Don't Get Stuck on "Unstuck": Depression Is Real, and Drugs Help Me

Thank you for this :)
It is true, I do not have a mild form of depression. The mere fact that I have been dealing with highs and lows and anxiety since I was about 15 indicates i have a chronic problem. I can use excersize, self talk, theraphy etc to get above water and obtain what I consider mental wellness. But the rollar coaster and the idea that I can achieve so much more with a little help from boosting my brain chemistry is what I think might be the right thing to at least try. As my husband said yesterday, wouldnt it be nice to not react in panic when he mentions he wishes we could all go to centre island or the zoo. Wouldnt it be nice that one day I could do these things with even enjoyment.
My dr. gave me a script for Cymbalta, I havent taken meds for 12 years, I havent taken one yet but as the hours go on Im leaning on giving it a try....

Thanks.

I've been dealing with running from my depression since I was fourteen. It took me 3 years to even call it what it was, 4 years to get help, and 5 to finally get meds. I'm still not great, but I'm finally getting somewhere, and the meds are an important part of that. I still question that sometimes, and I think I'll skip reading the article you wrote about myself... but I know that I'm starting to head in the right direction. It's just nice to be reminded sometimes that there are other people who feel the same way.

YOU GO, GIRL!

I struggled for a long time to go without drugs, to "cheer up," "hang in there," etc. Eventually it just got to be too much. Luckily my therapist and doctor were there for me. They helped me save my life, literally. One year later, I am feeling much more like myself pre-depression, and I really couldn't give a darn to those people who say it's all in my head. I have made great progress in therapy and yes, I am still taking Cymbalta, but it does not concern me in the least that I "need" this drug to feel like myself again. Without the drug, and the therapy and the yoga and the journaling all together, I would be dead. James Gordon and his buddies can go pound sand.

Thanks for your take on the anti-drug forces re depression. I don't think many of the people mouthing such opinions have ever had any first-hand experience with what we routinely deal with (I am having a bad day, today, myself... but without my meds that would be routine instead of an aberration!) The mind is malleable - but I trust Dr. Kramer when he talks about damage to the brain. If we need the extra serotonin to be normal - why in heavens not? Would you deprive a one-legged person of a prosthesis or even a wooden leg? Our blues are of an entirely different sort than a slight down, as we all know.

I especially decry the Scientologists masquerading as mental health experts who operate under a pseudonym and discourage psychiatry as a whole! Because I live in Hollywood, a hub for that, I see lots of their propaganda! It's not a sign of spiritual or psychological weakness, but working on your treatment is a positive sign of self-care and mental health!

You are brave and so helpful with your honest self-disclosure. I am sure you help many people by being so candid.

This is a well thought out argument. I like the argument by Kramer how depression is either the cause or the result of certain areas of the brain atrophying. There is a very interesting article on the Boston Globe website (dated July 6, 2008) about "How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction", by Jonah Lehrer. It's not about that Prozac is no good for depression, but about how an indirect effect of SSRI's reverse the shrinkage of the brain. This reversal, it is believed, leads to the remission of depression. It is an interesting theory.

I get extremely frustrated by these articles because it ultimately reflects a bias against illnesses that occur from the neck up. Medical science is incredibly ignorant about medications for psychiatric maladies. I believe our doctors do their best, but the brain is a tricky organ.

I am bipolar. If I did not take my meds for my biochemical disease, I would have no husband and would be completely out of touch with my precious children. A bio-CHEMICAL disorder requires a chemical solution. Taking medicine does not make us weak people. It makes us stronger than we would be on our own.

The researchers aren't talking to the right people. Maybe they don't want to.

Andrew Solomon (author of Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression) commented in the PBS documentary Depression: Out of the Shadows: "It's a poverty of the English language that we only have that one word, depression, that's used to describe how a little kid feels when it rains on the day of his baseball game, and it's also used to describe why people spend their lives in mental hospitals and end up killing themselves."

From article The experience of darkness and hope.

And no doctor, regardless of credentials, can know what unique flavor of depression we are experiencing and what medication will benefit us, without our actually using it. But it is complex. There are expectations of success that may not be realized. I felt frustrated, disappointed and even more depressed in years past when a med (eg Buspar) did not work for me. Lately, diet and supplements (including St. John's Wort) do manage my dysthymia.

When I wa first prescribed Prozac, my childhood "conditioning" against mental illness and medication (:All you ned is a swft kick in the pants" "Pull yourself up bu the bootstraps", and "Drugs are drugs, no matter WHERE you get them." (street corner versus pharmacy) "You can just CHOOSE to be happy." inevitably reared its ugly head. Eventually I began unmedicating myself after a week or two of relative peace. Each time I did that, one of my sisters would notice my backlsiding emotions and challenge me: "You aren't taking your Prozac, are you?" It was THAT obvious even though I continued with all of the other components of my treatment plan.(counselng, prayer, vitamins, journaling and the like. Because of that experience, no one will EVER AGAINconvince me that the meds are superfluous or a symptom of moral weakness. Going back on my medications was just as observable Now many years later, I am on a different cocktail, but the issue reains the same:Why stop taking them if they are helping? It's clear to me that those who would damn SSRiS HAVE NEVER WAKED A SINGLE STEP in our moccassins and are CLUELESS about hpw devestating life in the snake pit can be/is.No one has ever advocated that I quit taking my oral insulin. IMO it all goes back to accepting that mood disorders are actually DISEASE rather than character flaws.

I value this post so much! I've been on depression meds for almost 10 years now and I have to say ... they saved my life. The difference between "I'm so depressed today" and "Oh, my God ... I don't think I can face another day of pain" is mind blowing. I'm not sure it can fully be understood by someone unless they've endured it. I have a few family members who have the "just snap out of it" school of thought. Most, however, have been incredibly supportive. When the drugs first kicked in, I was astonished. I told my doctor, "If this is what normal feels like, I've never felt it before." He explained that perhaps I'd needed the Rx for years for my CHEMICAL IMBALANCE. He said think of it like this ... some people need insulin. They'll need it forever. You may need your brain chemicals adjusted forever. I'm all about feeling healthy. I have my down days for sure, but they never get as dark and frightening as that long winter all those years ago. The cold blanket of depression lay over me and I was desperate. Some chemical company had the slogan; "better living through chemistry". I dig it! I meditate, walk the labyrinth at my local arboretum and practice choosing joy each and every morning. I also take my meds religiously. I believe that life's all about balance. The arrogance of those who would preach otherwise is hard to swallow. I wouldn't wish depression on ANY of the people who are so inclined as to think I can just analyze my way out of it. Peace and health to all! Have a joyful day!

I am continuing my therapy now, after spending 2 weeks in a local psychiatric facility. I was told in the beginning, that we have to look at our recovery as a 40%/60% journey - 40% medication and 60% our own work on how to handle our specific problems, with the help of the staff. I also journal, have a list of "gratitudes" for each day, pray and am starting meditaion.
I know that without the meds,I would not be making the progress I am. I am a long way from being "healthy" again, but without the meds, I possibly might not even be here to write these comments.
Everyone has the right to their own opinions and bless those that can make the journey on their own. But for me, it is God, therapy and my perscribed meds.

My body has never produced more than a teaspoon of seratonin. I have felt that I should do the world a favor and die as far back as I can remember which is about age 5. I am now 62, and have actively sought any relief- but for the past 30+ years have been diagnosed treatment resistent. My best days I woke to the thought that "I guess I'll choose to live today - but I don't know why" - The most I experienced, for about 4 months, was that the deep, black pit became a dark grey and I could glimpse the bottom every so often.

In October, after being untreated for about 5 years due to the Reno/Sparks medicaid only allowning Prozac or Paxill - which made me more determined to experience suicide but also to take out others at the same time - so just did not go back.. I am now living in Sacramento - and finally, fearfully made my way to the county mental hospital. They determined I was seeking help and did not keep me - but did contact a new agency who came to my apt the next day and made an appt with the psychiatrist the following week. After the usual "not working" of a combination of antidepressants the Psych prescribed Cymbalta in early December.

I am posting to tell everyone - do not give up. If one medication does not work - keep searching. Within weeks I awoke one morning and my first thought was - "It is so good to be alive and I want to fully life!" - that had never even been a hidden hope for me even for one day in my 62 years of "existance"

Today, I am recovering from major surgery, hundreds of miles from my two adult children - no friends, no transportation - and in what is considered one of the 3 most dangerous complexes in all of the county to live in. BUT - I greet each day with a joy and zest I still find startling. I am still - grateful, so grateful, that my 3 serious attempts did not work. I look forward to living life once my physical health is restored - and I get moved to a safer place.

My cognitive abilities are sharper, clearer - and my feelings and emotions beyond "depressed, sad, worthless" can now be felt. I realize this med may stop working - but that is the future maybe's. Today - I am thrilled to think that I will be taking this antidepressant each and every am and pm for the rest of what I hope is a long, extended - LIFE.

Others who do not experience the agony we do - are so quick to judge and suggest a tiny band-aid of "think happy", "get over it" or "go away".. We know the suffering - and we who are blessed to experience what I have now - know the true positive benefits from medications.

ty..

I wonder how much James Gordon drinks.

As one who turned to alchol to calm my mania, go to sleep (rather, pass out), escape from problems and everyday life, I think that the prescription drugs that have been developed in recent years ARE A WHOLE LOT BETTER THAN ALCOHOL OR STREET DRUGS.

I don't think that I have "depression" per se, as much as persistent dysthemia. I get up early every morning, exercise and bathe, do my job well, finish everything on time - I function perfectly well every day. I just feel "BLAH" and often deadened internally. I refuse to take meds for this - it is not a chemical problem, it is my problem. I used to be a cheerful, optimistic person who looked forward to the future (who believed that there was a future) - my choice to be a responsible good little citizen with proud parents, which required doing a whole lot of things I'd never actually "want" to do but which looked good and were prestigious and responsible, created these circumstances. I can see light out there, I know that I can get back to it somehow.

I agree that we know ourselves best. In your case, meds obviously are the answer. In mine, this is a wakeup call to put some of myself back into my life.

Having listened to James Gordon argue that his methods work because "depression is NOT a Disease!...let's call it a life experience" and hearing an opposing psychiatrist's argument that depression "meets all the definitions of a disease" I heard enough semantic muddling to last a lifetime.
Neither of them would rest with the idea that a medical condition that negatively impacts our overall health is not necessarily a "disease." But it IS a medical condition that may be treated more effectively with certain medications on a case-by-case basis.
I'm not used to hearing diabetes described as a "disease" as the psychiatrist did. I think migraine headaches would meet his definition of "disease." Way to compare us to lepers!

Please don't laugh at these next few questions: Is diarrhea a disease or a state of normal bodily functions? Does one with diarrhea have a chemical imbalance in their intestines? Is depression a disease or a state of normal emotional functioning? Does one with depression have a chemical imbalance in their brains? Is there only one treatment for all cases of diarrhea: high doses of antibiotics? Is there only one treatment for all cases of depression: high doses of medication? And here's the kicker: can diarrhea be fatal? can depression be fatal?

I do believe that Gordon's heart is in the right place but I don't think he expresses the core concepts very well when he speaks or writes. His treatment case results speak better.

Final humor: is everyone with diarrhea to be avoided because even if you can't catch it, they are unpleasant to be around?

Wow. The fact that you had to take a mental health day just to prepare yourself to read the Newsweek article makes me wonder why you're so afraid of it and just how much your drugs are actually helping you! Good luck.

Wow, way to paint with a broad, brooooooooooad brush there, Ms. Borchard. Nothing like boiling down a detailed, integrative, meticulously researched & time-tested method like Dr. Gordon's into a nice little capsule of "Drugs are always bad for you--don't take them!"

I agree with Christine and Wes. I think you're gravely misrepresenting the message in Dr. Gordon's book. Not only that, you're doing it in a lazy way. I HAVE read the book. And the message isn't "don't take drugs" . . .it's "take drugs as a last resort."

More than anything, Dr. Gordon is saying there's no one way to treat depression, and that different approaches work for different people. Because of the way our healthcare is structured, a lot of doctors see pills as an easy first step. Drug companies also tend to minimize/obscure the potential side effects (or the actual efficacy) of these drugs, INCLUDING a difficult and often painful withdrawal process . . . so the only thing worse than going on them is getting off of them. I've watched too many friends struggle with drugs that were supposed to be "safe" and "nonaddictive" that did affect them when they tried to stop.

Reading Dr. Gordon's book helps you make an informed decision about what to do about your own life & health.

I'm glad drugs are helping you, Ms. Borchard. It sounds like you may be one of the people with severe depression who ARE actually helped by SSRI's/antidepressants. I'm also glad you're giving the alternative methods Dr. Gordon describes in "Unstuck" a try, like Christine says above. The studies Dr. Gordon quotes in his book show some very convincing evidence for the ability of "alternative" methods to boost endorphin/serotonin levels, improve mood and outlook, and increase plasticity in brain cells & cortexz.

At least you know some of your options. Nobody wants people with depression to go untreated. But some people are getting way overmedicated----a hatchet instead of a scalpel, to use the current vernacular?

Got as far as the hippocampus regions and then decided to write this comment. Lack of Omega 3 oils will cause this and correct this also.

Common sense tells us that we are what we eat.

Eat a good diet, high in foods that are as nature made them, meats from animals that were fed without drugs etc...and don't forget to exercise. Deal with your thought life. Find joy were you can. Make yourself laugh!