Health - for information and advice on any aspects of physical and mental wellbeing. Remember all advice is unprofessional and what someone online says does not replace a trip to the GP!
I had quite severe depression in previous years.
It was on going for about three years on and off. I saw a psychiatrist, which to me didn't help and was perscribed Prozac.
However taking Prozac made me physically sick and often hot and sweaty. I self harmed at points and am now very pleased the scars have healed. It has been almost a year since I have felt like this.
However lately I feel I am slipping back into my "old" ways and it frightens me.
People say "be strong" but it's very hard.
Anyway, long and short of it.... once coming through depression succesfully...and being fine for a long time....how likely is it I will lapse back? Is depression recurring? Is this a lifelong "illness" I may have to deal with every so often?
Any thoughts? Thankyou very much for any opinions and responses.
Did you not discuss the possibilities of a recurrence with your doctors? It really does vary on an individual case by case basis. Some people seem able to make a seemingly 'full recovery', whereas others slip in and out of treatment sometimes on a regular basis sometimes on an irregular basis.
Can you not contact the doctors who previously treated you? If you can't you should raise the issues as soon as possible with your GP and get it seen to.
I personally go through mixed episodes I can seem fine for a few months, and then something will trigger it and that's it I'm down for the count for anything from a couple of months to a year or two. It can be soul crushing when you think you've made progress and overcome something only to have it come back and slap you in the face.
I know it can be frustrating and scary as hell the prospect of a return, just remember if you've come through it before chances are you'll come through it again.
PM me if you want to chat about, or reply here. Either way is good
Did you not discuss the possibilities of a recurrence with your doctors? It really does vary on an individual case by case basis. Some people seem able to make a seemingly 'full recovery', whereas others slip in and out of treatment sometimes on a regular basis sometimes on an irregular basis.
Can you not contact the doctors who previously treated you? If you can't you should raise the issues as soon as possible with your GP and get it seen to.
I personally go through mixed episodes I can seem fine for a few months, and then something will trigger it and that's it I'm down for the count for anything from a couple of months to a year or two. It can be soul crushing when you think you've made progress and overcome something only to have it come back and slap you in the face.
I know it can be frustrating and scary as hell the prospect of a return, just remember if you've come through it before chances are you'll come through it again.
PM me if you want to chat about, or reply here. Either way is good
Thankyou. My GP I found was very unhelpful and at times I felt patronising. Perhaps it's my personality I don't know. I didn't see my usualy GP for those appointments and ended up with this doctor I really did not like. He basically said "Yes you're depressed I shall send you to this psychiatrist" and that was that.
The psychiatrist was helpful (ish....as I had very strong reservations), but the Prozac he perscribed me didn't go down to well with my body and I was very ill from it. I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't working (don't ask me why, I don't know)
I felt embarassed also that I was one of those people seeing a psychiatrist (I now know that this is very common, but at the time I felt alone) and a few times I skipped going.
When I turned 18 the NHS said no more free sessions. So I resided without him and began to get better. I am 19 now ...old me eh.
My parents were extremely unsupportive ..especially about the self harm claiming...."If you cut yourself so will I" so I cannot turn to them. I have been very upset and down lately. It's just scary. I am also between GP's as a recent move has put us in limbo.
Thankyou. My GP I found was very unhelpful and at times I felt patronising. Perhaps it's my personality I don't know. I didn't see my usualy GP for those appointments and ended up with this doctor I really did not like. He basically said "Yes you're depressed I shall send you to this psychiatrist" and that was that.
The psychiatrist was helpful (ish....as I had very strong reservations), but the Prozac he perscribed me didn't go down to well with my body and I was very ill from it. I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't working (don't ask me why, I don't know)
I felt embarrassed also that I was one of those people seeing a psychiatrist (I now know that this is very common, but at the time I felt alone) and a few times I skipped going.
When I turned 18 the NHS said no more free sessions. So I resided without him and began to get better. I am 19 now ...old me eh.
My parents were extremely unsupportive ..especially about the self harm claiming...."If you cut yourself so will I" so I cannot turn to them. I have been very upset and down lately. It's just scary. I am also between GP's as a recent move has put us in limbo.
Unfortunately GP's can come across as obtuse and patronising, my previous GP didn't believe in any form of mental illness and went as far as saying stress is completely fictional. So I can see exactly where you are coming from, and what it feels like. In the end I got referred to a psychologist who promptly declared that they did not have the facilities to treat me so they passed my onto a clinical Psychiatrist. I'm currently undergoing assessment to be treated as an in-patient.
It's a shame the meds didn't really help you, with hindsight it would have probably been better to tell them they weren't working then they could have tried something else. It really is a case of trial and error trying to find something that works effectively. Although that's in the past now so you don't have to worry about and have the benefit of learning from it.
I know it can be embarrassing admitting to seeing a psychiatrist, heck admitting to any problem or illness is often a difficult task. Especially when people can at times be misunderstanding or cruel, unfortunately there is sometimes still a stigma attached to mental illnesses. Even after 6 years of living with mine I haven't come to fully accept it and still find myself self hating for it. I'm sorry to hear about your parents not being supportive, mine are sort of mixed. My dad doesn't believe in mental illnesses and assigns a monetary value to all of life's problems. My mum works for the NHS so she is a little more sympathetic, but still not as fully understanding as the doctors would like her to be. Mine don't understand self harm or feelings of suicide like yours, how do they treat you when you have self harmed? Mine usually respond with a mix of anger and frustration.
Why did the NHS stop your psychiatry appointments at 18? I am genuinely curious. Is this because you had missed some or did they believe that you were getting better? It's just that in my experience treatment is often free on the NHS with the exceptions of prescriptions for medications. I'm 21 now and I do not pay for my appointments with a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Right, I guess your recent move has left you feeling more isolated then? Has this resulted in a change of education and friend circles too? If you're feeling down you could always try contacting the following:
Thankyou so much, you're a really nice guy, it is really nice to have someone to chat to who is going through the same thing or has gone though the same thing. I feel like I want to PM you but then you will know my true identity rather like Batman or Spiderman, except I am a woman.
Anyway, I started self harming perhaps at 15 and I would scratch my skin off (ick yes) at first no one knew and I would say I fell over. But as I got worse I began to cut sadly it was something I swore I would never do and dismissed it a a silly childish thing.
Anyway, my parents ....they don't seem to understand. They treated me as if I was a dangerous object about to explode at any amount and at times would tiptoe around me. Other times they would get so frutrated they would shout at me, tell me to do it, say they didn't care and threaten to do it themselves.
I understand though that they were just frightened that I really would end up dead and they were at thier wits end. However this was very frustrating they way they were acting.
I would get told "You're ill you're ill" when I was actually better, which did wonders for my self confidence :P as you can imagine.
As soon as I turned 18, the NHS said basically that they would stop the treatment as they did not cover this any longer. I could apply to go into an adult clinic but for that I basically had to be on my last legs and at this point I was getting better anyway so I wasn't too bothered.
We have not moved very far and I stayed at the same school. I moved over a year ago. I was kept with my orginal GP however for this year and recently got a letter saying basically....we have realised you have now moved and advise you move GP's. So I mean a move in GP's really.
Sixth form was hell for me and I was predicted A's and B's and got C's and D's. I had little to no friends and the friends I had went to uni. I have been fine for about a year and a half and then these feelings occur out of the blue.
They are not full blown depression (as of yet) and I hope they will not go back down that path, but I worried that depression will return. I am very frightened, as what I went through was like living underground for a whole year. How are you anyway? I haven't asked!
Unfortunately GP's can come across as obtuse and patronising, my previous GP didn't believe in any form of mental illness and went as far as saying stress is completely fictional. So I can see exactly where you are coming from, and what it feels like. In the end I got referred to a psychologist who promptly declared that they did not have the facilities to treat me so they passed my onto a clinical Psychiatrist. I'm currently undergoing assessment to be treated as an in-patient.
It's a shame the meds didn't really help you, with hindsight it would have probably been better to tell them they weren't working then they could have tried something else. It really is a case of trial and error trying to find something that works effectively. Although that's in the past now so you don't have to worry about and have the benefit of learning from it.
I know it can be embarrassing admitting to seeing a psychiatrist, heck admitting to any problem or illness is often a difficult task. Especially when people can at times be misunderstanding or cruel, unfortunately there is sometimes still a stigma attached to mental illnesses. Even after 6 years of living with mine I haven't come to fully accept it and still find myself self hating for it. I'm sorry to hear about your parents not being supportive, mine are sort of mixed. My dad doesn't believe in mental illnesses and assigns a monetary value to all of life's problems. My mum works for the NHS so she is a little more sympathetic, but still not as fully understanding as the doctors would like her to be. Mine don't understand self harm or feelings of suicide like yours, how do they treat you when you have self harmed? Mine usually respond with a mix of anger and frustration.
Why did the NHS stop your psychiatry appointments at 18? I am genuinely curious. Is this because you had missed some or did they believe that you were getting better? It's just that in my experience treatment is often free on the NHS with the exceptions of prescriptions for medications. I'm 21 now and I do not pay for my appointments with a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Right, I guess your recent move has left you feeling more isolated then? Has this resulted in a change of education and friend circles too? If you're feeling down you could always try contacting the following:
Thankyou so much, you're a really nice guy, it is really nice to have someone to chat to who is going through the same thing or has gone though the same thing. I feel like I want to PM you but then you will know my true identity rather like Batman or Spiderman, except I am a woman.
Anyway, I started self harming perhaps at 15 and I would scratch my skin off (ick yes) at first no one knew and I would say I fell over. But as I got worse I began to cut sadly it was something I swore I would never do and dismissed it a a silly childish thing.
Anyway, my parents ....they don't seem to understand. They treated me as if I was a dangerous object about to explode at any amount and at times would tiptoe around me. Other times they would get so frutrated they would shout at me, tell me to do it, say they didn't care and threaten to do it themselves.
I understand though that they were just frightened that I really would end up dead and they were at thier wits end. However this was very frustrating they way they were acting.
I would get told "You're ill you're ill" when I was actually better, which did wonders for my self confidence :P as you can imagine.
As soon as I turned 18, the NHS said basically that they would stop the treatment as they did not cover this any longer. I could apply to go into an adult clinic but for that I basically had to be on my last legs and at this point I was getting better anyway so I wasn't too bothered.
We have not moved very far and I stayed at the same school. I moved over a year ago. I was kept with my orginal GP however for this year and recently got a letter saying basically....we have realised you have now moved and advise you move GP's. So I mean a move in GP's really.
Sixth form was hell for me and I was predicted A's and B's and got C's and D's. I had little to no friends and the friends I had went to uni. I have been fine for about a year and a half and then these feelings occur out of the blue.
They are not full blown depression (as of yet) and I hope they will not go back down that path, but I worried that depression will return. I am very frightened, as what I went through was like living underground for a whole year. How are you anyway? I haven't asked!
I'm nice til I get a mood shift Then i'm all over the shop, but I tend to avoid the internet when I get them else I'll just wind people up or embarrass myself. It's fine that you want to keep you're identity secret, I must ask though what your superhero power is? This is partly because i'm in league with the villains and we're trying to work out peoples weaknesses but hey
That must've been so frustrating for you when you're parents are like that, especially if the doctors aren't being too brilliant either! Did people believe your cover up stories? I certainly know that people become very suspicious after multiple times. Seeing my psychologist today they asked where I got my cuts from and I replied 'my cat' to which she retorted 'your cat must be a lion in disguise then' and then frowned at me until I told the truth. Which did you find was worse from your parents... the tiptoeing around or the in your face shouting? I can never decide what makes me feel worse. It's not good though that they were shouting at you when you were getting better! I'd just be like shoo out of my face! Accusations never helped anyone to recover.
I guess that makes sense then about the psychiatrist, before they were treating you as a child or minor but then when you turned 18 decided you had to be seen by someone who specialises in adult cases. Anyway I guess if you were getting better it's not so much of a problem that you stopped. If things ever get terrible in the future though they'll still be there for you when you need the service. I didn't realise it was just moving GP's sorry about that, I jumped the gun a little there. How's school life for you? Are you having to repeat the year after getting lower than expected grades? My first year of 6th form I was hit really badly with depression, I went from predicted A's to straight U's I ended up having to stay an extra year in 6th form to make up for it.
I'm glad to hear that it's not full blown depression as you'd describe it, hopefully it's just a minor tremor that you're experiencing. I wouldn't wish depression on anyone. Myself I'm not too brilliant to be honest, I'm all over the shop!
I've started majorly self harming again, lets just say the skin on my arms and legs is pretty much non visible now which shocked my psychologist a lot! I've been having massive mood and personality shifts which seem to occur completely at random, I can be feeling anxious and nervy for part of the day then it can shift into mania or intense anger or sometimes it's just pitiful emptiness. I've been having memory lapses (doctors reckon it's a protection mechanism but I disagree), I can't remember how I got to my appointment yesterday nor anything that happened between 12pm-4pm. The week before there was a suicide attempt which had me hospitalised for an over night stay, and this weekend I got burgled and has £600 worth of stuff stolen. I've been told I can't go on my oversea's university field trip because I present a risk to myself and have been told by my tutor that I need to take time off university. So all in all I'm not too brilliant, somehow just existing at the moment to be honest.
Gosh I'm awfully sorry to hear about all that. I would try and offer advice but there isn't anything you don't know already. So (if you can) stay postitive and in the complete present for now.
Ah my identity I keep it secret from you in case you use my identity for identity theft and fraud as you can't be too careufl these days (I'm joking of course...or am I? No I am joking...I'm just shy I guess and not that you would but I wouldn't want this to go round the forum, although Mods can see me I guess peh) Maybe I shall PM you, who knows?
No I did my two years at 6th form (just) I nearly got kicked out a few times, mainly for just not going in or going home. I ended up walking out of an exam and going home, getting drunk and slashing my legs. Great eh. I got detention the next day for leaving.
Anyhoo, I left 6th Form managing to pass my exams with the bare minimum (I was predicted high) and have been on a gap year since. I have applied to Uni's and have three offers so far. I don't want to lapse back though, as I will be away from home this time.
Self harm basically no, no excuses passed it was obvious. I came through that though and am really hoping never to go back.
I am very sorry to hear of your misfortune on recent events. You seem really nice and very helpful and I will never wish any harm on you. And any harm that does come to you I shall be most sad about. So be careful, yes?
I shall retire to bed, but quote me (if you can quote annoymous) if not bump this thread and I shall be on and we can chat. Lovely person.
I'm nice til I get a mood shift Then i'm all over the shop, but I tend to avoid the internet when I get them else I'll just wind people up or embarrass myself. It's fine that you want to keep you're identity secret, I must ask though what your superhero power is? This is partly because i'm in league with the villains and we're trying to work out peoples weaknesses but hey
That must've been so frustrating for you when you're parents are like that, especially if the doctors aren't being too brilliant either! Did people believe your cover up stories? I certainly know that people become very suspicious after multiple times. Seeing my psychologist today they asked where I got my cuts from and I replied 'my cat' to which she retorted 'your cat must be a lion in disguise then' and then frowned at me until I told the truth. Which did you find was worse from your parents... the tiptoeing around or the in your face shouting? I can never decide what makes me feel worse. It's not good though that they were shouting at you when you were getting better! I'd just be like shoo out of my face! Accusations never helped anyone to recover.
I guess that makes sense then about the psychiatrist, before they were treating you as a child or minor but then when you turned 18 decided you had to be seen by someone who specialises in adult cases. Anyway I guess if you were getting better it's not so much of a problem that you stopped. If things ever get terrible in the future though they'll still be there for you when you need the service. I didn't realise it was just moving GP's sorry about that, I jumped the gun a little there. How's school life for you? Are you having to repeat the year after getting lower than expected grades? My first year of 6th form I was hit really badly with depression, I went from predicted A's to straight U's I ended up having to stay an extra year in 6th form to make up for it.
I'm glad to hear that it's not full blown depression as you'd describe it, hopefully it's just a minor tremor that you're experiencing. I wouldn't wish depression on anyone. Myself I'm not too brilliant to be honest, I'm all over the shop!
I've started majorly self harming again, lets just say the skin on my arms and legs is pretty much non visible now which shocked my psychologist a lot! I've been having massive mood and personality shifts which seem to occur completely at random, I can be feeling anxious and nervy for part of the day then it can shift into mania or intense anger or sometimes it's just pitiful emptiness. I've been having memory lapses (doctors reckon it's a protection mechanism but I disagree), I can't remember how I got to my appointment yesterday nor anything that happened between 12pm-4pm. The week before there was a suicide attempt which had me hospitalised for an over night stay, and this weekend I got burgled and has £600 worth of stuff stolen. I've been told I can't go on my oversea's university field trip because I present a risk to myself and have been told by my tutor that I need to take time off university. So all in all I'm not too brilliant, somehow just existing at the moment to be honest.
Depression is different for each individual and there are many depression types (chronic, treatment-resistant, dysthemia (sp?), recurrent etc) but normally it will stay away. However, like I said, everyone is different. The best thing to do would be to go to your GP and let them know how you're feeling so you can get help before this gets worse again. You might be better off with counselling or CBT rather than anti-depressants although a different AD e.g. citalopram, might work better for you (prozac is known for increasing self-destructive feelings). I really hope things get better for you soon. I've had severe depression for the last 5 years and hate to see people suffering like that.
Health - for information and advice on any aspects of physical and mental wellbeing. Remember all advice is unprofessional and what someone online says does not replace a trip to the GP!
Depression
sadly it was something I swore I would never do and dismissed it a a silly childish thing. 
Then i'm all over the shop, but I tend to avoid the internet when I get them else I'll just wind people up or embarrass myself. It's fine that you want to keep you're identity secret, I must ask though what your superhero power is? This is partly because i'm in league with the villains and we're trying to work out peoples weaknesses but hey 
