Depression help

Posted by dorma @dorma, Dec 14, 2023

My system will not tolerate anti-depressants, and I NEED them. Just wondering if anyone knows how I can help myself...? I get weepy and sad way too often; just feel empty inside.

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@dorma

We have NO psychiatrist help in our area; not even an hour away. The "therapist" they sent me to would never get past my BMI! [body mass index] and my prescriptions; never! Needless to say, I stopped seeing her.

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I found this online resource recently; haven't used it, but it's rated highly and worth a look:
https://www.betterhelp.com/get-started/

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@hm60

Hello there, how did you get a psychiatric support dog?

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I trained them myself. My present one is a Border Collie.

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@jimhd

I trained them myself. My present one is a Border Collie.

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I am a veterinarian, currently have a old dachsie who is not in any way a therapy dog (very self centered); I now live in a condo (had a 3 acre property and horses, multiple dogs in the past, and am grieving that loss as well as have a very rare, serious chronic GI motility issue affecting swallowing, stomach motility, and I feel awful every day) and am limited to one dog. I hope to get another dog when this one passes but he is trying to live forever (he is 15). My change in health the past year concerns me regarding another dog. I have no family in the area.
Did your psych or pcp write a referral for you to call this dog your psychological therapy dog?

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@hm60

I am a veterinarian, currently have a old dachsie who is not in any way a therapy dog (very self centered); I now live in a condo (had a 3 acre property and horses, multiple dogs in the past, and am grieving that loss as well as have a very rare, serious chronic GI motility issue affecting swallowing, stomach motility, and I feel awful every day) and am limited to one dog. I hope to get another dog when this one passes but he is trying to live forever (he is 15). My change in health the past year concerns me regarding another dog. I have no family in the area.
Did your psych or pcp write a referral for you to call this dog your psychological therapy dog?

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Psychiatrist approved it for me. I keep the referral letter in my file at home. I have a service dog, not a therapy or companion dog. ADA outlines the difference.

I used the ADA guidelines for services provided by a dog, and the behavioral requirements as well. Unfortunately, not everyone who claims to have a service dog should be allowed access because of their dog's misbehavior. It makes my doctors appreciate the fact that my dog lies still on her blanket on the floor, whether it's 15 minutes or an hour. She's appreciated at the infusion center, as well, where she lies still for more than 3 hours while I have IVig infusions two days a month. Not every breed does that easily. That said, my Border Collie is known to be an active herding dog, but they respond to stay command. All kinds of breeds are used, depending partly on the service they provide. I wish my last one had lived as long as yours, but he had a stroke at 9, even though he was in good health. My Sadie is around 9 now, and I've started looking ahead at what I'll do when I lose her. It's always hard, even when they're geriatric. I wish you the best.

Jim

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@njoys

I found this online resource recently; haven't used it, but it's rated highly and worth a look:
https://www.betterhelp.com/get-started/

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Thank you; can't hurt to check it out!

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Treat yourself like you would your best friend
Crying is good for releasing emotions
healing?
Talk to another person with depression
Pray too

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@sheilawhitern

Treat yourself like you would your best friend
Crying is good for releasing emotions
healing?
Talk to another person with depression
Pray too

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You tube has the benifits of meditation

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Thanks. I do love listening to soothing music.

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@sheilawhitern

Treat yourself like you would your best friend
Crying is good for releasing emotions
healing?
Talk to another person with depression
Pray too

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Prayer is a given! Crying...some days that is too. Talking with another depressed person; well, I guess "venting" does help some. Thanks.

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I have been depressed most of my life. I am now sixty and fighting to reclaim my life from an extensive cocktail of ineffective psychiatric medications and just about every treatment modality modern mental health care has to offer.

My negligence and the arrogance of many so called providers stripped me of everyone and everything that ever mattered to me. I've posted a lot about my recent journey if you care to know details.

At this point in my life I know few things with any certainty; maybe they might offer you some comfort.

I do not want to ever hurt anyone again.
Modern pharmaceutical mental health care has nothing to offer me, fifteen years of experimenting on me is enough.
Proper nutrition, exercise and good sleep are the only treatments that have ever helped me. They also have the benefit of no side effects.
Grief and sadness are not depression. My only path to peace is through them.
If I do not deal with my trauma it will deal with me.
Everything I believe today may turn out to be wrong tomorrow.
I want peace in my life.
I miss my family.

It took sixty years for me to learn what I know today. I hope these lessons will help me make better use of what time I have left.

I wish peace for everyone who suffers. It increasingly seems to me that is everyone.

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