← Return to Importance of focusing on Positive with Depression & Anxiety.

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@nla4625

I've never suffered from anxiety, fortunately, so I can't speak about how having a positive impact might help with that. However, I have suffered through two bouts of major depression that were so awful I've blocked them out. This post hit a raw nerve for me, so I apologize in advance if I'm overreacting. As many have said, different things work for different people; but for me the key was trying different things until finally something did work to get me out of them. For the first, I joined a women's depression support group and read everything I could to understand the dark hole of depression. I learned that two main neurotransmitters were involved: serotonin and norepinephrine. The doctor was prescribing antidepressants addressing serotonin that were not working for me. I read about Effexor, which addresses both, and asked her to prescribe that. Literally an hour after I took it, I felt a fog lift from my brain. Nothing, i.e. Effexor, other antidepressants, or talk therapy, was working to get me out of the second bout; so in desperation I decided to switch gears totally and tried acupuncture and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Thankfully, with the help of a brilliant Chinese doctor, who also had a western MD, that depression lifted after four weeks of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I'm glad being positive helped the author of this post; but I think depression is a medically based disease like cancer that we can't will our way out of by being positive. I was in such dark holes I couldn't be positive, although I'm generally a very positive person. I've become interested in functional medicine lately and have been reading that scientists are finding connections between gut health and brain disorders like depression and anxiety. You can find out more about this by doing a google search. I've dealt with a lot of medical issues over the years, such as two years of debilitating headaches after brain surgery, chronic fatigue, various accidents and operations, malaria, etc. but major depression has been the worst by far. The increase in cases of depression throughout various age groups from COVID related causes is genuinely alarming and something we all need to watchful for. I just hope you won't make the mistake of telling someone with major depression to snap out of it or take a walk or be more positive and it will go away. For me those things would not have been helpful. Nancy

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Replies to "I've never suffered from anxiety, fortunately, so I can't speak about how having a positive impact..."

Everyone is uniquely different in chemistry, DNA , experiences, etc and so we can’t judge or know what’s going to work for them. That’s why going to professional help comes in to play. I’ve been to many psychologists and many other medical places to finally pin point out what will work for me. Depression, anxiety, sickness of any type all need to be cared for and analyze by doctors who can help us.

@nla4625 Each person hopefully finds what works for them. It can be a challenge to face down our issues, and commit to getting better. Sometimes the relief is in the challenge, and the drive to feel/be better. Personally, I am excited when a member recounts what worked for them. It may just be what someone else needs to hear that day. Thank you for sharing your story!
Ginger

Hi, @nla4625. Good afternoon, from the snowy east coast. Like you, I have suffered a lot of depression and PTSD during my childhood and adulthood. I agree that giving someone advice vs. sharing is much different. Not only do those statements hurt people but they sure made me very angry, which of course made me feel worse and feel guilty that I couldn't just snap out of it by opening the door and stepping outside.

When I feel like this, yes there are times that I still do, I take my dose of CBD oil for my anxiety. And I do take an anti-depressant and sometimes it's just not enough. When this happens I just wait it out if I can't get rid of it.

I am not a positive person by nature but have learned to think positively sometimes. I might say to myself, "It's only a few more minutes" or "this won't last forever." These might not seem very positive to others but for me, it works."