Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOriginalMe
It is often the case that meds are the only help available or offered. Not everyone has access to the full range of treatments and sometimes the lack of motivation, concentration and sheer depth of the depression put self help strategies beyond reach. I do self-help when I'm well enough and have managed 8 years med free up until this episode, but right now all my efforts are directed towards not offing myself and staying physically safe. At the moment I need something that will lift my depression sufficiently for me to be able to benefit from less agressive treatments, that something is most likely chemical but ECT is an option too.
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First of all,
and do whatever you need to to say safe.
I think I know where you're coming from too. Depression FEELS very much like a bad thing happening in your brain that you have no control over. It makes perfect sense when someone tells you that it's a chemical imbalance in your brain and it makes perfect sense that the most direct and reliable treatment would be to directly fix that imbalance. Also, that's what your MDs are recommending and aren't they the experts? The only problem with this is that SSRIs often just really doesn't work:
I'm going to quote Mark Hyman M.D.
"Most patients who take antidepressants either don't respond or have only a partial response. In fact, success is considered a 50 percent improvement in half the symptoms. And this minimal result is achieved in less than half the patients taking these medications." The UltraMind Solution, page 14.
I think you've got an assumption that drugs are the most direct way to treat what you've got and they are the most likely thing to work in a severe case. I am not at all sure that's true. In my case, for instance, SSRIs had next to no beneficial effect and the very simple self-help thing I did (see other post) had a HUGE effect, far more than any drug I ever took.
I know that in the depths of a depression, following some random advice like "meet new people" is just a joke. Still, I believe that there are simple things that you can do, even in the depths of the worst depression that could have a positive effect, maybe more of a positive effect than you are hoping for from your meds.