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I am 26 and have battled with depression as long as I can remember
Conversation started by kristenfromsydney
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Hi my name is Kristen, I am 26 and have battled with depression as long as I can remember. I am currently on anti depressants and am feeling well. Im a mother of 3 children and I love being a wife and mother to my kids. I love to reach out to others battling with depression its a long hard road.
My medical diagnosis was made more than 2 years ago a few months after the birth of my son. I remember at the time feeling totally overwhelmed and numb. I knew something was very wrong with me whern my baby was crying and I couldnt even get up to feed him/hold him. Icalled my husband to get home immediantly and went straight to my gp who diagnosed me with post natal depression.
I believe I have suffered from varying degrees of depression since my childhood, I remember as a teenager not finishing school was one of the debilitating effects depression had on me.
I have been keeping well with antidepressants and phsycology, and undertaking cognitive therapy, art therapy etc
I think that depression HAS A BIGGER IMPACT than what anyone can imagine, there is still much more work to be done about it. -
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LisaHealthShare Member
Hi it is very life impacting I tend to have mild depression but extremely high anxiety and often wake up in a state of dread and panic, I am making it day to day without medication and while I manage my worrying is excessive. It steals the joy from your life and distorts mole hills into mountains. Anti anxiety medication is not very good in my experience just made me feel even weirder. I am considering anti dperessants if it goes on to much longer but trying to give it a few more weeks see how I go now Uni's finished for the year. A holiday would be great especially if someone else was organising it…gald to hear you are feeling well and the antidepressants are working do you mind me asking which ones you are no, thanks and all the best.
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PaulHealthShare Member
I think it is important to go to a doctor as soon as possible. I dealt with depression for years without medication, and would get panic attacks and all kinds of things. Anti-depressants helped me and I still take them, but the if you are young, you can go off them. You can also do things like yoga and meditations to calm your mind and stop the anxiety.
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KristenHealthShare Member
hi Lisa and Paul, Lisa please get a thorough professional opinion so that u no longer have to suffer through this, there are different antidepressants that work on different parts of the brain, there are so many types. I am personally taking antidpressants with the main ingredient being venlafaxine. U might benefit from a low dose anti anxiety with antidepressant all in one.
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beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related disorders in Australia.beyondblue is a bipartisan initiative of … View Profile
Hi Lisa, There are a couple of different types of medications (we call them classes) that can be used for anxiety. One group called Benzodiazapines should only be used under the guideance of a psychiatrist as these can be addictive. There are however a number of antidepressant medications that are effective for anxiety as well as depression, and they are safe, effective and not addictive. Talking therapy such as cognitive behaviour therapy can also be really useful and give you strategies to help you keep the worrying thoughts under control and in perspective. beyondblue has a number of fact sheets on the different types of anxiety disorders and we also have a booklet “ A Guide to what works for Anxiety Disorders” which will give you an excellent overview of the different types of treatments, how they work, and how effective they are. You can download all this from the beyondblue website (www.beyondblue.org.au) or call our infoline and talk to a trained mental health professional who will guide you through the information and send it to you. All information resources are free and the call to the beyondblue infoline is the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia (unless you are on a mobile) - the number is 1300 22 4636. Take care.
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beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation working to address issues associated with depression, anxiety and related disorders in Australia.beyondblue is a bipartisan initiative of … View Profile
Hi Kirsten, One of the biggest risk factors for postnatal depression is having a personal history of depression, so it is not uncommon if you think you may havehad depression years ago, and then the event of having a baby lead to a relapse. It is good to hear that you are getting treatment. If you would like to share your story about your experience with postnatal depression, I would encouage you to go the a dedicated website www.justspeakup.com.au and you can view/read of other people's stories, offer words of support and post your own story there too. It is important that we really break down the stigma surrounding depression and anxiety druing pregnancy and following, and this is a great way to get involved, spead the word and offer hope to other women who are suffering out there.
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