Desperately depressed. Has anything “woo” helped you?

[Chihowhow]

I have been depressed for years. I take 200mg Sertraline, ashwaganda, I have a flow headset, I try to stick to a Mediterranean diet, I do yoga when I can, i journal, I do mindfulness, I do gratitude journaling, I try to live in the moment, and I have two children and a dog. And I am still so depressed that even showering is the absolute limit. My house is a shit show. I can barely leave the house without having an anxiety attack. I am only allowed to drink every third day or I would be a full blown alcoholic. I just can’t beat this thing. I need advice and help desperately. Does anyone have any advice? Xx

I have a couple of friends who had major mental health issues then later be diagnosed with neurodiverse conditions (one ADHD, one autism) and with that knowledge and relevant changes made the mental health has improved massively.

Regular exercise like walking? I know it's really hard when you're depressed - but exercise is a miracle drug used regularly. I'm trying to keep it up myself - walking and cycling.

Hi OP, sorry you are feeling so bad...have you tried giving up alcohol altogether? I find the older I get the more it affects my mood.

Not woo as it's evidenced in trials to work but this supplement once at breakfast and once at lunch https://pureclinica.com/products/rhodiola-rosea?variant=18691592028218&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2qKmBhCfARIsAFy8buI90AynOX1H3X0rwExN15MvRQ8vNgKO6x_QKOPIovvwTRf09knywGAaAo4PEALw_wcB

It's used for anxiety and depression. Some people use it instead of adhd meds. It works for me, it makes my brain work, my mood is lifted and I don't worry so much.

Sertraline isn't that good for depression. I'm on Venlafaxine (an SNRI) and it's transformed my life.

In all honesty at least a change in your medication as Sertraline is maybe just not working any more. If you don't have input from a Mental Health Team maybe ask GP to refer. I have had issues with my MH for many years (66 now). I do understand about the mess the house gets in! And about having no energy for personal care etc
Are you aware of any issues in your life which are contributing? I understand mine and have tried different techniques but it always is there. Feel quite good at the moment since I commenced Lithium. Do you think there is any possibility you might have bipolar or BPD.
Maybe Reiki or similar treatments might help you?

At some point in the future, people will take psilocybin for problems like this.

I think if 200mg of sertraline isn’t working then ask to change meds. I sympathise as also suffer from depression and on my bad days I just walk and walk and walk. It gets me out of the house which always makes me feel slightly better. I strap the baby on and walk with the dog. My other half jokes that the dog gets the fear when I get down as I walk the legs of him. I listen to a podcast like Desert Osland Discs that is people talking about their lives. I know that feeling that even getting out of bed and into the shower is a mammoth task. One day at a time.

Oh and for me any alchohol at all I’d like adding fuel to the fire of depression. The drinking gives me an escape but the next day I wake up with suicidal ideation so I had to stop.

It transformed mine too... coming off it was 6 months of pure hell.

Op, I was severely depressed for years. It was only coming out of it that I realised my husband was emotionally abusing me. Is there something in your life that needs to change?

What caused the depression?

Do you have any trauma in your past? A gong bath after a really good (outside) yoga class shook some trauma loose for me and I felt amazing after I’d finished crying.

True story. You did ask for woo!!

Do you have any trauma in your past? A gong bath after a really good (outside) yoga class shook some trauma loose for me and I felt amazing after I’d finished crying.

True story. You did ask for woo!!

Sorry for the double post!

At some point in the future, people will take psilocybin for problems like this.

They already are, but within a generation it will be a mainstream prescribed treatment. Realistically, psychedelics are probably the thing most likely to help you.

I think this is right. I find if I drink a couple of days in a row or 2 days out of three I can feel down. Couple of days abstinence fixes it. 20 years ago never bothered me

Other than that OP my addition is people - do enjoyable things with friends and loved ones. That has always helped when I've been feeling low

I was treated for years for depression and nothing worked. I was then diagnosed with a sleep disorder (sleep apnea) and my depression disappeared completely immediately I started using the CPAP machine. Turned out I was just absolutely bloody knackered.

The diet, mindfulness, journalling, headset, living in the moment - that's all a hell of a lot for you to remember and a lot of pressure you're putting on yourself OP.
Adding anything else looking for this miracle cure is not going to help- I've been there desperately searching for this magical elixir that will take all this stress and turmoil away, supplements, crystals, self-help books, and chanting.
What worked for me was one thing only- reading someone else's account of their own struggle with anxiety and depression. The book was Paul David- At Last a Life. It is not a self-help book nor does it promise you anything at all. It is one mans account of his own struggles and it really changed my life OP.

I get a lot of comfort from crystals! I wear pendants of them and feel very reassured by them. I’d recommend Rock Chick Cottage on Etsy for some lovely pendants. I wear rose quartz for self love and selenite for calm.

On a non woo note, not drinking is very good advice. Drink herbal tea that evokes tranquility. I like reading all the pukka tea descriptions and seeing what I’d like in my life.

I'm in US, so don't know availability of it in UK, but ketamine infusions have taken me out of deep clinical depression. Very expensive though, but worth it to me as I can now be the mother/wife/worker/artist I knew was there beneath the depression.

Please be aware OP that this statement isn't correct.

It's entirely dependent on the person and their history.

Many drugs used to treat depression have other uses.

You need to ask your GP for a referral to a psychiatrist so they can get to the root of the problem by doing a full family history. A GP is not a master of mental health and drugs will mask a problem, not fix it.

It may be worth mentioning Straterra to them, which is an NRI if you are not responding to 200mg of sertraline.

Please don't take other poster's words as gospel.

I agree with PPs that you might benefit from trying a different medication. sertraline is good for anxiety but I'd have thought Prozac or Citalopram are better for depression itself. And some people get on well with Venlafaxine.

Something that helps - not woo but not medical – is to do something you've never done before every single day for a year and keep a brief journal of it. If you journal anyway, that's good. I think it helps spark different neural pathways. You can start with very easy things like trying a different scent of shower gel or a new herbal tea. Just make notes on what you thought of it. It doesn't have to be enjoyable or make you feel better in the moment. Gradually increase the daily challenge - walk down different streets on the school run or way to work, visit a new cafe etc until you are trying things you'd typically be a bit nervous about - starting a conversation with a stranger or releasing a spider back into the wild.

Also, with journalling, make sure you are using it therapeutically. Don't just muse on how low you are. A good thing to do is to make an end of day list of what you achieved. It's easy to think a day passed in a fug of inactivity. But then you realise you showered and made breakfast for the Dc and fed the cat and put on a washload and emptied the bin and made sure your DS took his meds etc. It shows you you are valuable in the world and make a difference to those around you. It's very useful to journal CBT exercises and actively challenge negative thinking. But just doing free form blurting onto the page is less helpful.

Reiki , regular sound gong baths and I've had one magic mushroom psychedelic experience which released so much subconscious trauma for me, I have felt like a different person since. I took it with some very experienced therapists and they helped to bring everything to the surface. Also take great comfort in crystals, self tarot readings, I have a shamanic style drum and rain stick music instrument that I use every morning to release stagnant energy. Sitting outside in the rain also feels very cleansing. Regular massage. I genuinely love my life since introducing all these things.

I find mindfulness and journaling type activities just magnify the shitness for me. I'd rather repress and busy myself.

This Kundalini Sa-ta-na-ma meditation practice: