Learning the hard way but learning,

Total respect for you and how you are handling your situation.

 

What people would think kept me from getting on antidepressants. Bad move. They don’t solve your problems but they sure do help.

Congrats for learning. I’m glad you got on track and hope you can stay that way.

 

Don’t regret a thing. Mistakes aren’t always mistakes at all. It’s how we truly learn. The hard way! Keep doing what you’re doing !!!

 

The best friend I ever had was on meds for depression. Viet Nam combat vet with diagnosed PTSD from the VA.
He took his meds every day. He got to feeling really good and balanced and he thought he was okay.
He quit taking his meds.
Two weeks later he parked his truck in the yard, took his Glock out of the glove box and shot himself in the head.
If you need meds, get them.
If you have meds, take them.

 

Good deal. Only an idiot would criticize someone for taking medicine.

 

I think it's more about what's causing the depression, than the actual remedy for it. In the past, people that were depressed, either lived with it( and affected everyone around them) or changed their life accordingly. I'm by no means advocating anything, but it's the main reason people, that don't have access to healthcare, turn to "other" forms for relief. Who's to say, taking "legal" meds is any better than someone who uses not so legal ones? I'm sorry, as TTR's "wet blanket", I don't buy it. I'm not any happier knowing someone is on anti-depressants, AND DRIVING A SEMI, that's okay,,,and someone drummed out of the industry for smoking a bowl 3 weeks ago. If you have to take meds to "function in our society", something is drastically wrong with the way you are living.

 

Don't get all huffy, depression is nothing new. I'm no angel myself, and have dealt with depression for 50 years, so I'm well aware of it's effects, and causes. I happened to know what caused my depression. My solution would make most disagree, but I did what I had to do to cope, rules be darned. While the causes of my depression are many, it was the way trucking was headed that REALLY bummed me out the most, and I got out and did something else, something that didn't cause me to be depressed. Healthcare folks love it. Americans spend a whopping $200 BILLION dollars a year on shrinks, again, THAT'S the business to be in. Take care of the folks that can't handle their life. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm sorry, I just don't agree with our modern "quick fix" society so we can keep working, and padding their pockets to boot.. If you get into any kind of accident, and a sharp lawyer finds you are on anti-depressants,, well, you just helped put another level on their house. I realize, it would be nice if, "get confident, stupid", would work, but I agree, it's much more complicated. It may be easier to find something that cures the depression, than adding to it requiring drugs, if possible.