How did you know ...

ladynred1920 · 02-13-2007, 09:02 AM

How do you know when you should start seeking professional help with your depression? Is there more ways to treat depression other than with pills?

The reason why I am asking:

Over the past few years I have noticed that from time to time I get depressed. I don't know what *exactly* triggers it to go off, but I have been pretty good about "snapping" out of it fairly quickly. (Fast forward to the last few months) In the last few months all I want to do is sleep. The more sleep I get ... the more I think I need. In the past few few weeks I have had several times where I felt like I have been totally out of control with my emotions. Either I start crying for no apparent reason or I get angry ... or something along those sorts. I love to do my school work ... and frankly in the last few days I don't care about it (I do ... but I have no interest in doing it.) There are some other things that I have totally lost interest in ... but they are things that I love to do, i.e., walking. Most days I would rather just lay there staring at the wall than do anything at all! (THIS IS NOT LIKE ME AT ALL!) **** Now these are not the first times for all of these things. ****

I was just wondering, when do you know you should seek professional help?

TIA.

VJP · 02-13-2007, 01:05 PM

Well, I knew because I had a long family history of depression (Mom, Grandpa, some aunts/uncles). And I was really grumpy and short tempered and I stopped smiling. I also stopped doing many things that I liked. This was highly unusual for me, being generally a pretty cheerful kid. My Mom noticed first and suggested I go to the doctor. It lasted about six months before I went to the doctor and it took two months for me to find the right pills.
That being said, there are other ways to treat depression. Counselling, natural therapies, and physical activity come to mind. The pills work best for me though. They gave me the energy to actually deal with my emotions and do some more physical activity.
If your behaviour is highly uncharacteristic, I would seek help. Don't let yourself be turned away either. You are the best judge of when something is wrong and the best judge of what will work for you. You can make your own treatment options with help from a good doctor.

PBLayzod · 02-13-2007, 01:31 PM

Exercise can help with depressions, but I say if it's having a major impact on your life (sleeping all day sounds major to me) it's time to ask for help. You can start with your family DR or OB/GYN. If you don't want them to treat you they should be able to refer you to a good therapist or psychiatrist. You can ask specifically for one they know doesn't overmedicate their patients.

I dealt with depression for most of my life, but didn't ask for meds until I started having major anxiety issues. Somehow the depression seemed normal, but the anxiety was more than I could handle. There are a lot of meds out there, so if you are prescribed something don't worry if the 1st one doesn't do it for you. You might have to try several before you find one that works well for you. Also, it can take 4-6 weeks to get the full effect of the meds. I was amazed at how much perspective I had when I first started on meds. I felt like I had some control in life for the first time.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

ladynred1920 · 02-13-2007, 03:41 PM

Thanks guys.

I am just ready for my doc to tell me that I am crazy ... or that might be something that I think he is thinking. I thought about doing some physical things to help me out, but the thing about it is ... I just don't feel like it! (If you know what I mean.) I just feel like I want to crawl into a hole and just sit there. I have set goals for myself to do physical things, that I like, each week and I just don't do them.

Mainly because I just too down on myself to do anything.

I haven't really been doing things that I love to do, and I don't really know why. My hubby has noticed it **WAY** before I have ... he actually noticed several months ago when I "all of a sudden" didn't want to go dancing any more. (Which I love to do!) I didn't notice it then and things have just begun to pile on.

I love doing my school work and I haven't come to my computer since last Thursday to do any work at all!!!!! Which again this is not like me at all!

I catch myself just wanting to cry all the time ... for no particular reason. And I would just rather sleep all the time too. Just sleep my worries away, I guess. And then there are other times when I just can't sleep at all (I only get a few hours and then I am up and at it again).

I think it is finally time for me to call in the reinforcements!

VJP · 02-14-2007, 10:29 PM

Good for you! Good luck! It's very important. Don't let your doctor push you off!