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About
Us
(Well, there is just me)
My Story:
I was diagnosed with clinical depression in 1997, and went on
anti-depressants (don't remember which one) and did some group
therapy. Everyone in my life was shocked, including my
husband and my boss. I spent all of my energy (the little
that I had) hiding that something was wrong. I didn't have the
energy to brush my teeth in the morning, I was failing miserably
at my job, and was awful to my poor husband, but mostly I was in
so much pain.
When I was diagnosed, I felt relief. There was a name
for what I was feeling, and a 'cure'. The anti-depressants
helped a little, I was able to get out of bed in the morning,
but it wasn't the whole answer. Group therapy wasn't
helpful at all, but it was not the therapy's fault-- I wasn't
participating fully, I was too afraid to share. I
remember the first day, when we were going around in a circle
introducing ourselves and our problems, I was thinking "I
shouldn't be here, I don't belong here with these people, they
have real problems", but I was the only one who burst into
tears when I was my turn.
I went off anti-depressants after about a year, and have been
back on twice since then. I am finally reconciled to taking anti-depressants
(AD's). I have finally realized that they are a big piece
of my recover from depression 'recipe', and when I am not taking
them, my brain chemicals go back to depression. I have
been working on making changes to my life to support who I am
now, which is different from my pre-depression self. I
have tried many of the tips you will find here, and in my book,
and I have adopted many of them into my lifestyle.
I have learned a lot about depression since 1997, and I
believe that the traditional medical response (I live in Canada)
of medication and therapy are not enough for most of us.
We need more emphasis on Cognitive Therapy, otherwise known as taking
action. Each of us is unique, and the "recipe" for recovering
from depression is going to be unique for each of us. You
need to develop your own recipe for recovery. What works
for you will not necessarily work for me, and vice versa.
Medication doesn't work for many of us.
Anti-depressants increase seratonin in our brains, and that is
helpful, if the only problem is low seratonin, and often the
effects diminish over time. However
there is a good chance that beta-endorphins are also low.
So one drug may not be the complete answer. Many
of the tips you will find throughout this site work in
increasing your beta-endorphins.
The premise of this site is that lifestyle changes,
probably
combined with medication and/or therapy, will help you with your
recovery. Which lifestyle changes? You are unique,
and you will need to experiment to see what works for you and
fits in with your life. Be prepared, though, to make some
major changes for the long term. For most of us there is
no "cure" for depression, there is only
recovery. For me, depression is always around the corner
waiting for me. Taking care of myself is how I keep it
away.
I hope this site is helpful. In my darkest days, I
remember railing against my pain and asking the universe what
good could come of being in this terrible place, and the
universe answered that I should write a book. I am not a
writer, and have never had any desire to publish, so that was a
surprise. I do have a book in progress, and hope to have it
available soon.
This
site is for you if you are depressed. I hope you find it
helpful. If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact me.
Thanks for visiting.
Maria
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