[glok]

Mental illness is not just a disease of the mind. It also puts down roots throughout your body, emotions, and spirit -- implicating every organ and system. Sometimes your thoughts weigh on you; other times your heart is heavy, your throat is wired, and/or you sense that life has no meaning. At its worst, all of the above. Treatment-Resistant Depression, Part One | David Blistein
Treatment-Resistant Depression: Part Two*|*David Blistein

I am diagnosed with treatment resistant depression. What is it?

What You Need to Know About Treatment-Resistant Depression | Psych Central
Treatment-Resistant Depression: Other Treatments for Severe Depression
Treatment-resistant depression - Mayo Clinic

Perhaps, motivation is a key? Memo to Therapists: ?It?s the Motivation, Stupid!? | Psychology Today

I keep seeing professionals telling us there are effective treatments for depression. I wonder if they would think differently if they needed to try them?

[bluekoi]

glok, I have a close friend who suffers from treatment resistant depression. She is so tired of trying different medications. Life is a burden. Every time I see her, I see the pain she lives in. Recently she has researched ECT. I don't want to lose my friend.

[Fuzzybear]

[Altered Moment]

I have what they call treatment resistant depression. Meaning I don't usually respond to good to meds. Some times they work pretty good, sometimes not at all and very often they quit working. many years of therapy, group therapy, AA meeting, the twelve steps, Alanon, meditation, etc, etc. Even with all this hard work and professional help I still have serious bouts of depression. I have very good periods and then I have very severe periods of depression. I think all the help I have gotten and all the hard work on myself has helped me tremendously and I would not go back and change it nor will I quit trying. It just has not cured my depression or put it in permanent remission. I have been forced to learn to live with it. But recently I started taking Fetzima and it has worked better than anything I have tried so you never know. I still worry the depression will come back as it always has. It has been creeping back on me lately but not super severe.

On the one hand I like how they say it is treatable and encourage people to get help because people should. On the other hand it is more complicated than that. We all know the problems with meds not working and so on. It is not as easily treatable as advocates lead you to believe. For some people it seems easily treatable but for many not really. I don't know what else to do other than keep trying even knowing it is deeply rooted in me biologically.

[ThisWayOut]

I have been told I have treatment resistant depression. I've tried more drugs and drug combos than I care to remember (30 different drugs, nor counting the various combos they tried them in). It is very frustrating hearing providers trying to convince me that *this* time meds will work. I agree that provides would likely think differently if they had to live with the futility of constantly putting in effort with little to no returns.
I've found the best treatment for myself in times of major depressive episodes (always accompanied by increase in my ptsd symptoms) is intensive and wrap - around services that allow for safe processing of whatever comes up.