I have been struggling with depression and anxiety for most of my 28 year old life

Hi Sad girl,



It sounds like the meidication is not really working for you.  Can I suggest you go back to your health professional and discuss this and talk about the range of symptoms you are experinceing.  The dose may not be right or the type of medication may not be right for you, it can take time to find the right one.  But you dont have to go on feeling like this, there are safe and effective treatments available to help you.  Go on, call the GP and make an appointment, its the first step to giving yourself the chance to recover. 

Nicole

Hi sadgirl83,

I'm 26 years old and have been struggling with anxiety and major depression my whole life as well. Everyday is a struggle and I feel like I constantly have to push myself to get through the days. I am still trying to find the right medications it seems never ending take this pill and take that pill and take half of this pill. I recently suffered a severve mental breakdown and still recovering now.

Hi Sadgirl83 …. soon to be happy girl….. cause you are going to get better! It is daunting changing meds… I am in the process of doing it myself darl! and it scares heck out of me! but i have to try cause my quality of life is suffering to the point of having no quality of life at all!  this morning was the cruncher… everymorning waking up like a deer in the headlights that horrible dreaded morning feeling! I was crying all morning too and not wanting to be by myself too darl! to make matters worse my kids are going back to school on Monday and I will so miss them and dont want to be alone!  So i cried and cried and prayed.. picked up the phone and rang my doctor to see a good doc at the practise whom i can never usually get into see as he is so popular!  The receptionist told me he wasnt seeing anyone today but then i broke down and told her i wasnt coping! next thing you know he was only going to see me today… I couldnt believe it! I went down there straight away… no shower  nothing… i was a real mess and cried and cried and cried to him…. as my zoloft after many years has stopped working. and another doc there tried to get me on mirtazapine… but made me fuzzy all day long even after taking them at night! which frieked me out completely.  So he said thats it -you are going to try Luvox… and I want you to start them tonight!!!! I am dam scared to take them… but he assures me they are ok and will not hurt me! So i guess i am on the medi-go-round too…. which is very daunting for someone with depression and anxiety… but i have to have faith in my doctor! as I am sick of having no life and feeling like this… cause when i am happy i am great and love life!   He then organised a mental health nurse to come visit me… and she is going to organise a mental health plan for me…. to top it off he also bulk billed me…. which other wise would have cost $69 less medicare rebate! I cried when she said no charge!!! I must have looked a real mess when i came out! eyes all red and puffy face!

My point is… no one has the will to keep going when we feel like this….but we all have a strong urge to get better…. and not feel this way! It is human instinct to fight our way out of this and crawl out of this deep pitt of depression!  we are given this life as a gift… and although we cannot see the gift when we are sick like this…. it is there waiting to be opened when we get better… to once appreciate how beautiful this world is! Life is so precious…. even with the bumps in the road… they are there for a purpose! and i am positive that those of us that experience depression and get better see life in a much more appreciative way than those that don't …!

Please go back to the docs … the meds obviously are not enough or not right for you hun! Trust me i know how you feel darl! Sending you love and (((Hugs))) please know you are not alone!

Also I dont know if i can post this… but i have joined a great facebook depression goup with member on 24 hours all over the world who will listen and care darl!  Please consider joining…. the more help the merrier and more support for you honey….

  https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/35515040223/       Godbless and keep us posted hun! xxxooo

HI Sadgirl,
My mental breakdown was horrible, I ignored the signs I was slipping into depression and then all of a sudden one minute I was ok then I was an absolute mess shaking couldn't eat or sleep. I couldn't make decision's on my own I didn't know how to do simple things like going to the shop it would stress me out, I just wanted to die I didn't know where to go for help my husband didn't understand so we where arguing alot, I lost 6 kg in the first week I was sick, I was taken to hospital to be comitted but the hospital decided I wasn't sucidal enough to be admitted. I am still trying to recover it's been 5 months now and my doctor and I are still trying to find the reight med's. I feel like there is no hope, I don't know how I feel anymore I don't know if it's the depression making me feel the way I do about my life and my marriage or if it's the depression. I just want to pack up all my things and move back to where all my family are, I hate my job I hate where I live, I hate myself.

I think I can relate to your problem sadgirl. I am 25years old and recently graduated from Uni with a bachelor’s degree but because of my depression and anxiety it felt pointless. I didn’t go to see a doctor but in fact I pushed myself and changed the city I used to live in. I thought if I move places it will help but it only lasted for few months and I was feeling sad and lonely again, in fact at one point I was thinking to quit my job and commit suicide as well.

But then one night I randomly started talking to one of my friend who I haven’t known for a long time and I took all my frustration out and told her everything about what I was going through and How depress I was. She didn’t just told everything will be alright but instead we started counting my problems and started prioritising it. We started taking care of one at a time. For example: I couldn’t motivate myself to go to work every morning and never woke up on time so she started calling me every morning to wake me up since she is different city and you believe it or not it worked! Now I go to work on time every single day. Second thing was I was concern about my weight, I did have Gym membership but I never made it to gym. So we decided for me to join a boot camp and in last 6weeks I already lost 6 kgs. 

Now I feel much better about myself and finally got some routine in my life but every now and then I feel depress and down again but now I have got enough strength in me to fight it back. If I ever feel too depressed I just go for a long walk or a drive. I carry my ipod with me to listen to some music. I start listening to sad music but after few songs play some happy music and guess what it changes my thinking pattern, I start observing all the little good things around me and that just cheers me up.
Also try to help someone who needs help, do as much as you can, sometime helping others can cure your our problems as well. I still tell everything that I do to my friend and if I did well she always rewards me for it and if I didn’t, we start over again.

Now I take every day as a new beginning, if I didn’t do anything right today, I try to make it better next day if not next day than day after next day.

Well that’s my story; I hope it gives you some courage to fight your battles. Don’t forget asking for help doesn’t mean you have given up; it means you are trying your hardest.

The strongest person in the fight is not the one who can throw strongest punch but the one who takes that punch and still be standing. J

P.S: pardon my English, it is not that fluent but I am still working on it. J

I know what you're going through, I've heard a lot of bad reports on SSRI drugs as well as having experienced those suicidal ideation side affects. I won't go near them ever again they are nasty drugs, for me anyway. Those effects can sneak up on you, I can't risk the possibility of suicidal/homicidal behaviour, I've recently lost my 33 year old son in a house fire and am going through hell. I've tried Temazepam but its effects wear off quickly and I end up using 5 times the dose to get any sleep at all. Nipped that in the bud quick smart, I don't want to end up with an enormous habit then suffer those horrible withdrawals I've read about.
There must be a natural way to deal with these awful feelings. I've had enough. Why is our society so affected by this epidemic of depression and anxiety ? There's something seriously wrong.

Your story is a heartbreaking one. No wonder you feel hopeless and stuck. Unfortunately finding the right treatment and getting well can be a long journey. The fact that you have a great support system is the first step in getting well. Having been a clinical psychologist for 35 years, I know that sometimes it takes time and perseverance. I believe every person has an "emotional clock" and one never knows when it will "click in". However, it always does. Yours may be taking a bit longer but do not give up. Keep having counselling and speaking to your medical team and trust that since you are doing all the right things, things will start moving when you are ready.