Jane_small
Reputation: 319

Has there been any developments in treatment for anxiety/depression in the last couple years?

I've suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for the last 13 years and have been to so many therapists that the thought of going to a new one makes me want to hide in bed and ignore the problem for the rest of my life. That's obviously not the answer. I'm currently on an anti-depressant but lately it feels like I'm getting into a bad pattern. I am working on my Masters and the amount of reading required is crazy. The last few weeks I've been sleeping all day in lieu of reading. I can still successfully drag my ass out of bed for class but I'm worried about what will happen when I have some projects due.
I really don't want to increase my meds cause I like having a sex drive and in my experience the higher the dosage the less I want to have sex.
So is it time to try therapy again? Is there any new and exciting treatments I should be looking for? Should I just invest in a sunlight lamp and hope for the best?

Asker's Favorite

  • Sexy_female_nurse_grieger_by_obeliskgirljohanny_small
    Reputation: 134

    You haven't mentioned what types of therapy you've tried for depression. CBT, DBT, Mindfulness, Rational-Emotive, Biofeedback, Gestalt, Existential, Psychodynamic...

    All of those therapies have decent research proving their effectiveness with some subset of people with anxiety/depression.

    Often those of us who feel like we've been to so many therapists with little result have only been to "eclectic" (i.e., non-specialised) practitioners. Finding someone who's an expert in at least one treatment modality, who can assess you properly and suggest whether their modality works is important.

    Also, definitely consider talking to a specialist about your meds. Again, your family doctor may be great, but once you've reached 13 years without adequate treatment, you want to see an actual psychiatrist.

    If you regularly find yourself getting more depressed around this time of year, a sunlight lamp might be helpful. If you can look back over the last 13 years and think of a number of times where you were severely depressed/anxious in the summer, then it's probably not going to be worth the bother of buying or making one.

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9 Other Answers

  • Ava_small
    Reputation: 538

    have you tried switching your anti depressant? not all of them have the sex drive deminising side effect (in my experience wellbutrin actually boosted it). talk to your doctor about other meds you may not have tried and consider switching.

    take a list of what youve tried to the doc with you (and if you can remember any other side effects what they were - mabye sleep problems, upset stomach, muscle clenching, dizziness whatever you can remember) some medications are in the same class (like SSRI) and are similar compounds. if you know you didn't like drug A than drug AB may not be better than drug C, and maybe switch to a different class of drug or one that has a different chemical compound. in my experience zoloft and paxil were both terrible for sex, plus made me clench my jaw alot. clonopin (for anxiety) put me to sleep. but i had good results with welbutrin paired with lamictal (but my depression is bipolar which the lamictal is for so for monopolor you wouldn't need it). i tried about 10 different meds at various times for both depression and anxiety and worked closely with my doctor to figure out what changes or additions worked and what was definetly a bad match.

    all medications react differntly with different people, i tried things that friends raved about and i have no clue what they were talking about. you may have to try a few different things before you end up finding what works for you but you have to work with your doctor on that. it helps to keep a journal (nothing obsessive, but just a few notes) so you know how the medication is effecting you, some antidepressants require more time in your system so the first week or two you may not notice anything, but realize after a month or two that its much more effective than your inital reactions.

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  • 2008_0522stuff0016_small
    Reputation: 2052

    You could ask your prescribing doc to try anti-anxiety specific drugs like Risperidone or Clonidine (this one is a blood pressure drug, but it seems to help with anxiety, too). These are both mild sedatives that don't have sexual side effects and have really helped a family member with anxiety, although you'll probably need the antidepressant in addition to one of these.

    However, the sleeping all day thing indicates that your depression either isn't being controlled or that you need to have your dosage adjusted. Therapy with a good therapist can help you learn to understand and control triggers for your depression and anxiety, and while there are a lot of approaches, the best thing is a therapist with whom you have good rapport. Shop around til you find someone you like.

    Also, exercise. It will help both with mood and with normalizing your sleep.

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  • Happyfoxsq_small
    Reputation: 172

    After all the good advice below from many of the other posters, I only have one thing to add.

    Have you registered for accommodations from your school? Public schools tend to have better and clearer policies, but all schools have to make reasonable accommodations around disabilities, including chronic depression. This could involve deadline extensions (though those can be worse, if they just pile up), or can mean your grades don't get docked because of bad attendance (again, try not to skip class, but you don't want to fail a class you've done good work in because your illness has caused you to miss too many days). Talk with your school's office of disability support (or whatever they call it). They'll be able to help you register for accommodations, explain what sort of accommodations are considered reasonable, and point you towards on-campus support groups and other resources. And in most schools, registering for accommodations doesn't mean you actually have to take them, but registering your disability now, instead of at the end of the term, will make it easier to make a request if it turns out you do need it. And for me at least, sometimes the knowledge that I could get accommodations if necessary lifted the anxiety enough to do the work without them.

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  • Shack_small
    Reputation: 583

    As others have said, look into different meds, and find a good shrink who knows the meds. (Specifically, I would recommend a psychiatric nurse practitioner, they're cheaper and more attentive, and they can rx drugs.)

    Have you looked into the newer class of anti-depressants? I'm specifically thinking of SNRIs, like Cymbalta or Pristiq. Pristiq is supposed to also help with anxiety.

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  • Img_0369_small
    Reputation: 16

    Meditation could be extremely helpful if you're willing to commit time each day - 20 to 30 minutes. It will teach you to calm your mind and body and help you take charge of your thoughts. It's not a quick fix, but you'll notice benefits after a few weeks.

    Find a meditation teacher. It's very difficult to learn and develop the discipline just through reading.

    Also, find a therapist who's aware of mind/body connection and can support you in this,as well as working on other issues. Reach out for support - you don't have to go it alone.

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  • Photo_on_2012-01-03_at_17
    Reputation: 628

    I would ask your doctor about a non-addicting anti-anxiety med like Buspirone (aka Buspar). It also has the effect of boosting the effectiveness of the anti-depressant medication, so you might get more out of the anti-depressant without having to increase it much or at all. Talk to a good psychiatrist. They should be able to help you. Therapy is a good idea too.

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  • Img_0197_small
    Reputation: -1

    I can't say anything about your meds. I do believe therapy can help as long as you can be honest with your therapist. Otherwise take another approach.
    Isolation is definetly not an answer for anything.
    Getting out, getting moptivated to start a day with the goal being to talk to another person that can relate to your situation.
    If you have a problem with accountability then possibly volunteer at a non profit or a shelter and get out of yourself.
    If you can put others needs in front of yours possibly you will feel relief from your symptoms.
    Community is key, fellowship is ideal. Having an understanding that we are not alone and we actually need other people can be a great comfort.
    Support groups and recovery support are everywhere.

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  • Mcgoohan_small
    Reputation: 100

    There have been some very positive anti-depressant (and life-affirming) results from Meditation. Look it up online, lots of info.

    Sitting and meditating for :30 minutes a day, if done regularly, can have subtle and long-term effects on the brain, mind and spirit.

    Plus it's free. No side effects either.

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  • Spaceship_small
    Reputation: 1812

    I've also heard of people building their own "light box" as a combination of flouresent lights to help affect their mood.

    Sure, you can invest a couple of hundred for a manufactured, commercial unit with a special, all-spectrum bulb or two.... but why go that route before trying something more simple.

    I've heard of people buying a fold out make-up mirror complete with make up lights, and then replacing the bulb sockets with flouresent lights.

    While the all-spectrum bulbs are expensive and somewhat rare, you can go to home improvement stores to check out the variety of bulbs they do have: u-shaped, daylight, indoor, screw-in, CFR, CFL bulbs of all kinds.

    Good luck.

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