My wife has been depressed for a while, she recently talked to her GP. The GP suggested to start some mild medication but said there are side-effects and possible addiction. The GP also said that therapy is good but takes a long time to find a good therapist you like and then for it to work. Anyone gone thru this personally or with a family member, please share the experience.
Wife is going through exact same. Been doing tons of research. Therapy is great but needs to be augmented with something else. Research clearly shows that regular excercize, a simple brisk walk, like ur trying to catch a bus, for 30 min 3x a day is MUCH more effective than meds. Might want to try that out first, if possible.
I recommend reading up on depression medications first. I can't recommend against them because sometimes they are the only way out. You should know that the science is still not advanced enough and your doctor will be going through a trial and error phase to figure out what works; where what you say is the primary source of observations and data for that doctor.
My wife has been depressed for the last 6 years. Has been ups and downs and really tough, but be strong cause there’s hope. It’s a chemical problem, so medicines have to be there. It’s risky not to take, depends on the case/state. Medicines act differently on different people, so there’s a lot o trial/error. Doctors can’t predict that. Try help her as much as possible at home, giving her some peace of mind. Stimulate her to do exercises and therapy also helps a lot. Also try to talk more to each other and do more stuff together (trips, dining, dating, sex). HAVE OTHER GOOD FRIENDS. And have schedule, for sleeping, waking up, working out, studying, ... All the best to you guys. God bless you with a lot of courage, patience and love for your wife and hope she finds her way out of depression.
The meds (Eg SSRIs) are addictive in the sense that you’ll be physically dependent, but they aren’t the sort of drug that you’d feel you have to take to get high, only that there are withdrawal effects Watch this video https://youtu.be/JuQgJxYriYI about meds and why you should try them Also this major study (biggest comparative study ever) https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0140673617328027?token=4D1CA687E1DEC3B60473071A41B54364A9E0790D28A8C280E33FA66F1207146F746887C00D31C81B891EF1F9C07A7C04
Guys, I absolutely DO NOT discount the viability of the 2 solutions cited by OP, but I found a more practical approach most effective for me. I didn't try any drugs, but therapy did teach me how to reflect and be a bit more objective. A dietician showed me I was feeding myself complete shit. A personal trainer showed me how much better it is to MOVE than be sedentary. And sleeping...well, that's the last piece of the puzzle, I think. Some folks absolutely need medication and/or therapy--no doubt about it. But transforming your lifestyle can cure more maladies than one might believe.
Wife had some depression and self loathing. Turns out for her it was a lack of either vitamin b or folic acid. Some people can only absorb certain forms of them well, and they are typically more expensive (she uses pure brand supplements). After taking them for a few weeks, her depressive thoughts disappeared, it was quite amazing. These are easy low risk things to try before going to any significant drugs. Other OTC supplements to consider are 5HTP and Ashwaganda, which have evidence of improving mood/depression.
This. I highly recommend getting a blood test for B vitamin levels, and thyroid hormone, before starting medications, only because these tests are so cheap.
If she truly suffers from depression then the best results will come from a combination of medication and therapy. I have depression and have tried all combinations. Without medication it would have ended my relationship
Medication+therapy. Medication often provides the breathing room to begin to dig in in therapy. Most major depression is chemical, but is exasperated by poor life skills. Medication will help a ton, but learning the needed coping skills is pretty important too. Something that a lot of people trip up on, is that taking medication is not an immediate magic fix. It can take up to 8 weeks for the medication to take effect - and doses are often increased slowly to make sure there are no serious side effects. Often you'll have to try multiple medications - there's no clear way to tell which one will work, other than testing then out. This whole process can be really demotivating (why isn't it working!), So it's really important to support her along the way. The addictive meds are generally for anxiety (benzos), not depression. You do need to taper off the medication though, because otherwise there can be bad side effects - but it's not a physical craving. No one wakes up in the morning and is like, omg, I'd blow someone for an ssri or two.
Staying with blind’s tradition: TC or....
Best outcomes are a combination of drugs and therapy. GP was minimally helpful, but I found a psychiatrist for better drug management and a therapist for working in depression and anxiety.