When you think about it, are we or do we just seem like it on the outside? I am feeling a major depression here. How do we get out of it? Is the answer always take a "chill pill"? That is all doctors think of when you go. Well, will see what new pill is on the market and get you taken care of here..

**** NO!!

There is no way that a person can be happy all the time. Content - yes, happy- no.

I have a certain contentment in my life, a satisfaction that it is as it is. There are moments of happiness, and there are moments of sadness - and all the other spectrum of emotions that humans have.

Cheers

David

Whether to be without the pill and feel like heck. Or to be with it and feel halfways human. Is that the quwstion? If it is mere moodiness without that is pretty much normal. We all have our dog days. But crying spells and not wanting to go or do anything and feeling no hope is not normal. Some people need insulin to get through a day in an otherwise normal manner. If you don't know they need it you see them as completely normal. So if you need a chill pill to get through a day normally why not? The end result is that you live, go and do, even laugh.

Samantha

My thoughts go out to you. Depression is so painful.

I agree with what gatman said. If you ask other people whether or not they like taking pills, I bet most of them would tell you (emphatically) "No". But it's necessary. And with major depression, there is an immediate need for medical attention.

After depression is stabilized (with medication) then it can be determined if the cause is hormonal or due to some, past, traumatic experience. In the latter case, many people relieve it, long-term, with therapy.

Please see a Physician, Sam. In the meantime, we will be here for you.

dorie

I battled depression for most of my life as a result of untreated, severe thyroid disease. I can tell you that no pill made a difference for me. It took correcting the underlying disease to do it. However, five different psychologists tried a total of 11 different anti depressants (without testing for an underlying illness first). So I would urge you to please be sure there is no physiological basis for your depression before you go the pill route. Once you are on Paxil Road its hard to get off.

Good luck.

But I haven't always been.

From about age 8-21 I was in a constant state of varying degrees of depression. I had periods of being suicidal, self-destructive, and even bouts of serious mental instability.

I'm only 24 now, so the change still seems to be incredibly new and fragile to me. Sometimes I'm almost afriad to breath too loudly in fear that I might draw the terrible eye of Fate.

I get over this fear quickly, because I know that what ever trials may come, I am strong enough to endure them.

I managed to win the war over depression without drugs, and without psychiatrists. Now I am in a wonderful healthy relationship, I have friends again, and my family now talk to me.

If you feel that you need help, though, don't be afriad or ashamed to ask for it.

The key to beating the depression is one simple thing.

This is a very important question to answer....

why am I unhappy??


For some this is a physical reason. Others, a mental or emotional one. It seems like a simple question to answer, but it seldom is. If you don't already know, don't expect to find the answer immediatly. It took me years.

There is hope, though. One you know without a doubt the cause of your unhappiness, you can find the steps to take to lift yourself out of the darkness.

At times I have known peace
when slain dragons
no longer stalk.

When no planes fly
through the towers of me eyes.

Sometimes I am stuck in the poverty of
dreadfull deaths pursuing my heels.

*
When healthy I was often driven mad by imperfection, unworthiness, manunkindness, sefishness, banality, greed ... The whole litany.

Have learned to count blessings.

Two years incontinent. Frequently dirtied myself walking one block home. This has passed. Other nightmares have descended and slithererd away.

Remission is the greatest blessing and worst curse on one resigned to curt prognosis

ps Doing fine now. Don't cry for me Argentina. Put your hankies away.

Happy, no. It seems to me that I have spent my whold adult life struggling for something. I have won a few, but lost a lot. Does the struggle ever end????

Peace that surpasses all understanding doesn't come a perscription or a over-the-counter pill.
You won't find it in a bottle of booze of any kind.
This peace comes from a faith such a child in the Lord. I have tried many things to seek peace over depression, or deep sadness that went so far down that nothing can touch it, so I believed.
There is a solution to find a way to wake up each morning and feel ready, even wanting to face the day and whatever it may hold. You have a choice. Either stay stuck in the state of despair or seek for answers to help you out of the mud and move on with living.

quote:

---

Happiness is a state of the mind.

---

I've heard this. It makes sense. Your thoughts are where all things start. Garbage in garbage out. Perhaps, your answers are in clearing out your thought life and putting in healthy thoughts.
Just a thought!

As much as I would like to say that it's no big problem, or that you should just hang in there, things will get better, I'm going to assume you are referring to a very real and severe depression that has happened before.
I think you need to see a good doctor. Not someone who listens for 5 minutes or so and then says, "Here, take these." That is no more effective than any other method. Find a doctor who will listen to you and knows the right questions to ask. If you are reluctant to take pills, say so - that's part of what you're there for, to let the doctor get to know about you.
Besides which, no one can force the pill on you, but a medical professional is one of the better judges of whether you should or not and how often (it isn't automatically a daily dose.)
If you're truly depressed you may find you are not getting out much, or doing things you love while suffering - try to force yourself into some activities you enjoy, especially those that get you out and about - it probably won't eliminate the problem, but it may.
Most of all though, be honest and open with a good doctor, including any reluctance you have to medication - you are the patient, you are a valuable human being - expect and even demand attention.
Know that people care about you. I see the proof of that here.
Since I cannot learn the details of the problem would even recommend a Priest or Minister if it is truly a severe depression. They are trained to such things and are prone to offer help and support, whatever your personal faith.

What it comes down to is that your question is too brief to make absolute judgements about your condition. Since we don't have the format to discover truths, make sure someone helps you - the more experienced and professional, the better.