Depression and medication

Haven’t been yet, not very good at self help and getting to the docs but I will let you know if I remember to lol

I found the chimp paradox book helped me to retrain my thought process, so it might be worth a read?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chimp-Paradox-Acclaimed-Management-Confidence-ebook/dp/B006K26BEQ

I have a very hard time seeing the positives, for example I have a wife, and I told her she’s like a rose planted in a bucket of sh#t and I can’t smell the rose because all I smell is sh#t

What works better for me, rather than medication is acceptance. Due to their neurotype, 99% of the country have different needs and expectation in regards to communicating and socialising. It's also in their NT nature to stick to the pack and to marginalise minorities. As such, sometimes I'm going to have crappy experiences that will really upset me. I can't change this but I can change my attitude and approach to it.  I used to get in bed and cry for days on end, whilst eating junk. This led to me feeling worse, so now I go for a run and looking after my nutritional needs.

I also try and focus on the positives and the people who embrace diversity and also put in place strategies in place for the things that upset me. For example, my husband is NT and loves group socialising, I hate it as I never know when I can make a contribution to the conversation and I find large number makes me feel like an outsider and anxious. Due to this, we don't have large parties at our house and normally only invite two people round at a time.

Possibly 

I took various types of mood stabilising medication on and off for 20 years before being diagnosed as autistic but they didn't really make much difference. The things that have the greatest impact for me are:

• Excercise - this is the most important
• A healthy diet
• Making sure I don't stay in the house for long periods of time e.g if I'm on annual leave and don't do anything for a few days I'll be thoroughly miserable by the end of it
• A good nights sleep and practising sleep hygiene inc going to bed at the same time each night, even if I'm on holiday and in a different time zone

Feeling upset when certain things happen in your life is often a natural reaction rather than a sign that you're clinically depressed. Could this be what's happening instead? I often feel suicidal when having a 'meltdown' but will feel ok within a matter of hours or days.

That could be for any number of reasons, the support you’re getting on this thread might have made you feel a little better today. Still might be best to go see your GP though, just to get on top of managing the situation in the long term.

Strange thing is, it fluctuates, like I’m feeling ok today and two days ago I was contemplating ending it. 

Exactly! Better to nip it in the bud before it gets any worse!

Whats-His-Face let us know how you get on at your GP’s please?

I take sirtraline seems to be doing the trick at the moment. I'm having a bout of depression  brought on by a situation at work, long story.... I don't have any problems with taking it though, my thinking is that if its helping, which it is, then I'll take it. I'm also a very poor sleeper and take Quetiapine 25mg most of the time this really helps.

Go and speak to your GP and they will discuss all the different avenues with you, its better to get help sooner rather than later and like Kitsun said if you need medication you can get some control over it before you really get low...

Thank you, I might go gp’s tomorrow.

I’ve taken citalopram in the past for both depression and OCD, it did help. I’m not a huge fan of taking tablets either, but sometimes it is necessary. Talking therapies do play their part but sometimes it is necessary to sort out the symptoms before you are able to resolve the cause. There also tends to be a waiting list for talking therapies so some medication might make things more bearable for you while you are waiting. Why don’t you book an appointment to see your GP and explain how you’re feeling and see what they suggest?

I've been taking Sertraline (antidepressant) for several months now, and it does seem to help, but took several weeks to have any effect. I felt worse at first.

I also have promethazine hydrochloride to take when I feel particularly anxious, but an unfortunate side effect is that it makes me very drowsy, and I always end up falling asleep whether I wanted to or not, within a few hours. (I could go back to the GP and ask to try something different, but I can't be a***d.)

I hope to wean myself off both at some point, but I've had to give up work recently because I can't cope with it anymore, and some days I struggle to get out of the house. Under the circumstances, I feel OK about taking the tablets for now, until I am stronger.