How would you define depression?

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Hello,

I will try not to be melodramatic about this: For the past 3 years or so, I've been experiencing spells of depression (or so I think, I'm not entirely sure). My mind and my emotions just 'turn off'. I feel a constant sickening feeling, and I lose all ambition to leave my house. This usually happens every 3-4 days, however, it's becoming more and more frequent, sometimes every other day. There are many days where i feel great, but like i said, there are days where i feel as if i am in my own personal hell. It's come to the point where my schedule is being altered to reflect my emotions. This is a new concept for me, as I was a very positive and loving person not long ago (my natural tendency). So back to my original question: am I experiencing depression? Should I seek psychiatric attention?

If there is any more information I can provide, please let me know; I just want to feel like myself again.

Thank you,
Ian

Well, it is very likely that you are having depression.

But the main question is, if you think you need help?
It doesn't really matter how you call it or what disorder you have, what matters the most is, if you think you can't deal with your problems alone and/or need help?
If this is the case, you should deffinetly see a shrink.

Last edited by Raziel on 28 Jan 2013, 4:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

http://www.adoc.us/Providers/ADOC_Depression.pdf

This is just some of the information that doctors would use to diagnose depression. I found it by googling "depression dsm-IV-TR" (The DSM-IV-TR is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision. DSM5 will be out in May. The DSM is the bible of psychiatry).

My advice is, if something is affecting your life so much then seek help.

Thank you for the advice and information, everyone. I think that is a good perspective that I didn't think of before. I think I have reached the point where I need to get help. I have one other question: for those of you who have taken anti-depressants, would you say that the effects of taking them were largely beneficial? Or are there potential side-effects?

They are generally pretty effective for depression and anxiety and some other things too. But there are potential side effects so go through these carefully with the doctor. Also, people with bipolar disorder should be taking a mood stabiliser before taking an antidepressant, because the antidepressant alone can cause a switch into mania for those prone to the condition. Alot of bipolars find this out the hard way, like I did. Before diagnosis I was prescribed an SSRI antidepressant and within 2 weeks I was hospitalised with psychotic mixed mood. I was pretty far gone already, but the SSRI tipped me over the edge. If you're someone who suffers from moderate or extreme ups and downs in life be very careful to get a full psychiatric diagnosis.

Also, do not stop taking them cold turkey without medical advice.

Yes, that's very important, even if you feel well.
I once had polymorphous light eruption because of ADs (citaloprame and doxepine) and I asked my shrink what to do and she just stopped all my meds at once because of the side effects.
Next thing that happened was, had I was in a small hospital because of depression.

So, first thing you need is a good shrink, maybe you also want to think about psychotherapy, but that's up to you and your shrink.
Then you need a good diagnosic evaluation. If you want, you can write down all your symptoms beforehand and what you got dx with in the past and when and so on. What causes you moodshifts, how do you feel in between and so on.
Those are important informations.