For those of you that have overcome depression and come off meds, and not gone back on them .. or haven't gone back on them yet, I just have a quick question.

I started suffering from depression and got myself medicated and am starting to feel much better. It has made me feel really stupid, distant, sleepy, unable to concentrate and like I am in a dream among other things. Suffering from these horrible sensations alone have made me really appreciate my life and everything that is good in it, especially since I just want these feelings to go away.

How did you overcome the fact that you suffered from depression and how did you overcome the fear of it happening again? For example, with myself right now I am having a hard time coping with the fact that I just missed out on an entire month of my life. I can obviously remember the stuff that I did when I try harder to think about it, but it just seems blurry and like distant memories. Added to that, I keep reading about how if you've had depression once, you have a great chance of getting it back.

Once I get a job and have coverage, I plan to take therapy to be able to change my way of thinking. I have started some online programs that seem to be helping.

Has anyone else felt these things or something similar to it? How did you overcome it?

I have been on and off medication for years. it is so hard to overcome depression, I think. I am having a hard time finding meds that I think work. It can be so frustrating. Once you have depression, they say you can relapse, so it is good you are being proactive about the programs and such.

Depression is a tricky monster. If you start feeling better after a few months taking AD's, don't go off them too quickly
and never without your pdoc's permission. 2 years is a good guess at how long you should be taking AD's. Again, your pdoc will know what length of time is best.

Relapse is not uncommon. It could be months or years in the future. You know how to help yourself now and get treatment right away.

For myself, I am Bipolar I with severe chronic depression. This is a lifelong condition and I will be on meds for the rest of my life.
Sheepwoman

Hi Sheepwoman just thought id reply to what you wrote about your experience with depression, to be honest its chilling statement no doubt a brave and sinceer one, something inside says this is the very hopelessness of depression thats makes you feel its forever.
can the mind and body never heal? was we once not depressed? if we were not depressed before why cant we not be in the future?
it really makes me think,(im a thinker!!) its almost like a door closes in the mind and slams shut after depression takes hold,
you know the other month a good freind was talking to me about my seperation from my wife(were back together now) he was concerned and said listen mate your building a wall inbetween you both and so is your wife also, as time goes by the wall is getting higher and higher until there is no going back, it stuck in my head ever since, why? i felt he was talking about my relashonship with myself, and it fits with depression, its almost like a fallout with ones self?
an unloving and unkind one?

whay do you think?

I had my first depressive episode 12 years ago & had No idea what was happening to me. My partner, now husband, didn't know either so we have been learning together. If it wasn't for his love & would have taken my life years ago.

I have been on about a dozen different meds & was eventually diagnosed as suffering from Major Depression. I have been on 300mg of Prothiaden / night for 6 years (my doses have occasionally varied over this time). It works for me in as much as it keeps me stable - I no longer have the monthly Highs & incredible Lows I experienced when on Luvox.

I have had three beautiful children, and my youngest being 4 months old, is the light of my life. I had to go down on my meds toward the end of my pregnancies of course, and my psychiatrist watched me very closely.

Some people only suffer from depression and need to take meds for a while then they are back to normal. That's Great for them but I have accepted that I will be on meds for the rest of my life but I don't think of it as a Bad thing. This is who I am & I would rather accept that I have a chemical imbalance in my brain and take meds to correct it than give up on living.

Depression is not a life sentence!

ps this is the first time I have ever written in a forum

I have recurrent agitated depression but i definately feel recovered from how i felt 12 months ago when i was in the pits of hell! I'm really glad you are feeling better. Medication is difficult, i have been on 3 sets; i was lucky in that they didn't affect me too much generally except one which sent me into horrid agitation. Even when i was on effexor (4th set) i did really well on it for a good few months, it was only by the end when i was feeling much better that i started to be hit by the side effects like dizziness, sickness etc. I know how you mean about appreciating life without the meds, i managed to get myself off them recently (with minor input from my drs although i have to admit they probably think i'm still on them - opps!). I feel good not having to handle the severe brain dizziness on top of anything else. Plus I think psychologically it makes me feel good not being on them just as it seems the next step on the journey to recovery.

I don't think i fully have come to terms with having depression, i've had it for many years so i'm only just learning what life is like without it (if this is life without it!). I guess my mind copes by allowing itself to indulge in little things, e.g. i didn't really have normal teenage years, i have no memories really from then (like yourself) because i didn't do anything - i mean how many parents have had to beg their teenage daughter to buy new clothes, wear makeup and are willing to take them to parties instead of them just sitting at home every night?! My parents had to do that - not that they got anywhere, i was dead inside. So now i kinda daydream about what i could have been like, i see kids around and sometimes think - that looks like fun! I think because of this i still like silly kid movies etc. I used to be full of regrets but i guess i have learnt that i would not be who i am today without being through what i have and that although the depression may have robbed me of a lot, what was left has become stronger. I am able to enjoy things that others may take for granted. I am proud of being alive....does that sound dumb?! Does anyone else understand that?

I think the best thing is to not worry about the future but to take things as they come (i say hypocritically!). I don't think you can predict the future, but as you are doing already, you can try and control how much it impacts upon you. It scares me deeply that the depression will hit me again, with each year that comes i fear the depression will take more and more from me. I worry about what would happen if i have kids, and the impact it will have upon them. Sometimes i think that i shouldn't have any. But then the depression really would be robbing me of my life, and i would have real regrets.

I understand your fears, i wish i knew how to respond more appropriately but the void i've seen is still a very vivid memory and not something i can overcome right now except to try and push forward away from it.

My opinion is depression is just caused by being ultra unhappy. One of the better ways to beat it to listen to someone who is older than you on their advice on life because this helps you make less mistakes and so you can be happier.