Am I depressed

In my humble opinion you deserve some regular time just for yourself and also some supportive counselling.

Hi Geministar I was having similar problems with depression and went to a workshop ran by a guy called Steven Turnbull. He was recommended to me as someone who has a great track record in getting people out of depression. It has worked wonders for me.

Hope this helps.

Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the link as we do not link to specific sites selling products or services. You can use the private message facility to share links such as this if users do want them.

It really does sound like you are suffering with clinical depression to me, as someone who's suffered with it for a while it seems very familiar. My advice, go the doctors and engage in some therapies. My choice has been to have Sertraline as a drug therapy and CBT as a supportive therapy - bottom line is it works. Do some research on the NHS choices website, there's a really good self assessment which can help as an indicator here;

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/depression.aspx

Good luck

When you make an appointment with your doctor, it's perfectly normal to ask to see a different GP when you call reception. Maybe you'd feel better talking to someone else?

If the pills work, why not take them? And if you don't like them, why not tell the doctor and see if there is any other kind of treatment they can suggest?

Let us know how you get on!

yes it's true, being on a depression doesn't mean you have to take medicines or other stuff. Just a counseling and of course with the help of people who cares for you (surely you have close friends) and most importantly it's up to yourself how to overcome it.

Hiya, Lisa here. Having read your message I can totally relate to how you feel and would like to give you my thoughts having been where you are x I sufferred from clinical depression when I was 18/19 yrs old and it was like a black hole that I had no idea how I had got to or why I was there, I couldn't eat, sleep, talk to anyone, it was literally like being in a black hole and I could not see any way out - I suferred for just under a year before I sought medical help and when I did I was prescribed anti-depressents and sleeping tablets. 2 weeks later the chemical imbalance got back in check & 12 months later I took myself off medication (my doctor didn't want me to but I knew it was the right thing for me). I was fine until my mum died 5 yrs ago, then had exactly the same symptoms as you have described. I went to the doctors & all they did was prescribe me anti-depressents over a 10min appt. I don't think you're depressed. I took a step back & said, no this is not what I experienced before (when I was clinically depressed) this is the fact I am sad and sad for a reason, it isn't a chemical imbalance it is grief and something that you need to find a way to work through. I also have a child and know that if it wasn't for him I would have probably given up by now and wouldn't be here. I have been given many pills to try & get over feeling low but can't take them because I need to be "with it" to look after my small man!!! Just being able to talk to someone is a massive help. You are doing a fantastice job and you will be fine, you need to recognise that this is grief/sadness/stress/unhappiness (any or all of the above). Keep strong and know you are not alone x

Best wishes

Lisa

Have you had your thyroid function checked recently? Hair loss, weight gain and low mood can be symptoms of a number of conditions, including depression and hypothyroidism.

I know you are reluctant to visit your GP, but it really could help. Even if they do not test you, because they believe you are depressed, you might benefit from talking therapies which should be available on the NHS via your GP.

Take care

Hi, yes had blood tests:- thyroid, early menopause, vitamin levels,iron, etc etc for everything, also mri, ultra sounds & all came back with no probs. Psychiatrist & psychologist think it's nurture not nature & only "cure" is pills but side effects are worse than symptoms & don't think masking a problem with pills is the answer (although I do know if necessary I will have to take them). Psychiatrist didn't like me and I wasn't keen on her either :-{ which is never helpful when you are talking about the most personal things in your life. They were more interested in what jobs i have had than anything else and also wanted to know my step sisters medical history and didn't understand the difference between biological siblings and non-biological. At this point I pretty much gave up.

Over the last 6 months I have experienced a family trauma that I am trying to come to terms with. I have been able to get my head round what has happened and know I have no regrets as I had to stand up to someone who was causing so much heartache and trouble in our family. The bottom line is I ended up losing a sibling over this as they can't bare to face up to reality. I don,t regret what I done, it really had to be done. I have been heart broken at times but have come to terms with it

mood swings, angry a lot of the time, crying, unbelievably tired and losing hair for last 3 months, eyes constantly burning. The only thing that keeps me going are my children. Other than them I feel I have to drag myself out of bed every morning.

Hi Geminstar, I am no expert but you mention ''trauma, heartache, trouble, loss, heartbroken, mood swings, anger, and'', though you dont say it, little interest in anything other than, keeping going for your children. Please dont underestimate the affect that the TRAUMA, you are still trying to come to terms with, has had and may still be having on your life! As I have said, I am no expert but many of the symptoms you talk about are symptoms that are associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can be mistaken for depression. In ptsd you may suffer from flash backs of the trauma, continually trying to put thoughts of the trauma out of you mind, nightmares, anxiety, feeling that you have lost your sense of security in life, fear of what may happen next and many other things. There are online questionnaires that you can answer re. depression and ptsd assessment which can be and are used by doctors to diagnose both conditions. I was diagnosed with severe pstd June of last year after a trauma in my life that had happened two years earlier. I hope that this is helpful and does not confuse you as the last thing that I want to do is to add to the awful pain that you have suffered and, I imagine, that you are still probably suffering at this time. Please try not to be too hard on yourself.

Regards,

Robert.