[swheaton]

She thinks it's atypical depression. I'm not knowledgeable about this at all.

[Patsy Cline]

Who comes up with these things? So basically atypical dep means that if you went to a party you'd feel better. He should have written you a Rx to attend a frat party. Sorry, I have no idea why your docs answer made me angry.

I hope you feel better

[Patsy Cline]

Ignore me I don't know what I am today

[MikeDelta]

I Think it really depends on the doctor. My Pdoc thinks I have Borderline personality disorder, when everyone else, therapists, nurses etc think its it bipolar. I think its bipolar but then again I sometimes second guess it.... In honestly my advice would just be to believe what you believe and maybe see an understanding doc where you can explain how you feel and what you think you are dealing with.

[swheaton]

I don't know what to think. I just know that I've spent a majority of my life in some sort of funk.

[Victoria'smom]

Atypical depression, but I'd rather believe the doctors & nurses that are trained in mental health.

[wildflowerchild25]

Well it seems with atypical depression you feel better in reaction to something good. So is that it? Or do you have clearly defined up periods with no trigger? That's what I have. If I'm depressed good news doesn't affect me. If I'm hypo, bad news doesn't affect me.

And then I suppose what is the treatment? Is it the same? If so the. Really what does the label matter.

This is why I hate doctors. Everyone has unlimited faith when really no two doctors will ever fully agree. Only you know how you feel.

[swheaton]

I guess what's important is how it is treated. As long as the meds work, I'm happy. We are working on reducing the meds I take and seeing what will work better. I am attending therapy and have stopped going to my pdoc. It seems that the pdoc wanted to keep adding medication..which wasn't working.

Attending therapy is going to be the best help for this kind of depression. What do you do in your daily life to lift your mood? I know its bloody hard to get motivated to do fun things, but with this kind of depression the more fun you have in your life the better you will feel.

I find volunteer work really rewarding, I havent done any for a while, but today I am planning to start it daily to see if it helps get me out of this funk. I also find being with animals can help regulate your mood, do you have access to any domestic pets? Does exercise help your mood at all? Its hard to do but for some people it can make them feel great. A nice walk with a dog, being mindful and enjoying your surroundings can give you a break from the depression. What about art? Does that interest you at all?

Honestly if this diagnosis fits better than it is brilliant that you have it, rather than being stuck with BP diagnosis. There is not as much stigma surrounding atypical depression, and it is far more common (especially among young people, I have no idea of your age). And it is also far more treatable.

I wish you goodluck and thankyou again for you help and support through my hard times. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

Atypical depression, but I'd rather believe the doctors & nurses that are trained in mental health.

They list an unusual symptom of a laden feeling in your limbs. Do you get that?

[swheaton]

Originally Posted by Supanova

Attending therapy is going to be the best help for this kind of depression. What do you do in your daily life to lift your mood? I know its bloody hard to get motivated to do fun things, but with this kind of depression the more fun you have in your life the better you will feel.

I find volunteer work really rewarding, I havent done any for a while, but today I am planning to start it daily to see if it helps get me out of this funk. I also find being with animals can help regulate your mood, do you have access to any domestic pets? Does exercise help your mood at all? Its hard to do but for some people it can make them feel great. A nice walk with a dog, being mindful and enjoying your surroundings can give you a break from the depression. What about art? Does that interest you at all?

Honestly if this diagnosis fits better than it is brilliant that you have it, rather than being stuck with BP diagnosis. There is not as much stigma surrounding atypical depression, and it is far more common (especially among young people, I have no idea of your age). And it is also far more treatable.

I wish you goodluck and thankyou again for you help and support through my hard times. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know

Thank you, Supanova.

I am finding that I enjoy cooking again and talking. I'm laughing more. Unfortunately, when I'm down, I'm down and it takes an act of congress to come out of it.

I really hope that I keep getting better. If I am BP or not, the support I get here has made a difference

[PoorPrincess]

[QUOTE=Supanova;3668179]Attending therapy is going to be the best help for this kind of depression. What do you do in your daily life to lift your mood? I know its bloody hard to get motivated to do fun things, but with this kind of depression the more fun you have in your life the better you will feel. QUOTE]

Here's a trigger for me, in that I've never "gotten better" in depression from therapy. It's a bandaid as the meds for me are band aids only. They do not heal, they do not repair the damage done, they don't stop the angst and pain of existence.

As for "fun", I have no capability to enjoy, so where's the fun in fun then?
It doesn't lead me to feel better for having been around "fun". In fact it makes me feel yet worse and more miserable for not being able to experience it.

Make sense?
Sorry, it just needed to be said.

Originally Posted by PoorPrincess

Attending therapy is going to be the best help for this kind of depression. What do you do in your daily life to lift your mood? I know its bloody hard to get motivated to do fun things, but with this kind of depression the more fun you have in your life the better you will feel. QUOTE]

Here's a trigger for me, in that I've never "gotten better" in depression from therapy. It's a bandaid as the meds for me are band aids only. They do not heal, they do not repair the damage done, they don't stop the angst and pain of existence.

As for "fun", I have no capability to enjoy, so where's the fun in fun then?
It doesn't lead me to feel better for having been around "fun". In fact it makes me feel yet worse and more miserable for not being able to experience it.

Make sense?
Sorry, it just needed to be said.

Key words here - FOR THIS KIND OF DEPRESSION. That kind of depression IS improved by behavioural activation and therapy. It is a FACT. It sucks for a while but you keep pushing and pushing through the suckyness and for atypical depression it WILL improve your mood. Thats why it is good news that they have figured out that it is not bipolar, atypical depression has more chance of being managed a put into remission for spells.

Yep it sucks when you cant enjoy things, but you do them anyway - that is life with depression in general. But avoiding potentially fun things because you think you might not enjoy them is not beneficial at all.

You've got it all backwards - MEDS are a bandaid solution - therapy is the long term fix. Just because you havent got there yet doesnt mean therapy doesnt work - it means you either have not been committed to therapy, or you have not been in it long enough or you just dont have a good therapist.

Again keywords - for this kind of depression. Bipolar can be another kettle of fish.

[shortandcute]

I know this doesn't answer the ????, but I remember a psychiatrist telling me a couple years back (before I was dx'ed with bipolar) that all I needed to do to be cured of my depression was to get a job and learn how to drive. I wonder if he somehow got it into his head that I had atypical depression.