What Were Your Early Signs of Depression?

Anger and aggression, and total Exhaustion.. were my first signs.. I could not control it..

I can be passionate in my feelings, but this went beyond being annoyed and frustrated.

Great questions on behalf of your friend but your friend really does have a poor understanding of how treating depression works. Medication isn't the first go to thing for most good doctors and even if a doctor prescribes medication you are under no obligation to take it.

My depression was very interesting. It started in my teen years. I was your classic drama queen, however everything was internal. I would play sad scenes or dramas over and over again in my mind. The cycle of depression was predictable and coincided with my menstrual cycle. My thoughts towards myself and my circumstances were never kind or gentle or tender but produced more tears and pain.

In my twenties I was in an abusive relationship that lasted 4 years from start to finish. I ignored the signs of this being a bad relationship right from the beginning. When I finally came to my senses and broke things off with him I just couldn't be involved with him any longer because my determination to not be abused any longer was far stronger than my need to be loved. I did fall in love with a wonderful guy. When we broke up which was my choosing, I was devastated. It was like someone died and I couldn't recover. Almost 3 years after the break up I was still crying daily like it just happened a few hours ago. I knew I needed help because I wasn't thriving. I would go to work and come straight home. Even my friends didn't want to hear about my sorrow any longer.

I went for counseling as well as started a daily exercise routine. Being that depressed for that long had depleted my proper brain chemistry but the workouts helped with the counseling. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. Also having a strong prayer life and studying the Bible and beginning to live by Biblical principles all worked together to bring M. to healthiness and wholeness which I never was before.

The exercise program I was on didn't even take up a lot of time and cost no money. I started with a simple routine of 25 jumping jacks, 20 push ups, and 20 sit ups in the morning and the same in the evening when I got home from work. It was really only about 30 minutes of fitness in the morning and another 30 minutes in the evening.

I could feel the change right away but the key was the counseling piece. I was never put on medication because I really didn't need it. Learning how to talk differently to myself and to see the various circumstances of my life in a new light helps daily.

Ultimately you get to choose your mood and your responses and reactions to life happening around you. Count your blessings and see the glass as half full instead of half empty.

I think that the arrival of depression is insidious - It just kind of hits you without warning.

You can have moments of feeling happy when you are depressed. It is an overall feeling of hopelessness and sometimes darkness. It is a feeling of being stuck and unable to get out. I have been there and it is deep and dark - I cannot tell you of warning signs.

There is such a thing as situational depression. But, often depression occurs without any one thing to blame. Something that may make one person depressed, another may let it roll off their back. It is about coping skills.

You cannot just brush off being depressed - It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The best treatment is medicaiton combined with talk therapy.

What is so bad about taking some medications to help improve your life. The medications aren't so bad. She should start on a low dose and gradually increase her dose. Just because she needs a medication at this time in her life does not mean that she will need it forever. She needs to replace the neuroimbalance in her brain and that combined with talk therapy will help her change her outlook.

The person suffering from depression has to make the choice to take an active role in recovery. Depression is not a choice, your friend cannot help that she is depressed, however, getting better is a choice - she needs to see a doctor and discuss her symptoms with him/her.

Sometimes depression can be a symptom of another illnesss.

Mine usually starts out as anxiety and then the depression sets in once all of the adrenaline from the anxiety has subsided. Instead of seeing a Dr, encourage her to try exercising just 10-15 minutes a day and to start taking L-theanine from a suntheanine source (an amino acid from the vitamin store) to see if it makes her feel better. My Dr. had M. try this and I thought it would be BS but it has helped tremendously. Since it is an amino acid and not an herb or medication, there are not interactions and no side effects. You can even give it to children.

Your friends brief description sounds more PTSD than depression.

Actually, it sounds pretty textbook PTSD.

EMDR (an in office therapy designed to mimic having therapy while walking in the woods) has lots and lots of good results with PTSD (the changing distances actually helps repay term the brain), as does short acting anti anxiety meds to take as needed, in conjunction with therapy, instead of daily antidepressants.

"Depression" itself is a symptom... and the diagnosis is dependent on a set of physical and emotional symptoms which are not supposed to be caused by physical problems. However, there are hundreds of physical/medical issues that have "depression" as part of the symptom characteristics. That can include viral issues, autoimmune problems, inflammatory problems, hormonal issues, Celiac, sleep issues, parasitic infections, allergic reactions, food sensitivities, cancers, tumors, nutritional, genetic (such as the MTHFR and VDCR differences)....

My 2 daughters' "depression" were purely biological in origin. They started with lethargy, a feeling of grief, and off-and-on despair with nothing to feel despairing about. The younger daughter felt such a tremendous lack of energy. The older one felt desperation building, anxiety, wanting to avoid school. The younger slowly played less and less feeling like she "just didn't have it in her." For both, they had *biological* - *medical* issues underlying their symptoms. Psychiatrists generally give the psychiatric medications but do not look for, let alone treat, cause(s).

My own "depression" was emotional, stress-induced from having 2 sick daughters. I did not have any of the classic symptoms of lethargy or crying, sadness, etc. Mine was just hating my life, feeling stressed beyond tolerance, and so badly wanting to run away of an intolerable situation. I fantasized about my own demise even though I was not suicidal.

In all 3 of our cases, antidepressants were not "the solution". (see http://goo.gl/oSIsq) It is complicated.

I have ADHD so I am already imbalanced, chemically speaking. There are so many times in my life where I can feel like I am going into depression but I bounce. So that becomes the norm. The one time I became what would be considered clinically depressed I just didn't bounce back.

It was when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with our younger son who turned out to be Autism spectrum. It was the lack of the light at the end of the tunnel, the end that always pulls M. out that made it long term. It really wasn't a change in the chemical levels of my brain. I don't really think anti depressants would have changed anything.

I guess I am saying that in the medical sense I am always depressed but it doesn't effect M. in any way that I notice and it doesn't effect the people around M.. It is just things effect M. more intensely than a normal person.

If your friend is able to manage without medication then just listen to her. Help her find her light at the end of the tunnel.

I went on antidepressants at age 40 after months of having thoughts of killing myself and just crying for no reason out of the blue. I was no longer sleep deprived so I couldn't blame it on that. After I had been on them a month I realized that I should have been on them since I was in 5th grade. I no longer had times when I felt like the world was against M. and I was doing everything wrong. No longer felt like any time someone said they wanted to talk to M. that they must be unhappy with M. in some way and telling M. something bad. I was finally able to not see the negative automatically, but to have the benefit of the doubt. I was not constantly sad and weepy, but I always thought I was not good at stuff, even stuff I obviously was great at. It was like logically I could say, I did that great, but emotionally I would say that wasn't good at all see that is wrong and that wasn't right.

From the outside no one could tell that I felt that way, but inside it was always there. I had always come across as confident so there was no way to know. My husband and kids are and have been great, but the what ifs were always there.

Unfortunately I have had side affects from almost every antidepressant. The one that I am on now doesn't have side affects but isn't enough. Plus life has been crappy for the last 2 yrs due to hubby's job and stuff.