When your feeling low is there anyway of sorting it other than AD???

[PinkPoleCat]

Thats it really. feeling crap but I dont want to go on anti depressants. Dont really want to see the doctor about it either. Not sure if it could be PND. God knows, Im a mess!

Hiya PinkPole I posted yesterday about whether you could cure depression yourself - how are you feeling?

My depression sucks me in more some days than others and is alot about the way I feel about myself now - used to be a nicer/stronger person now I am not and that makes me feel pathetic - my partner (for want of another word) have had quite a few problems that we both pretend dont exist and I have been drinking too much too - though not at the moment.

I can sustain an effort to be happier for a short time but then I just sink back into again not sure that I dont need anti d's could benefit from some therapy I think really need someone to talk to.

Hey thats alot about me -how are you - sorry ?

Cognative therapy books(just google or look on amazon) are worth a try, but I used them simultaneously with ads and it took 6 mths of combined ads and doing the exercises in the book to sort myself out.

Hi PPC, sorry to hear you are feeling crap. Do you have time to exercise at all? A fitness instructor friend of mine swears by regular exercise to beat depression. I think it does help if you exercise enough to release endorphins, but I'm not sure on the exact statistics.
However you decide to combat how you're feeling it might be a good idea to visit your GP anyway.
HTH

I think ADs can treat depression as an illness... that is, an illness with a set of marked biological symptoms that are present and affecting day-to-day life

Eg: insomnia, early morning waking, changes to appetite, poor concentration, motivation, libido, anxiety...

Someone experiencing very low thoughts may benefit, too, but would need expert help and monitoring (ie a suicidal person)

If you've got some crap going on in your life or are drinking too much or have just kind of 'lost your way' I think ADs would be pretty useless, if used in isolation (or at all, possibly)... therapy probably the best option

If a diagnosis of PND has been made, I would consider taking ADs as well as accessing support/therapy etc

sound advice notnowbernard - love you name btw - great book !!

Thankyou!

It is a fab book, isn't it? It was dd1's fave at time of joining MN and I was dreaming it, so it kind of was the obvious choice

The herbal remedy St John's Wort has been shown to work on mild/modernate depression.

Exercise is a natural antidepressant, as is swimming in cold water.

There are some foodstuffs that can help, probably because people often get depression when they are low in certain nutrients - I don't know how much scientific truth there is in this, but some people find eating lots of fish, nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables helps.

I think anyone who has learned to live with depression over a number of years gets to have some sense of the things that work for them - just the little things which only help a tiny bit like talking to the people that always make you feel better, or listening to certain music. I don't mean to trivialise depression and suggest it can be cured by listening to the right song - I've been there and I know that's not the case - but they are steps in the right direction, even if just tiny baby steps, so don't despise them.

You can help yourself to some extent. I was very low after the birth of my son. I didn't know anyone locally and was breastfeeding my son so found it easier to stay in by myself and that really didn't help my mood.

The HV suggested that I needed to force myself to do all the things that I was avoiding. Going for long walks while LO slept really helped as did going out and meeting other mums.

Hey Pinky,

I have/had PND, the only thing I can think to help you is to tell you my story. I won't go into details of what was happening to me, but I became a very evil person and I know know I was ill.

I pretended like I didn't for a year after my dd was born. When I finally did go to the doctor, I was pleasantly surprised to find my doctor was utterly supportive and offered me a range of things that could help.

1. Get a private therapist. Behavioural Cognative Therapy costs about £40 an hour.

1. Go on the waiting list for an NHS therapist or get recomended for a PND charity who offer councelling and therapy.

1. Go on AD's for a minimum of 6 months.

1. Go down the herbal route, St John's Wart, 5HTP, plenty of excersise, increased socialising etc...

First of all, I am not rich enough to get a private councellor. Secondly I was bf'ing so couldn't take 5HTP or St John's Wart.

I went on the waiting list and after 4 months I started to see a councellor. Just before my councelling started I decided to start taking AD's because I felt I was becoming a danger to myself and my dd.

I was very against taking AD's but they have helped me allot. I hit the 6 month mark in August and was weaning off them when I got pregnant. Then I miscarried and decided to stick on them at the reduced dose until I feel able to deal with things again.

Good Luck

Can only repeat what others say, tho I guess everyone had a slightly different angle. ADs IME are the quickest way to feel somewhat better. I used to suffer recurrent bouts tho and hated having to go back on the drugs each time. I did invest a lot of money in CBT in the end to try to actually prevent rather than cure the depression. It is very expensive per session but a reputable therapist will see you for only about 10 sessions to teach you what you need to learn. Its not therapy for life! It was the best £500 I ever spent.

Also tho, excercise and eating well helped me. For some reason I swear that porridge and bananas lift my mood over time! Alcohol brings me down...shame, i love it!

Good luck.

please be aware that St Jon's Wort is not advisable if you are on the pill, as it can interfere with it's reliability...

Pinkpolecat, how old is your child? If it is PND, then you will need to speak to your G or a HV I think.

Things which are proven to help with low moods
1: Regular esxcercise/fresh air
2: regular, healthy food
3: Good rest/sleep patterns
4: Talking to people
5: Avoid alcohol/cigarettes
6: set yourself small, achieveable targets daily and take eac day as it comes.

If you think you have PND, your HV may be able to refer you to some sort of local support group, where you can talk to people in similar situations and get advice.

Please don't suffer in silence though!

I dont want to go on AD coz I have seen what they did to my mum when she was on them. she went a bit weird on them.

Im glad i started this thread because alot of it has made sense to me. especially the bit about thd ads only curing the illness. I think that my mood problems are down to certain problems in my life. I know what I need to change Im just not sure how to go about it. I dont feel in control of my life at the moment. I think eating better and doing exercise would be a step in the right direction. I also think that I need counciling about some things that have happened to me in the past. I do want to get help Im just a bit ashamed.

Please try not to feel ashamed... depression is such a common condition that affects 1 in 4 people!

Are you able to say a bit more about what's actually going on for you atm? And how you are feeling?

Might give people a bit of an idea of what advice to offer

there is nothing to be ashamed, be proud that you are self aware. You have all the tools you need to make yourself feel better, you just need some help on how to do it