Depression

[colinthewarriormonkey]

Better to say nothing than something which is clearly unhelpful

Fuck off Derek.

[colinthewarriormonkey]

Depression is one thing.
Anxiety is another.
Anxiety/ Panic attacks are horrendous and leave you feeling debilitated, fatugued and drained, which just exacerbates the whole thing and the cycle begins again.

Some good advice from peeps in here.

With anxiety, you need to counter the "fight or flight" response which causes sweats, butterflies, hyperventilation etc.Drugs can do this but all they do is mask symptoms.
Exercise is the key.
A good work out, bike ride, good brisk half hour walk, sit ups, anything!
Not sure how much you do at the moment, but at least half an hour of hard(ish) exercise per day will condition your brain to expect an endorphin rush and use the adrenalin in the way its supposed to be used.

Cut back on booze for a bit, or at least lay off wines and spirits.
Include an omega3 supplement in your diet and try to avoid anything with sunset yellow ( cant remember the e number) in it, as this can give you palpitations which in turn will make you anxious.

Try these little tweaks for a few months and see how yoy get on.

Sound simple I know, but honestly it works.


Depression is a different animal but if you can deal with your anxiety, your depression will ease.

Good Advice

Aspartame is another thing that can induce symptoms of panic, it's found in all sorts of stuff as well. Not just diet pop, It's even in stuff that supposed to be good for you like berrocca.


http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys ... 000199.txt

[Zambo]

Not a believer in drugs until nothing else works, but Amitriptyline is a non addictive sleep aid/anti depressant. Higher doses for depression but small ones (10mg) can be excellent for a good nights sleep. No matter what you have, sleep is essential for wellbeing if you are having probs in that area.

[delboy1983]

See a Doctor get a diagnosis of where you are and manage it from them.
Do not try to work out your condition yourself

Is it stress

Is it stress with bouts of depression

Is it full blown depression

All can be managed in different ways some medicinally

I suppose I am saying do not try to second guess your condition without expert help

When you are in a stressful state which causes you to be distressed a major life changing occurrence
which is detrimental can career you into clinical depression.

[Tind]

You're one brave man ilk59 for talking about your depression here. In my darkest hours I struggled on without discussing my thoughts with anyone. Thankfully, I managed to pull myself through. I sunk so low I thought about chucking myself under trains on more than one occasion. No Doc, friend or relative was consulted. Only because I thought they'd make the matter worse because I expected to be talked at rather than listened to. Anyway, time was the healer. I'm with Geezer on this one. Patience, time and self belief will hopefully see you through. It seems to me that this new job is a great opportunity to start putting demons to rest. It might take a while. Stick with it. Luckily we live here in good old Blighty where, should you choose, there are support mechanisms that you can access. You know what you're dealing with ilk59, so are best placed to decide which will work best for you. Good luck.

Peace and Love

[The Ghost of Alex Higgins]

I'm with mooncat. Excellent advice

[Rainbowmonkey]

I'm with mooncat. Excellent advice

Yes. I particularly like what he said about anxiety being a physiological response and the benefits of exercise. I've saved your post, thanks mooncat.

[kevin04]

Agree, Mooncat great post.

Just repeating things a bit, but if you are feeling shitty - go for a walk, cycle, do 20 press ups right from the get go, go clean out or paint that old shed you have always planned, re-arrange shit, play a sport or read a book, start up a new project or do some online classes.

If still feeling shitty after that - best to go to the docs. Everyone is different, but for mild depression much of it can be helped through diet, exercise and even just having a routine.

If lonely, try looking at clubs or places to go. There's a ton of free stuff going on all over the UK too - do stuff and even if it's boring like art galleries, town hustings, car boot sales - go check what's out there.
Try stuff too. If you've always fancied a sport, hobby - go do it, give it a crack and see how it goes.

All the best.

[AlcoholBrazil]

If you've always fancied a sport, hobby - go do it, give it a crack and see how it goes.
All the best.

Failing all the above, join Chess.com and enter The Official TalkForum Chess Tournament.
Pit your mind against the legends.

[johnnyboy45]

You are all good people giving good advice on a horrible, very horrible condition. Keep it up and bless this forum.

[m4 colin]

Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.

I will be looking into therapy/counselling.

i would advise avoiding the doctor if at all possible they will put you on anti depressant medication which dont work and create many more problems than they help. Have you got any animals ? a dog or cat can be very therapeutic so can gentle exercise like Tai Chi yoga or just walking also meditation might help.

You can always PM me or any of the more laid back members we'd all be glad to give you a little time and talk things over with you.

[kevin04]

Colin, did you not post up some over the counter thing that worked a few months back that you bought from Amazon. Could well be worth a try too for the OP if he's not wanting to go to the docs.

[m4 colin]

Colin, did you not post up some over the counter thing that worked a few months back that you bought from Amazon. Could well be worth a try too for the OP if he's not wanting to go to the docs.

Oh yes lithium orotate Yes its as cheap as chips and works as quick as a bullet It certainly did wonders for me !

[kevin04]

Colin, did you not post up some over the counter thing that worked a few months back that you bought from Amazon. Could well be worth a try too for the OP if he's not wanting to go to the docs.

Oh yes lithium orotate Yes its as cheap as chips and works as quick as a bullet It certainly did wonders for me !

Cheers, Colin.

[cahill]

ilk. The fact that you're able to function, carrying on working, attending social functions, you've found a new job which presumably means you've filled application forms in and had an interview, I actually don't think you're depressed. Depressed people really can't function in ways which you describe. My experience of GPs is that they'll turn to medication which in some cases can bring relief. You've had some good advice on here especially CBT. Some GPs are enlightened and again you have to figure in the postcode lottery and what's available in you area. If you think your GP would listen and you feel able to assert yourself with him/her ask to be referred into psychology and/or a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist. Make sure it is a CBT therapist not just a nurse (although many nurses are CBT specialists) who's done 3 months at University on a short course, CBT is used for lots of psychological conditions. Alternatively you could ask for a psychology assessment which could sign post where you need to go for a particular and specific therapy.

Keep exercising, watch the alcohol 'cos that's a depressant.

Are you sleeping or do you have trouble getting to sleep or waking early ? Are you tearful, irritable, appetite ok ?

[imavinoops]

Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.

I will be looking into therapy/counselling.

All the very best M8, Just hope you get some good people to help you, I suffer from anxiety and have had counselling, the fuckers fell asleep when I was spilling my guts to them, made me feel 10 times worse. It makes me either sick or extremely angry, adrenaline overload, but things are better now, I have tabs and they seem to take the steam away,still prone to some mad moments, some cunt in a taxi was outside my house with clattery diesel engine running at 5am, I came out and the fucker laughed at me, that's it,went over to the taxi and he laughed again and locked himself in, I thought fuck it I'll punch the cunt through the fucking window, he shit himself and tried to squash me against a garden wall with the car, I didnt feel a thing, I was fucked the next day though! Not enough people come out and say/admit these things, well done and good luck M8!.

[m4 colin]

Ancient Greek and Roman Doctors prescribed moderately severe whippings for depression and this has been tried out in modern day Russia apparently with great success. It said that the whipper must be the opposite sex to the whippee and the whipping must be severe enough to draw a little blood. Must be the Endorphin rush

[henrycrs]

I must first apologize for the content of this thread, I, like I suppose everyone else, visit this forum for some light relief and this subject stands in stark contrast to that. I am not the type of person to extemporize about my feelings publicly, however, I would like to make an exception in this case.

I find myself in a bit of a rut, I have always been a pessimist (ironically I consider it a positive thing), and I have in my life experienced terribly dark feelings, but for the past six months I have been feeling depressed. In this time, I have continued to attend work, in fact, I have found a better job in the private sector which I will be starting in June. I have remained cordial with my friends and relatives. I have continued to attend social functions. Yet, when I am left alone with my thoughts, I feel overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness.

I have been searching for an answer. Perhaps it is my colleagues? They are ruthless gossips and a source of negative energy, but, although maybe not in the same density, I have encountered such people my whole life. Perhaps it was my lifestyle? I changed my diet and intensely exercise four times a week; but still the feelings persist.

What I want to know is how to beat this. I am hesitant to go to a medical professional because my job requires me to disclose my medical history.

How you getting on Ilk?

I've had a really shit few months and the doctor thinks I'm suffering with depression. It's the first time I've cried in years. Absolutely gutted doing it, but I left feeling better if that makes sense?

He reckons taking to a counsellor is the best way? Putting my issues into pockets?

[therealHJ]

Henrycrs sometimes just being told you are depressed helps, talking to someone definitely does.

It did in my case at least, after a very close run thing with death in the mid 90's I became withdrawn, lost my sex drive, drank too much, became unhappy with my relationship and lost interest in work. A close friend insisted I go to the doctors and after some resistance I did.

"You are depressed" she said, "here's a prescription, come back in a month".

That was the turning point for me, I walked out of the surgery, thought "fuck that", threw the prescription away and started to get things back on track (maybe the shock was akin to M4's whipping?!). It took quite a while, definitely a two-steps forward one step backwards process, but I got there in the end. An important factor was having someone to talk to and I was fortunate to have a good friend who I suppose acted as my "counsellor". I would advise taking the doctor up on his counsellor suggestion if you haven't got someone you can confide in. Counsellors tend to use the compartment (pocket) approach and looking back on it that's probably what I did in a roundabout way.

It is a shit thing to go through but it is possible to get out of it.

[colinthewarriormonkey]

I must first apologize for the content of this thread, I, like I suppose everyone else, visit this forum for some light relief and this subject stands in stark contrast to that. I am not the type of person to extemporize about my feelings publicly, however, I would like to make an exception in this case.

I find myself in a bit of a rut, I have always been a pessimist (ironically I consider it a positive thing), and I have in my life experienced terribly dark feelings, but for the past six months I have been feeling depressed. In this time, I have continued to attend work, in fact, I have found a better job in the private sector which I will be starting in June. I have remained cordial with my friends and relatives. I have continued to attend social functions. Yet, when I am left alone with my thoughts, I feel overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness.

I have been searching for an answer. Perhaps it is my colleagues? They are ruthless gossips and a source of negative energy, but, although maybe not in the same density, I have encountered such people my whole life. Perhaps it was my lifestyle? I changed my diet and intensely exercise four times a week; but still the feelings persist.

What I want to know is how to beat this. I am hesitant to go to a medical professional because my job requires me to disclose my medical history.

How you getting on Ilk?

I've had a really shit few months and the doctor thinks I'm suffering with depression. It's the first time I've cried in years. Absolutely gutted doing it, but I left feeling better if that makes sense?

He reckons taking to a counsellor is the best way? Putting my issues into pockets?

St Johns Wort (available from Holland and Barret) is recognised by the NHS to be just as effective as some anti depressants.

There are two forms of depression - reactive (the death of a family member, divorce etc) or there is the common chemical imbalance in the brain, where people become depressed for no good reason. Restore the chemical imbalance and you will feel better. So St Johns Wort would certainly help in that case, and it's natural.

[Roddy]

Morning;pregabalin 150 mg,propranolol 40 mg,citalopram 40 mg,diazepam 10mg.

Evening:zopiclone 7.5,mirtazapine 40 mg.


I will not give to them though they make you just sit and stare at waw's all day (which they want you to do).

Every night the same auld dreams though.

All ways the same and for all the drugs they put in my system they can't stop the dreams....

[AlcoholBrazil]

Good lad, Rodster....Stay strong . Keep away from the mushrooms too.

[Roquetas]

Staying busy is the key. I suffer from depression from time-to-time, and the worst times are without doubt when alone in bed in the middle of the night unable to sleep. When in Spain last year, I was able to go for long walks at 3am/4am or so, which wasn't great the next day at work when shattered, but at least I was making something of a shite time. I unfortunately can't do that here (well, I can, but I'll be freezing) but fortunately I'm sleeping reasonably well. I'm sure it will happen again at some point though.

Sorry, I'm rambling. In short - keep your mind busy!

[Sadact7]

I got back into motorbiking during my last really bad bout a couple of years ago. It was brilliant as I was getting exercise doing something I loved plus you get a wonderful feeling of relaxed solitude when you're wearing a helmet, I find it incredibly calming even when I'm taking on a big fucking jump

[Zippy]

Never been affected with depression and hopefully never will be. This means I'm no expert on the issue by any means, but I can totally understand why some people extol the virtues of exercise for people suffering. Can do wonders for anyone.