Posted by crepuscular on April 3, 2002, at 11:43:34
In reply to Kramer: does depression ever stay in remission?, posted by allisonm on April 3, 2002, at 7:41:57
hi allison,
i would probably put myself in a similar category as you, except that i have a bipolar form of this disease. i've concluded that i'll always have to be vigilant about my moods. i've had periods of remission that last several years, but then the beast comes back. sometimes this is my own fault - i go off meds (because of side fx, hubris, etc.) but sometimes it's just the condition itself.
but the reality for me - and i'm suggesting it may be the same for you - is that this is a life long medical condition that you simply have to *fight* like cancer, diabetes, or whatever.
a close friend of mine has lupus and she will do fine for a year or two, and then boom, another attack will begin. she's on her 3rd kidney transplant now. somehow, she battles through these episodes, does the best she can, and accepts the disease-free periods as a gift. maybe depression is like this - a chronic, episodic condition. if it is, then gear up for a protracted battle.
i think we can pummel depression down to a certain size, but it will never go away forever. and then there is the secondary damage from simply being depressed - knowing what it's like to consider suicide, spending a year as a ghost in your own body, not sleeping or over sleeping, etc. it's hard to believe, but most people never have severe mental health symptoms like this.
my tactic these days is this: Do what you need to do *before* you need to do it. that is, avoid having relapses at all costs. the more time we spend in a depressed state, the more our brains seem to want to go there. i think depression is damaging to our brains. so take those meds, switch if they aren't working, exercise daily, take reasonable doses of supplements, practice good sleep habits, recognize your vulnerability to life stressors.
poster:crepuscular
thread:101656
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020402/msgs/101683.html