I'm a 30 yo male who has tried just about every kind of treatment and medication, since the age of 10.
I've been on quite a lot of types of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety and mood stabilizers.
The anti depressants seem to lose effect but I consider them a somewhat helpful tool if used consistently. The anxiety meds seem to really only be good for temporary period, tend to create more anxiety as tolerance and dependence increase. Mood stabilizers I think work if you are having highly stressful symptoms and can't seem to control yourself but have strong side effects and I decided its better to take only small amounts, when the Dr. has had me try them out.


My stomach just can't handle too many medications. So I'm currently only on 150-200mg of zoloft (ssri), .05mg of clonazepam (benzo), 50mg of trazodone (sari) and I've recently stopped taking wellbutrin (bupropion) after trying it out for a yr now.


Zoloft seems to be the safest anti depressant with the least side effects for me, compared to prozac an paxil. I've been weening off of the anti anxiety medication clonazepam for a few yrs now and am now comfortable with taking only .5 mg a day. I take 50mg of trazadone at night and that helps me sleep and wake up feeling ok.
I try to stay positive and I have no desire to give up but also don't have any desire to do anything at all, everything is forced, there's not an ounce of life in me and I get close to being catatonic from the depression.
I've tried so much and nothing really has much effect anymore. I consider a healthy routine the most important part of fighting depression, with medication and therapy as a part of that routine. But it all is just to keep things from completely collapsing.

I maxed out the zoloft and added wellbutrin and effexor before that and a few others to the mix but there was no noticeable effect even after months and mnths. I've been taking anti-depressants for 20 yrs now and think they have no real effect anymore.

I tried unconventional medicine too. I started with meditation and exercise, tae kwon do, and just educating myself. I've done tons of therapy, emdr, hypnosis. I've tried ritual, religious prayers, church, shamanic healing, and also mushrooms, dmt, amd lsd. I've been pretty desperate and felt i had nothing to lose, and I think all of it can help in the right setting. Therapy helped once I found a therapist I liked. I know prayer helps some, just not me so much. But I did find small amounts of lsd when camping has a real positive long term effect.
I really think I was so out of balance, that most everything I really tried helped at least a little.

So the only ways I've found to combat depression, with any real positive and sustainable effects is with a good balance of activities, keeping as much a routine as possible, always taking the correct dose of meds at the same time, camping and hiking and occasionally with small amounts of l.s.d, eating right, going to therapy, being open and without worry of judgment.