Professional help.

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Are my reasons valid for avoiding it?

they include:
Prescription anti-depressants making things worse
Going through five different counselers who could not help, I eventually got bored of each of them and acted more Optimistic than I felt so they trusted I was doing better(did not want to hurt their feelings after they put all that effort into trying to help me.)
Finding out why people are so pessimistic when discussing applying for disability, its like they decide before you fill out the application that they will deny you.
Having a probably irrational fear that I would be put in a psych ward and eventually forced to undergo ECT.....apparently they still do that as a last resort for depression.

I am not complaining because I feel like at the moment I have things under control, but I am worried about what I will do if I can't keep things that way and would prefer to avoid professional help like it's a disease. Am I overreacting or would those experiances and concerns make you want to avoid it as well?

They wouldn't make you do something you were totally against, like ECT. Something that serious has to be voluntarily solicited by the patient. You probably wouldn't end up in a psych ward either. It's very difficult to get someone committed and psych wards have limited space so if you really didn't want to be there, there's a good chance you wouldn't be.

Oh and I just thought of something else, if for some reason that did happen and I was given anti-depressants things could get worse I am still recovering from when I voluntarily was prescribed anti-depressants which made things worse. I don't know if I would be able to the next time.

I had a rather positive experience in an acute care psych ward but I can see how experiences like yours would make you adverse to the system.

I'm extremely lucky to have found a good antidepressant with the first try. I sympathize with how you must feel having been on one that made things worse.

I don't think your fears are particularly irrational, they're just based on the reality of what you've been through. If things had gone well when you dealt with psych professionals, I think you would feel differently now.

Have you worked with anyone who specializes in people on the autistic spectrum? I've worked with a variety of people, and only one of them was able to actually help me, the one who specialized. When I got my diagnosis, the neuropsychologist who had evaluated me made it very clear to my parents and I, that it was incredibly important to find specialists. He mentioned how often people came into his office for a diagnosis having had 4-10 years of working with various people who didn't help at all because they had no idea how to deal with anyone on the spectrum.


Your reasons for wanting to avoid them are ones I've had before, but at the same time, I'm aware they're things you don't need to worry about with everyone. I'm looking into a new counselor, one who's specialized in autistic spectrum adults, at the moment.

as i've said before, anti depressants are just placebos with horrible side effects. stay away from all meds regardless of what some quack tells you. i got suckered into taking some back when i was misdiagnosed as schizoid and all i got out of it were a pair of breasts (i'm a man).

the medical profession is funny. it's alright to take risks with your health as long as they approve of it regardless of how destructive it is.

The Depressing News About Antidepressants
Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/01/28/the- ... sants.html

Why Antidepressants Don't Work for Treating Depression
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-h ... 50098.html

[i wonder how many times docs look into the below. i'm guessing never since they make so much off of that glorified dope and the associated chemical addictions they push.]

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

1. Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above, food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been connected with depression and other mood disorders.

2. Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

3. Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

4. Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems. Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

5. Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in depression.

6. Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood and neurological problems.

7. Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30 minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to UltraWellness.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

Sweetleaf - you have made your opinion and support of medical maijuana very clear. I'm not attacking you in reminding you of the counterindication of medical maijuana in depression. It can make it more pervasive. Dangerously so.

I find that most SSRI meds are prescribed at way too high a dosage for me. I usually need ot start medications are half of the lowestr dose available - and usually STAY at that greatly reduced dose. Otherwise the side effects are too much to handle. I've also had much better results with vwery low doses of SSNRI's liek Cymbalta. The norepinephrine addition seems to be much more gentle on me - less side effects, better, longer lasting results. It feels like slowly waking up on the right side of the bed for a change.

I've tried marijuana - many people suggested it would relieve several of my issues. It did not. It makes me extremely paranoid and jumpy. Everyone has different results with it, I know. And the issues it does help, I'm sure nothing will be more effective for you. But I would suggest you try to get the most serious side effect - suicidal thoughts - under control first. Perhaps try weaning off the weed for awhile and see if it helps - along with other self help methods to get you some mood control.

Unless you can find a therapist that specializes in ASD, it will probably be useless to talk to one. For me, the misunderstandings have been epic. You do not have to worry about hurting their feelings. They are getting paid to ACT like your BFF - it would be unprofessional of them to get emotionally involved on any level. You won't hurt their feelings by telling them it isn't working. Beating your head against a wall, in order to spare the therapists feelings, is counterproductive and can further your depression as well. Pleaqse don't do that to yourself.

Applying for disability is something of a scam. I think, in order to get it, you need to have something big, obvious and blatantly wrong with you. I know people on disability for depression. They are crying messes incapable of maintaining conversations or social contact. But, in depression, they do expect you to get and continue treatment on disability. And they require you to be reevaluated periodically because depression isn't always a permanent condition. If you can't function, you need it. They can only say yes or no AFTER you apply. Everything else is speculation.

Professionals are an extremely mixed bag - you never know what you'll get when you visit one. Will you get the top of the class or the guy that barely squeaked by by half a percentage point? Does your specialist consider himself one because he attended one seminar 4 years ago? The trepidation is entirely warranted. There is alot you can do for yourself to help improve your own situation. I'd delve as deeply into the self help route as you can. The more successes you can win for yourself the better and better you begin to feel about yourself. Personally, I save the 'professionals' for those purely chemical imbalances I just cannot right on my own.

I don't think you are over-reacting. However, I do believe it is possible to get help from professionals with mental health issues. I have been depressed since I was 11 or 12. My psychiatrist back then kept pumping me full of medicine. It didn't work and I believe it might be the reason why I was admitted to a psych unit at the age of 17 for suicide attempt. When I got out of the psych unit, I found marijuana. It took away the pain. Unfortunately, being high 24/7 left me even lower functioning than before. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I ended up getting arrested for possession, addicted to alcohol trying to come off it. I was still taking the psych meds while I was getting high. They didn't work. I came off them on my own because I felt I didn't need them. Going to treatment for drugs and alcohol got me off of the marijuana and alcohol. This happened in 2004 but I still was depressed. I would not get professional help for the first 2 years of my recovery. It wasn't until I was having a really bad episode of major depression that I took someone's advice to see a professional. It helped. Eventually I got back on medicine and it helped. I see a therapist now who is really good. I'm doing exercise and meditation in addition to medication. I also have to monitor my thinking when the negative thoughts spiral out of control. I still have symptoms of depression, but it's not nearly as bad as when I was trying to control it on my own. I'm not a big fan of medicine either but it is better than using drugs (including nicotine, caffeine, and sugar) to deal with it("self-medicating").