Recently diagnosed with depression. I have been on Lexapro 5mg. I have been having better moments, how long before I get 100% better?
The goal of treatment should always be remission from depression which basically means the ability to function as if one doesn’t have depression. If you recall how you felt before your bouts of depression started, that is where you want to be again. It takes up-to 6 weeks for medications to take full effect. However, 5mg is a low dose and if within a month you are not where you want to be, it’s time to discuss a dosage increase with your doctor.Hope that helps!Key LifeKey is your inspiration wallet: Index
I’ve been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety. For months, I’ve felt hopeless and I feel like people would be better without me. I’ve self-harmed and I’ve been to the psych ward. I have a therapist, but nothing helps. What can I do?
I’m 59 and have suffered from Major Depressive Disorder and generalized anxiety. I am also dysthymic and have only recently been diagnosed with Schizoid Personality Disorder. I’ve been in therapy since I was 20. The best thing you can do is be unique. Seriously, stop comparing yourself to others who are happy, or a least coping with whatever they have. Be a misanthrope. Please look up the word if you don’t know what it means. You are one of the unlucky ones in life, as I am. However, make it a plus and not a minus. My friends, the few I have, know they can count on me to see the realistic downside of just about everything. They don’t balk at my atttitude but see my words and actions as someone who is true to their nature. I’m not saying “be mean or surly” I’m just saying that you are unique and that is the way you were programmed at birth. Don’t fight it. You’ll sound like everybody else out there who puts on a mask and pretends everything is hunky dory. Be the guy or girl who see’s the glass half empty instead of half full. You don’t have to enjoy life. It’s okay if you have a chip on your shoulder and speak your true mind. I think you are trying to fit in to make people like you. Stop that! Stop that right now! Be yourself, say what you really feel. I guarantee people will like you for doing this. The truthful miscreant is much better than the lying optimist. Relax, enjoy your eccentricities, and you will attract others who will want to be like you.
Recently, I was diagnosed with major depression by a psychiatrist. I always smile and people say I'm cheerful. Helping others makes me happy. I give good advice. Am I a major depression sufferer?
Likely, though you must find out for yourself. Go be with nature for an hour a day to help raise your serotonin levels along with twenty minutes of direct or indirect sunlight. Light or Heavy exercise is also a big help with this because it makes you feel like you have power. Walk or run a mile or a half. Do some reach stretching after you awaken and this will help you feel large and in control because ultimately you are, and major depression is like feeling the weight of your past or lack of a future gripping your soul. You must break free and what can help with this is learning to control your thoughts through meditation. You simply sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes and focus on only your breathing and the types of thoughts you are having and categorize each one based on if it is beneficial to your future or detrimental to your future. Then still as you focus mostly on your breath you should absorb and accept the beneficial thoughts and reject and expell the detrimental thoughts. Through this you will find yourself improving your thought patterns and your daily tasks will seem minute. It is a process however, it gets easier and more beneficial to your mental health when you meditate daily for five or ten minutes. Then you can gradually spend time exploring the vast expanses of your mind and your imagination. Read books about what you enjoy or would like to learn more about, and most importantly write about all of this. I meditate for thirty minutes before I write a journal entry for the day and I write down the things I need to accomplish on the next day, then I go to sleep. Repeat all of these things and you will see your depression disappear and you will see your life improve dramatically. Do a few and you will see a few improvements. Also, your diet contributes to a large portion of your emotional stability, avoid processed sugars and generally unhealthy foods and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water. Listen to your favorite music and listen to your favorite people. Godspeed and stay strong!
I’m 18, and I’ve recently been diagnosed with depression. I’ve been very embarrassed about the diagnosis lately. How do I deal with it?
This is going to sound super cliché, but know that you aren’t alone in this. I’ve been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Genderalized Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder for about four years now, and I was recently diagnosed with C-PTSD to top it all off. For those keeping score, that’s a whopping six diagnoses.With even one mental illness diagnosis, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when you see the way people with mental illnesses look in movies and tv shows.But you know who you are. It’s the same person you’ve always been. And your diagnosis is nothing more than a tool you can use to understand yourself better and get better medical care.For me, the care I needed was an antidepressant, a take-as-needed anxiety pill, therapy, and some breathing techniques to help manage my panic attacks. Any of those or all kinds of other things might help you.Now that you know you have depression, you can also read things that other people with depression have written about things they experience or things that help them. You can use their knowledge to understand yourself even better and to help yourself live more fully.Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking that your diagnosis is shameful, or that it defines you. Would you be ashamed of a broken arm? Would you define yourself by your high blood pressure?
How can I help my 12-year-old sister who was recently diagnosed with depression?
How are your parents dealing with it? My parents are the typical traditional people who don't like to believe that children can endure stress and suffer from depression, especially if it's their own kids. They don't wanna bear the social stigma.If I were still 12 year old growing up with mental problems, I would love to have some people at least one person in my household, who shows the same interest in progressing with mental illness as me. Someone who would regularly ‘challenge’ me and my progress.Hug her, or let her hug you, and ask how is she feeling. Tell her, “I'm not gonna judge you if you cry for no reason right now.”She either would laugh or actually cry with happiness in your arms. But most importantly her condition hopefully will improve.
I have recently been diagnosed with a moderate case of major depressive disorder. Should I tell my friends?
Yes, please, absolutely tell them. Be yourself. Be honest. You will find out that you and your problems are NOT a burden. Rather, they will more than likely be super supportive. I tried for a very long time to "spare" my friends from my drama and nonsense. As I slowly distanced myself from these relationships, the sadder and lonelier I became. Years later I discovered that had I bothered to give my friends a chance, they would have stood by me through whatever hardships I was facing. Please check out my latest blog post, titled "Who Needs 'Em?" Give people a chance to show you how much they like and love you. You won't be sorry. Hugs.ValkyrBlog
I was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The doctors say there is no cure. What should I do? I feel depressed.
Hey, this reaction is completely normal but I promise, your life isn’t over at ALL. This is just a transition. Congratulations on getting a diagnosis! It’s so tricky figuring out MS- you’ve gotten through the hardest part and now you can focus on feeling better. There are a ton of disease-modifying medications and therapies out there that don’t cure anything but definitely DO help a whole lot. I was diagnosed in 2009 and feel better now than I have in maybe 15 years or so, thanks to modern medicine and medical marijuana/ CBD oil.I’ve taken a lot of meds in the last almost-decade for my condition. If you visit my very-neglected blog (onmytiptoes.com) I have a page labeled “Meds” where you can read what I think of them and how they’ve worked for me. I’m not a doctor, just a patient trying to share my own experience, but I feel like sharing this info is important, too. I’m currently 5 months into Tysabri and haven’t written about it, as I wanted to give it time to work, but I really, really feel GREAT on it- my fatigue has lifted and some symptoms are actually going away, which is amazing. There’s also a new drug called Ocrevus which shows signs of reversing the disease and is really exciting!MS isn’t a death sentence, I promise, and there’s tons of support out there if you want it. Feel free to get in touch. There is a whole community of MS folks and disabled people waiting to adopt you into our family. And once you start your meds, physical therapy, etc, you really will start feeling better than you did pre-diagnosis, which is where life starts turning around. Love and best wishes.
What can I do for a friend that has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia?
Listen to what he or she has to say. To hear that someone has delusions or hallucinations means nothing. One person might say he or she hears people jeering and talking about “that worthless person.” Another person may hear the Virgin Mary saying “Take your pills . . . Listen to your doctor.”Don’t try to be diagnostician or therapist. There may be someone already doing that chore. You are a friend, and thus very valuable. He or she wants you as you are. Mental illness is isolating.Allow him or her to sleep as much as possible. Mental illness is often accompanied by sleep disturbances. Catching up on sleep can help a schizophrenic even before the anti-psychotic medications are issued.Keep on living your normal life. The cold wind off of your collar as you come into the room will come to be very pleasant. Bring issues of the school or college newspaper, reports of sad football teams, free things in the community. If he or she had an interest in something which is in the hospital — art sessions, foosball or a video game — ask if he or she wants to get up and look into it. Ask once each time you come.Don’t be frustrated if he or she forgets things. Don’t be frustrated if he or she “doesn’t want to do anything.” Part of schizophrenia are cognitive deficits and a resistance to move. Talk about things you yourself like and plan for.Secretly hope for your friend’s immediate treatment. If you are religious, pray for it: if not, wish for it with all of your heart. One of the few determinants of recovery is speed in treatment occurring soon if he or she is one of the group who will recover. CBT (not related to drugs), *accurate* medications, and cognitive remediation may all play a part in this.