Depressed and don’t know why

[Jaco2016]

Feeling like crap mentally... barely have enough energy to post this. I don’t know if my meds are not working or what. If they’re not working I don’t want to increase them because I’d have more side effects to manage. I can’t think of anything specifically that would make me feel this way. Nothing has been happening out of the ordinary... this sucks

[amymvb]

Hey Jaco2016,

I am coming out of a long depressive episode and did not want to add anymore meds either so I tried diet changes, increased my water intake (by a lot! My water bottle is like another body part now. It is always with me),started mindfulness/meditation, and started talking/writing openly and honestly to people about my mental state. This combination in addition to my current meds has helped me feel better. May be worth a try for you if you haven’t tried any of these already. Hope you are feeling better soon!

amymvb

[Jaco2016 in reply to amymvb]

Thanks Amy. When you say you talk openly about your mental state who do you talk about this with? I only talk openly with my wife and my therapist. When I mention stressful things to other people like coworkers they don’t seem to want to hear about it or have the time to listen. I think also it’s still taboo to bring this up openly though I think it would be helpful.

[amymvb in reply to Jaco2016]

During my this last bout, I was forced to realize that I needed to broaden my circle of safety (meaning, I needed more people hanging on to pieces of my hypothetical safety net to catch me when I was falling). If I had relied only on my husband and therapist, I surely would have fallen through my net! No disrespect to either of them, they just were not enough. So I started telling other family members, close friends, friends, and not so close friends. Through conversation, I have learned that more people can relate than I thought, more people care than I thought, some can’t handle it, and a few have NO idea and there was nothing I could say to try and force an understanding. Those few people are the ones that I don’t hold so close anymore and I am ok supporting them without expecting anything in return because I have found so many others that are willing to offer understanding and support. It is sad that there is still that sense of taboo but the only way to squash that is to start telling our stories. It is my feeling that if we who struggle open up and share, the need for more support systems/options will be put in place and mental healthiness will be just as recognized as physical health. So, keep talking! I am listening!🙂

[Jaco2016 in reply to amymvb]

Thanks that makes a lot of sense. I’m a very introverted person by nature and so I don’t naturally seek out friends and what not which makes enlarging the safety net a little more challenging.

[amymvb in reply to Jaco2016]

Certainly consider yourself supported here. I’ll hold a piece of your net.

[hypercat54]

You wouldn't necessarily have more side effects if the dosage was increased as that doesn't follow. I have increased my sertraline and didn't suffer any more but I found the higher dose to be much more effective. Or maybe you need to try a different one. There are loads out there.

There doesn't have to be a reason for depression to strike as it's often out of the blue for no obvious reason. Are you currently having any counselling? x

[Tcbabe in reply to hypercat54]

Started on sertaline myself. Started on 25mg for week not much help

Other than more anxiety and side effects. Then went to 50mg for about 3 weeks and the to 75mg and just now starting to get relieve finally.

Guess all wait a week o4 to longer to see if it’s enough. And yes increasing

Seemed to be a lot easier than when I started

[Jaco2016 in reply to hypercat54]

I’m scared to increase honestly. Reason is because I’m having trouble managing the insomnia with Pristiq as it is; though it does help my anxiety. Lack of quality sleep may be causing this depression. Extended release melatonin was working to help me sleep but now it doesn’t. Same with hydroxyzine. I don’t want to add another prescription medication for sleep because it’s so hard getting off these medications when that time comes . It took me months to get off celexa and the withdrawal was severe. I’m scared to try another drug besides Pristiq because this has worked better than the others I’ve tried including Prozac, Wellbutrin, and Paxil.

[hypercat54 in reply to Jaco2016]

Well that's up to you of course but the only other alternative I can see is try the self help route ie mindfullness, meditation, yogs etc. Lead as healthy a life as you can and see if this makes a difference to how you feel. Good luck. x