What to do about this depression stuff? =/

[olab7]

Well I've been in this 'funk' for about 8 months now. Things have progressed some, though. I just don't know what to do! I have nothing to be depressed about in life. Everything is pretty much going my way. I have a job, go to college, great girlfriend. But yet almost everyday I randomly get this feeling...A feeling of of there's nothing to live for. Like I'm at a dead end. When this happens all my interests disappear. I don't want to do anything nor do I look foward to anything. This in turn spirals out of control to thoughts like, "If I have no interests what is the point of living? I'm never going to get better, there's no hope, I don't know how to fix this, I'll never be normal again", ect.

The normal I refer to is the first 17 and a half years of my life. I always thought positive. I looked foward to my future. Now a lot of the time I could care less if I get my dream job or house or life. These thoughts come on at anytime of the day whether I'm at work, watching tv, at school, it doesn't matter. So I don't think these thoughts come on by specific activities. They are so random and I don't get it! I always look andhink from a scientific stand point (I think). I always think about things like maybe low dopamine or serotonin. But I'm not sure and it's killing me because if I don't know the problem then I can't know how to fix it. I wish I could just like xrays on my brain when I get those feelings so I can see whats going on in that head of mine.

My doctors solutions are anti depressants, but this depression actually started when I was put on Celexa for anxiety. But I'm so in deep with those medicines that I'm scared to get off because of withdrawel. I've already got myself down to about 25mg of pristiq (was on 150mgs of effexor, then got switched to pristiq a couple weeks ago). I know the next step is to just go cold turkey. My doctor doesn't know about this though. I know I need to tell him...

The scariest part of this though is me quiting anti depressants and it not working. Then where do I go from there? I feel like this is the only thing I can do to make this all go away and back to normal. I honestly can't think of anything else to do to fix this. If the only other option is just to wait it out then I could be waiting my whole life for something that might not even happen... Somedays are good and feel normal but others are how I described and I honestly don't want to live with these thoughts anymore...

Thanks for taking the time to read if you did. Just one of those times where I need to get this off my mind lol. Any suggestions of what I can try would be very helpful

 

[Jabberwocky]

Hey there,

After reading your post I can relate to some of the things you have mentioned. We all have bad periods in our lives, and I also sometimes feel hopeless and that I am going nowhere, that there is nothing out there for me etc.

The first thing I want to mention is that cold turkeying from anti depressants is not a safe idea. Personally I was trialled on three different ones, all of which actually made my depression worse and even to the poor of suicide. I think that they may have worsened your condition, how long have you been taking the medication?

Try to look at life with a brighter aspect, think positively and reward yourself for doing positive things. Get out an socialise, try doing exercise and maintain a healthy life style. It really pays off in the end - exercise I found is the most rewarding for me. I suppose it's the endorphins that are released through it.

You have a bright life ahead of you, don't doom monger and think negatively which I know is hard but you can do it!

Do you have any particular interests or hobbies that you could get more involved in? I found boxing to be a great relief for me, it let me unleash my anger on a bag and I felt great after every session.

It already sounds like you are in a good, stable position.

Wean off the anti-depressants, and work onwards from there. If it doesn't work then you can always take them again. Once you have stopped taking them, there will most likely be a spell of depression that may seem awful an unbearable but trust me, within a week or so depending on how long you have been medicated, your outlook on life will be much more positive and brighter.

Feel free to PM me at any time if you just want someone to talk to, I will try my best to support you however I can.

You can do it!

 

[olab7]

Hey there,

After reading your post I can relate to some of the things you have mentioned. We all have bad periods in our lives, and I also sometimes feel hopeless and that I am going nowhere, that there is nothing out there for me etc.

The first thing I want to mention is that cold turkeying from anti depressants is not a safe idea. Personally I was trialled on three different ones, all of which actually made my depression worse and even to the poor of suicide. I think that they may have worsened your condition, how long have you been taking the medication?

Try to look at life with a brighter aspect, think positively and reward yourself for doing positive things. Get out an socialise, try doing exercise and maintain a healthy life style. It really pays off in the end - exercise I found is the most rewarding for me. I suppose it's the endorphins that are released through it.

You have a bright life ahead of you, don't doom monger and think negatively which I know is hard but you can do it!

Do you have any particular interests or hobbies that you could get more involved in? I found boxing to be a great relief for me, it let me unleash my anger on a bag and I felt great after every session.

It already sounds like you are in a good, stable position.

Wean off the anti-depressants, and work onwards from there. If it doesn't work then you can always take them again. Once you have stopped taking them, there will most likely be a spell of depression that may seem awful an unbearable but trust me, within a week or so depending on how long you have been medicated, your outlook on life will be much more positive and brighter.

Feel free to PM me at any time if you just want someone to talk to, I will try my best to support you however I can.

You can do it!

Hey!

Well I was on Celexa for 3 months I believe. Can't remeber the dosage. Then was put on 75 mgs of Effexor then upped to 150 mgs after a month I believe. Then was just put on 100mgs of Pristiq a couple weeks ago. But I started cutting my effexor in half about 2 months ago so I was doing 75 mgs. Then when I got the Pristiq I cut those in half so I was doing 50mgs for awhile, now I'm cutting the halves into halves so it's about 25mgs which I've been doing that for about a week. SO all in all i've been on anti depressants for about 8 months and have been weaning for about 2 and a half months. I was planning on going cold turkey at the end of this month but I won't make any hastey decisions yet.

I like to skateboard and go out with my girlfirend or friends from time to time. I also like video games but sometimes can play them a little too much. I exercise sometimes but I'll try to do that more often now. Yeah it's been hard to look on the brighter side lately =/ It's like my brain forces me to think negativley. I will definatley try harder though.

Ha it's nice to hear that I'm in a stable position. I often feel like that too. Though thinking about suicide sometimes brings me more comfor then it should, I feel like I'm not ready to give up quite yet.

 

[Jabberwocky]

It sounds like the anti-depressants are in fact just making things worse. Are you prescribed any other medication or do any other drugs while I'm asking? I'm glad you're going to come off them - I think in my opinion that they can really make depression a lot worse than it is.

Well hey man, you have a girlfriend, you enjoy skateboarding, get out, spend more time with her and the family! I must admit that I love video games myself, world of Warcraft and Diablo I'm ashamed to say

You're in more than a stable position my friend, you have so much going for you I'm sure of it.

Negative thoughts linger and form circles in the head, you get stuck in a cycle that's neer ending, and it just continually gets worse and worse eh... What I do when I start this circle is just sop, relax, and focus on the positives in my life. We all have so much potential within ourselves which we often fail to recognise or believe in.

I don't know of your background or how you got put on antidepressants, but if you want someone totally to privately feel free to PM me and all we talk about is private and wot be shared

Have you considered seeing a therapist?

I had suicidal thoughts on ssri's myself too. And they were glorious at the time. I think bak now and realise what in gods name was I thinking? I relate it to the tablets, they truly messed up my mind.

You have no reason to give up. Life is beautiful, and I think you may just be going through a rough patch which I'm sure you can pull through from. Trust me.

 

[olab7]

Thanks alot! I feel better already . Ha hey I've had my fair share of time on WoW as well don't be ashamed =p
I'll shoot you a PM with some more detail on my situation. Again thanks!