Who else suffers from anxiety and/or depression?

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I was diagnosed in 1998 during the beginning of the end of my first marriage, (we were not Catholic).

First it was called major depression, then it turned into psychotic depression, which sounds really bad, but for me, it involved linking things people said. At one point I thought people who said certain phrases were all “in on it.” Not in a bad way though. I thought they were trying to help me.

The medicine has always helped. Sometimes I think I don’t need it, then I stop taking it and, wow, some of my posts are really out there. No, I’m kidding. What happens is I begin feeling down. I have chronic depression, also called dysthymia, which means I’m never really very happy, just kind of down or meh. Without medicine to help me sleep all night, as well as a med called, Trintellix, I would not have a decent job. I’m sure of it.

I have considered having the transcranial magnetic stimulation done, but, it sounds creepy, and I tell myself I don’t need it.
 
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I’ve got both, and I’m glad that medication has helped to drastically reduce the physical symptoms of my anxiety
 
Anxiety and depression run in my family.
I had debilitating social anxiety in eighth grade. I would have done well with therapy, but in those days, a kid didn’t go to therapy unless you were one step away from a psyche admission.
So I basically pulled myself up by the bootstraps to overcome. NOT because I’m so smart or all that, but because it was the only option open to me.
 
If it affects your ability to function normally or you feel it to a great degree it may especially be good to consider treatment
 
I suffer from both and have most of my life. It has gotten worse the past 20 years.
I Don’t take any medication anymore. It never seemed to help. Doctors Don’t really seem to care. It is hard to find good therapists.
 
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so how did yoi guys know that the anxiety you have is not the usual one,
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As mentioned by another poster, when it becomes a hindrance to our day to day living. In my own case it became years of a shrinking world as fear gradually crept in and made me afraid of doing more and more things. This isn’t a case of feeling blue from time to time, but being governed by that state to where we are unable to function in any sort of normal way.
 
Some days it really helps me, some days it makes no difference at all. And some days I take it and if I’m home, take a nap. Yep, I’ll take my amphetamines, drink a cup of coffee, and fall asleep for about 30-40 minutes.

Who knows?
 
I have suffered from depression and anxiety before and been on medication, but am currently not on medication nor suffering from either.

I think retiring from my job helped me a lot as it was very stressful and then coming back to the church helped me a lot too as does a regular prayer life. I dont work at all now and try to keep an even life, I have a chronic illness so am unable to work and have to rest a lot so that probably helps. I have had a lot of counselling for trauma which helped, sadly it wasnt catholic counselling as I was away from the church through most of it but it was CBT (cognitive behavioural) which I felt gave me tools to guide me through the worst of the anxiety. I’d say don’t assume all anxiety is always only mental health, do pray for help and get people to pray for you in case it is temptations and make use of sacramentals. Prayer has definitely helped me. It is largely what I use to ward off any lingering anxiety these days. I’d say use both prayer, sacramentals and counselling/medication etc. ie what your doctor recommends. Whatever you do, do not go in for all this new age nonsense. No offence, but you could end up opening yourself up to more problems of a diabolical nature and end up with more problems than you had in the first place, so if you want to try weird therapies, ask your priests opinion first. If you can’t get to speak to him, stick to straight forward exercise, prayer and medication or talking therapy (preferably with a catholic therapist). God bless
 
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I see a therapist every two weeks for anxiety. A specific traumatic event has made me overly anxious. I feel guilty even calling it PTSD. 😔

I’ve always been a melancholic person. Serious child. Introverted.

I had depression after my son was born. It was if my entire world was grey, I couldn’t focus and I was convinced my son would not survive infancy because I couldn’t care for him properly.
 
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I have some anxiety, since my late teens. I don’t see doctors or take pills, it’s not what bears do.

Poor eating and especially lack of protein makes it worse, also lack of sleep, and drinking when the booze wears off. So I try to watch all of that.

My biggest cross on fasting days is not being hungry (I don’t get that hungry) but having anxiety because I am not eating protein, especially meat. (Beans and dairy can only do so much and some fasts don’t allow those things. ) I also have to be careful about keeping my iron level up as I can get anxiety and fatigue if it drops.

When I was younger and had a menstrual cycle, hormonal shifts also caused anxiety and a small handful of times, gave me a depression that lasted one day. I do not normally get depression, so it really stood out. I would be fine again within 24 hours when my hormones shifted.

I strongly suspect my parents had anxiety that they didn’t recognize as being anxiety, and self-medicated by simply drinking cup after cup of coffee all day (coffee will also make it go away in most cases).
 
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I know how isolated anxiety and depression can make you feel, but they’re extremely common conditions. A friend of mine recently told me she had a long term history of both and was taking medication. I never would’ve guessed.

I’m now in my mid 50’s and have been prone to both conditions since childhood. During my mid 20’s I had bad panic attacks several times a week. Sometimes I get anxiety and depression together and at other times they occur separately. By and large it’s something I’ve learnt to live with. It’s never been so bad that to severely affect my day to day functioning such as holding down a job but at times it’s got close.

I’ve tried prescribed medications in the past such as beta blockers and SSRI’s but felt that it wan’t really getting to the root of the problem. SSRI’s didnt have much effect for me and in some cases made my anxiety worse. I haven’t taken medication for many years now.

I think what has helped me most is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and hard exercise. I find hard exercise particularly beneficial and do heavy weight training and cross fit style training with barbells 3 or 4 times a week. (For my own interest I qualified as a PT.)

When I give it some thought, there are quite a few things that I find helpful. I’ve found craft work to be beneficial for my anxiety. I’m a keen amateur musician who loves Baroque music and find Vivaldi’s music particularly uplifting. I’ve always had animals around and find that this gives me something else to focus on besides myself. I currently have a dog and a large Irish Hunter horse who keeps me on my toes.
 
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