A True CHEMICAL IMBALANCE!?1?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I've been at PC for quite a while, I've read many many peoples stories about depression. All the stories I read are exactly like mine EXCEPT for the fact that I'm not getting ANY relief from any of the dozen + meds I've takken.

I posted this because my new therapist ( in which i find closes to) thinks unlike most cases of depression where something triggers it, therefore leads to the depression mine has no "start". I've been sad since I was a child, I remember asking children to be my friend in grade school, etc.

My T, thniks honestly I hvae a rare fully blown chemical imbalance that finds no relief by meds. I'm sure thers more to her reasoning then what I've posted, my point is....how do i cure myself...if its a true medical condition, rather then a mental condition?....gosh that makes no sense..it is mental...BAH....I dunno I'm confused......anyways I'm doing horrrible...can't wait to see T tuesday. I also thought all depression was a chemical imbalance?????....i see where my T is coming from tho...just not sure if ...i dunno...input plz

Dustin

Hey ((((((Dustin)))))))))))

It is true that sometimes a person's depression is 'situational' where a bad situation in a person's life - like stress or a trauma - can cause a depressive episode, and it may never fully go away, while other people's depression is caused by a chemical imbalance (or it can be both simultaneously).

By 'no relief from meds' does your T think you have treatment resistant depression? That means that meds won't necessarily help the depression. It is not entirely an uncommon thing to happen.

Sometimes though it could just mean that the meds (type and dosage) need to be readjusted a whole lot as well to find the 'best fit'.

Best to talk to your T again, but hope this has helped some.

Take care of yourself.

I went through a time period of about a year where my depressed had reached a med resistant stage. I was then scheduled for outpatient ECTs which I responded to wonderfully. I now take anti depressants and they do seem to work. But this is ONLY my story and opinion.

Take care,
Dee

I choose to not take meds.

I think this means that the therapy will be very helpful for you, just what you need.

dustin, i agree with christina........ there is situational depression, like if you lose a loved one or go through a traumatic experience, and then there's depression caused by chemical imbalance. whether it's med-resistant probably depends on the person. both depression and anxiety run in my family, mom, uncle, sister, cousins, lots of my relatives (as well as myself) have struggled with it. it gets worse when the bad things happen, like losing loved ones, etc, but it's pretty much always been there - like you, i've been sad since i was little. i'm sorry your meds aren't helping but it sounds like you have a good thing going with your new T....... like echoes said, it sounds like therapy will be very good. good luck and hugs......

I don't think we're one or the other; I think everything is a mixture; we're much more complex than we understand. There's situational (being sad because no one would be your friend as a child, that's a social "trauma" too not just a chemical reaction!) and there's chemical brought on by how we live and eat and/or were "born" with deficiencies, etc. There are a zillion ways, most of them unknown how our chemistry can impact how we feel. For all one knows, one can have sensitivities to meds one takes to help with a problem! I have adult asthma, not related to any allergies but probably sparked by a too-high/too-much doses of the "wrong" antibiotics when my appendix burst in 2003 and I had a wandering infection for 5 months. But, I was born with my lungs being a "hot spot" for me from genetics. But all sorts of things have cascaded since 2003 and there's no way to untangle/fix some of them.

There's no such thing as a 100% depression either; it is a continuum and that means that some percentage is "okay" and I think focusing on that percentage and areas and working to make them grow as much as possible is always helpful. I think of it a little like I do cancer where they have patients imagine the good cells as "sharks" attacking the bad, cancerous cells, etc.? Champion healthy parts of yourself?

((((((((((dustin))))))))))))) sounds like you're having trouble finding the right treatment for your depression. i have treatment-resistant depression as well. at first it was situational, in a way, and became completely clinical. i worked on all of the issues in my life and there had been nothing causing my depression for many years. yet, i still had depression, anyway. i know where you are. for some, it's situational, some both, and some totally clinical. i hope for the best for you.....

There are so many factors that can cause depression. Biological, situational, characterological... Combination of all three. Your depression sounds like mine... been around for a long time, resistant to meds... this leads me to believe that it's not chemical, rather characterological-- that is, built into the personality. I go back and forth all the time about where my depression comes from... that's the theory I'm settling on for now; however, I am sure there are biological components to it as well. Just be thankful you finally found a T you can connect with... maybe your depression will begin to lift as you work more and more with her. I hope so.

WoW...TY all so much! I can't believe how much you've all hit right on! You're all right,..and you care...ty so much....I will keep working....(((((PC)))))

dustin......you continue to grow and move forward.....i'm so proud of you and i love you!......keep up the good work!

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bellaviolet said:
dustin, i agree with christina........ there is situational depression, like if you lose a loved one or go through a traumatic experience, and then there's depression caused by chemical imbalance.

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How about chemical "imbalance" caused by trauma so far in the past (and so frightening) it is almost invisible or forgotten? It is for certain that experiences in the past cause changes in the brain -- otherwise how would we remember anything? And emotions get stored along with the rest of our memories too. It's what makes the learning from experience (memories) stand out in our minds.

I'd agree with pinksoil, sounds characterological rather than situational. At least... Sounds like that is what your therapist is thinking.

I'm not sure that there is depressive personality disorder as a dx in the current edition of the DSM... I know that it has been suggested for people who seem to be characterologically rather than situationally depressed, however.

Another alternative (that is in the current DSM) is dysthymia. It is described as being relatively 'low grade' depression, but it is worth bearing in mind that the 'low grade' is 'low grade' relative to severe Major Depressive Episodes where peoples functioning is severely impaired (and where medication may well be ineffective such that the person requires alternatives such as a course of ECT). From the first-person point of view people say that dysthymia isn't 'low grade' at all. That it feels horrible. It is persistent, however, rather than being situational, so it might be a better description of what is going on for you.

The only reason we say that depression is 'chemical' is because certain chemicals have been found to alleviate it. Similarly for schizophrenia and the like. As such, it would seem that your depression (since it is unresponsive to medication) would actually be LESS likely to be chemical than people who find that their depression is responsive to medications.

There are other options, however. One is structural damage (that can be reversed by way of life experiences). Another is content outside the designed range (or similar) where early childhood patterns of interaction with your attachment figures weren't able to provide you with the sense of vitality and acceptance that healthy individuals have. Either way... When the drugs don't work I guess that is the time to get serious about therapy...