Can you over come depression without AD's?

[mumster79]

Just that really. I was on AD's for about a year, but I not sure they really had any impact.

The black cloud is still omnipresent though. Have you / can you beat this battle yourself?

It is not proven that depression is due to a chemical imbalance at all. In fact, increaingly genetic/environmental factors look to be the main cause. But these are less diagnosable and less lucrative neat for the pharmaceutical companies.
Op no easy answers but agree re mindfulness, healthy living, good therapy. And acceptance.

I take the point, swift, but at some point, the genetic and environmental factors have to cause something discernible in the brain. Everything comes down to biochemistry in the end. And whatever that is, in my case, it is helped very much by ad's. I don't think they are worried that its a placebo effect either. Most depressions are treated/cured by a combination of approaches. I stick my my point that it is unhelpful to suggest that everyone can successfully deal with depression without meds and that it is not a sign of weakness to take them.