How to Deal with Severe Clinical Depression
Clinical depression is a serious medical condition. It is not a case of "the blues", it is not just being sad sometimes. Clinical depression is the invisible burden of sadness that never goes away for those who carry it. Sometimes it is responsive to treatment, and sometimes it is just something that will never be solved, and must be accepted.
This article is a starting point for how to find tools, helpers, medications, and anything else that may help.
Steps
- Know Thine Enemy. A good place to start in any quest to fix a problem is the internet. There are an unbelievable amount of resources floating around the internet, and the more you can learn about depression will, in some way, help you. Knowledge is power, and knowing what is making your life hell is half the battle.
- But now, there is the war. As anyone affected by clinical depression knows, it can be a lifelong ordeal. Accept that your struggle with depression might be a lifelong task; doing this sooner, rather than later, may spare you some extra frustration if you find out that your depression is resistant to treatment.
- Look around your biological family. Are there other depressed people? Watch them and see what they do that seems to work. This is especially important if anyone in your family also suffers from addiction or alcoholism, because Depressed people are statistically more prone to these problems. If you can find no clues from your family, it may be time to seek therapy.
- Interview therapists. If you choose to enlist the help of a therapist, be sure to select one that is qualified to work with depressed people, and whom you get along with. The right therapist can't solve all your problems instantly, but they can help you learn to help yourself, prescribe medications, and provide support through tough times. A good therapist is worth their weight in peace-of-mind and gold.
- Once you know your therapist, discuss medication. Find out if the therapist thinks medication would help you. Ask for the names of psychiatrists that the therapist knows have been helpful to people with your kind of history. If the therapist says that all you need is vitamins, ask them why. If they have no reason to believe that you are severely deficient in aid vitamins, or can't provide you with a reasonable explanation, find a new therapist. If you find a therapist that suits you, keep going as long as it works for you. Find out if you can call between visits if something unexpected happens. "Yes" is the right answer to this question.
- Interview the suggested psychiatrists. Accept that all psychiatrists are not created equal. Ask your psychiatrist about what sort of treatments he often suggests to people in your situation. Ask whether the psychiatrist uses the same medications on everybody. If the answer is yes, find a different shrink. Be inquisitive about which medications they use, whether they will prescribe more than one medication, and how they decide upon dosage adjustments. If anything cannot be adequately explained to you, find a different psychiatrist.
- Find or ask for referrals to therapy groups. If therapy groups are something you are not ready for, or just not your thing, at least find (or make if you have to) a good friend to help you.
- Better yet, make a few friends. If you have to tear yourself a new one to reach out and be social, do so. It will be worth it in the long run. If you are truly depressed, sometimes friends are the only people who can save you.
- If you lose the will to live for yourself live for others, especially your friends. Friends are especially important if your family is not supportive. If you feel even worse than usual, having a friend to listen and support you, even by just being there, can save your life.
- If you EVER feel genuinely suicidal and don't trust your impulse control, feel free to call a hotline, call 9-1-1, or just present yourself to the nearest emergency room with an explanation of how you feel.
- Sometimes, clinical depression is resistant to whatever treatment you throw at it. If truly nothing works, then sometimes the only logical choice is to accept that you will have to contend with this disorder for the rest of your life and to make the most of it.
- If nothing cures your depression, the best you can do is to try to find out what eases it a little bit, and go with that. If you need to be selfish every once in a while to keep from sinking any lower, be selfish. Do whatever eases the pain for a bit (exercise, unplug all your electronics, write scathing letters to the world, light a fluffy dandelion on fire, eat chocolate, play darts with a picture of your boss), so long as it doesn't end up making your depression worse as a consequence.
Tips
- Don't be afraid to ask a friend or family member for help with any of the steps. Sometimes it is hard to get started when you are depressed and there is no shame in having a friend get the ball rolling.
- Even if you are taking prescription drugs already - do not think that pills will do all the job for you. There are many other methods to fight depression that are worth trying.
- In some women, depression may be caused (or worsened) by low hormone levels, most commonly progesterone. Progesterone helps keep serotonin levels from dropping too low, and low serotonin can cause depression. Doctors can test for low progesterone and prescribe it (though many doctors are unaware of the link with depression); it is even available without prescription, which gives you an idea how safe it is when used according to directions. Indications that a depression may be progesterone related are: symptoms get worse in the two weeks before menses, during perimenopause/menopause, or after giving birth. Anxiety-depression is most commonly seen, sometimes accompanied by severe mood swings and insomnia; some women may get more headaches/migraines. NOTE: synthetic progestins such as Provera, medroxyprogesterone, DepoProvera, and birth control pills can make these symptoms worse instead of better; we're talking about progesterone specifically, not its "substitutes". Progesterone is available as Progest cream (a good brand) without prescription, and as Prometrium capsules with prescription; compounding pharmacies also make various dose forms (such as Progesterone 50 mg/ml Lotion, compounded).
Warnings
- If you decide to use medication as a way to help your depression, different medicines will affect you differently. Some may worsen depression, if this happens contact your doctor or therapist immediately.
- NEVER stop a medication cold turkey. This will produce withdrawal symptoms (shaking, hot and cold flashes, etc) and will worsen depression.
- Depression caused by a chemical imbalance can be hereditary. If you have children, be sure to keep an eye on them and watch for signs of early depression. If they continue to worsen over time, confront them and tell them your story. My mother saved my life by doing this.
Related wikiHows
- How to Cope with Depression
- How to Help a Friend With a Serious Depression Problem
- How to Seek Help for Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression)
- How to Cope During a Panic Attack
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Deal with Severe Clinical Depression. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
No comments:
Post a Comment