What Kind of Treatment??

Hi,

I have a quick question but the post may be long....sorry.

I was diagnosed a year and a half ago with GAD and depression. It was triggered after my Dad died and really kicked my butt for a while. I went on Paxil CR and saw a Psychologist for a while. I got better and went of the drug and quit seeing my psychologist...couldn't afford it anymore.

Well, there has been so many things going on in my life that I feel like I'm being drug under that dark cloud again. It's not the same as it was a couple of years ago, but the crying has started again, the waking up several times a night, the loneliness and lack of desire to do anything anymore...I know these feelings very well. The last time this happened to me, I had the anxiety attacks, the lack of appetite, and an almost agoraphobic feeling...I was afraid to leave my house or go too far from it.

This time isn't as bad, but I don't want it to get there. I'm made an appointment to see a psychologist but I don't want to go on meds. Do you think that it's a necessity to do both or should I try this first. I really don't ever want to feel that way again.

Also, is depression something that's inside me forever or is it caused by circumstances? My circumstances are very extreme, but I don't want to break down when faced with a crisis all the time. I used to be really really strong until my Dad died and now it seems like I'm very very weak.

Thanks for any insight you can give me. I realize that your answer has to be limited but thanks for anything you can give me.

Rebekkah Littman

Becki,

That is a decision that only you can make. Since you were okay before circumstances triggered your symptoms, it could be situational. But that doesn't make much difference in how it affects you or the fact that treating it can help you to feel better, in my opinion. My advice is to go to your appointment with the psychologist, and talk about what else it might be advisable for you to do. It's still your choice.

My psychologist wants me on medication, but I've always been very hesitant about that, and I still don't want to go that route. I've been taking St John's Wort for several months, and that is usually enough for me, I think. I don't know if I can convince him of that anymore. Some people just have one or two episodes of depression, but for others (like me) it seems to be permanent. Everybody is different.

I wish you well, and hope that this helps a little bit. I didn't really answer your question, but that is an answer that you will have to find within yourself.
Wendy

<font color=green>"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible" Carl Jung</font color=green>