Depression and Anti-depressants

You've got to set yourself increasingly difficult goals.

When experienceing extreme depression it may mean that you set yourself the goal of simply ensuring adequate nutrition during the day.

Hopefully, by making your goals progressively more demanding you will be able to claw your way out of this.

There is no easy solution.

In a lot of cases there is a psychological causes for depression. I'm not sure if this is the case with you - but at the very least you should speak to the councelling serivce, friends, family, tutors etc.

I wish you the best of luck! Nobody said it would be easy.

but I'm sure I've heard bad things about mirtazapine from somewhere.

I know this is another thread on depression, so I'm going to apologise first and foremost...
I'm on anti-depressants, wondering if anyone else is, and what you are on. I was on fluoxetine, but they didn't seem to be working, so my doctor changed them and I'm now on mirtazapine. I've only started on these new tablets today, so have only had one, but I'm sure I've heard bad things about mirtazapine from somewhere.

Anyhows, I feel for you *huggles*. There are days when I can't be bothered to do anything, but what I try and do is to set myself a goal, such as finishing one piece of work, and then 'rewarding' myself, i.e watch a film...

As you've only started taking the tablets, it will take about a week for them to 'kick-in', so you could be feeling slightly better soon *huggles*

Have you tried writing a diary? Diaries can really help and they can help take the weight off your shoulders.

I also have OCD, anxiety and stress, as well as depression, so it gets tough.

Have you tried talking to a counsellor or mental health community worker? I went to the community worker twice and she was lovely.

Thanks to all of you guys for the advice you;ve given so far... I do really appriciate it...



I do sometimes try the reward thing, but it then makes me feel a lot worse when I'm not able to complete the task I wanted to do. It could be the most simplest of things, but when I'm not able to do it it sometimes makes me worse...

I'm hoping these tablets will actually succeed in doing something, the fluoxetine wasn't really working at all. I know they're not gonna start working right away, but I'm hoping they'll do better than the fluoxetine. The only trouble is, with these ones having sedatives, I'm already feeling reluctant to take them if I want to stay awake for any particular reason, and I'm not even sure if the sedatives are going to work yet...

Diary - I used to keep one. Used to write in it whenever I was feeling upset or angry at the world, and I did used to find that it helped a little. I'm not writing one at the moment though... maybe I should start again...

I also have OCD, and anxiety problems to a degree... OCD being I have to have things highly organised, and have to do certain things such as counting stairs when I go up or down, and always skipping one if there's 13. I even have to count when its a set I've been up and down a million times even though I can tell you how many steps there are without counting. I also avoid certain things like when there is 3 of those cover things on the ground, I can't walk over them, and theres several other things too... doesn't affect me to the point where it controls my day or anything and people are getting used to me stopping conversations to concentrate on counting stairs and the like.

As for the anxiety, I don't have that too bad either... I do have panic attacks sometimes, but I know what brings them on. Its when I'm somewhere where I can't move or can't control my movement. Like once on the London underground, I'm fine with it until it gets to the point you can't move because of the amount of people. Hence I do not go on the underground in rush hour. Ever. I've also had panic attacks in the student union because of the amount of people. I'm fine, even if I can only take the smallest of steps in any direction. Its when I literally can't move for people that I have a panic attack.

As for counselling.. I had a counsellor for over a year back home, which obviously stopped when I moved up to uni. I am on the unis waiting list for counselling, but they can only offer a limited number of sessions per student. I'm not sure whats going to happen there. Before I had a male counsellor. I think this may have been part of my problem with going. I hated it. I used to tell him I was ok, just so that I'd get a longer gap between appointments... hence why I'm a bit dubious about trying this again...

Thanks again for all the advice guys... and hugs to everyone who is going through anything similar..

*huggles* to you. I really feel for you, especially as you're suffering from anxiety and OCD.

I've onyl ever had a panic attack once, and that was because of my OCD. I have my 'rituals' which I have to carry out, and once I forgot to do one, and my chest began to tighten and basically I had a panic attack... It's scary...

I haven't really had any counselling sessions per se, as I just don't really have the time...

Diaries are helpful for some people, so as it's worked for you before, it could work again *fingers crossed*

My OCD doesn't affect me as badly as yours seems to be affecting you, but although I don't actually have a full blown panic attack if I forget something, I do spend the next few hours or even days worrying about it. Panic attacks only happen when I'm in a situation I really can't get out of in respect to crowds of people. I have this idea that I'm almost convinced that someone is going to attack me, especially if I've gotten spilt up from people I know. But it really is only when there are so many people that I can't move. I went to Live 8, and I'm fine with things like that as I'm in an open space and I wasn't so close to the front that there were so many people I couldn't move. I could stand up, sit down, fight through people to get to the various stands and things if I wanted. I was ok because I could move. Its the not being able to escape that sets off a panic attack.

My depressions affects me the worst in my day to day life. I find it so hard to do things. I used to self harm. Still do think about it, and I suppose in a round about way I still self harm just not in such obvious ways as taking a blade to my arms and legs. I still kind of suffer from eating disorders too, but don't have specific things to classify into any one disorder. I was diagnosed as bulimic, but bulimic episodes are happening less frequently. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. The less I self harm, and less I let these eating disorders take over me the more the depression takes over me. The more often I can't face getting up in the mornings, the more I feel as though I'm stuck to the bed. I have these feelings of paralysis, it feels as though I can't physically get myself out of bed, and into a state to start the day.

It must be really hard for you, so I really do feel for you

I'm coping with my depression. There are some days when I really can't be bothered to do anything, and I just feel really tired. I didn't have an eating disorder, but I constantly worried about my weight, so I was constantly checking the fat content of food products, and some times, I didn't really eat anything.

I've never had the feeling of paralysis, which sounds really scary. I really hope you do start to feel better soon *huggles*

It can be quite scary, but its also frustrating. Thank you for all the nice comments you've been making, and I hope you feel ok.

Sorry for this being a pretty pointless post, but without this post there was 13 in the thread... I have a thing about the number 13...

Do your parents know how you feel?

13 can be good, just a different way of thinking. It's a prime number, loads of people like 7, 11, also 23 weirdly, so why not 13

Sorry for this being a pretty pointless post, but without this post there was 13 in the thread... I have a thing about the number 13...