Posted by DustBuster on November 9, 2004, at 13:57:48
In reply to Long standing depression - question, posted by JayDee on November 9, 2004, at 9:37:07
> Hypothetically, if someone were to have develeoped depression at a young age(grade school), and lived with it for 13+ years, untreated... would that make the depression more likely to be 'resistant' to treatment?
My uneducated opinion would be 'yes'.
As someone who developed depression at a young age, and lived with it for 30+ years, untreated, I believe that the various behaviours and habits I've "learned" which support my depression, will be harder to "unlearn" through therapy.
Since I started meds and therapy (2 weeks ago), I've been constantly getting discouraged and anxious, and finding lots of reasons why I should quit the AD meds and therapy. I learned a long time ago not to make rash decisions when it comes to very important (or expensive) questions, so once I calm down and think things through, I always remember why I decided to get professional help in the first place - I want to 'get better', get back to work, and have a 'normal' social and sex life.
According to some books I've been reading (Feeling Good, Undoing Depression), your thoughts, moods and brain chemistry all affect each other. So, after many years of depression, I think my body is just not used to the changes in brain chemistry the meds force on me (which then affect my thoughts and moods).
The meds are just a 'crutch', to keep me from getting stuck feeling the really black moods, while I get help from a therapist. The therapy will (hopefully) help me learn new, healthier ways to interpret situations, and eventually should allow me stop using the meds.
Good Luck!
Patrick
poster:DustBuster
thread:413755
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041108/msgs/413866.html