I believe I am suffering from depression. Some days I feel so tired that I could sleep the whole day. I have many negative thoughts mainly focusing on the tiredness and how miserable it’s making me. I believe it’s this cognitive dissonance that’s perpetuating the depression. I’ve felt like this before and it went away on it’s own but it came back. I’m working on addressing my cognitive issues with mindfulness and I feel like it’s working. When I don’t focus on how I feel bad, I find it passes quickly.
I think I’m focusing on antidepressants because I view them as a quick fix. I can’t afford therapy. To people who have had episodes of depression how do you get through them.
Hey @Patches23. Sounds to me like you are struggling with depression. I remember days of sleeping the whole day and focusing on how bad I felt for wasting my days like that. If you’re practicing mindfulness and it’s helping, that’s awesome! Antidepressants don’t “cure” depression, they help stabilize brain chemistry. I take 3 different meds a day to stay stable, and I believe that people who need meds shouldn’t hesitate to get them, but I also believe that less is more. If you can minimize your depression with mindfulness, that’s really really awesome! If you feel like you’re still struggling, your PCP can prescribe a short-term, low dose antidepressant with minimal side effects.
As for therapy, if you’re willing to put in some work (which, since you are practicing mindfulness, I think you would be), you can get some of the exercises from good self-help books. One good one that comes to mind is “The Power of Now” by Ekhart Tolle.
Hi Patches23
It definitely sounds like you are suffering from depression. It sucks I know, I am sorry that you might suffer from it. Antidepressants are however not a quick fix. It takes days for you to notice some effects and weeks for them to work fully and even then it wount fix everything. They also might not work and you will have to try several different types. I would say that antidepressants are not a quick fix, they slowly try to balance your brain chemistry. I am really glad you are trying out mindfulness. It can definitely help but it wount help with the chemical imbalance in your brain. I would talk about antidepressants with your doctor and what kind would they recomend. Its up to you if you want to take them or not but I would definitely talk to a proffesional about it. I hope things will get better for you. Sending hugs
I definitely understand that fear. You hear a lot of horror stories about things not working, etc etc. You are not the only one here who is hesitant to take meds.
If you go to you doctor about depression, they will probably start you with Wellbutrin or Lexapro. For most people, those are both pretty low impact meds. They don’t cause huge swings in brain chemistry, turn you into a zombie, cause weight gain, etc, and the withdrawals are mild to non-existent if you need to come off of them. Like @Ashwell said, it takes them 4-6 weeks to fully take effect, but if memory serves (it’s been years since I took those), they were really easy meds to tolerate with really low risks. At the very least, it’s a low-stakes way to give meds a try.
Please note, this is just my experience with the meds. I’m not an expert or professional, and I can’t tell you exactly how they’ll affect you. That said, I haven’t heard many horror stories about those meds.
Thank you for the advice. I’m scared of possible side effects but I can’t keep living like this. I know it won’t cure me or work immediately but just a little bit of help or relief is all I need. I’m so miserable all the time, I can’t feel genuinely happy and I feel like I’m always close to tears.
Well they way you think is not you. Usually our brain focuses on more negative thoughts because of an imbalance. Therapy can help and midfulness can help you, but if it is the imbalance they wount fully and in a lot of cases of depression the imbalance is present. It not you the way you think. A lot of our thoughts are automatic. Antidepressants should make it better…
Have you ever been on antidepressants? Sorry if that’s a personal question. If you feel comfortable enough to answer and you have had them, did they help?
