My wife has been suffering with depression since our little girl was born 4 and a half years ago. She was not treated for it until a year ago. She has now stopped taking the anti depressants because they weren't working and they were giving her bad side effects. She was referred to a psychiatrist who prescribed a different anti depressant, but when my wife came off the ones she was on, she realised how much worse they had been making her feel and now she won't take the new ones.
The first tablets she was taking made her feel as if she was having electric shocks in her head every time she moved her head, that wasn't listed as a side effect but it's listed as a side effect on the new ones, and she doesn't want that again. She also felt that the tablets were making the depression worse instead of better, and that they were making her emotionless. She would rather feel something than nothing, even if what she is feeling is depressed.
She stopped the tablets about four months ago and was OK to start with but now the depression is back and she won't admit it. I can tell it's back, she is tearful and irritable all the time and she's so distant that I feel as if she's put a wall up between us. But every time I ask her about it she just says she's OK and changes the subject. I can tell she's not OK though, but I can't make her see that.
I don't know what to do. I know she had a lot of help on this board in the past but she got a bit self conscious about posting here and so she stopped. If I could just get her to talk it might help but she won't. I can't reach her to make her see how much I love her and want to get her better. What can I do to get her to help herself, how can I make her see what she's doing to herself, I can't force her to take the tablets but I need to do something.
She's out this morning so I have a little bit of time to ask you all for help. If anyone has been through this with their partner please help me.