Does depression and anxiety ever get better. I take a load of pills bu

I read about your situation on another thread. You’ve been through a lot. I would think it would take time to heal from the pain. In the meantime, can you get checked out physically by your primary and focus on good nutrition and health? A talk therapist helped me a lot. I avoided meds for anxiety, but everyone is different. A year of talk therapy helped me, but i still focus to stay calm. Exercise helped me a great deal too. Also, a support group might help or time spent with family and friends. I wish you all the best.

Hi
With recently going through breast cancer Treatment I have now developed some anxieties and depression.I tried the medication route.It did not work for me. I went to a naturopathic doctor and she has put me on a supplement called 5htp. It works just like an Ssri. You do not get any side effects with it. I take 100mg at bedtime. She also added passionflower drops 15 also at bedtime. I am feeling better than I was. You can stop the supplement without any side effects. Just a thought you may want to try that route if you can get a good naturopathic dr. My g.p. is on board with it. I also have a Cbd spray I use in the daytime it's 3.95mg . It's a metered dose if I have anxiety during the day. I can use it 4 times a day. I live in canada so it's legal and purchase thru a cbd government distributor.

@donhan
You mentioned physiologist.

Can I asked why you do not see a psychiatrist and or Psychologist? I developed PSTD with severe panic/anxiety disorder. It resulted from combination of many things, Vietnam Service, Deadly Force as a Police Officer and being shocked 5 times in 24 hours by my ICD/Pacemaker.

I did get counseling and was referred to a psychiatric medication specialist at Mayo. I was taking a lot of medications so my specialist worked as a team with my other doctors when she wanted to prescibed other medications for me. I was given sleeping aids, anxiety, and a depression medication. I was able to ween myself off the sleep aid, anxiety medications but medications specialist wanted me to stay on the depression medications and let me know probably would be for life.

Can you see a psychiatrist that specializes in depression and anxiety?

What I found was not only medication but changing lifestyle can help also. I found exercise to really help me reduce anxiety and depression. I tried water aerobics and became an addict. I found exercising to music and almost being weightless doing it was so enjoying I did not even know exercising. It really helped me.

I also swim and bike ride. Seems doing something you enjoy takes you away from the mind being on anxiety and depression. Some don't like exercise but then find a hobby. I have mentioned many times I read many biographies of FDR. He was under tremendous stress in WWII. He would find almost every day time to work on his stamp collection. It took hime away even if for small time the horrors of WWII.

To donhan, I have depression. Resistant depression and anxiety. Sounds like we're in the same boat I've tried about 20 meds some with several months of efficacy and one with severe allergy almost anaphylaxis.....seroqel . That's another whole story. Other ineffective...or effective for only several months are abilify ( no longer effective) a d wellbutrin which I'm trying again for as we speak. I'm trying depakote 250 mg a day to start. I'll start today. Ive also tried Cymbalta, Lexapro, celexa zoloft, remeron, Prozac, ketamine x6 I've doses. Lamictal which now am allergic to reaction over 75mg. Too weird that one. I can't even remember all of them and misplaced my list. But my psychiatrist has the list I gave her personally and she placed in my chart. Thank u very much. I wish u so much luck on your journey which sometimes feels like the yellow- brick road!!!

This is the tricky part when it comes to meds. People suffer from anxiety depression for a variety of issues. Some are situational some are long term. Throwing an assortment of pills in hopes of managing the dilemma people face is not an exact science. Trial and error. Feedback. Counseling. Taken together help in coming up with the right drugs in the right amount at the right times. It can take its toll. Make matters worse as side effects or cross reactions can occur. Another point to consider is it takes about a month for some of these drugs to be effective. Other drugs knock your socks off. Point is therapeutically there is no one size fits all. But if or when these meds do help it can be a game changer.

To Celia 16. Thank u for your like from my reply to donhan. I hope u found it also helpful. I enjoy blogging on occas. As an alcoholic in recovery and a retired nurse w mental health issues I find the field of addiction fascinating. I retired from a detox unit after 18 yrs and often said I was gonna retire while I still work. Hard time with depression and retired at age 62, early. Oh well. It happens. I was no where ready to retire. Had to get an attny. It all worked out. I really miss detox....it was more than a job but a career......

@donhan
What medications are you currently on and at what dose levels (mg)? How long have you been on them and what are your current side effects?

What types of doctors/specialists are you working with now?

I am in my 50s and struggle with major depression that hit me out of nowhere in 2023 (had multiple things converge to create the perfect depression storm). I can empathize with you on how difficult it is to function when medications aren’t helping but you are also struggling with the significant side effects.

Yes, there is hope. I still have periods of anxiety, and have had 3 MDD episodes mixed with horrific all day anxiety and panic attacks over the years, most recently 2020-2023 (the darkest most dreadful 3 years of my life). I know there are genetics involved as well as a history of trauma. This is what has worked for me to thrive and support my mental health. And we are all different. Just taking meds did not work for me.

About 6 months into my most recent MDD in 2021, I enrolled in a 12 week outpatient partial hospitalization program (PHP). They taught me so much about CBT, DBT, exercise, breathing techniques, yoga, meditation. And It just felt so good to be able to talk to people going through what I was going through in group therapy.

I connected with a great therapist and I continue to do the work.

I find I must exercise daily (I started slow with just a walk around the block which was all I could do as I was afraid to leave the house, was out of shape, and wasn't eating so had no energy) and now I walk 1-2 miles most days. I also mix with beginner yoga 1-2x per week, sometimes use the elliptical at the gym, or ride my bike. I am not particularly athletic, I just try to keep my body moving.

I've learned so much about various breathing techniques and their impact on the parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve such as extended exhalation, 4-7-8 breathing, box breathing which I use when I am anxious or stressed. I went to 2 meditation retreats and learned to meditate and use the SKY breathing technique and try to meditate daily.

I have a light box I use every morning for 30 minutes (I have seasonal Affective disorder) and try to get outside in the natural light as much as possible. I take vitamin D as I have a deficiency. I take L-Methyl folate as I have the MTHR gene mutation.

And I take low doses of meds. I would prefer to be on no meds now that I am doing well, but afraid to rock the boat. I did wean off most of the Clonazepam I was taking (evil drug) which was very very difficult, down to 0.25 at night (I will continue to taper, but I needed to give my body a break, and chipping pills that small is hard). I reduced my buproprion down to 150mg from 300mg, I take 7.5mg of Mirtazapine (hate it makes me gain weight), and 300 mg of gabapentin at night because weaning off benzodiazepines gave me crazy making insomnia. I will wean off that over the next year. I'm going to try to switch to Trintellix from Mirtazapine to stop the weight gain. And for anxiety I have propranolol if I really need it. But most often a series of deep breathing using extended exhalation/vagas nerve techniques and short meditation sessions will calm me down. If I'm really anxious, I lay on my back, put my legs up on a chair or against a wall, and do increasing extended exhalation for 5 minutes (activates the parasympathetic nervous system), and the impact on me is like taking a benzodiazepine!

Namaste

I am SO sorry you're going through this and trust me, I fully understand. I'm not a medical professional and certainly believe that medication is sometimes necessary, but from personal experience I've found that the most important thing that's helped me is GOOD therapy. Though I don't suffer from clincial depression, after having lost our older daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandson last year -- all within 8 months -- I've been more depressed this year than ever before. I go to a Hospice group once a week, but by far the best decision I made was to get professional counseling. I chose a counselor I felt I could relate to well and am beginning to feel that one day in the future I'll be able to lead a "normal" life again. I'll be changed forever after all of our losses, but am "starting" to feel semi normal again. You too can get the help you need. You just need to be persistent and find the perfect therapist who can relate to your problems.

To @celia16
I read your reply to donhan. I have been searching all over for a support group for anxiety/depression in Scottsdale, Az. I can’t find anything. I know I could benefit from it. Each day without an effective anti anxiety medication is a horror for me. It has been six months without any relief. I shake uncontrollably, terrible heart palpitations, no appetite.