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Hi,

My name is Chris, and this is my first post. I have been almost completely cured of my depression problems. I have had it since I was a little kid, and I am now 38. I tried everything... Positive thinking, reading books, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, medications (Paxil, Celexa, Wellbutrin, Ritalin, xanax, and many more), self hypnosis and anything else you could try. None of it worked, especially the medications which seemed to help at first but didn't last more than a few weeks.

Here are some things that I have learned; you may disagree with me on some, but maybe it will get you thinking and help you.

1) Depression is not a disease, it is a symptom.

2) The real disease is Anxiety. Anxiety is like being outside in the winter without a coat, thinking your going to freeze to death. Depression is the warm blanket you snuggle under to get rid of the cold. Depression is a way of avoiding the pain of anxiety. Haven't you ever literally gone to bed when you were really upset and frustrated and just let yourself get depressed and went to sleep?

3) ADD is not a disease. It is another symptom of Anxiety. I used to struggle with distractions, memory problems, forgetfulness, restlessness, and all of the symptoms others talk about in this message board. I have been all but cured of most of this too and can now concentrate like other people do.

How did I do it? First I had one good shrink who told me I had Anxiety. Then I found this medical treatment popularized by Dr. David D. Burns, MD called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He wrote a book called "Feeling Good. The New Mood Therapy." The basic premise of this therapy is that we have a running dialog in our heads that tells us we are losers, unattractive, different than other people and so on. The therapy is remarkably simple, only requiring a few minutes to analyze our thoughts and work against the negative ones.

I never would have thought that I could change, but I have. Either go buy this book (It's really cheap like $7-$8 and in most book stores), or find a PhD or MD that practices CBT- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. There are other books he has written on the same topic such as 10 Days to Self Esteem, which I read first. That book saved my life.

With this I have cured some of the symptoms of Anxiety like depression, and ADD type symptoms... But... I STILL FRIGGIN PROCRASTINATE! (Yes same story as all of you... bad credit, getting fired all the time, kicked out of college for bad grades, messy desk, car, house... no career progress what so ever...)

This therapy is supposed to work on anxiety and procrastination too. I have just started trying it to see if it works. I will let you know, but it seems like anxiety is a tougher nut to crack than depression and distraction.

Good luck to you,

Chris

Sharon,

Yes, I lived with depression for about 30 years. I can't remember a time when I didn't feel down, even as a little kid. I went through several Major Depressive Episodes, and almost constant feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. I tried the traditional approach to depression which is counseling and medications. The medications only caused more problems and the counseling offered no help at all.

I have been depression free for about 3 years, meaning that I haven't had a Major Episode, and never feel down for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. I will go days and weeks without feeling worthless.

This doesn't mean that I always feel good. I have continued to be haunted by fear and anxiety. The difference is that now when I procrastinate, and feel stressed out, and exhausted, at least I don't feel depressed about it. I know that I am just a human being with flaws, just like everybody else.

This kind of ticks my wife off a bit because she thinks that I don't take problems seriously anymore. I do, I just don't mope around the house in my PJ's for days at a time anymore.

Chris