Depression and Meds
 

If someone has schizophrenia, bipolar, ADHD, or other mental health disorders then I'd completely accept that theres likely some kind of biological cause and that medication can help....so why is it with depression that there's the idea that you should be "strong enough" to get through it without meds.

I'm going to my GP soon, and they might well say I'm fine, but I'd like to know whether people feel antidepressants are a valid treatment for depression and if there is a biological/genetic component, or if I should just get a grip and deal with stuff myself?

I'm inclined to believe that theres some kind of genetic link since everyone else in my family is on antidepressants (except my 12 year old brother). And so I think perhaps I'm making things unnecessarily difficult for myself by trying to deal with how I'm feeling without help....like trying to cope with a migraine with no pain killers, but at the same time I can't help thinking I should be able to cope on my own.

What do people think?

I think it can very much depend on the type of depression a person has. Some, reactive depressions can be very enviromental and are better dealt with through therapy and counselling to deal with the effect of that environmental impact - for example bullying or bereavement or sudden changes in life like redundancy.

Other types of depression, such as bi-polar depression are intrinsically linked to genetics and biology, so can rely more heavily on medication for treatment.

Then there are the types that swim the vast ocean in between and seem to fit into both categories. Where a combined treatment is often viewed as best. The medication enabling the worst of the symptoms to be managed in a way that enables therapy and treatments that would otherwise not be viable or safe.

Personally, I do not like to think anyone should just "get on with it". I have had people say this to me more than once, and frankly, if I could, I would have a long long time ago. Not having some hidden factoid in my emotional or biological background does not in any way make my symptoms less real, or damaging to me and at the end of the day, it is the symptoms, not the cause that the medication and other treatments look to resolve.

I think that, if you are concerned about how your mood is, and how it is affecting you in your day to day life, it is worth bringing it up with a Dr, as they can discuss with you what they feel may be the best course of action in your case.

Roiben x

i compare it to diabetes. sometimes its entirely genetic. sometimes its pretty clearly environmental/lifestyle. most of the time its in the middle. and for whatever kind it is, you're going to need to probably do both meds and lifestyle/thought process changes, therapy...

Generally a bit of both, surely? An inherited tendancy of varying strengths interacting with life experiences of varying strengths.

For myself, the meds have helped me by reducing the symptoms enough for me to make changes in the way I interact with my environment, which hopefully will make me less susceptible to depression in the future - including getting in place healthier habits to replace the destructive ones. I wasn't able to do that while the symptoms were so strong. But if I need to be on meds for the rest of my life I can accept that - it's not ideal but a lot better than experiencing the symptoms, as you say, like getting through a migrane without painkillers.

I also agree that depression is probably a 'bit of both'. But, either way, it isn't something that you can just "snap out of" or whatever. It's unfortunate that there are still some ignorant plebs in society that are of that opinion, but thats their problem really!

If I'm honest I do struggle with the idea of taking my meds occasionally, especially the thought of taking them for years or maybe life. But having said that, they have helped me turn my life around. I have gone from laying in a hospital bed after OD'ing a couple of years back to being back in full time employment and looking for a house to buy. I wont allow meds to take full credit for my "recovery" or whatever you want to call it, but they have helped without a shadow of a doubt. They just kind of, take the edge off if that makes sense?

I understand how you think that you should be able to deal with it yourself, but depression is a treatable illness and you don't have struggle on your own.