Either via medication or treatment. Or still suffering from it but working on/want to treat it.

I really want some people to talk with about it, how it feels, and such... Is that okay? I didn't even think I had depression until I was diagnosed with it a few weeks ago, and the prescription I got majorly improved my life already.

I'd bet a decent amount of people on this site are in the same boat, myself included. I was diagnosed years ago and it's still a part of my life. If you want to talk you can sMail me or we can talk here.

Recovering from? I don't know that that's possible. Learning to live with, using medication to lessen the effects of, yes. But recovery? Not sure about that. Granted, it's in my nature to be negative about things...probably because of the depression I suppose. It's a lot harder to deal with it when I'm unemployed and when things don't seem to go right. I should probably change medications, but I also have generalized anxiety, sociophobia, and misophonia. Probably OCD as well, but that's not diagnosed. The meds I'm on allow me to deal with the other problems better, so I'm loathe to mess with them.

- I've taken anti anxiety/depression medication for a year and a half, and it has changed my life. I also was in therapy for a year, and still go occasionally. The majority of the time, I'm a happy, positive person that loves to hang out with people. I can go to school, work, and run errands without a problem.

But, the depression hasn't completely gone away. I think a lot of it has to do with me living with my mom, who is a very negative person and hates me for no reason. Most of the time, her behavior doesn't affect me much and I can quickly get over it. But, there are days where the depression hits hard and I can't function.

I was diagnosed a few years ago. I took medication for a while but it made me sick, and since then I've not bothered with medication. I requested some from my doctor 2 months ago, but it's just lurking in my bag and I've not taken any. orz

Anyway, you can always sMail me if you feel like it! c: I'm not too good at replying on here, sometimes I disappear for a while. ; u ; But I'll do my best to reply!

And if it helps, my friend has bipolar and she deals with it really, really well now. She has therapy and she said she's been really happy for a while!

It depends, really! Depression isn't always permanent, certainly not for everyone. Sometimes depression happens from emotional trauma, and as such, can be recovered from, and in other cases, it's due to chemical imbalance or something like that.

I'm glad to hear that, and I hope you can eventually break free completely! Toxic parents are no fun. :/

I'm super-sensitive to chemicals and react badly to most medicine, so I was very lucky to get antidepressants that didn't have bad side effects! I don't really take therapy because my depression isn't the emotional sort and I can handle that part fine- it's the chronic lack of energy and exhaustion that I have a problem with. :C

I was first diagnosed when I was in elementary school and then re-diagnosed in high school. The second time I was diagnosed, I was put on antidepressants. They're awesome when they work, but I found that mine were working overtime. My grandmother passed about a year after I was put on my meds and that was exhausting. It was terrible trying to grieve without being able to express my emotions. I was devastated and couldn't get myself to the point of tears for more than a minute, even though I absolutely needed to cry. When that happened, my doc took me off the meds as long as my parents kept a careful eye on my reactions and promised to call him if I needed them again. After about another 6 months off my meds, I met my wonderful boyfriend and he seems to balance my mood. I know that probably sounds weird, but he just keeps me in a place where I know I always have someone looking out for me and caring about me. No one senses my emotions like he does. I've been off my meds for about 4 years now :) It's not always great, but I'd rather feel something than feel nothing at all.

I was first diagnosed when I was in elementary school and then re-diagnosed in high school. The second time I was diagnosed, I was put on antidepressants. They're awesome when they work, but I found that mine were working overtime. My grandmother passed about a year after I was put on my meds and that was exhausting. It was terrible trying to grieve without being able to express my emotions. I was devastated and couldn't get myself to the point of tears for more than a minute, even though I absolutely needed to cry. When that happened, my doc took me off the meds as long as my parents kept a careful eye on my reactions and promised to call him if I needed them again. After about another 6 months off my meds, I met my wonderful boyfriend and he seems to balance my mood. I know that probably sounds weird, but he just keeps me in a place where I know I always have someone looking out for me and caring about me. No one senses my emotions like he does. I've been off my meds for about 4 years now :) It's not always great, but I'd rather feel something than feel nothing at all.

I've had it all my life, but 'officially' diagnosed last year, along with a few other mental issues (Never was one for psychologists etc.)

I was told to use the 'wellness' techniques or whatever they called them. Nothing came from it, just more things on my mind to worry about :v

I've never been on meds, don't really ever want to be on them. I can manage my depression well enough. Having a dog helps with that heaps though, I don't think I'd be as content if I didn't have a dog to keep my spirits up a bit xP

- Thank you. And yeah, it's no fun having toxic parents. I feel like no one understands how toxic they are... Everyone just thinks I'm exaggerating.

As for my depression, it's a combination of emotional trauma and chemical imbalance. I've pretty much overcome the emotional part of it thanks to therapy. But, I know I still have a chemical imbalance. My dad's side of the family has a history of depression... Nearly every relative has suffered from it. I think this is why the meds are so effective for me.

- Toxic parents are horrible, I felt the same way you do when it comes to people understanding it, every time I tried to tell people about mine as a teenager, they thought I was exaggerating. It's not easy having parents like that. One of my toxic parents is now dead and I was both relieved and sad upon her passing away.

- Recovering from depression? It's not something you ever totally get over or recover from (at least not for many people, maybe you will be lucky), but rather deal with one day at a time. I've had depression/been diagnosed with depression since the age of 16. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 at the age of 26 and PTSD just this past summer.

I take one med for my bipolar but there are no meds tailored to PTSD out there and all the depression meds I've tried make me feel way out of it, like I'm walking or wading through wet cement, or like I can't find the words to speak or respond to anyone that talks to me, so I don't take meds for the depression anymore.

Anyone else ever have people say that they're making their disorders/depression up and that there's nothing wrong with them other than just being a horrible person? I have.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II two years ago. My depression overpowered my hypomanic tendencies so it was a complete roller coaster ride. There are times when I just wanted to stop existing. But you can't exist without dying but I didn't want to die. Depression is beyond pain. It's like a personal hell. My pdoc gave me lamictal for my mood disorder and when the depression got worse, he'd try giving me antidepressants which didn't work out well because they made me too sick. So he increased my mood stabilizer instead. Coupled with a therapist, things have changed for me for the better during these last few months.

I'm happy to hear that! I'm still trying to make my medication a habit, as my memory is quite poor, but otherwise it's working really great for me. I just feel great all over. c:

I've been there with the "Want to stop existing but don't want to die" feelings too.

8 years and counting. I may very well have a chronic depression. Meds aren't working, therapy isn't helping... Running out of options here but who cares :p One less is one less.

If there's one thing I learned the hard way... it was never miss a dose! Especially when you've been taking them diligently for some time. Your mood may spiral down. What I did was I placed a white board on my fridge.. with rows for each day. It had two columns. One for my morning dose and one for my evening dose. I make sure to cross out the box whenever I take them. I put them in this little meds box with seven holes for each day of the week. I used to take them randomly:-( I was extremely messed up back then.

I'm happy that your meds are working. It usually takes you seeing more than one doctor and an array of antidepressants before becoming stable:O Keep that positive attitude up. It helps.

I'll be getting an organized pillbox for it then. I've never had to take pills regularly long term before- most meds I've had were either take as necessary, or had to be dropped due to bad reactions. This is the first antidepressant that did what it's supposed to do without any bad reactions. :D I'm still nervous though, I keep expecting things to go bad.

I'm a fan of the mask method- put on a mask of happiness until it becomes real. It isn't for everyone, but it helps me.

Pillbox. So that's its proper name. Adverse effects suck. Hope things go well with your meds :-) Good luck!

Yeah, it's the same for me. Let's cross our fingers that it'll become real someday.

- I know the feeling all too well. It seems like people only understand if they toxic parents as well.

Yeah, I've had people accuse me of just being lazy, especially my mom.

I was diagnosed in 2010, but I've had it since I was about 7. Gotta love dysfunctional family life paired with exclusion and bullying at school. I was on medication for about 6 months when I got it diagnosed, but came to the conclusion that I would rather feel both black and white instead of constantly feeling grey. It was something I decided after attending a concert I'd wanted to go to for years and not being able to get excited about it when I was actually there. I hope medication works out for you though :) I'm in group therapy, and that sort of works for me. It took a while to warm up to the idea, but it's so rewarding to know that you're not alone and to be there for other people, and it has given me so much insight in myself and how to relate to other people.

A piece of advice from me would be to remember to treat yourself daily. It can be anything, as long as you're doing it for yourself. :) I sincerely hope you'll feel better soon!