Quote:
Originally Posted by wk17
I remember that at the very beginning of the treatment I was willing to try many approaches in order to improve my condition, but nowadays I consider my depression permanent, a terrible outlook to have......I would truly love to once again feel the excitement of seizing the day, going to sleep with a sense of accomplishment, waking up refreshed and ready to go through the day with a purpose. However years and years of living with depression have had a profound impact on my life and left an irrevocable mark on my psyche. This prolonged acceptance had established neural pathways, which will not enable me to create a worthwhile representation of reality, and it’s such a shame that my piece of the universe, as perceived by my brain will mostly bring pain and disappointment.
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Hi there wk17.
I have great news for you! I think I understand your situation and how to actually get out of it in spite of all the semi-failed treatments that you have gone through.
Have a look at this:
http://egg.bu.edu/~youssef/SNAP_CLUB...0164151576.pdf
this has worked for quite a few people. Have a look at Ed Merch's thread from a few days ago, for instance:
http://forums.psychcentral.com/depre...epression.html
The thing is, after a while, depression seems like an almost intractable problem. Therapy doesn't help, drugs help a little at best, nothing you seem to say to yourself seems to help and it FEELS permanent. I believe, however, that this is basically an illusion that just comes from two factors:
a) antidepressant meds rarely work well
b) the process of getting into the depressed state is unconscious
Because of b) depression starts to seem like it's very powerful - it's hard to talk yourself out of it or even imagine something that someone could say that would help. However, you'll see in the notes a way to train your way out of it that is very easy to try.
Also, in spite of what you might have been told, there is no known brain malfunction or neurotransmitter imbalance that reveals a depressed brain. People who are depressed have brains that look just like everyone else's brain (at least in the pre-medicated case). There is no biological or genetic test for depression. You can find references about that and advice for a bunch of other healthy things to do here:
http://forums.psychcentral.com/4262681-post105.html
It is important to realize that because it means that you are not doomed by biology to be depressed.
- vital