Hello you

I'm new here. Looking for support/friends, right now I'm a 22 years old NEET. I left college, work, I can't get out of my bed... depression+anxiety. IDK what to do anymore. Taking Fluoxetine 20mg for about 2 years - but is not helping at all.

[Hidden]

I also take fluoxetine 20mg, it's a very subtle drug and I find that it helps but it's not as obvious as other types, I once tried coming off it and soon realized that infact it was helping me much more than I thought, all drugs are just a tool, the rest of the work has to come from ourselves, I used books and youtube as another tool too, it's helped me overcome my struggle, the more knowledge and understanding of anxiety and depression you obtain the better it becomes to recover, arm yourself with knowledge, take each day as it comes and use the information you gain to aid your recovery, so many people recover and share their techniques on youtube, these videos can help other's too, xxx

[BonnieSue]

You may not be on the right dose for you. Does your prescribing Dr. know how depressed you are? You may even need a different drug if changing the dosage doesn't help. Don't settle for this terrible state you are in. While I agree you have to help yourself in many ways, you don't sound like your medicine is helping you enough so that you CAN help yourself along. Adjusting the dosage can bring fairly quick results because you already have it in your system. It won't take as long as when you 1st started on it. It's worth a try.

[Hidden in reply to BonnieSue]

I don't know how I CAN HELP MYSELF. People keep telling me that, I just get more frustrated.

[BonnieSue in reply to Hidden]

Helping yourself examples: 1) Report depression to your doctor. Don't wait for an appointment to do this if you are feeling very bad and need a medication change. 2) Monitor your own depression and anxiety daily, make a simple chart if you need to and grade yourself on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being not depressed or anxious and 10 being very depressed or anxious. Make a separate chart for each feeling, depression and anxiety, and show your Dr. at checkups. 3) Join a support group in your area and attend meetings, even when you don't feel well enough to go. 4) Research online and at these meetings and read about the things you can do for yourself to cope with and lift your depression and anxiety. There are many things you can do. In this message I have listed a few of them. 5) Get a good counselor and go often until you are well established and coping well with your problems. 6) Watch your self talk and get rid of any negative self talk. 7) Learn how to reduce your depression and anxiety through exercise and physical exertion. 8) Ask your Dr. if you need medication for your anxiety. 9) Realize you must make yourself do more than you want to. You must force yourself to do a certain amount of getting up, getting dressed and doing necessary phoning, bill paying, going to meetings and Dr. appointments and so forth. You have to assign yourself certain necessary things to get done despite how badly you feel or you'll never get them done. How much you force yourself depends on how badly you are depressed and anxious. Refer back to your chart on how you grade the severity of your depression/anxiety and how to know how much to force yourself to do daily. 10) Recovery International is a self help group that you may find helpful. Dr. Abraham Low developed this method of coping with both depression and anxiety before there were drugs to help. It's very effective but does take time to learn. See if there is a group in your area. There isn't always one available. It seems strange at 1st but is actually quite good once you get the hang of it.

OK, this is just a start. Research and you will find more. Good luck to you.

[Hidden in reply to BonnieSue]

Thank you so much.

[BonnieSue in reply to Hidden]

You're welcome. Send me a message if you want to talk more privately. I hope something I wrote will be helpful because I know how utterly miserable depression and anxiety can be.

[sergioB in reply to BonnieSue]

How do you deal with your anxiety its getting harder for me feel like I'm getting worse

[BonnieSue in reply to sergioB]

I deal with my anxiety through meds and counseling and self help. I couldn't function without the benzos. I've had years of counseling to help with social anxiety, depression, PTSD and OCD and just taking baby steps has greatly desensitized me and I speak out in groups now, even large ones. I also went to meetings where I learned Dr. Abraham Low's methods of dealing with depression and anxiety. He helped his patients back when there were NO drugs available...his methods work. It's called Recovery International and may be in your area. There are other self help workbooks and so forth if you want to know more about them, ask me.

You're on a low dose of Prozac and may well need more. I've heard of people taking as much as 80 mg per day. It's a fantastic antidepressant but it can't work if you're not getting enough to help you. Address this with your Dr. ASAP. Best of good fortune to you.

[sergioB in reply to BonnieSue]

Thanks for your help but I'm not taking any meds rite now I've had really bad side effects on them but I need something to help me with all these krazy symptoms that I have everyday I'm always feeling weird and I think I'm getting the OCD also I get very scared and yes I'll appreciate it alot if you let me know more about the self help books

[BonnieSue in reply to sergioB]

Okay, these are ideas from other people here on this site:

1--I've found David D. Burns' "Feeling Good" and "When Panic Attacks" to be very helpful.

2--I am working through the anxiety work book by dr David Carbonell and it has helped immensely!!!

3--Go on the psychology today site and look for a therapist that specializes in anxiety

4--The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance

By: Matthew McKay PhD, Jeffrey Wood PsyD, Jeffrey Brantley MD

A Clear and Effective Approach to Learning DBT Skills

First developed for treating borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has proven effective as treatment for a range of other mental health problems, especially for those characterized by overwhelming emotions. Research shows that DBT can improve your ability to handle distress without losing control and acting destructively. In order to make use of these techniques, you need to build skills in four key areas-distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Source: NewHarbingerPublications.

5-- A good book that I came across recently is "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, 6th Edition" by Edmund J. Bourne, PhD. You might find this book to be of some help to you, although communicating your thoughts and feelings in a group setting is enormously helpful as well.

6--For anxiety: Claire Weekes audio books on iTunes.

7--YouTube videos by THAT ANXIETY GUY helps with anxiety re: depersonalization/ de-realization states.

-explains how GAD is minor: when depersonalization/ de-realization happens it’s only a symptom of anxiety, nothing more and no psychosis or other more scary things will happen to you despite what you may google and read. (my statement)

I hope some of this is helpful to you. Best wishes!

[sergioB in reply to BonnieSue]

Thank you very much I hope we can keep in touch you helped me out and I appreciate that thanks again I'm writing these down and Im going to start looking these up.

[BonnieSue in reply to sergioB]

Great! And keeping in touch is fine with me. Just write to me here or send a PM--private message. Best wishes...

[Jkl7173 in reply to sergioB]

Me too, and it's going on 4 or 5 years now. There doesn't seem to be any help available where I live.

[sergioB in reply to Hidden]

Yea me too anxiety and depression sucks it makes you feel bad and I'm not on meds so it's really hard for me I have depression and anxiety also so I know how you feel me and you are alike

[Jkl7173 in reply to Hidden]

Same here, I can't do anything

[Ddorne]

You may need an adjustment in your meds? Are you seeing a therapist? This is a hard time of year for me too. It's best to get out of bed and do something right away. Like wash up or brush your teeth. It sounds simple but it will focus you away from your thoughts for the moment. I pray you feel better.

[BonnieSue in reply to Ddorne]

I've seen a lot of your posts lately and I always seem to agree with you. I hope we get through to the people we are hoping to help. I also hope you enjoy the holidays coming up soon!

[Ddorne in reply to BonnieSue]

Thanks I hope so too. I am in the midst of anxiety and depression myself. I am passing on what helps me. Day by Day.

[Ronkoz]

Stay strong I just left work and am most comfortable indoors but I know I have to take more time and be ok with things slowing down for a bit - activities don't really interest me but I make a point to go once a day to get a tea as a start to getting on a path I wish you well

[Blueetherdust11]

I'm here for you. I'm struggling the same