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• January 16, 2010 9:23 p.m.

  I have be dealing with depression for 15 years. I have tried many different medications. Some worked for a while and then seemed to stop working. Some never worked at all. Although I feel better when I go to therapy it doesn't seem to change anything (I go regularly and to a couple of different people over the years). Ok, I am a bit disappointed in the article above. Maybe I am in the wrong place but you lost me at 'Are you balancing work and leisure activities?' Everything that follows are the things I can not do (no matter how much I want to do them) when I am depressed. Do you think that reading this will help someone who is truly depressed? It kinda says 'so you don't think your depression treatment is working? Well if you aren't doing the following things then its not that the treatment isn't working, you are just doing it wrong.' Thanks

  - April

• December 25, 2009 11:22 a.m.

  neurostar TMS therapy is a new FDA approved treatment for depression that is an alternative for those who have failed an antidepressant either do to side effects or it just didn't work...non invasive,non systemic.

  - donna

• December 13, 2009 9:38 a.m.

  I am 46 years old and have suffered from severe depression my entire life. As a child I was extremely ADHD and put on Ritalin very young which turned me from a happy, excited child into a zomby which worked well for the Catholic school authorities but did me great harm,imo. When I was taken off the drug I was still the same except that I had decided I was defective and worthless. I was always in trouble for mischief and a problem for the public school system so I was barred from attending Jr High and sent away to a school for behavioral problem kids at the urging of my shrink, I was 12 and the 3rd youngest person there. By this time I was using any drugs I could get my hands on, I was sexually abused, emotionally abused and physically abused and I hated myself because I let it all happen. I attempted suicide at 13 or 14 and again at 17. I can remember thinking I would grow up and forget about all of it and be ok. That never happened. Heroin turned out to be my best freind and I actually felt normal. I excelled in my very technical carreer for awhile until that no longer worked and after 13 detoxes/rehabs I got clean and was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. I have never found a medication that worked for me for very long. The clouds always came back along with hatred I feel for myself. My inability to connect with people has caused me great pain. Some days I find it difficult not hurting myself physically like I did when I was young.

  - Mark

• October 15, 2009 7:15 p.m.

  Hi Kelly, Thanks for your post. My son has been treated by several psychiatrists and therapists, and, no one has ever suggested OCD. My son has not suffered any eating disorders, nor has he indulged in alcohol or drugs. All that said, I will look into the medication you've suggested. As of now, the psychiatrist at the hospital feels the drugs should be reduced, that they might be doing more harm than good. So, we're trying that. Of course, it's only a hypothesis, and, no one really knows at this point. Thanks, again. Arthur

  - Arthur

• October 15, 2009 1:02 p.m.

  My wife has been suffering from depression, dealing with anxiety and we're even dealing with her infidelity during all of this. We have 2 kids. Will daily life ever get better? It seems like it goes great for 2 weeks, then she has another episode that is triggered by work stress or bills or whatever and we have to start all over again. Is it possible that this depression was caused by early childhood rape that I read about in some paperwork for her counselor that she left out in plain view? She never told me about that, but it would explain the cutting she did at a younger age and more recently when our marriage was falling apart, the infidelity, my being laid off, us losing our house. Yeah, its a lot to deal with, but I am dealing with it and with what she did to me and our marriage. Will it ever get better?

  - Allen

• October 15, 2009 11:25 a.m.

  I am a 55 year old divorced (2x) white male whom has suffered major depressive episodes off and on for more years than I care to recall. I was not diagnosed until about 6 years ago after having suffered three life altering events within a one year period which led me to become suicidal. I would note that three previous suicide attempts in my life led to no diagnosis or treatment! At any rate, I have been taking meds and regularly attending therapy since my diagnosis and have found only brief periods of relief. Periods which have become much less frequent and much shorter in duration despite numerous med changes. I have begun to think that this diagnosis and ensuing treatment are little more than efforts on my part to avoid having to accept the consequences of my behavior over these 55 years, and that it is unrealistic for me to expect to feel otherwise. As I have told both my therapist and psychiatrist, I honestly do not know what is preventing me from committing suicide. Any suggestions? Anyone?

  - Jim

• October 11, 2009 7:30 a.m.

  For Arthur: I am 38 years old, but reading about your son takes me back to being 14. Not only did I struggle with depression, I had anorexia, bulemia, and drank very large amounts of alchohol to cope. These behaviors carried into my adult life until 2 years ago when I was in intense therapy and diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD), and told that my behaviors of the past exhibit signs of ADD while I had never been diagnosed. I was told that most people with ADD exhibit depression and addiction as well as extreme highs and lows. No one I had talked to had ever gone the route this therapist took me. I had tried all of the SSRI drugs (prozac, wellbutrin, etc) and none had helped me. I was put on Vyvanse, a new ADD medication, and began to feel better almost instantly. Vyvanse has not affected my appetite, a concern for most parents (and a recovering anorexic!). I feel so much better than I have in the past. I am still in therapy, because for me the medicine without the therapy was like putting a band aid on a gushing wound that needed stitches. I don't know if this is the right recommendation for your son but felt compelled to share my thoughts. God bless your family and best of luck to you.

  - Kelly

• October 10, 2009 3:31 a.m.

  My 17 year old son has been suffering severe depression since he was 13, which has been treated and stabilized for up to a year at a time. He has been doing well for the last year, but, has now suffered a relapse and is hospitalized. They are modifying his meds, but, so far he is getting worse. It's never been very clear to me whether any of his meds have really worked. He has been taking Lexapro, Wellbutrin and Abilify together over the last year. He is a kind, thoughtful, compliant, intelligent boy, who seems to regress about once a year, but, this is, by far, the worst relapse he has experienced. I am beginning to wonder whether we need a new, different approach, if such a thing exists. It's heartbreaking to see how he is suffering. Does anyone have any other ideas ? Does anyone know the best hospital for treating adolescent depression? We are in the New York City/New Jersey area, but, will travel for the best possible experts. Thanks.

  - Arthur

• September 23, 2009 2:33 p.m.

  I, have been depressed and anxious all of my life . The thing is-as a child I took comfort in running away from the crazy family situation in which I was raised by retreating my room to be alone the only place where I felt safe.I carried this habit into my marriage .Whenever I felt overwhelmed I would retreat to a place alone . I did not know how to talk things out because there was no support for this in my childhood . I learned to escape the pain of rejection by sulking .My husband said"pull yourself out of it"!Again no acceptance or care about my need to have a "safe place to fall"I have never been able to be comfortable with or trust anyone . I was rejected by the adults in my family -again and again .74 years of living in this world has produced a person who is self sufficient ,giving-but I can not take because of past rejections.and loss of trust in others .I tried therapy many times but found that I felt a sense of rejection even there . My Dr . feel I need treatment for these conditions .I agree . But I do not have the desire to work that hard at recovery after so many losses and rejections in the past .I, am mentally and emotionally drained .I can't concentrate on reading any thing important . I do crossword and video games .Anything that does not require me to think about the loneliness I feel all of the time .

  - Anna

• August 16, 2009 7:07 p.m.

  Dear Janice, The first thing I would do for your Aunt, is take her from her small town into a city with a University Teaching Hospital or at least a hospital with a very good reputation. I'd have her evaluated by the best psychiatrist and neurologist that can be afforded. They will give you an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan. Therapy, along with medication, seems to work best. As for Family members...even though I am the depressive, I know how hard it is to deal with me when I am significantly depressed. Sometimes, being in the hospital has helped me more than being at home. They "get" it there and I can be safe till it passes or another drug can be started. Otherwise, there really is not much YOU can do. Don't blame yourself or feel bad...it's an insidious disease, my poor family just does as I ask which is mostly to be left alone and perhaps do some marketing because I cannot go out when I get bad. I know this is not much but I hope it helps you a bit. As a Major Depressive, I still am acutely aware of how my illness affects those around me. I wish it did not. I can only thank the heavens that it is not contagious...lol Best Wishes, Jean

  - Jean

• August 13, 2009 7:36 a.m.

  Thanks for the information! anxiety can be cured by just following these simple steps or by Deep breathing as these exercises are excellent for anxiety and many people report positive results from meditation. Some other natural anxiety remedies to look into are St.John's Wort, SAMe, L-Theanine, and Tryptophan.

  - anxiety remedy

• August 11, 2009 8:14 p.m.

  A family member of mine suffers from depression, but she lives in a small town where resources are limited. The problem has been going on for years and I feel as if it is tearing my family apart. She's tried exercise, drugs, therapy but nothing has worked. What are tips for family members? I know that my patience is draining, and I feel overcome with a sense of helplessness.

  - Janice

• August 8, 2009 4:26 p.m.

  I also felt the original advice was written in a negative fashion--not just that us depressed folks are (duh) irritable, negative, and thin-skinned. If I'd written it, I'd have -acknowledged that treatment response varies, even in carefully controlled clinical trial settings -suggested people regard the items as something to assess for themselves -noted that control of some factors might be hard--the therapist in a public mental health clinic may be a part-time temp who has just been licensed in the person's specific field, because the budget does not provide enough regular full time therapists, and the people one is surrounded with may consist of other stressed-out folks in a homeless shelter or drop-in center in between overworked eligibility workers in agencies (homeless people do get online) -encourage people to pick the one or two most doable of the things they can do as the areas to focus on, starting small. Six months after my most recent particularly severe bout began, I can rarely cope with preparing an actual meal, and then we're talking one-dish meals. But I did manage to keep fruits, bread, and peanut butter on hand so I could eat something decent from the fridge. A person might be overwhelmed by your entire list, even if all the items applied to them. -point out that shrinks cannot see inside your brain. Learn to specifically and accurately describe symptoms, especially if the dr. doesn't use a standard list of questions or similar tool to gauge your status

  - Sheri

• August 4, 2009 9:59 a.m.

  I had gastric bypass surgery in 2004 which has the accompanying difficulty with malabsorption. I believe the oral medications I take aren't being processed in their intended way due to the re-routing of all materials (food and meds) through the bypass tube straight to the intestinal tract. I wonder if there might be a dissolving entity which will allow the body proper absorption.

  - John

• August 2, 2009 11:12 a.m.

  This article is really not very helpful. Of course I'm not doing all the things I should be to counteract depression. But it's very difficult to be motivated to do things I don't want to do. And I don't have much control over the quantity or quality of my sleep. I have one of those depressions that is "hard to treat." It runs in our family. It's basically bipolar II (bipolar without the fun part.) I have a great psychiatrist; I've been going to therapy for 30 years, and my current therapist says I work hard. There are long stretches now of time when I don't feel depressed. But the symptoms never really go away (poor concentration, sleep disturbance, irritability, chronic pain, inability to deal with stress). It's rather frustrating. Unfortunately, I've never had a "pre-depression" period, as my grandmother reports I was depressed as a preschooler. I wish they'd find a cure for atypical depression, or at least some good treatment. No way am I taking MAOIs.

  - Rachel

• July 8, 2009 9:58 a.m.

  Another book that teaches how to successfully reframe negative (distorted) thinking is Mind Over Mood by D. Greenberger, PhD. This is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (or CBT) We did a series on this - check out the archives of this blog! The CBT series was March 19, 26 and 31, 2009. Take care and thanks for your interest in Mayo Clinic.com.

  - Mayo Clinic.Com Staff

• July 4, 2009 7:01 a.m.

  At this point I am in my montly blue mood and feel a little paranoid. I hate myself. I know that "This, too, will pass." It's no fun while it's here. Zoloft has helped some, but physical and mental exercise help more as does socializing a little.

  - Roberta

• July 3, 2009 4:11 a.m.

  I was very angry for several years when I finally had a manager demand I see a doctor about it. I have an "unspecified personality disorder." I found out about a year after starting the antidepressent game that my body had gone in to menopause. I have since had a full hysterectromy. I now taking antidepressents and hormone replacement therapy. I am thinking about asking the doctor to let me go off the antidepressents. Do you think this is right?

  - Italyhope

• July 3, 2009 1:55 a.m.

  My depression comes and goes and as a result, I've been diagnosed with sub-clinical depression as well as atypical depression on three occassions. I've tried several meds which didn't work or back-fired on me (hallucinations and voices...nothing scary, just a flash of a scene and mumbled voices: stopped when I discontinued the meds) SAM-e works well for me, as does St John's Wort. But the therapy that works best for me is a book titled, "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought", from Prelude Press. It's the common sense I didn't know I had until I read a chapter and do what's suggested. I'm learning to strengthen my intentions to live a full life. It's not easy at times but I notice improvements in all aspects of my life if I stay faithful and just do what I need to do.

  - EmJaye

• July 2, 2009 8:43 p.m.

  I was hit with post traumatic stress disorder and then ongoing depression in 2000 after the suicide of my husband. I've tried many medications, but honestly, the best drug is intense exercise. I felt the medications made me too mellow and sometimes even careless. My house could be on fire and I wouldn't care. It is trial and error with the meds. I have great doctors and I do keep in close contact with them. If I feel I don't like the med for any reason I call and we tried another one. However, I just never felt the meds were the cure-all. I really believe you must take care of your body like the temple God gave you. Exercise is a big part of maintaining and enhancing your temple. I'm an Exercise Specialist and I use this for myself and with my experience I now use with my clients. Exercise is great, but it has to be intense. If your mind can wander while you are walking then pick it up. I make all my clients work so they can't talk conversationally with me and they are so busy they can't think about anything else but what I am having them do. I do outdoor training alot because the scenery is great and you don't need equipment. Use park benches and do push ups, then step ups then jumping jacks then walk onto the next bench and repeat. it is really great! It works for me and I see it working for my clients. Another bonus is try to do this first thing when you wake up. Get those endorphins moving. I promise it works! Happiness to you!!

  - Ann

• July 2, 2009 1:07 p.m.

  When I saw all the unhappy comments I felt I needed to post something positive. I was diagnosed with Clinical Depression about 13 years ago. I went through several sessions with a very caring counselor and started with Prozac as a treatment. Over the years I have progressed through several drugs including Zoloft and am now on a low dose of Lexapro. This seems to have me at near a pre-depression level. I am back doing the things I enjoyed doing before. Am I a 100% back to where I was? No, but I am able to deal with the depression and move forward. I still struggle with anxiety, stress and depression, but I think I’m getting better at dealing with it. One thing that I find very helpful is exercise, I try to average 40 minutes a day of Walking, Biking, Hiking, Skiing or what ever else gets me going and going outside. I probably do more walking outdoors in winter than in spring, summer, and fall. Being outside really gives me a boost especially after a good walk or other exercise. I say I average 40 minutes because my schedule doesn’t allow me to get out every day so I keep a spreadsheet of my activities that gives me a daily average

  - Chuck

• July 1, 2009 10:50 a.m.

  Good Morning- This entry was to stimulate the exchange of ideas. It wasn't meant to place blame that you are doing something wrong if you're not getting better. Yes, there is depression that is treatment resistant or is difficult to treat. Yes, more than one medication or mode of treatment may need to be tried. The idea is to partner with your health care team. We know you're trying very hard!

  - MC.Com Staff

• June 30, 2009 5:27 p.m.

  I took Zoloft for 6 weeks and came down with a horrible case of ongoing diarrhea. Saw my dr. 6 times, Urgent Care once, went to the ER in the ambulance - was severely dehydrated - lost 15 pounds - NO ONE suspected the Zoloft until I saw a gastroenterologist who solved my problem. Now I'm afraid to take any anti-depressive.

  - Nancy

• June 29, 2009 7:39 p.m.

  Hi!!! I have been all my life depressed, since I am 18 years (now 33) I have been in more than 50 meds for depression with counseling, psych counseling and others. For me, sincerely nothing is working. I am feeling exhausted, devastated and still very depressed with a strong hypersomnia. I saw in my country more than 14 doctors with specialization in mental diseases. Is any medication work?????

  - Chely

• June 28, 2009 2:09 a.m.

  when one is 'depressed' it is not possible to do things to feel better - in fact there is not a lot that can be done when one is truly depressed - and i dont believe the saying that keeps appearing that depression can be treated - or maybe what is called depression is not really depression (but a condition of sadness that a person cannot really control.

  - jean