Depression Understood Forums

Hello everyone! This is my first time here and I figured I’d introduce myself. I would be interested to know if any of you had the same experiences that I had in your process of dealing with and conquering my depression.

I was recently diagnosed as having, as my Psychologist calls it, “Severe Depression”. I have felt depressed before but never felt that I had a problem that could be “diagnosed” or warranted medical treatment. I always felt this was something that the weak encountered and I was not weak. Looking back, I think I have been struggling with this for a very long time and it has come to a point of desperation in the past year that lead me, nay, forced me to reach out for some assistance. I am not sleeping well, I can not think straight, concentrate or focus on single tasks, I have not been enjoying writing, reading, exercise, and many other things I remember once being excited about. I am putting on weight and have lost any interest in pursuing and maintaining a romantic relationship; this is one of the things that lead me to professional help as a girl that I was seeing, a medical professional, suggested I get help. And, it is affecting my work performance that has resulted in poor reviews. My life is a mess and I can not see a positive future for me. Do not get me wrong. I do not and have not planned or considered suicide or harming myself in anyway, but I would be a liar if I said that words “What’s the point?” or thought “What would happen if…” have never crossed my mind. (BTW, I have not mentioned that to my therapist yet. I fear being put in a hospital as a risk to myself when I know that’s not the case. Any opinions?) .

The point is I am not happy with my life and my worth in the scheme of life and have not been for sometime and I am finding that it’s affecting my ability to carry on a ‘normal’ life. I am seeking professional assistance -- though I am still having a hard time accepting that I may have a real illness and not something I should be able to control on my own -- and am considering medication at my doctor’s advice. I am in the beginning and hope that I can get some results and shortly return to a level normalcy and begin to enjoy life again.

So there’s my story in brief. Have any of you had this type of experience? How did you cope and how long did it take for you to see results. I do not expect anything overnight but hope it will not take years.

Best to you all!!!!

Harry - welcome to the forum. I am a sufferer of severe depression and have experienced many of the same symptoms as you have. I think you are so smart to get help and the right meds and therapy could really get you back on track. Your girlfriend did a very loving thing is suggesting you get help. One thing to know about the meds is that they usually take weeks to work. I don't want to discourage you but that is the case many times. Also, if the first try at meds does not work for you, you might have to try another cocktail. Different things work for different people. Depression can be very overwhelming. I try to take things one day at a time and also try to find little things that help me to feel better. I wish you all the best and hope you keep posting to let us know how you are doing. There are very many caring souls here.