I think I have depression, but how do I know?

[twinniemum]

I feel sad all the time, I am lonely, I feel like crying alot, have a short temper recently.
Is there anything I can do without going to the doctors? I dont want to take anti-depressants, I cant take St Johns Wort because of other medication, is there anything else I could try? Am I depressed or just a bit down?

he seems to be having more fun than me at the moment, but he's not necessarily spending any money.

I think you sound down, although this in itself should not be ignored as for me personally I ahve a down period before sliding into depression, and there have been times when I have had a down period and managed to fight that and so avoided a depressive episode.

People differentiate flu and colds by saying that when you have flu you cannot leave your bed to pick up a £10 note from your front garden. clinical depression for me is similar.

When I go into my down period I do try and use ideas from the happiness manifesto linked to below. I try and eat well lots of oily fish and fresh fruit and veg and I try and get exercise. It diesn't always work but it is worth trying.

Where abouts do you live?

twinsetandpearls that a really good way of puting it, never thought of it like that.

barney2 i live on the isle of wight.

what worked for me (and i still can't quite believe it!), is eating some smoked, peppered mackerel every day for lunch for about a week, and thereafter every few days. it really did work. and lots of sleep helped too. i was amazed, and i wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me to do it. it's worth a try.

IOW? Lovely part of the world....but bit too far for me to pop over for a coffee and to offer my shoulder, IYKWIM!!!

Everyone has 'down' moments - some more so than others. I had a serious down time when I lost my Dad suddenly a few months ago. I could feel myself going down hill and felt like there was no one out there to pick me back up again. It was like being in a huge bubble and waiting for someone to come along and pop it for me....and no-one did.

I was in a permanent mood and hated everyone and even resented my dh being around. I would be yelling at him for no reason and had nothing nice to say to him. Why he stayed with me god only knows.

Then I suddenly came to the conclusion that life was too damn short to be down - no one knows what is around the corner and so I gave myself an almighty kick up the bum and got myself back on track. I went to my GP and asked for help and was told to go home and get on with life...fat lot of help he was. I learnt then not to go back to him. He felt like I was wasting his time!!

ooh, I like Mackerel, will give that a go..

Is it the omega 3 in fish that helps?!

thanks for staring this thread twinniemum
some of the things have really helped me as well,

cant offer much advice as i feel i am in the same position,
have you tried having honey with the ready brek instead of the sugar

best wishes

Hi snowwonder, i thought honey was just as bad as sugar? i know its awful, but i looove golden syrup on it......

sounds like i should try haveing some of my dt omega 3 tablets?

Hi twinniemum, I know how you feel ,so ((((hugs to you))))) have had severe pnd in the past , but Im over that now. I still have down times , but Im able to come back up much more quickly now. Ive done all sorts of things over the last few years to help me, some of it therapy based, some of it self help and alot of it spiritual . I can tell you more about them if you wish? I have some good books if you want some self help ideas.

Manuka honey is better , but yes there is some information on honey being just as bad as sugar, but it does release slower. IKWYM about having sugar on it lol , what about a really good pure maple syrup , still sugar but fruit sugar as supposed to processed.A friend of mine uses blackstrap molasses, thats got LOTS of vitamins and minerals in it.

As for the tablets ,that will be good as its more concentrated , but having it through fresh oily fish is even better. Try adding lots of raw and light steam veg too.

Im sensing not enough food is part of the way you feel , and if you want to loose weight, by NOT eating your body will hold on to it. I know its really hard when you feel rubbish to eat well and even plan anything, like a simple shopping list, (did my head in when unwell) , also it feels harder when you need to eat different things to help you , but just by adding a few things to your current food will help and gradually you can make changes when you can.

ahh just wanted to say , when I was at my worse , my therapist suggested not to diet, but just think of food as nourishment and sustenance that you can enjoy and not worry about the weight side to add to how you feel in your self.

thanks melsy, thats really helpful advice, and yes names of some books would be
great xx

This is the first one , that Ive just finished reading a few weeks ago :

"Tired of being tired" , try to take alot of it with a pinch of salt , its written for mainly high flying career people , but there's some good tips in it . You'll find you may score very high in the test to check adrenal functions etc, but I think its been set up just to corroborate the doctor's findings iykwim ! SO dont be alarmed , just take it as quite good information and do what feels best in your gut.

Mind over mood" , is another good one as its a workbook for CBT a very good therapy for depression and also helps you see were the heart of the matter lies with how you feel. I refused to take antidepressants the 3rd time and managed to get myself on a VERY long waiting list for a kind of CBT , it was good to be acknowledged when I finally got the therapy through and it did help to lift things out as to why I behaved certain ways.

I have some more gentle ones that are about relaxation and finding calm and peace, these things dont necessarily change your situation with regards to being alone , but you may find you feel less anxious if you ARE alone. I will get the titles and come back with some more info for you. I dont want to overload and overwhelm you , its just that a dynamic approach to this is what helps, its always multi layered and you need a mix of acknowledgment for feelings , a way to move away from them and try new ways , a way to relax and find calm and still the mind and also a way to feed your body with good foods for the right nutrients and blood sugar regulation, (blood sugars have HUGE effect on how we feel).

I hope I dont appear sanctimonious at all , its just Ive come from a place of experience with this and found many ways to combat it, and as said before I still pendulum the other way every now and again, but I have lots of tools to pull myself out with. I hope that I can pass some of those on.

How are you doing today twinniemum???

jst bumping to show your not forgotten x