiatrist, I found him excellent on depression & its management. I was embaressed asking for the referral & walking into the dept of psychiatry in the hospital, but it made all the difference. public sessions are free but private are costly..
My job was a huge trigger factor for me one of many though , wasnt just work related, etc so I ended up going off sick for 6 months. I joined the local gym, despite having being gym-phobic, and yes exercise really does help, it also gets you up & out of the house aswell.
After 2 and half years (year taking meds) of been severly depressed, my life turned for the better. Counseling really helped me, so did medication & I began to mend
I also quit my job , went back to unversity , complete career & life change, and have never looked back.
Medication & counselling can work & it did for me. This is just an example of my experience, I changed my whole life for the better for me.

My circumstances may probably be different to yours but in answer to your question, I think you might find it harder to beat depression without medication depending on your state of mind, & most definately without counseling. So make today the day you tackle it head on, go to your gp or talk to friends family or aware (www.aware.ie).
Also, check out a book called "A day called hope" by gareth o callaghan. An excellent book on his experience with depression & definately a story which proves there can be light at the end of the tunnell. I have found many self help books hit & miss but there are a few good ones available.

(Apologies for the long winded story & any spelling mistakes)

PS Is there any specific reason you dont want to "revert to medicine or counselling