[momto2boys]

My son is being treated for depression. Therapy plus medication. He says his depression is better. He will get sad sometimes but he rebounds well and quickly. When he started becoming depressed, one of his symptoms was lack of energy. Even though his depression is better, he still has no energy. It was take him all day to get one task done. Any thoughts on this. He recognizes that it should not take him all day to do one task but he is not sure why he has no energy.

[CANDC]

Hi momto2boys. Welcome to Psych Central. Sorry you are suffering with son's depression. You are not alone. That sounds difficult for you. Depression is not sadness but a lack of energy so that is very clearly what son is suffering from. You could talk to the psychiatrist and tell them the meds are not lifting your son's energy level. If the psychiatrist is unresponsive you may want to find one specializing in depression and or children.

One pathway you appear to be on is to have the help of a therapist and psych doc can help with talk and med therapies. Another part of the way can be support here at Psych Central, but that does not replace therapy, augment it.

Another part is lifestyle changes. This can include life style changes like yoga, exercise, diet, mindfulness or meditation, singing or chanting, walking or running. The problem is usually that the person just wants to isolate and sleep. Those are they symptoms of derpession, so talking to therapist (T) and psychiatrist is important.

Many people here at PC find they can share these feelings and what they are going through with the confidence that people go through similar things and can empathize. So many forums are offered as well as Chatrooms (after you have 5 posts or comments on others posts). Depression chat meets on Thursday night at 9pm EDT and Anxiety Friday at 8PM EDT . (if not in US or not in daylight savings time) This is a great way to meet people just as much as the forums.

You can also be an active member in other ways like supporting others in their questions, reading articles and posts http://forums.psychcentral.com that are applicable to your area of concern.

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

[momto2boys]

Thank you CANDC for your nice reply. I forgot to mention he is 22yo and he is quite happy with the anti depressants he is taking. He feels it is the right type and dosage. He claims it's not motivation as he wants to do things and be productive. He feels it is low energy. Are you saying that the low energy could still be a symptom of depression.

[yagr]

Originally Posted by momto2boys

My son is being treated for depression. Therapy plus medication. He says his depression is better. He will get sad sometimes but he rebounds well and quickly. When he started becoming depressed, one of his symptoms was lack of energy. Even though his depression is better, he still has no energy. It was take him all day to get one task done. Any thoughts on this. He recognizes that it should not take him all day to do one task but he is not sure why he has no energy.

One often overlooked aspect of mental health treatment is to first rule out physical causes of symptoms. Chronic fatigue syndrome, for instance, can manifest an awful lot like depression at first glance.

I was referred to a psychiatrist who diagnosed major depressive disorder and anxiety. Turns out I had come down with a nasty auto-immune disorder that left me too weak to work and hence support myself or my family, in chronic pain which led to zero percent stage three or rem sleep (as later confirmed by a sleep study), and a host of other physical byproducts of the auto-immune disease. Being one step away from homelessness and unable to do anything about it did rather make me a bit depressed and anxious - but treating the psychological consequences of a physical disease without addressing the root cause is not the answer.

When was the last time your son was given a comprehensive physical examination?

[lizardlady]

I would suggest a two prong approach. First, encourage your son to see his family doc for a physical to rule out any medical reason for lack of energy. There are all kinds of medical problems that can cause fatigue. Gotta rule those out before blaming depression for the lack of energy. Like yagr I have a medical condition that causes wide spread body aches and exhaustion. The lack of energy has nothing to do with my depression. My meds do an excellent job of helping me manage my depressive symptoms, but can't do anything for the fatigue because they are unrelated.

I would also encourage him to talk to his psychiatrist about his lack of energy. It could be a side effect of his meds.

[gayleggg]

It could be something lingering from the depression or it could have to do with the meds he's on. Either way it's part of the disease.

[*Laurie*]

I certainly don't know for sure, but I'm going to bet the low energy is a med side effect.

[momto2boys]

Wow. Thank you so much! Before therapy he had a physical and blood work. Nothing was significantly off. Do you think he needs more in depth blood work/hormone check done? He has been talking to his therapist and we are planning a family session to discuss. He's taking 2 college classes and cannot stay on top of those.

I just want to point out that one never heals from their Mental Illness. One is either sick or in recovery. Be supportive and don't expect anything more than that.