I will try to make this as short as possible.

After 9 months of severe symptoms including - but not limited to - (moving physical pain in my body, anhedonia, depressed mood, social withdrawal and panic attacks) I was diagnosed with MDD (moderate) associated with Panic Attacks & Anxiety. I have been on meds since beginning of this March (+3 weeks). I notice an improvement, but not satisfactory and I know it's a bit early to judge.

My problem is the following, I live in Saudi Arabia, and mental problems are not seen as a serious life-threatening conditions. Also, people here have misconception about them. I told my parents and my eldest brother only about my depression. They did understand the severity of it, but they're not that supportive at all, I mean, having a healthy and happy son (Im male/27 years old) who suddenly became depressed really put them into a shock state. I haven't told the rest of my family, not even my closest best friends, not co-workers of course, just my direct manager because at sometimes there was a drop of efficiency in my performance, he is a nice man who showed unexpected understanding.

The thing is, here I only have access to Physiatrists (they're few and expensive but that's still fine) and medications. I asked across the country about for example group supports and things like that, but unfortunately such things don't exist !

I feel I need to talk to others who can understand, support and help me get over this. I know medication is a major element, but not the only treatment. I am afraid to tell others because I don't want to be treated differently. That's the reason why I searched for online forums to get support and advice. However, even though I like this forum and find it amazing, I sometimes question the impact I will have from it, whether it is going to be positive or negative. I mean I don't want for example to read others' people horrible experiences, that would put me down since I just started my medications and I am full of hope. At the same time I really want to get in touch with people who have similar issues and I want to share my experience and probably help others. I am confused!

Also, Do you think I should read more and educate myself about my condition so I know better how to fight it? or try not to overthink about it and live as If I am normal (It's kind of impossible but you get the point).

Last thing, if you guys recommend useful therapy manuals or books for example that I can read on my own.

Sorry for the long post. But this is the reason why I joined PC. Excuse me if I did not clearly express my concerns. I am not a native English speaker!

Thanks all, and any feedback is appreciated !

Hello, Spring. Your English certainly seems excellent to me. I think learning about your depression and other problems is helpful. I am just about to fall asleep as I'm writing this, so please bear with me.

There are online psychotherapists - you can find sites by searching (you might have to switch to a search engine for the country you're searching in)

I also just learned about a site called 7 Cups of Tea that is free and offers conversation with "trained listeners". I looked at some of the bios for the listeners and they seem to be people who have had lots of experience with mental health problems themselves.

There is a way on this forum to hide topics that you don't want to see. It's in the set-up and settings.

I also generally skip reading about subjects that look distressing to me.

When I had my first depressive episode, I found myself doing a lot of thinking about my life path, my choice of career, my connections with people, whether I liked the city where I was living, my spirituality and religion, etc.

If you have the time and you are inclined towards this kind of thinking, I think that it is helpful. I think of depression and anxiety as physical conditions complicated by emotions, by our thoughts, by how connected we feel to the world, by how we feel about our jobs, by whether we are happy with our relationships, and so on.

As far as challenging people's views on depression, that will be up to you. What I found was that I was not really able to effectively do that while I was fighting the depression. I had my first depressive episode in the mid 1980s, so there was lots less understanding about it in the US than there is now (and there's still plenty of misunderstanding and stigma here.)

When it became apparent that I was probably going to be struggling with depression and anxiety for a long time, I started to become more open about my problems with it. You have to choose the time to speak up wisely, though.

Some of your influence isn't spoken. If people see that you are good at your job in spite of your psychological problems, you have had a positive influence. You just keep on being the best person that you can be.

I hope that this community will be helpful to you.

[eggplantlife]

Thank you for the link. Someone mentioned this to me about online help but i didn't fully look into it as it cost money.

Jo_throne gave good advice.

This forum have been a good support and information. Abd i do believe you do end up helping other as you write.

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

Hello, Spring. Your English certainly seems excellent to me. I think learning about your depression and other problems is helpful. I am just about to fall asleep as I'm writing this, so please bear with me.

There are online psychotherapists - you can find sites by searching (you might have to switch to a search engine for the country you're searching in)

I also just learned about a site called 7 Cups of Tea that is free and offers conversation with "trained listeners". I looked at some of the bios for the listeners and they seem to be people who have had lots of experience with mental health problems themselves.

There is a way on this forum to hide topics that you don't want to see. It's in the set-up and settings.

I also generally skip reading about subjects that look distressing to me.

When I had my first depressive episode, I found myself doing a lot of thinking about my life path, my choice of career, my connections with people, whether I liked the city where I was living, my spirituality and religion, etc.

If you have the time and you are inclined towards this kind of thinking, I think that it is helpful. I think of depression and anxiety as physical conditions complicated by emotions, by our thoughts, by how connected we feel to the world, by how we feel about our jobs, by whether we are happy with our relationships, and so on.

As far as challenging people's views on depression, that will be up to you. What I found was that I was not really able to effectively do that while I was fighting the depression. I had my first depressive episode in the mid 1980s, so there was lots less understanding about it in the US than there is now (and there's still plenty of misunderstanding and stigma here.)

When it became apparent that I was probably going to be struggling with depression and anxiety for a long time, I started to become more open about my problems with it. You have to choose the time to speak up wisely, though.

Some of your influence isn't spoken. If people see that you are good at your job in spite of your psychological problems, you have had a positive influence. You just keep on being the best person that you can be.

I hope that this community will be helpful to you.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback. I appreciate your time. I quickly had a look at the link, I am impressed to be honest, I feel I would get the support I need specially that I found many listeners living in the same place as I do, which is a great thing since we share same culture, mentality .. etc.

Thanks again!

[unaluna]

DBT by marsha linehan also has many practical techniques for dealing with depression. You can find books, or online sources.