Does anyone else here suffer from severe depression/anxiety?

[DiRTyBuNNy]

I just wanted to come out and ask if anyone here suffers from severe depression/anxiety. I'm taking medication for it and i try to keep it in check but some days it's really hard and i'm trying to be a little more open with it and if anyone else with this disorder wants to come out and discuss their problem I would like to have an open discussion where we can come out and try and bond together..thankx..

[CRiZO]

I used to go to counseling for it, but I hated that woman, so now I just deal with it. My ex-girlfriend (now my best friend) helps me out whenever I need it.

[InfinatyBPS]

Well...

I am actualy depressed alot, like every day. I don't think I need medication cause I have reasons. Why should I have to go get medication, get it put on my record that I have mental problems just cause life sux?

[Hamster Huey]

It doesn't matter if you have a reason to feel depressed or not. Depressed is depressed. If it's bad enough to be interfering with your daily life, you should see a doctor or at least talk to someone about it. And there is no magic secret "record" wherein you're labeled a wuss if you ask for help. Medical records are confidential, and no one can know about your history unless you specifically allow it.

[bornl33t]

anxiety no
depression only when

and when I take my medication. Propranolol is considered a depressant... so I only take it when absolutly needed


BTW that T-shirt says "girls are mean" I just got mine in the mail

[Hamster Huey]

Not quite sure I'm following you, Heat. As far as I know, Propranolol is a beta-blocker, a drug used to treat people with heart problems. It can depress your heart rate (which it's supposed to do), but I wasn't aware that it could cause emotional depression as well. Please clear this up for me.

Depression and anxiety are both tough things to deal with. Mad kudos to all out there who are bringing it out into the open, going to support groups, and doing other positive things to help themselves and/or others. Keep fighting the good fight.

[SuperOrangeTicTac]

I have had pretty bad depression for the past year or two, but now i am mainly bogged down by anxeity. It really sucks, and i am always skeptical of everything.. even my girlfriend's love for me, when i have no reason to be paranoid or questioning it in any way. My doctor wont believe that i have anxeity problems and just blames it on some sort of teen depression.

[Miscue]

I have had long term issues with both depression and anxiety. This week I've been having trouble doing schoolwork and going to class because of anxiety and it's because lots of good things are happening all of a sudden.

It's hard to explain how it works to people who haven't experienced it. But basically these things can prevent you from functioning 'normally.' And the thing is, if you met me in real life and I didn't tell you... you would not know because I am very good at hiding it (I am by far not the only one who does this). People who are perceptive to those things can tell though, given enough time.

I never could admit to my problems and never seeked help for years. This has all changed recently and I have found that the most therapeutic thing for me to have done was to talk about it... just like right now. Finding others and listening to their battles is very helpful... mutually helpful.

One thing that makes it very hard is that people think it's easy to fix. "Oh, quit being so negative." "Cheer up." or they start treating you differently, or like you're defective or something. That kind of crap. Might as well go tell an alcoholic that all they gotta do is stop drinking and their problems will be solved. It is VERY rare to find someone who knows how to approach this kind of problem. They are out there though.

I do not have regrets though. You basically either end up self-destructing, or learn a lot about yourself. You really have to figure out who you are and how you tick. With this, I've gained the added benefit of learning to understand others and be more receptive to their feelings and such - whereas I would still be living in my bubble had I not gone through this.

It took me a very long time - but my self awareness is very good now. And lately I've been genuinely cheerful, positive, and happy. I'd like to think of myself as a success story, but the book hasn't closed yet ya know.

So, good luck in your battles.

[DiRTyBuNNy]

Well..as i said in the top part of the forum..i've been dealing with anxiety and depression for a large portion of my somewhat young life (I'm 25.) and just as Miscue said you either self destruct of you come out of it self-aware in a way that people that don't go through the experience could never understand. I'm currently on medication (Paxil) which my doctor doesn't think i need, but oh well...my manifests itself in different ways but i just felt that it was time for me to come out in the open and share my trials and tribulations with (up until recently) the only real brothers and sisters i've felt i've had in a long time..AO. I'm starting to feel a lot more at peace with it lately but it's hard for me..some days i just spend the whole day at work...totally stressed out..sometimes i spend the whole day thinking about killing myself..it's like a thought i can't get out of my head..it justs pops in there and i can't get it to go away..i would never do that..but the first time the idea of sticking a pistol to your head just pops into your brain it's a very chilling moment that makes you feel that much closer to those that have actually done it. I understand emotion a lot more than other people. The week after the stuff happened at Columbine i walked into a doctors office and sat down and said..hey..i've got a problem..and i've really been trying to deal with and overcome the stuff that i've shoved aside for close to ten years...

[bornl33t]

Originally posted by Hamster Huey
Not quite sure I'm following you, Heat. As far as I know, Propranolol is a beta-blocker, a drug used to treat people with heart problems. It can depress your heart rate (which it's supposed to do), but I wasn't aware that it could cause emotional depression as well. Please clear this up for me.

Depression and anxiety are both tough things to deal with. Mad kudos to all out there who are bringing it out into the open, going to support groups, and doing other positive things to help themselves and/or others. Keep fighting the good fight.

well it's a side effect. You are RIGHT about everything you say only you didn't mension the side effects. One of them is depression. Funny, but I started taking the stuff about 2 weeks after I quit on my girl. And things never got back to normal. The other side effect notable is a deteriation of the blood circulation. I dunno if I worded that right but what I that means is that you get colder quicker... I used to be outstanding in cold weather. I'd never get cold fingers etc. and I KNOW this because I work in a freezer... 25 degrees. And it really sucks now. constantly cold toes and fingers.

Man talking about depressing.. tonight was hell.... I work graveyard. I just got done @5am and need to be at the dentist place so he can fix a screw up from last time @ 7am. And I still ahven't regained compleat range of motion of my left arm after a accident playing basketball on saturday, so I think it's time to see what a x-ray will tell me about my coconut size elbow. Maybe it isn't just a bruize.

[cphilip]

[Hysperion]

Very sorry to hear that phil.......

...on another note I'm only depressed when I go to play paintball and "the joker" is there. He ruins the day for the rest of us by being snoddish and stuck-up.....o well, I guess it's not entirely his fault, if I hung out with "animal" all the time I'd be that way too...

[TheBigRaguPB4L]

I used to be depressed all the time. Never had any friends, no girlfriend, nothing. I was in a daily rut that never changed and i hated it. I always wanted to have friends and be around everyone but just never could. Noone ever liked me. Then i realized, who cares? I am who i am. If they don't like me for who i am, screw them. They don't need to like me. I know it's probably different. I just see all these people, mostly kids, that say how much "they're life sucks" and such, when it really isn't that bad.

I'm not saying that anyone's problems are minor and they they can/should just forget about them. I just think that a lot of people try to make they're problems seem so much bigger than they actually are. After that happens, it becomes unbearable and builds up to you just can't take it anymore. I used to do this, until i just finally realized it wasn't worth it. It really doesn't solve anything. Again, i don't have a great life, but i really don't have a bad one either. In the end, it'll turn out ok. If it doesn't, so what?

[FatMan]

DB, get a new doctor! That one doesn't sound like he's too up on things.

I've been on a number of meds for - well - a whole bunch of years. If its working for you DON'T STOP TAKING IT unless you are under close supervision of a qualified doc. If its not working, or stops working TRY SOMETHING ELSE!

A few things to know - different folks react differently to different meds. There are LOTS of good meds out there - if one isn't doing it or has side effects you don't like, try another. Next, almost anything you take will fizzle out after a while. Most people only have to take ADs for 6mos to a year and never have to take them again, but if you are one of those few who have a long-term situation, you have to be aware of the "poop-out" problem.

The next thing is that there is all kinds of fine-tuning that can be done where small abouts of different things work together to give you the best effect with the least side effects. Again, if you are a short-timer its not a big deal, otherwise you'll eventually need to do this. This pretty much requires a specialist (psychiatrist) but you should be working with a GP and/or psychologist at the same time.

For example, I take 60mg of Prozac, 30mg of Buspar, and 900mg of lithium every day. I've been taking that for about 5 years. Took about 2 years working with a psychiatrist to get the right mixture. BTW, Prozac is and AD, Buspar is an anxiety med, and lithium is a mood stabilizer (for bipolar).

Finally, don't let ANYONE tell you that its a "crutch" or anything like that. YOU know if you need it or not. Its not getting you high, you are most likely dealing with side effects, you're not taking this for fun. If its working for you then you need it. Depression like you have described doesn't come because you are sad or because life "just sux." It often starts that way - there is an event or situation that kicks it off, but if you can't get out on your own, you have an issue. If it recures or doesn't go away over a long time, then you might be in for a long-term relationship.

I spent most of my life dealing with a rapid cycling bipolar condition. Because it was rapid cycling I was rarely in any condition long enough for someone to get the idea that I was having a problem. It took me many years to get a handle on what was up with me and how to control it. Looking back I wonder why I had to lose so many years to that - why I couldn't have seen what what happening and corrected it. There are so many things I might have done otherwise - but at the time I didn't know that EVERYONE didn't feel the way that I did. I didn't know that my mother, my father, my grandmother, my other grandmother, my uncle ALL dealt with the SAME issues!

DB, and any of the rest of you reading this, this is a problem you can do something about. You might not need medication, you might not have to deal with it for the rest of your life, but no matter what, don't let this get the better of you. I and hundreds of thousands of others like me have returned to the world to live happy, useful lives. I am who I always wanted to be - so if you're on meds, stay on them, and find a doctor who you can talk to and who will work with you. If you're lucky this is something that will pass.

Finally, if you need someone to talk to, PM me.

FatMan

[cphilip]

This seems good...

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/