Alternative help for depression

[becks]

I'm going through a pretty rough time at the moment and have been thnking about seeing the doctor. However I am reluctant to take any drugs like Seroxat or Prozac because i don't want a drug to make me feel better. I have also thought about counselling which i think i am going to do but just wondered if anyone had any tips on alternative remedies. I just want something to make me feel better, i know that time is the obvious strategy but it's starting to affect my work, i've tried st john's wort and found it did very little, plus it interferes with the pill, so not too handy. any help gratefully received ta x

[andy hughes]

Hi becks, i am really sorry to hear that you are going through a bad time right now. I would urge you to see your GP for treatment, although I understand your reluctance. I have been taking anti-dpressants for fifteen years now, after a total breakdown resulting in three months as a psychiatric in-patient, and nine further months off work. You should see the treatment as similar to insulin for a diabetic - you have a chemical inbalance in your brain which needs to be adjusted, just like insulin for diabetes. If you approach your condition in this way, you will get the benefit of treatment. I am not suggesting that you will even need long-term treatment, many many patients are able to drop medication after the worst symptoms have passed, or take tablets on an 'as required' basis, and this may well be the case for you. The important thing is to get yourself seen and diagnosed - it may be that medication is not a suitable treatment for you, your doctor may arrange conselling, but treatment is what you need, before your symptoms worsen. Hope this advice helps - it is from someone who understands, rather than the 'pull yourself together' merchants you are no doubt surrounded by! Stay in touch, and let us know how you get on. Best wishes meantime.

[PaulB]

Great advice (as always) from andy there and I agree, sorry to hear about your depression. I am a big believer of Hypnotherapy as it always has helped me in a big way and also helped me get off Seroxat a few years back. Alternative also is maybe Acupuncture although I know nothing about that. Take Care and let us know how you get on.

[FTVS]

Hi Becks - I know how you feel as spent pretty much all of Jan feeling like it wasn't really worth getting out of bed and bursting into tears. I too was not really interested in treating with drugs HOWEVER you have to remember that depression is an illness and so you may need to go down that route. I decided i woudl cut outr things I knew were depressants and take up something that it supposed to help. I set myself a time limit and if wasn't feeling better then I would go to the doctor. I told all my friends how bad I was feeling and asked for their support (they were brilliant) I told my husband who did his best (I was giving him a pretty hard time). I started going to the gym and took up yoga. I really cut down on drinking. After about three weeks I started to think that maybe things weren't so bad. Rememeber though this worked for me, it might not for you. And is there any harm in going to trhe Doctor and telling him you want don't want drugs and asking him what he suggests? Also you don't say if this problem has been triggered by an event or if this a general malaise. If an event then what is the harm of drugs for few months whilst you let time do it's work?

[incitatus]

another fellow sufferer. here. I did get off the pills after a year of therapy. Exercise works, as does sunshine. and vitamin b12. All taken together help. but dont be frightened of the pills as they are usefull. But remember that like st johns wort unless you take them for 4 weeks you wont see any effect. You arent alone becks.

[becks]

Hello, just wanted to say thankyou for all your kind words, I suppose i hadn't really though about it as an illness - those pull youself together merchants i guess! In answer to FTVS it is a lot of events - breakdown of a long-term relationship, parents going through horrible divorce and hating my job all at the same time which i think i could deal with if it was one at a time. I did take st john's wort for a couple fof months so i know that it didn;t work for me, and i think that half the reluctance is knowing that the tablets take about a month to work anyway and i don;t know how i might be feeling by that time. It is certainly something i will think about more carefully and am going to see a hypnotherapist tomorrow. Thanks again everyone, it is good to know i'm not just going mad and am the only person in the world who feels like this. x

[Janetex]

Just a couple of things to add - do see your doctor and don't leaveit too long. Sounds like just reactive depression so you would only be on medication short-term and there are more advanced drugs now than Prozac &c. Anti-depressants only really work if you really have depression (mine worked within six days). In the meantime, Valerian herbal remedy can be wonderful for stress and disturbed sleep. Good luck.

[solarbears]

I found kava kava the best thing although it's almost imposible to get here. Valerian+Hops is good. Counselling helps too....People out here care anywhere. Good luck. x

[smudge]

Hi becks, so sorry to hear your feeling low. Please be assured that you are not on your own! There are so many people suffering from depression who don't want to admit it, purely down to the 'stigma'! There is no stigma! I lost my parents within 20 months of each other.It's something I shall never completely get over as I thought they'd live forever. My hubby & two daughters have been brilliant & tried to help, but only 'you' know how you feel. Anti-depressants helped, but I'm slowly trying to wean myself off them at the moment. It must be awful for you to be in the middle of your parents divorce & all the other things that are dragging you down, but take one step at a time & 'in bite size pieces'. I'm sure in a few months time, when the summer eventually arrives, you'll be feeling a lot chirpier. We are all thinking of you.

[smudge]

P.S. Yoga & swimming may also help you, it did me!