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I'm happy, but...
...I still have this hint of miserable depression inside of me. It's the worst chemical balance. What can I do to make my chemical imbalance... balance and I'll feel the happiest without that sickening hint of depression?
I go to a psychiatrist. I'm taking the correct medications (Lithium, Lamictal, Latuda and Invega). I don't do therapy because I feel pressured to talk no matter what, and that makes me feel BEYOND worse than I already feel.
I'm doing aromatherapy which helps A LOT, but it's not enough. I do exercising INCREDIBLY a lot, and it makes me fully happy right after, but then that hint of depression comes back. I do yoga and meditation too.
Nothing's helping to take away that hint. What am I supposed to do?!
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Maybe give some free advice about: Mental health?
I have suffered from simple depression and I agree with Solidadviceforteens the medications you listed are normally used to treat manic or bipolar depression which is not a chemical depression per se.
I would add to the advice already given that you do go to talk therapy for two reasons. First the psychologist you should work with can help you better understand your illness. Second all depressions stem from something in manic depression or bipolar disorder the object is to keep you from swinging from extremely happy to extremely depressed. This is where the psychologist is most helpful by helping you recognize the symptoms that cause the mood swings and giving you ways to keep things more in balance.
The other things you are doing for yourself are great and I suggest you continue. I would also suggest you try acupuncture. I did and it was extremely helpful. One word of caution acupuncture for depression is not a one visit fix. The acupuncturist may suggest twice weekly visits to start, then once a week, then twice a month as maintenance visits.
My doctors consider my depression cured now but I continue with the acupuncture as it helps both my mood and the physical pain which caused the depression in the first place. I was disabled in a car accident which eventually with everything that goes along with an accident of the type I was in, the only innocent in a 3 car wreck. Dealing with the lawyers and insurance companies, everyone trying to beat you down took its toll on me.
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You didn't say which mental illness you were diagnosed with. It makes a difference in the advice I can give you. I know that Lithium and Lamictal are used to treat bipolar disorder for I'm on both myself.
Latuda is an anti-psychotic often used t treat bipolar. It does what Seroquel does with shutting down voices, irrational thought, obsession, delusion etc. The problem is with bipolar disorder that sometimes you will feel mildly depressed and other times toward the happy spectrum. It's the nature of the problem.
As long as it's on a flat one spectrum or the other for extended periods it's normal for the disease. What you don't want is constant up and down from one to the other and rapidly cycling as that's a big warning you aren't well.
What you should do is go back to your psychiatrist and explain to him/her that you have windows of depression that lasts for extended periods and then takes quite a while to get back to happy or it goes up and down rapidly. Ask to do levels wit your blood of the Lithium, Lamictal and Latuda to see if they can iron it out with increase/decrease of dosage and or so-called band-aid drug to stabilize the others. Either way, this can all be remedied if you are honest with him/her about how you really are feeling.
Hit my inbox up after you have done this and let me know what the solution is. I have been there and it's not fun when they are fine tuning meds and it's almost there but not quite.
As far as therapy goes if you aren't comfortable with group therapy and hearing stories over and over or being forced to share that's fine don't go. Instead focus on your one on one time with the psychiatrist and getting as much as possible out of it. Just know that the group and outpatient programs are there if you ever need their help.
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