Severe, treatment-resistant depression?
I have been depressed for many, many years; mental illnesses run on both sides of my family. Over the last three years, however, my depression has become very, very severe and I have attempted suicide multiple times (I know, I’m still typing so thats just one more thing I suck at and can’t do right =/ ). I have seen my primary care physician and every single psychiatrist/psychologist/therapist on our insurance plan and even some who weren’t, to no avail. If anything, these "doctors" were more detrimental to my health than anyting, and I was very open to treatment. In addition to seeing numerous doctors, I have tried every type, combination and strengths of over twenty prescriptions, which only made me suicidal (I ended up in the emergency room multiple times). I have also been in half-day hospitalizations. My question is this: Is there any hope for those suffering with severe TR depression? Please share any tips. Im really thinking of doing something permanent @ this point….
I also suffer from PTSD, anxiety/panic disorer (all my life), and depersonalization disorder (a lot of my life). I have been turned down my SO any people, telling me that there is nothing tey can do to help me, that I am a lost cause. Please, if you know anyting that MAY be of a help to someone desperate, PLEASE share. I am through with shrinks, though, frankly, I don’t have the time, money, means, patience, or desire to be psycho-analysed anymore. I guess it just seems like I can’t feel alive, so why should I be? Sorry if I’m not making sense. I will appriciate any serious advice; I am very desperate. Thankyou in advance.
Sorry to keep adding details, but I thought that it might be important to mention that I am 16 (depression off and on then continuous from the age of 9 on. The PTSD is from some things that happened when I was younger (after they happened I was in a reg hospital and then transfered to a psych ward)… I feel that I can only (mentally) live in the past or in the future, never in the present, and I realize that is not healthy. As for ECT, my grandma and greatgrandma both underwent it. I do not know if I would WANT to do that, or even if that can be performed on a teenager. Also, I have seen hypnotherapists in the past to help with depression, anxiety, insomnia and o/compulsive binge eating disorder. I thought that a bit more background info might help you all to better understand, I’m not usually this open with people I do not know. I really appreciate te responses–I am very grateful for them. Thanks again
Yes, there is hope. One of them being that you are here on Yahoo answers seeking for help. Ask and it will be rendered to you.
Here are some suggestions and tips:
1. Have you considered a religion or taking up a spiritual faith? This can help provide you with some anchor and positive energies.
2. Meditation can help you achieve some clarity of mind.
3. Instead of prescription drugs, use natural remedies eg. St John’s wort herb.
4. Use a technique called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help deal with your emotions and childhood trauma. Do a google search for this technique.
5. After doing 4, you are now clear to have positive affirmations. Look up self help books or courses.
6. Find support groups that can be on hand should you find that you cannot cope with another depression attack.
7. Find out more about your condition. Do more research. The key to recovery is having the right information to making important decisions about your state of health and well-being. Here is a collection of articles that I found for you
http://www.healthandwellnesscentral.com/Category/Depression/73
There are several non psychopharmaceutical based treatments at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris on pages 2 & 6 Taper off meds over a long period of time, as advised by your health care provider. Keep ECT as your last resort. See http://www.mental-health-today.com (.com/ptsd/index.html) & use the guided meditation at http://www.uncommonforum.com/ Also their forum, the email at onestepatatime.com & their forum, and http://www.supportpath.com Yahoo has groups to join on this, and others, like Mys….(got account suspended last time I mentioned this!). Consider hypnotherapy, if suggestible.
Electro Convulsive Therapy can work. It is used in the rarest of situations for the most severe cases. but it seems like nothing else has worked for you.
you may want to look into electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). i know that this treatment is extreme and still seems scary for a lot of people, but it has been shown to be effective in treatment severe, treatment resistant depression. there are side effects and patients usually stay in the hospital for at least 2-3 days after each procedure, but it can be effective for those who have tried everything else.
don’t give up; recovery is possible! i have worked with and know of many people who have been *Severely* depressed for most of their lives and who have been helped by therapy, medication, and if all else fails, byECT.
there are other alternatives, however, particularly if you struggle with other problems like ptsd. have you really gotten to the heart of the trauma? group therapy can be very effective for trauma issues and if you haven’t tried that i would also recommend that before giving up
You may want to consider treatment with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) if you haven’t already. I have found that PTSD is often the most powerful illness and is usually comorbid with a severe depression. Successfully treating the PTSD can then decrease or even resolve the depression. This treatment is wonderful and extremely efficacious. I realize you are "done" with clinicians and mental health treatment. But, if you have not been treated with this, it is so worth getting treatment again. Do look into it. Benefits are not only decrease or resolution of symptoms, but, it generally is a very quick treatment. Instead of months or years of therapy, you can find benefit in just a few sessions. Good luck.
How disabling is your condition? Meaning how is it affecting your overall functioning in daily life? You have been through it all, and I wonder if it is because of your past or why things are still very hard for you .
sometimes you have to meet the doctors half way. That is what I have learned. No amount of medications or shrinks can do all of it for you. You got to find strength within yourself and keep trying.
Also having a support system helps and trying to find happy thing to do is good. Try finding things that make you happy and focus on this.
I do not know if you have a family or work, or anything. I just read this and can see that you have posted something on TR depression. You just got to keep going, and find the inner power within yourself to not give up.
though I can understand the ECT theory I don’t agree and would have killed anyone who advised me of it. Depression makes you feel like your in a pit of hell with no where out. PTSD takes time a real long time and most times it gets so painful it is very hard to want to open up to strangers about it. I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety attacks and if no one ever had those think of a heart attack with out a cure cause it feels like it and the only way to come out of it is to ride through it….Mine last from a few minutes to 10. I too tried several places and meds feeling like a guinea pig after awhile. I have clinical depression I am not sure what TR depression is I also have a frontal lobe brain injury from an accident in 2001 and that makes depression twice as hard. Suicidal thoughts suck when you try to act on them but so is being in the hospital with a dumb nurse checking you out every 15 minutes to ask you if your ok. I didn’t get lucky enough for the ER room the skipped me right through to the locked psych floor on suicide watch and if you haven’t done that yet try to continue with help. I don’t know where your from but most towns have a Mental Health Facility that helps people on sliding scales to get the proper help the need. There are even support groups for us out there. Only a true depressive can understand our feelings and can help when we feel suicidal. The past five years I have felt pretty good on my meds and have had no suicidal actions. Please please never give up on yourself and keep trying with the psych therapist. Regular GPs aren’t equipped to help depressives you need a mental health professional for that. Please try again and write back anytime you want or just need to ask a question or talk.
JH
Today, begin thinking of a way to help others. Your community; old people;
volunteer work–go down to centers in your area. Dedicate your life outside yourself..immerse yourself, and don’t look back.. No romance, no job, no family can fix you now. Ask God to guide you.
Self-pity; self-centeredness will destroy you. Go for it.
Sometimes resistant depression happens, because it is actually bi-polar — which needs to be treated completely different in medications. It’s very easy to misdiagnose, as doctors often only treat the current symptoms. You may have mental issues to work through, like the PTSD but there may be something biological working at the same time too
I too suffer from severe treatment resistant depression (diagnosed by both my therapist and my presribing MD). I have also tried ECT with no improvement. My MD has placed the following on the table for options: Wellbutrin in combination with another anti-depressant, Lithium, magnet therapy, and also VNS – vagus nerve stimulation. They put a small electronic device near your heart and you receive painless electrical currents about every 5 minutes.
yes there is hope. therapy and treatment only work if you really work at it. you say you are very open to treatment, and you might think you are, but there’s a good chance you ARE resisting. Maybe you don’t realize it, but there’s a chance you are. depression is a nasty thing, it digs its fingers deep inside you and hangs on for dear life. you say you’ve been depressed for many many years, it has become part of you, part of who you are. that is a hard thing to let go of, no matter how hard you want to let go.
you have to be persistant. stop switching doctors. find one that you can open up to, and stick with him/her. initially things seem worse when you start therapy, becuase you are dragging some nasty feelings out into the open, things that have always been there, but are tucked away in the back of your mind. now you’re dragging them out, and now they are no longer in the back of your mind, they are in the forefront of your mind, and it HURTS! it seems like things are worse at first, but you HAVE to tough it out, you have to drag those feelings out, so they can be dealt with.
remember, medications for depression take four to six weeks to take effect, and it’s trial and error to find the right medication.
have you ever considered a voluntary admission to a psych hospital? it sounds horrible, but you can be in a controlled environment until you find the right methods, and the right meds.
i KNOW first hand how difficult this is, i’ve been in your shoes in the past, but i stuck it out, for my family at first, and then my focus changed to for me.
YES THERE IS HOPE!!!!!!!!!
……….adding on after your latest addition, my depression started at 8 with my first suicide attempt at 9, it was a long battle, and a hard one. at 16 you are still young, still developing physically and mentally, and finding your place in life. the depression has robbed your childhood. it robbed mine, but i don’t let myself dwell on that. i was in my twenties before circumstances forced me into treatment, and i did it for my family at first, and after awhile it was for me. i think i resisted treatment at first, not becuase i wanted to, but becuase i had known the depression for so long, and it had become a part of me. it’s hard to let go of something you know.
but don’t give up, there is hope. and there are ways to get help when you don’t have a lot of money, research it. the answer is in you, you just have to find the means to pull it out into the daylight.
Find a spiritual path. What ever you are attracted to, catholic, baptist, hindu, buddism, druids, AA, UFO’s…something you can believe in and pray, chant, meditate, dance etc whatever it takes to get you connected with your vision of a higher power.
And give a serious chance to open you to a new way of thinking, a different perspective, maybe even a different realm of reality. What do you have to lose?
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http://insurancess.notlong.com
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