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Originally Posted by Strange Famous
maybe five years.
I never had a depressive personality growing up, although I was a bit shy, I was pretty happy growing up, had friends, dated a bit, was a good sportsman, was quite heavy, but not really badly overweight.
When I was 22 I lost all my confidence... the year I spent doing my Masters, I really had a bad time, and Ive never quite got over it I think.
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SF, I grew up in a hell-hole for a home. My dad was an alcoholic and I lived in a constant state of high stress, fear, and anxiety. There's pretty good scientific evidence that this kind of constant exposure to stress actually rewires the brain. I became suicidal, which was what caused me to finally seek help. I saw a psychologist every week for seven years, starting at age 17. The last thing I wanted was to be given drugs. I had watched several members of my family destroy themselves from addiction, so as far as I was concerned, drugs were the problem, not the solution. The therapy helped me to develop new patterns of thinking and new copeing strategies. It did not get rid of the depression. So at age 24 I stopped going to therapy.
Now Fast-forward 10 years. I had been a history teacher for a number of years, was now married, the wife was expecting our first son, and I was back being depressed full-time. I was miserable. Again, it took some time for me to work up the courage to seek professional help. I went to another psychologist. He told me about a new generation of drugs. He explained that I could give Zoloft a try. He told me that he thought it could do me some good. I was very skeptical, but I was so miserable that I broke down and decided to give it a try. The first week I felt no different. After the first week I was a different person. I cannot begin to describe how much this drug has helped me. It has been a blessing to me and to my family. I can function like a normal person.
I don't know what your history is, nor if the class of drugs known as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) would help you, but it is worth looking into. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found in the brain. SSRIs help not only people with depression but also those with obssessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, anxiety, and panic disorder. If there is a history of depression and addiction in your family, there is a good chance that you could be helped by a SSRI. If you have been depressed on and off for as long as you can remember, you could have a serotonin deficit. If this is the case, no amount of therapy will completely cure your depression. Some people take SSRI's and do talk therapy. If your depression is situational and not organic, you could stop taking the SSRI as the therapy begins to help you change destructive patterns of thought. It all depends on the individual.
No matter what I say or others say, you first need to see a doctor. He can help you make the best decision for you. But he can't do that until you make the appointment and then show up. Do that, you won't regret it.
