Depression

couscous

Full Member
I wondered if anyone had else had been diagnoised with depression. I haven't been myself recently, teary, tired, irritable, no energy, no inclination to do anything etc and i think deep down i knew i wasn't right. One of my friends said she thought i should go to the doctors so i went earelier this week. He said that it did sound like i was depressed but he wanted to rule out other thinhs so he has sent me for a few blood tests and I have to go back and see him today. He said he thought that they would all come back negative but he wanted to be sure.

So i wonder how can I have depression. I have a wonderful job (albeit stressful) a great boyfriend who i live with, a nice house, car, pets, great friends and family etc. It doesn't seem that i tick the boxes for depression yet I knw that I'm not right and i kjnow that i am in a bit of a black hole and i need some help to get out of it.

I get my results and he said that if the bloods are negative he will start me on anti-depressants. Just wondering where do i go from here? I told my bf what he said and his reaction was look at everything you've got, you can't be depressed which is kind of how i feel.

Any advice?
 
I wondered if anyone had else had been diagnoised with depression. I haven't been myself recently, teary, tired, irritable, no energy, no inclination to do anything etc and i think deep down i knew i wasn't right. One of my friends said she thought i should go to the doctors so i went earelier this week. He said that it did sound like i was depressed but he wanted to rule out other thinhs so he has sent me for a few blood tests and I have to go back and see him today. He said he thought that they would all come back negative but he wanted to be sure.

So i wonder how can I have depression. I have a wonderful job (albeit stressful) a great boyfriend who i live with, a nice house, car, pets, great friends and family etc. It doesn't seem that i tick the boxes for depression yet I knw that I'm not right and i kjnow that i am in a bit of a black hole and i need some help to get out of it.

I get my results and he said that if the bloods are negative he will start me on anti-depressants. Just wondering where do i go from here? I told my bf what he said and his reaction was look at everything you've got, you can't be depressed which is kind of how i feel.

Any advice?

Advice? Depression? You seem to have everything going right in your life but you don't feel right in yourself? Ask yourself the question, what is the one thing that makes me happy/satisfied? Just one thing, focus on that one thing and feel good about it. Sometimes life is just too busy, our minds get filled up with so much - work, partners, family, bills, home etc etc and we do not take time out just to be still. It is Ok to feel the way you do. Take care of yourself, be kind to yourself and just be you knowing that all will be well - you can get better about things in your own time, be it in an hour, a day or a weeks time.....
 
Your BF's reaction tells me you need to take him to the docs with you for some education. I'm sorry Couscous, but this attitude really grates on me.

Clinical depression and 'being depressed' are two very different things. Being depressed about something is a short term 'downer' about something in particular. Clinical depression is a medical condition that (I think) is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If you are diagnosed with depression today then you have 2 choices. You can accept the diagnosis and work on treating it or you can continue along the "I have nothing to be depressed about" track, which would NOT be advisable. As for the anti-depressants, they are a long term medication and need to be monitored by your doctor and you can't just come off them whenever you feel like it. There are alternatives, St Johns Wort is a natural anti depressant and has no side affects and can be stopped when you decide to, available from Holland and Barrett.

Talk with your doctor about the condition and make sure you fully understand it. ((((((((Hugs)))))))))
 
I totally know how you feel - Im the same (that might come as a shock to people on here as I dont think I come across as feeling like that) I can cry everyday sometimes, then not for a little while, it can be over the slightest thing that would never have bothered the 'old' me! I dont wanna feel like this and I know that its not 'normal' I have all of the things you describe, a great job, again albeit it stressful sometimes, great family, fab mates, an amazing bf who loves me dearly, we live together in a gorgeous house, a puppy, we go on holidays, nice cars, a jet ski etc etc - while I know those material things dont necessarily make you happy I think they should go some way towards it. My BF kinda feels the same as yours I think - and I dont blame him, I KNOW I would feel like that if it was the other way around. I made a decision to lose weight partly hoping that it will help how I feel as I know a big part of my problem is insecurity, if Im honest then I think the reason Im depressed/down/whatever you want to call it is cos Im scared my BFs going to leave me for someone thinner! daft I know, cos he loves me and wouldnt be with me if he didn't want to and all that, but that doesnt help me stop feelin like I do.

Fingers crossed your doc sorts you out, I dont wanna go down the anti depressent route for a few different reasons, Im hoping with all my might that losing weight will lift my mood xxxxxx
 
I agree with Taz. I am being treated for depression at the minute and at the time I didn't really know what was causeing it but it is a chemical imbalance. Just think of it as your brain is feeling a bit ill at the minute, If you had a really sore through you would take tablets to clear it up or if you had an ear infection, it would probably get worse if you didn't treat it! As for your boyf, mine was the same, just couldn't get his head round it, I think you have to have suffered it to understand it. Print some info off the internet that explains clearly that it doesn't have to be accountable from anything, it can just happen! Good luck at the docs! you will be fine. hugs curly
 
Thanks everyone you've all been really supportive. All my bloods came back normal (even my liver which suprised me as I am partial to a wine ot too) and he has diasgnoised depression and he has started me on Citalopram Hydrobromide. I'm going to take them and see if that makes a difference.
 
I'm sure he told you but you must stop drinking. Alcohol is the worst thing if you have depression
 
Thanks for the PM - we are like one and the same hehe! glad you're getting the help, see how you go with it xxx
 
hi couscous,
i can echo what others have said.
i suffer from bouts of depression as well.
im glad ur getting the treatment u need now BUT do NOT stop taking them after a week saying ' i feel no different'. anti-depressants work slowly and can take as long as up to 8 weeks until u notice any major difference. if u arent feeling any difference by after about 4 weeks dont just stop, go back to the doctors and he will try another treatment.
because depression is a chemical problem within the emotion reacters of the brain everyone reacts differently to different meds. what can be a miracle cure to one person may feel like smarties to another. its a matter of trial and error BUT u will find the right treatment (hopefully u already have)
u wont suddenly wake up thinking ' omg i feel fine now' it will be gradual and then after a while it will dawn on u that u haven't cried for xamount of days and have been generally more ' like yourself '.
some people have the ' snap out of it' attitude. this is very negetive and if it was so easy would we have ' snapped into it' in the first place?
the most unlikely people suffer from depression, including robbie williams (what more could he want in his life i hear people ask :sigh:) and stephen fry has manic depression (and yet he has been the maker of so many giggles for years)so depression can hit anyone, regardless of their overall happiness and fulfillment in life.
sending u hugs and really hope the world becomes a brighter place for you very soon:)
 
I am glad things are going well for you. I was diagnosed with GAD (general anxiety disorder last february) although it is not depression it is a chemical imbalance aloing the same lines. I had been to Doctors for various symptoms over an eight year period and was treated for particular symptoms. osephagatitis, depression, mild anxiety. I became very ill and it came to a head last year when I had a severe panic attack while I was asleep! I woke up in the middle of it and thought I was dying. When I went to the doctors the next day she said that I had a chemical imbalance and all of the symptoms I had experienced (looking back in my records) were caused by my bodys coping mechanism. At that time in my life I had a good job, a loving husband, a supportive family, a nice home, a nice car and I had the why now feeling? I was told that after 8 years of "coping" with the loss of my dad my body decided enough was enough. I was placed on medication and monitored for 9 months. I forget the medicaton I was on but it took me 2 weeks to lose the feeling of anxiety. I was weened off towards the end of last year. I now feel much better, I still have the anxiety but I now know how to deal with it. For me talking about things that are troubling me helps to put them into perceptive. Good Luck and Take Care xx
 
Wishing you well soon hun, try lots of nice walks, it can really help life your mood.

Take care x
 
Xheryl thanks for the advice. Its weird because i felt ok today and when i saw the doctor and he asked me how i felt i said ok I feel a fraud sitting here because i feel ok today. He said that was really characheristic of depression and some days you would be fighting fit and other days in a black hole. I always thought depression meant i would be down all the time and actually now I realiose it isn't like that. He said the medication might make me feel sick for the first few days so I am going to astart taking them in the morning as there is nothing worse than laying in bd feeling sick!
 
Xheryl thanks for the advice. Its weird because i felt ok today and when i saw the doctor and he asked me how i felt i said ok I feel a fraud sitting here because i feel ok today. He said that was really characheristic of depression and some days you would be fighting fit and other days in a black hole. I always thought depression meant i would be down all the time and actually now I realiose it isn't like that. He said the medication might make me feel sick for the first few days so I am going to astart taking them in the morning as there is nothing worse than laying in bd feeling sick!

I live with someone who is diagnosed as havign depression - he is on medication. He still has those days where everything is just too much to cope with, but now is able to recognise that it will be OK after ashort while. There is nothing in particular that triggers a 'down' time or even an 'up' time either. What has helped is doing some exercise as it gets the feel good stuff running around the body. Also what was a breakthrough for him was to realise that he did not have to be perfect all the time, it was Ok to make mistakes (be it in relationships or just small things) and it would all work out and the world would not fall apart. Everybody is different and what suits one will not suit another. It is hard being the partner of someone who is suffering, our natural instinct is to say 'snap out of it' 'don't be so silly' etc etc but over time I have come to not take things too much to heart and to carry on as normal - be supportive but to be as positive through the difficult times as I can be.

Have a hug from me and make time for you to do those things that make you feel good...
 
both the ladies have mentioned jobs they enjoy that are stressful, stress can be a trigger for depression and it may be worth talking to someone at work about how you could manage your stress levels, although I realise that not all workplaces will be supportive, just suggesting you consider it as an option.
 
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