It happened....

[Scotty]

I haven't seen this mentioned for a while, so I'll post this
I spent a good portion of my life, longer than I wish I had, hoping things would get better. Eventually, I forgot what happy was, and at the time, I thought my brief period of being slightly less miserable was things going away, but it wasn't. I'm finally better now because of anti-depressants. Sometimes meds help. It's something to consider that worked very well for me. First time in three years I feel happy.

Meds help greatly, but you don't want to be soley reliant on them for happyness. The happyness they give you is artificial. Having to rely on anti-depressants for happyness is actually quite sad. I suggest talking to someone.

That's not really fair. Depression is a disease like any other. You wouldn't tell someone with a heart condition that it's "actually quite sad" that they have to take a medication to live. Certainly, you should be seeing a therapist on a regular basis if you have depression, but therapy alone does not work for some people. They need anti-depressants so that the chemical make-up of their brain allows them to be happy.

I agree in the downplaying of depression.  I'm not qualified to speak from a medical standpoint, or even have first-hand experience of the effects, but from dating a very successful, qualified and passionate psychiatrist (yeah laugh it up, my grandmother put it best saying "Good, finally someone might be able to figure that kid out"), medications for mental illness can be wildly successful if prescribed correctly.  We're on the tail end of a society that still may not want to grasp the full spectrum of mental illness because modern medicine still doesn't understand how the brain entirely works.  Hell, the chief of medicine at one of the nation's most prestigious medical schools (Johns Hopkins, where my girlfriend works) doesn't believe in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), as one example of how ignorant and stubborn we can be.

As I said, I'm not nearly qualified to play the role of doctor for this sort of stuff, but I would absolutely suggest going to a mood-clinic and speaking with a psychiatrist.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a prescription from a psychiatrist who is perfectly qualified to diagnose depression.  The media's portrayal of us living in a pill-popping society for mental illness is about as ignorant and obtuse as it is false with regards to doctors blindly prescribing "happy pills" as a catch-all fail-safe.

[Mr Pwnage]

Arguing the opposition here, as somebody who in my youth was prescribed many serotonin level altering medicines and other antidepressants and ADHD medications.... I would like to throw this out there. Like many of you above me I acknowledge medicine for these conditions does really work, no doubt about it. If you are lacking certain chemicals you need in your brain to be in a good mood, it logically makes sense they would work. HOWEVER, after having taken many drugs to help me handle various issues, some problems were fixed and other worse ones arose. I am actually strongly opposed to virtually all medications that aren't antibiotics, and hate the concept of mood altering drugs. I think it is much better for the person in need to talk to people and learn to self-manage their condition. I realize it may vary on a person-to-person basis, but I strongly believe that 9 times out of 10, you will become a stronger and happier of a person if you can learn to manage without medications. The medications improved my mood and behavior to an extent I suppose, but it changed how I viewed myself for the worse, I felt dependent... weak and unhealthy. Many doctors (and possibly your parents) will now as a first resort pressure you into medication as a first and easy solution. You really need to take a step back and make a strong judgement call for yourself, and realize that even if you have a condition that can be treated with medication, it isn't necessarily (and in my opinion rarely) the best thing you can do for yourself.

[Jake]

Arguing the opposition here, as somebody who in my youth was prescribed many serotonin level altering medicines and other antidepressants and ADHD medications.... I would like to throw this out there. Like many of you above me I acknowledge medicine for these conditions does really work, no doubt about it. If you are lacking certain chemicals you need in your brain to be in a good mood, it logically makes sense they would work. HOWEVER, after having taken many drugs to help me handle various issues, some problems were fixed and other worse ones arose. I am actually strongly opposed to virtually all medications that aren't antibiotics, and hate the concept of mood altering drugs. I think it is much better for the person in need to talk to people and learn to self-manage their condition. I realize it may vary on a person-to-person basis, but I strongly believe that 9 times out of 10, you will become a stronger and happier of a person if you can learn to manage without medications. The medications improved my mood and behavior to an extent I suppose, but it changed how I viewed myself for the worse, I felt dependent... weak and unhealthy. Many doctors (and possibly your parents) will now as a first resort pressure you into medication as a first and easy solution. You really need to take a step back and make a strong judgement call for yourself, and realize that even if you have a condition that can be treated with medication, it isn't necessarily (and in my opinion rarely) the best thing you can do for yourself.

I somewhat agree with this. I've been on a few anti-depressants throughout my life, and have not had a very positive experience with any of them. If you look at statistics on their effectiveness, they're not much better than a placebo.

EDIT: Just wanted to point that I do believe anti-depressants can be very helpful, especially in situations where someone is struggling with severe depression and/or anxiety. It's important to note that their effectiveness has a huge variance from person to person, and that they don't always make things better. My personal stance is that if you are suffering from minor depression or anxiety, jumping on meds isn't always the best tactic. Sometimes a change in diet and lifestyle can go a long way. For example, stop eating so much sugar and simple carbs like white wheats. They cause the the bodies blood sugar to spike, and in turn, force your pancreas to create an over abundance of insulin which can alter your mood. You'd be surprised at the amount of people that have sugar and wheat sensitivity's and don't even know it. If you are indeed struggling with a chemical imbalance, anti-depressants could very well be the answer to your problems, but they aren't the only answer. Just me two cents.

[Yankyal]

i just wait it out when i get depressed.

i'm sort've afraid one day it won't  just fade away.

[Lucifer]

When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.

[Jake]

When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.

This always works.

[Lucifer]

In all seriousness, I highly recommend reading this.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html

[Chaos]

In all seriousness, I highly recommend reading this.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html

Oh thank god, she's alive.  She hadn't updated in over a year, and when her last post was about "Adventures in Depression", it tends to make one worried...  Glad to hear she's overcoming it.   :)

[Fisuman]

I found this website http://www.why-we-dream.com/depression.htm and it is quite interesting.

Do what you like to do and meet people, and you'll feel better  :)