Spaciest

Hello everyone....
Well I finally made an appointment to see a psychiatrist. Having suffered from depression, anxiety and addiction off and on for ever. And have only been to see my gp about it. Was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Okay, but what kind? I want to know. I've also had panic attacks. I have been on meds in the past but only for short time periods. I just hated the side-effects, and always figured I could get better on my own. I've been to counseling which helped for awhile.

We have a family history of mental disorders. My mother, her mother. I have two family members with bi-polar, one with panic disorder and ocd. And I'm sure there are others in the family too judging by behavior. The reason I have decided to seek help, (I can't tell you how many times I've picked up the phone to make the appointment, but I always thought I could get through it if I just tried harder) I recently attended a seminar on "dementia", my Mom has it. The moderator talked about depression, and stated that recent studies have shown a link between some types of dementia and untreated depression, (mom was never treated for it). The moderator told a story about a friend that suffered from depression, and also had a family history of it, but every time she went off her meds, it would return. She now knows that she must be on meds for the rest of her life in order to keep the depression treated. This scared me and I realized I might be in the same boat.

I know that long-term meds are not the answer for everyone, but isn't that determined by what type of depression you suffer from? I can't count the times I have tried to pull myself up by the "bootstraps" by reading, listening to motivational tapes, cbt, etc. My depression worsens during "situational" challenges, which in recent years have been monumental even for a "normal" person. But can also still be there during seemingly happy times, although to a lesser degree. So, hopefully the pdoc will have some answers for me, and I will begin the road to recovery. I want to thank everyone for posting their stories here. I think it helps a lot of people. It did for me, and I hope my story can help others too.