Seconding what Scotticher said, VenusGirlTrap. Grief has its own, personal, timeframe, and talking about your grief with family and friends is one of the best ways I know to get a handle on it in your own time.
I’ve found that talking (even typing out the words to dear friends over the Internet) is a very good way to work myself out of a funk. If it lasts too long even with that course of action, I’d go back on the meds. I felt lousy yesterday, walked around in a self-pitying daze for several hours, then started talking.
My own mother’s death was only one of the triggers to my depression, but it’s a major. But I had depressive episodes ten years ago when it seemed that my job was going nowhere except down the toilet, and it felt like I was superfluous to life.
Recognise the depression. Seek help for it. Listen to what it’s telling you about the way your life is, or how you’re living it, or what feelings you’re bottling up.
Hi Guys,
I’m sorry that I couldn’t post before today. I had no access to a computer over the weekend. Yesterday, I called in sick to work and went to the Dr.'s office. I waited nervously, not knowing what to say, part of me was half expecting the Doc to tell me to go home and stop wasting their time. I almost walked out of the waiting room several times, but I knew that I couldn’t just blow this off and pretend that I had gone and that everything was fine.
I spoke to the Doctor about how I was feeling; I told him about the nervousness, the guilt, the weepyness, etc. I filled out a few questionnaires, and then I spoke to a different Doctor. He explained that lots of people get depressed. That it tends to run in families and that from the answers I had given and my score on the test, I was definately suffering from depression/anxiety. He said I should not feel any more guilty for not being able to “shake off” depression than I would feel for not being able to “shake off” high blood pressure or diabetes. He explained that although many people feel embarrassed, there is really no reason to feel that way. Being depressed does not make me crazy, or psycho, or any of the other words people use. Depression is a physical condition that requires medical treatment. I know it sounds silly, but I had never really thought of it that way.
I’ve started on Zoloft and I will go back and see the Dr. in three weeks to make sure everything is ok. In a few days, I will also start “talk therapy” so I can learn to identify and treat the underlying causes of my depression. The Dr. said that I probably wont need to take meds for a long time, but that until I’ve got a handle on therapy, it’s the best thing for me right now.
Thank you all so much for taking the time out of you lives to respond and encourage me. I’m a stranger to most of you and yet you still care. This board is truly one of the best places on the web.
Good luck to you Monica. Today I am going to HR to find out how (if at all) our insurance program handles therapy. My bouts of depression have been coming more often, staying longer, and running deeper than they have before, and I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been ‘living’ like this for ten years and it’s time to stop.
Don’t be worried if the drugs don’t do anything. I was on Prozac for about a year and it didn’t do anything for me. I’m hoping something else will have an effect.
And I have just made an appointment with a doctor for next Tuesday so I can get on prescription anti-depressants. I’ll talk to my therapist tomorrow about which one precisely. As I’ve said, things have been particularly rough since I got laid off, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to need to be on them for a while.
Monty2, I agree with you completely. I wandered in here for the trivia, and stayed for the community. E-mail me if you need me, and I also run an on-line group for depressed Dopers, although no one’s posted since July.
Just a word about the medicine, Monty2, just in case your dr didn’t mention it.
It can take about a week (sometimes longer) for the antidepressants to really kick in. Please don’t give up on them in a couple days - if you don’t see any improvement in two weeks, please talk to your dr and see about using something else.
In the meantime, make sure you surround yourself with people you have no doubt love you. Let them know (if you haven’t already) what’s going on and that you need their support right now.