new to this support group

[Browny71]

I live in the US, i have been looking for a support group for people with major depression. it seems like the general population can't relate to my feelings, and the need to take antidepressants. I am currently back on Venlafaxine which i stopped about 4 months ago. it's been 8 weeks that i am back on it because my depression came back full force and it is unbearable. how long does it take to fully take effect like it used to. i'm a crying mess mostly everyday, I have been off work for almost 2 months.

[Marysblue]

Welcome

[Wishfulthoughts]

Hi Browny71- Sorry you are feeling this way. I went looking for support groups today too for people with MDD and struggled to find any. Found a lot for people with drug and alcohol problems and new moms, but mainly depression and anxiety seemed to be a 1:1 therapy thing. Know that you aren't alone, more than 1 in 6 adults have depression/ will experience it in their lifetime. While I have never been on effexor/Ven I have been many other medications in the struggle to find the right one to manage symptoms and doctors usually tell us and 4-8 weeks to feel a bit better. Since you've already been on this for 8 weeks and don't feel improvement have you already talked to your doctor again? They may have solutions for you ( dosage changes, etc) . I know when I hit a wall medication with past meds not working for me any longer I was referred by my doc to more of a specialist because I needed a combination approach for medication management.

Do you know what's making you feel sad/cry? There are usually certain things that I start crying over ( triggering feelings/event/sensitivities) that are amplified 100x when i'm having a depressive episode. It's like all the bad stuff that's ever happened to me/I've done/said is connected in my brain and likes to be remembered when I'm already feeling crappy. Therapy can help you recognize and derail that thought train if anything like that happens to you.

Your mileage may vary but in my +10 of dealing with my own major depression therapy + medication has been significantly more effective than medication alone.

[012703060610 in reply to Wishfulthoughts]

Such a thoughtful post. I couldn't agree more. It's meds and dedication to your therapy and what you are trying to achieve. If your heart isn't in it, therapy will be frustrating. For me, it is often a PTSD trigger that sets me off into panic or into deep depression. We recently doubled my dose my anti depressant (remeron). I'm still waiting and hoping it will help me in some way soon! I made a change to PTSD counseling and it did help a lot more than traditional CBT I had done for a decade. Welcome to the community. It's a very strong and dedicated group. We all have our ups and downs here.

[Browny71 in reply to 012703060610]

hello, yeah I’ve been on therapy for a couple of decades now. But had stopped it for a couple of years when I moved out of Los Angeles to another city in California. I have a virtual counselor provided by my work, he is not experienced with depression and I think I need someone else. Thanks for your reply

[Browny71 in reply to Wishfulthoughts]

hi wishfultoughts-thanks for your response and It helps to know I’m not alone in this. If you were to look at me, I look fine, but in my mind I feel horrible. I know this will pass as I was in this spot 25 years ago, but it took a long time to get better. I do see a virtual counselor that’s part of my work benefits. He isn’t very knowledgeable on depression but it beats not having anyone to talk to. I’m so happy I found you guys here. Don’t know how but God must have led me to this group.

[Wishfulthoughts in reply to Browny71]

That's one of the tricks of depression you often can't see it so it makes you feel more alone than you are. Many people out there struggling to brush their hair or shower or get out of bed because of their thoughts. Put a smile mask on to go through the motions of the day. You probably pass people all the time also on antidepressants.

Social media can amplified the everyone is happily functioning but me narrative because folks often post pictures and talk about of doing something fun vs saying I'm sitting at home alone tonight feeling sad, etc .

If you don't already try keeping a small journal or use a mood tracker. I do a mood app on my phone. It helps me see that even when I am depressed every day is not as bad as the other, and because when I am having a bad day I swear I feel I've been feeling like this "always" ( data then shows me it's not the case) and I'm able to track improvement. I'm a data driven person 😊

I hope you find a counselor you can connect with more. It took me a few to find ones I liked. I went to psychologytoday.com and entered my insurance and filtered for the areas I needed and accepting new patients and then read about them and reached out to a few.

If you meet someone and don't like them you don't have to keep using them. Keep trying until you find a good fit.

I have liked CBT therapy and DBT therapy ( I have some issues with emotional regulation/ distress tolerance).

I hope you feel a bit better soon.

[Moon-calm in reply to Wishfulthoughts]

such an uplifting hopeful post Wishfulthoughts, I second the importance of finding a good psych…

[SoporRose]

Depression is hard. I can't tell you anything about how long your meds might take to work because I can't take any of them, but my therapist has kept me getting out of bed for over twenty years now. Without therapy, I wouldn't function at all, so I agree that the combination of medication and a good counselor might help immensely.

That said, I also know how hard it is to find one now. I hope your doctor can help steer you to someone who is an appropriate match for you, but meanwhile, we're here for you.

Ruth

[Browny71 in reply to SoporRose]

Hi Ruth,

I appreciate your response. I do see a virtual counselor that’s part of my work benefits. He isn’t very knowledgeable on depression but it beats not having anyone to talk to. Im gonna start looking for someone else hopefully in person. I’m so happy I found you guys here. Don’t know how but God must have led me to this group.

[SoporRose in reply to Browny71]

How can anyone who is supposed to be any kind of a counselor not be knowledgeable about depression? It’s such a common mental illness and appears in conjunction with so many other conditions that one would expect depression to be the first thing any counselor or therapist studies. Sometimes I think counselors should lurk on sites like this to get a better understanding of how poor conditions affect our lives.

How are you feeling today?

[Marysblue]

there's a depressed anonymous group online. I learned about it on here but I just forgot about it until now.

[Wakeboarder24]

This is a place where you can share your depressive thoughts.