# My Depression Story **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481 "2016-04-17T18:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/21 "2016-04-18T16:54:11Z")
I went into a situational depressive disorder over 2 years ago (death of both my brothers and my horse). I resisted anti-depressants for 2 months until I could not stop crying. My PCP is wonderful–put me on Celexa and I swear I felt better within days. Marginally better. It took months of therapy and drugs to where I felt almost like my old self. Still on the drugs too. I went off them for a few weeks and was right back to non-stop crying. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/22 "2016-04-19T00:06:55Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > I went into a situational depressive disorder over 2 years ago (death of both my brothers and my horse). I resisted anti-depressants for 2 months until I could not stop crying. My PCP is wonderful–put me on Celexa and I swear I felt better within days. Marginally better. It took months of therapy and drugs to where I felt almost like my old self. Still on the drugs too. I went off them for a few weeks and was right back to non-stop crying. I’m glad you sought help relatively quickly. I think the worst thing about bad depression is that you can be so convinced that nothing will help and nothing will ever get better, so you don’t seek help, and you can suffer for so long. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/23 "2016-04-19T00:19:45Z")
What a great story, **Alice**! ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/24 "2016-04-19T00:27:38Z")
Thank you! I’d never heard of a pharmacogenetic test kit before this thread. It’s good to know about. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/25 "2016-04-19T01:04:36Z")
Thanks for sharing that with us Alice. I’m so glad you’ve found the right treatment and very glad you’re feeling better. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/26 "2016-04-19T02:20:29Z")
I am OK after a bout of depression. Mostly work stress and a toxic relationship. I talked about the girl and about 50 people wrote and told me to stay tway. So I am. Why does God pack all the crazy into such pretty packages? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/27 "2016-04-19T02:30:00Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I am OK after a bout of depression. Mostly work stress and a toxic relationship. I talked about the girl and about 50 people wrote and told me to stay tway. So I am. > > Why does God pack all the crazy into such pretty packages? No, no, no- the question is, why are you attracted to the crazy? Anyway, I’m glad you’re feeling better. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/28 "2016-04-19T02:34:04Z")
You know, years ago, cancer was a word that wasn’t said in polite company, or if it was said, it was whispered. I’m not sure why there was a stigma/shame to it, but apparently there was. I hope that there comes a day that there are foundations committed to fighting depression, walks and runs where thousands of people come out to support the search for a cure, that there’s a ribbon for it, that people are screened for it regularly, and that it’s routinely talked about as any other illness that anybody can get. That would be great. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/29 "2016-04-19T02:42:40Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > No, no, no- the question is, why are you attracted to the crazy? > > Anyway, I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m not attracted to the crazy. It’s the pretty packaging… ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/30 "2016-04-19T04:21:31Z")
In my early 30s, I was in a tight spot. Deep in debt, estranged from family, new guy in town, working two jobs to at least resolve one of my problems. Circumstances demanded my unhappiness! Well, I paid off most of the debt and reverted to one job. So much free time! I was kind of out of shape, so I took up running. After a few weeks I rediscovered my sense of hilarity, and a kind of “delicious” experience of… experience. I felt really good, though my circumstances were poor. I think exercise can be a powerful mood enhancer, if your body can handle it. ---
**Author:** ![dflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dflower/32/3270_2.png) [@dflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dflower)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/31 "2016-04-19T13:48:08Z")
Alice thank you for telling us about your life. You write well too. I am so glad to hear you are better. As I posted on another thread on depression, it is all temporary. You can recover and your life can change. A psychiatrist I know said of her depressed patients almost all would benefit from cannabis if that was legal. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/32 "2016-04-19T16:15:26Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I think exercise can be a powerful mood enhancer, if your body can handle it. Before all this started, I exercised like a mofo. I loved it, and I would have hurt you badly if you’d said I couldn’t do it. I was up to an hour on the elliptical at the highest resistance, and if you’ve even done the elliptical, you’d know that’s like, wow. Plus I was walking an hour every day, and lifting dumbbells. That all completely stopped. I’ve set a goal to start exercising again next Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/33 "2016-04-19T16:16:51Z")
> [@dflower](#): > > Alice thank you for telling us about your life. You write well too. > I am so glad to hear you are better. > As I posted on another thread on depression, it is all temporary. You can recover and your life can change. > A psychiatrist I know said of her depressed patients almost all would benefit from cannabis if that was legal. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481/34 "2016-04-19T23:21:12Z")
This got me thinking of the first day I was on antidepressants, Celexa specifically. They are supposed to take about 3 weeks before you feel any effect from them but I got an unexpected effect after about 12 hours. I kept seeing sparkles in the air just a bit of pink out of the corner of my eye, or blue, or purple. I was told that I kept stopping in place, trying to catch a full spark appear and disappear so that I’d know I was sane. But it was just like… . . . . . being on drugs. When I realized the effect was coming from the drugs, I just laughed and laughed to myself and felt better the rest of the day. By day two, my little sparkles had disappeared. I was bummed again. But eventually I got better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-depression-story/752481.md?page=1)