4 ms·

Since you didn't mentioned: please, seek professional help before you consider anything else here.

by Rzor 5y ago

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
kazinator 5y ago
That's expensive, though. Professional help is basically a form of entertainment for rich people. It's like having a personal trainer, but for your psyche.
- Jtsummers 5y ago
  That's an incredibly unhelpful attitude. More importantly, though, depression and anxiety can be symptoms of other ailments as well as side effects of medications (medications targeting non-mental health issues or targeting mental health issues). It's almost always worth going to a primary care provider to get a real diagnosis as it can short-circuit the recovery process if a physical cause can be identified (like thyroid conditions, side effects from birth control medications for women, and others). If these aren't factors, at least they've been ruled out.
  - kazinator 5y ago
    > That's an incredibly unhelpful attitude. Shrug. There is no way I'd be able to afford it, if I needed it. The unhelpfulness isn't coming from me.
  - Arete314159 5y ago
    If you are lucky, your PCP will check for the physical causes of depression, such as the ones you have just described. Sadly, in my experience as a person with depression, most of the time they just hand you a free sample of an SSRI and call it a day. I found out 15 years after first being seen for depression that one of my root causes was a B-12 deficiency. Nobody had ever thought to check for it. I have a short essay about checking for some of the other physical root causes for depression here: https://radiosof.com/category/mental-health/ https://radiosof.com/category/mental-health/ and here: https://appliedgrace.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/a-simple-mental-health-protocol-whose-time-is-long-overdue/ https://appliedgrace.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/a-simple-menta...
    - nradov 5y ago
      I suspect that there's a hidden epidemic of subtle nutritional deficiencies. Everyone just accepts the situation but widespread screening would likely pay huge societal dividends.
      - Arete314159 5y ago
        Hard agree. Especially since modern farming methods create food with much less nutritional value than it used to have. But nobody gets rich off of magnesium supplements, so we don't check magnesium levels for anxiety (for example). If you have a health problem, make sure to try to have a problem that has a lucrative treatment.
        satellite2 5y ago
        Definitely, even without screening, the first step should be a prescription for basic OTC nutrients for which people are often deficient and that are associated with depression, zinc, vitamin D etc... Similarly, most of the time people leave the doctor with a prescription for paracetamol and an advice to monitor the symptoms and come back a short while after if the symptoms don't improve. It's simply a low cost and efficient first step of the diagnostic.
- cpach 5y ago
  It can definitely be expensive, depending on where you live. For those that have access to affordable therapy, it can really help and ease a lot. For those that do not have access to that – it’s definitely unfair and yes I guess those people by necessity will need to find other more affordable solutions. I would definitely not call it entertainment though. Just like seeing a PT isn’t entertainment.
codingdave 5y ago
This is particularly important because it is easy to incorrectly self-diagnose. If you are having mental health concerns that are impacting your life, ask a professional to help identify what the problems really are - root cause vs. symptoms can be tricky if you are trying to figure it out on your own.
- BlissWaves 5y ago
  Mhm, and what's the success rate of treating depression with a therapist?
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    A professional is useful even if they have to refer you to someone who has to prescribe you a solution, even if it’s ketamine recommendation.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Jiocus 5y ago
    > 62% of adults show improvement after psychotherapy (66% in CBT) and on the flipside, > 53% of adults with untreated depression show improvement in 12 months More statistics where that came from here: "Treatment outcomes for depression: challenges and opportunities" https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30036-5/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0... I wish OPs partner a healthy recovery :) Depression is hard.
  - cpach 5y ago
    NB: Depression can be a symptom of another root cause. E.g. ADHD. Stuff like that can also be tricky to find out.
    - 3minus1 5y ago
      Right, someone I know closely had no success with depression meds, but finally a doctor had her go on anti-psychotics. And it has made a world a difference. Please seek help from a professional.

Since you didn't mentioned: please, seek professional help before you consider anything else here.

by Rzor 5y ago

Since you didn't mentioned: please, seek professional help before you consider anything else here.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

kazinator 5y ago

That's expensive, though. Professional help is basically a form of entertainment for rich people. It's like having a personal trainer, but for your psyche.

Jtsummers 5y ago
That's an incredibly unhelpful attitude. More importantly, though, depression and anxiety can be symptoms of other ailments as well as side effects of medications (medications targeting non-mental health issues or targeting mental health issues). It's almost always worth going to a primary care provider to get a real diagnosis as it can short-circuit the recovery process if a physical cause can be identified (like thyroid conditions, side effects from birth control medications for women, and others). If these aren't factors, at least they've been ruled out.
- kazinator 5y ago
  > That's an incredibly unhelpful attitude. Shrug. There is no way I'd be able to afford it, if I needed it. The unhelpfulness isn't coming from me.
- Arete314159 5y ago
  If you are lucky, your PCP will check for the physical causes of depression, such as the ones you have just described. Sadly, in my experience as a person with depression, most of the time they just hand you a free sample of an SSRI and call it a day. I found out 15 years after first being seen for depression that one of my root causes was a B-12 deficiency. Nobody had ever thought to check for it. I have a short essay about checking for some of the other physical root causes for depression here: https://radiosof.com/category/mental-health/ https://radiosof.com/category/mental-health/ and here: https://appliedgrace.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/a-simple-mental-health-protocol-whose-time-is-long-overdue/ https://appliedgrace.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/a-simple-menta...
  - nradov 5y ago
    I suspect that there's a hidden epidemic of subtle nutritional deficiencies. Everyone just accepts the situation but widespread screening would likely pay huge societal dividends.
    - Arete314159 5y ago
      Hard agree. Especially since modern farming methods create food with much less nutritional value than it used to have. But nobody gets rich off of magnesium supplements, so we don't check magnesium levels for anxiety (for example). If you have a health problem, make sure to try to have a problem that has a lucrative treatment.
      - satellite2 5y ago
        Definitely, even without screening, the first step should be a prescription for basic OTC nutrients for which people are often deficient and that are associated with depression, zinc, vitamin D etc... Similarly, most of the time people leave the doctor with a prescription for paracetamol and an advice to monitor the symptoms and come back a short while after if the symptoms don't improve. It's simply a low cost and efficient first step of the diagnostic.
cpach 5y ago
It can definitely be expensive, depending on where you live. For those that have access to affordable therapy, it can really help and ease a lot. For those that do not have access to that – it’s definitely unfair and yes I guess those people by necessity will need to find other more affordable solutions. I would definitely not call it entertainment though. Just like seeing a PT isn’t entertainment.

codingdave 5y ago

This is particularly important because it is easy to incorrectly self-diagnose. If you are having mental health concerns that are impacting your life, ask a professional to help identify what the problems really are - root cause vs. symptoms can be tricky if you are trying to figure it out on your own.

BlissWaves 5y ago
Mhm, and what's the success rate of treating depression with a therapist?
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  A professional is useful even if they have to refer you to someone who has to prescribe you a solution, even if it’s ketamine recommendation.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Jiocus 5y ago
  > 62% of adults show improvement after psychotherapy (66% in CBT) and on the flipside, > 53% of adults with untreated depression show improvement in 12 months More statistics where that came from here: "Treatment outcomes for depression: challenges and opportunities" https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30036-5/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0... I wish OPs partner a healthy recovery :) Depression is hard.
- cpach 5y ago
  NB: Depression can be a symptom of another root cause. E.g. ADHD. Stuff like that can also be tricky to find out.
  - 3minus1 5y ago
    Right, someone I know closely had no success with depression meds, but finally a doctor had her go on anti-psychotics. And it has made a world a difference. Please seek help from a professional.