So I literally been paying my therapist HUGE amount of money to discover today that it’s all been going to waste. Basically my therapist doesn’t see depression or OCD as illnesses or diseases -yes she shared this great opinion today- and it just broke me.
It is much easier to think this is an illness where you have periodic episodes which the medication help in eradicating, then to think this is a normal state everyone goes through.
Me and my psychiatrist believe this is a relapse episode and we up-ed the medication dosage and are waiting for the storm to pass by
I have been seeing a therapist to learn coping mechanisms for this period of time, not knowing all the while that she believes anxiety, OCD and depression are just by products of a trauma or something.
Today we got into that argument and it just killed me when she said it never goes away you just learn to deal with it.
I was like exscuse me I had two major episodes before and had 4 years in between each episode where I felt perfectly fine and symptom free.
Then she goes on and on and says stuff like even schizophrenia isn’t an illness.
And my head starts spinning
And she goes like so what about ur life was so traumatic that you feel this way
Am like nothing!
Don’t make me believe something which isn’t true I haven’t had a serious trauma and objectively speaking aside from the ocd and depression am happy with everything in my life!
So this conversation goes on and on
She tries to convince me medication aren’t the full solution
I burst out crying
Because honestly the only thing that have me going is knowing that this is a temporary neuro-chemical imbalance that the medication will help fix and I will have my life back
With what she said am just standing there feeling more hopeless than ever
Now my question is what do you believe?
And if you believe it’s a depressive episode, how long do they typically last?
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tashalyn
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Well it really sounds like depression to me! I wouldn't go back to that therapist, doesn't sound right to me! I don't have the answer as to how long it will last for you, everybody is different. I wish you the best! I'm here for you! XXX
Thank you for replying, I came back from her office and have been just sitting doing nothing but shiver from anxiety, I don’t wanna make up imaginary problems in my life when there are none. I love my job, I love my husband I love my family, I can’t make up an imaginary trauma!
You know better than her. My Dr. retired a few years ago and the new one didn't believe in the meds i was on! Changed everything, long story short, I cried constantly, was really paranoid and 3 months later wound up with shingles. I found a 'Head Dr. " and am back to as normal as I can be! You are not making anything up, find someone new...quickly! Get her out of your head, that's the best thing to do right now...for you!!! XXX
Thank you so much again thank you so much for your reply
No problem! We don't make things up, they happen to us, stinks doesn't it? Try to take some slow deep breaths , sure help this works for you. My heart goes out to you! XXX
I am sorry to hear about your experience I hope that if you still feel like you need a therapist, you will search for a new one. I’ve been pretty lucky but my hubby has had some ‘interesting’ sessions. You are not alone (unfortunately).
As for what she said.... who knows? Opinions are like assholes and everyone has one.
The way I look at it.... I have PTSD and will say I’m in remission. For over ten years I went without any PTSD symptoms. Then something triggered it and boom, panic attacks, insomnia, all the stuffs. In between I still had bouts of depression and I turned to a few really great books and 1-2 awesome friends for support
So definitely find a new therapist. Someone that at least respects you and your diagnosis. If you aren’t comfortable with that one, repeat. I’ve seen many over the years and can say a really good therapist makes a huge difference
Thank you for your input, I think I will give myself a couple of weeks without therapy, and if I needed to talk to someone I will talk to my psychiatrist
Wow I honestly hate when people tell me that I will live with this the rest of my life! Mine only started from getting hit in the head with a soccer ball it wasn’t really a concussion but it just scared me and caused all of my anxiety and what not. were in this together! so did it get better for you at one point & also I would at least tell her that you don’t like what she has told you. Idk if you are a teen or not but maybe bring a parent in with you to discuss things w her
Exactly that’s what I felt she was saying to me: “you will live with this forever”. Am so sorry you are going through this, regarding your question YES YES YES it did get better, in 2009 I had my first episode: I was put on Prozac and I had a good solid 4 years without symptoms, I did have another episode then at which my dosage was increased and that gave me a couple of other symptom free years. My sister suffers from OCD and she had the same experience when she started taking medication. So yes it does get better and it isn’t something you have to live with everyday till the rest of your life.
But you admit to still having episodes. And what happens if the medication changes and stops working? Or if you or your sister can’t afford it one day? You still have it but it’s treatable. Maybe that was her point? I dunno.
Actually my psychiatrist says that episode of depression or mania have a time line which after it subsides, and medication help elevate the symptoms but is never a cure and that’s what I believe too. However my therapist doesn’t believe it is something you can go periods without, instead you should learn how to live with it
I’ve heard it both ways actually. Now adding mania on top of it, I’m removing myself from this convo because I have formed opinions. I do wish you the best of luck!
Well I don’t have mania, but that’s what my psychiatrist says. Isn’t it frustrating we aren’t advanced enough in fields of neurology or psychology to have answers? It is like here you go here is an illness we think you have based on symptoms diagnosis only, and here are some med that take upto months to kick in
Hi I do understand how you feel but maybe this is just a question of semantics? Do you feel your therapist has helped you at all? If so does it really matter if her opinion is different to yours? I think the treatment would be the same anyway wouldn't it.
I think all depression/anxiety is caused by our backgrounds combined with our different personalities and that counselling is the way to go. I don't believe in chemical inbalance in the brain causing it.
Many people say they had a great childhood/early adulthood but don't look deep enough. I could say the same as I always had a stable childhood with plenty of food, a clean environment and parents who were there. I was never physically abused or anything like that yet my depression started when I was around 7/8.
In later years I realised it was caused by lack of validation from my parents and never learning to express, understand and deal with my emotions in a socially acceptable way. This is called Childhood Emotional Neglect and is invisible as it is the lack of something rather than the other way round.
Most sufferers feel empty and disconnected from others as they push their emotions down as they have leart that they are not important. It is a lot more common than people realise.
Not saying you suffer from this but I do think depression/anxiety is caused by events in the past and you have to deal with them to fully recover. x
Agree 100%. My trauma is quite a bit less subtle than yours so it's a bit more obvious but I absolutely agree about no chemical imbalance. Wish I knew that before the meds were introduced.
I'm choosing to go off my meds safely now. Been taking Pristiq 100mg for 18 years and then added Abilify 10mg to boost it because it stopped working for some time now. Don't want to be a ginney pig for more medication changes because there's no such thing as a haply pill that solves your depression. I've had childhood trauma a lot of it and I feel that caused me self-esteem issues that I've carried into adulthood. I've been to cognitive behavioral therapy and therapy too which were helpful and am currently looking for a nee therapist too. Going to try a holistic approach now and see how that goes for me. I actually looked up long term affects for Pristiq and it can cause suicidal ideation and increased depression too so why the heck stay on this crap for you know.
This is just my opinion: I left a therapist a few months ago who ended up having a temper tantrum. If you are arguing with someone it's time to go- not worth the hassle.
I have major depressive disorder PTSD and adjustment disorder. This most recent bout of depression has lasted for 4 damn years already. I'm on medication Pristiq 100 mg and Abilify 10mg but it's not working for me so I'm going with trying to do this holistically now and am going to safely wean off my medication. It's hard to say how long depressive symptoms last for really depends on whether your depression is seasonal major chronic or somewhere in the middle. 1 in 4 women suffer at least 1 depressive episode in their lifetime. I've suffered three so far that were long but not as long as the most recent. I've done cognitive behavioral therapy and Psychotherapy too which helped and am looking for a therapist currently but don't have health coverage now. Do you journal? That's been helpful for me too. Just be careful not to see medication as a get you happier pill that can fix everything too. Look at it this way is no sadness how would we be able to experience what pure joy feels like right? Maybe you should also change therapist's if your not seeing eye to eye much. Give it some thought ok. Wishing you peace and well-being.
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I hope that if you still feel like you need a therapist, you will search for a new one. I’ve been pretty lucky but my hubby has had some ‘interesting’ sessions. You are not alone (unfortunately).
Therapy session tomorrow 
A therapy session...
I feel lost, defeated...
New to the site, Bipolar I and depression 
Is my depression real? 
