opinions & experience, please??

hi there

just wondering what everyone's experience is with depression. specifically:

has it ever gone away?
are you always depressed?
are you ever happy?
have you ever experienced remission for any period of time?
can depression ever go away altogether?

any replies would be seriously greatly appreciated!!!

thanks!!

Hi ! Those are all good questions!! Personally, I'm clinically depressed, so I'm depressed all the time -- except I take medication for it, and it has lifted my depression BIG TIME!

I do know of others tho who have "situational" depression. They seem to have depression for as long as the problem persists -- and then when things improve, so does their depression.

Yes, it can go into remission. It's not a "life-long" illness unless you are clinically depressed. Many people do recover and are very happy again. Some never experience depression again, and others fall into it once more. It just depends on the cause & the person.

I hope I've answered SOME of the questions. I hope you're not depressed, but if you are -- talk to your doctor and he can refer you to a good therapist or if needed, he can put you on medication. God bless & take care. Hugs, Lee

thanks Lee

i am interested to find out what others have experienced, because my wife and i both suffer from depression, but probably different kinds

and she currently blames the depression that i experienced in the past for the depression that she has now. erm… yeah, not sure what the logic is behind that, but anyway, maybe i'm just missing something

anyway, so quite it's a long story behind my questions, too long for this thread…

but thanks for your feedback!!

I have been depressed for a while. I have experienced periods of happiness. My depression has never gone away totally even with medication. As I have gotten older my depresson has gotten worse. But most importantly, I have experienced happiness and lots of it. It's hard to see that or remember it now since I am in such a dark place, but I know it's there.
Best,
NYC

Hello there, those are all very good questions.

1. Yes, my depression has gone away. When I was having ECT (shock treatments) my depression was gone completely, ECT made so much of a difference. (I had to stop because it was making me very ill physically). Medication has helped too. I am currently on a good cocktail of meds right now and I haven't really had a really seriously depressed day in over two months!

2. No, I'm not always depressed. This has only happened when I'm going through a genuine depressive episode, which for me usually lasts a few weeks or more. These episodes usually cause me to be hospitalized until the depression starts to get better. So although sometimes it seems like it'll never go away, there is definitely hope.

3. Certainly, I have been happy! I do have Bipolar Disorder, so sometimes I have been "too happy", but when I'm stable, I definitely experience periods of genuine happiness. Certain things make me happy, such as spending time with friends or family, exercising, listening to music, or taking a nice walk. Having a routine helps keep me happy.

4. Yes, I have experienced remission. As I mentioned earlier, my current remission has lasted more than 2 months. My longest remission was about 6 months.

5. This is probably a question that could be up for debate. Personally, I would say no, at least for the more serious types of depression. Depression is an illness that is with us forever, but it can be controlled with therapy, medication, ECT, or natural treatments. Kind of like how diabetes will always be there, but it can be controlled. I say this because there have been a couple of times where I thought I was better because my meds were working, so I stopped them...and proceeded to relapse soon after.

Thanks again for asking such good questions. Take care!

-Melissa

my clinical depression was lifted after i began taking an anti-depressant and a mood stablelizer. i still tended to have a tinge of depression with that mix. another was added. now-21 yrs. later i'm still fine. the only time i went under was when i didn't think i needed an anti-depressant. 21 days later i felt sui..with severe depression. my bad. yes, we can, i believe, live a happy, joyous life if we get help. we need not suffer.
my situational depression was incredibly helped with therapy. i have the skills and tools now to rationally put things in a more positive perspection as a result of my therapy.
hope this helps and eases your concerns.

PS your wife's depression is her own. depression's not contagious.

Wow they are thought provoking questions.

I have never sought medical treatment for my symptoms, so therefore do not have a label as such. However I do think my symptoms may well indicate depression.

I have had periods of feeling really down for most of my life, but looking back have managed this with making some big changes to my life, jobs and houses. Such big changes have given me something more exciting to focus on - a buzz - and the darkness has lifted. Also more abusive strategies.

I started T last year as I had never been so low and needed help - I think significant here was the fact that my marriage had broken up and in the past my ex had been fairly good at supporting me through my low points. I have learned much about myself in T, a recognition of my all or nothing behaviour and thinking which can be so characteristic of depression - for me this includes eating, drinking, sleeping, work, study, love, trust, even sunbathing!....

I think without this self awareness I would probably continue to go through life on this rollercoaster with depression rearing its head from time to time. But I am hoping the work I am doing will help me to manage myself better and keep myself more balanced and avoid the ups and downs. This includes dealing with trauma stuff, learning about my needs and how to meet them, what things I need to avoid (noise is a particular difficulty for me to handle) and I am learning mindfulness as a long term strategy to manage my "mind".

So for me I am optimistic that I will not be depressed forever, however in order to achieve this I need to work hard myself and not leave it to hope, or finger crossing.

In summary, I think I will always be prone to depression, in the same way other people may be prone to different health problems (for example back pain) - however I will not always feel depressed as long as I look after myself. I have started to get times when I feel happy, although that was absent for a few years.

Good luck - SD

I was depressed in my 20's and early 30's because of my life experiences/background. A whole lot of therapy and changing my life/growing and having/fostering better experiences in my 30's and 40's worked together so I am not depressed and anxious as I was. I would say my depression "went away" but it took 40+ years. I think my primary focus for many of those years was "getting/feeling better" so nearly half of my life was spent in therapy. I did not marry until I was nearly 40 and spent my time that way. My DH is supportive of my mental/health and was helpful clearing my overall anxiety/depression in the 25+ years we have known one another.

Hi we_do_recover,

I've had depression off and on for almost four years (probably longer, but I mark the "start date" as the day I was diagnosed). In answer to your question, yes, for me it has gone away. I seem to have relapsing depression in that I don't tend to cope well with the difficulties of life. I don't have a very thick skin, so stress over school and work, family drama, personal relationships or even disturbing world events can send me into a downward spiral. My episodes have run the spectrum from having the blues to being suicidal, although I'm learning to recognize the signs of an impending depression so that I can get help before it gets too serious. I'm working on coping, and with medication and therapy I'm getting better at riding out the episodes, or staving them off completely. I hope one day to be depression-free but for now I enjoy the good days and on the bad days remind myself that they don't have to last forever.

As for whether I experience happiness ... I guess that depends on what you consider "happy". I tend to have a sliding scale for that that too. Some days happiness equals simply being content with myself and my life. Other days happiness is the experience of elation or joy. Sometimes I drive with the music blaring and singing along at the top of my lungs, and in those moments I can say that I am experiencing pure happiness, even if it disappears as soon as I stop the car. I guess depression has taught me how to enjoy the small things more. When your life is so painful you can't even bring yourself to get out of bed in the morning, sometimes the smallest scrap of anything other than sheer misery can be called happiness.

Everyone is different, of course. We get depressed for a variety of reasons, or sometimes for no good reason at all. That's the nature of the beast, I guess. If you're looking for a really good explanation of depression, a professor at Stanford named Robert Sapolsky gave a lecture on the nature of depression - symptoms, what causes it, what treatments are effective, etc -- which is now on youtube. It's about an hour long but well worth watching.

has it ever gone away? not really, not permanently
are you always depressed? pretty much yes, most of my life
are you ever happy? yes, but only when im well medicated
have you ever experienced remission for any period of time? yes, above
can depression ever go away altogether? i hope so... it's back for me... it seems like it will never go away, like it's an extra gene in my body

has it ever gone away? I wouldnt really say it has ever gone away , but it has subsided greatly at times , just like it spikes sometimes
are you always depressed? gee always seems so... extreme or something, anyway yeah i feel pretty depressed most of the time
are you ever happy? i have had random bouts of happiness at various times , usually relating to my children though.
have you ever experienced remission for any period of time? never been told that or felt that , since the happy times are usually just hours in a random day
can depression ever go away altogether? i believe there is ALWAYS hope

For me, meds and therapy have been a huge help. I was diagnosed about 4 years. I've had my ups and downs. I have had times that I have been happy, but unfortunately lately I have been having a lot of problems with my moods. My pdoc just changed my meds, so hopefully that helps.

Thanks a million for all the feedback guys

I always have the tendency toward depression. But I have gone through whole weeks and months of not feeling depressed. Never a whole year. I don't take medication but I did take St. John's Wort for several years and I have been in therapy continuously for four years. The last thing that really helped my depression was by attending 12-step meetings. I am taking a break from them right now and I can tell. Depressed on and off for the last few days.

No.

Yes. But... In my case I wouldn't call it remission because I do not take medication. This isn't to say that one can't experience a remission without taking medication. I just think for that it is much harder. (IMO)

I think so. I think after years of the right medication and a good therapist one can experience a remission. This has happened to my partner and to the author Andrew Solomon (for example).