Typically, I go thru a depression every three years. Just like angry uterus, depression visits me like clockwork. They are all the result of some life altering change that I have a difficulty reconciling within my safety zone. The first depression I can remember began when I was in grade 7. It was not diagnosed, however looking back and knowing what I know now, it was clearly depression.
My next depression came when I was in grade 12 (okay, so that's five years...) Final exams, first boyfriend, first break-up, I was 17. I lost 40 lbs in one month while they poked and prodded and looked for an answer. When they couldn't find a thing wrong with me, they labelled it IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and called it a day.
Third depression was when I was 20. I had dropped out of University, because my type A bowels couldn't stand getting a B's and C's instead of an A. I had no purpose, no focus, no drive. I had a boyfriend who wanted to make me into his wife. Not such a bad thing, except that his vision of his wife was not me, so he began to *mold* me into the woman he wished I was. My parents were getting a divorce, however some stories are not yours to tell, and this one is not mine. Suffice it to say, life as I had known it changed forever.
Depression number four began when I was laid off for the first time from my first job in the airline industry. I was in love with this job. It defined me, gave me purpose, it was adrenaline inducing and it was my career. I had the airline industry coursing through my veins. It was the only place I could ever imagine working and the airline folded. Declared bankruptcy two months after 9/11, took our keys, took our employee ID's, took my sense of purpose. I was 23 (three years...)
This was my first diagnosed depression. After weeks of hiding in my house, sitting on the couch chain smoking and watching t.v., panic attacks if I had to leave the house, and a dwindling bank account, I went to my doctor and bawled like a baby for half an hour. I went to a therapist, and we began "cognitive awareness" therapy. As in, changing the way I thought, changing the way I saw things so that I could be a functioning member of society. This, coupled with Effexor, got me back on my feet and I was ready to face the world.
Okay...are we all depressed yet? Geez...my fifth depression was when Q was born, in 2004. I was 26. Depending on who you talk to, it was Post Partum Depression, it was Post Partum psychosis, it was Generalized Anxiety Disorder, it was lack of sleep and lack of nourishment. Being a mother was completely foreign to me. I was alone and scared and asshole Mr. Ex was to busy "living his own life" to care about my mental health. This was my first experience with a Pscychiatrist. I was put on Effexor, but it wreaked havoc with my heart and made it race to 150 beats per minute...resting. I was diagnosed with the Generalized Anxiety and we went with Paxil, Ativan and Respiridol.
Life was good. I was back in the airline industry, I had a beautiful boy, I had left Mr. Ex and I had a gentleman caller. It was all good. I carefully and slowly weaned myself off Paxil and I could feel again. The good, the bad, the ugly. It was good and I could deal. Until, like a MAC truck, depression and anxiety (number 6, if you've lost count) hit once again. I was 29. I thought I was pregnant. I found myself in the same old spot...not married, a guy who wasn't as serious about me as I was about him, and couldn't fathom making the same mistake twice. How could I be so stupid? How could I have allowed myself to be so careless with my heart and my body, again? As it turned out, I wasn't pregnant. But the damage had been done, the fear had settled nicely into my soul and with no end in sight, I once again started with Paxil and Ativan.
I've been on Paxil ever since.
I tell myself it's because I want my son to have a good life, where he doesn't have to worry about his *crazy* momma. I don't want my depression to give him baggage. I want his childhood to be filled with happy memories and as little *crazy* as possible.
Sometimes, though, I think I medicate because I'm afraid to feel. Afraid to feel anything other than melancholy. Sure, happiness is great. But happiness is fleeting, in my experience. It gets replaced, sooner or later with fear and anxiety and sadness.
Paxil is an anti-anxiety drug. It's not an anti-depressant. So, I'm not sure where I go from here. Do I go to the doctor, tell him I'm depressed and get prescribed another drug that takes away the sadness? And in that case, just feel nothing at all? Is that how I'm to go through life? Do I plough through it, determined and wiser than before? Do I go to therapy to see why I'm afraid to feel, what I'm afraid I'll feel, and how to deal with my feelings, good and/or bad? At this point, I don't know...I just know that I can't just be.
I'm feeling the anger and the sadness slowly creep into my being, and I find myself embracing it rather than finding a way to rid it from my bones. Maybe who I am is just a sad person, and I should accept it and become it.
And I'm really kinda pissed, because I was feeling whole and healthy and was in a good place to find a man, to find love. Now this. I wonder if that's where the fear comes from, where the sadness stems. Maybe as much as I say I'm good on my own, maybe I do need the love of a good man to complete me. Maybe we're meant to go through this world two by two.
Oh, and this is number 7, for the record. I could bore you with all the details, the sob story, the *Why Me, God, WHY?* but aren't we all just sick of that?
Oh my dear Catherine. I have so much to say about this post that I'll never get it all in. This post is the depression talking, not you!
ReplyDeleteFIRST of all, you do feel, you feel more than most of us. Just look at your previous posts!
SECOND of all, depression and anxiety is an illness, caused by chemical imbalances. NOT by you. The paxil balances those chemicals out. No different than someone taking insulin to balance out their blood sugars.
THIRD you are NOT CRAZY!! I repeat: YOU'RE NOT CRAZY!
And Finally, I know how you feel. I get depressed too. I have been there, hiding in the house, ducking when I saw friends at the store so they wouldn't see me, not answering the phone, pretending I wasn't feeling well... The best advice that I had got from a therapist was: Today does not determine tomorrow. You got it out, and although it's heartbreaking to read, I think it's so good that you did. But... tomorrow is a whole new day. Don't project these feelings of sadness on the future. Yes, you might be sad tomorrow, and the next day, but the day after that might be full of joy. Ride the storm, but if you feel like you can't, go to the doctor and don't feel guilty about it. This is not your fault.
You are beautiful, and funny, and a super mom. Most of our mom's were basket-cases when we were growing up, too, but we knew they loved us - just like Quinn knows the same.
xoxox Gayle
I was looking at your blog today and I read the post about depression. I too have suffered from it for most of my adult life. As a teenager, I developed a severe depression in Grade 11 and I dropped out of high school when I was sixteen. The depression was not diagnosed but, looking back, it was a classic case. I did not want to go out of the house, I cried all the time, I slept for hours and hours every day. My parents let me stay home from school, I guess that they did not know what else to do with me. I managed to keep some of my friends because I pretended that I was a rebel from school and it was not frowned upon to be a drop-out for a few months. By the end of the school year, I managed to get back to school and I was able to complete the year. I moved on and things were okay until 1976 when it happened again. This time was worse. I had panic attacks and I thought that I was dying. It went on for weeks and months but I kept functioning in my day to day life. It was hell but eventually it went away again. I had no idea that it was depression. I thought that it was just stress related which probably accounted for some of it.
ReplyDeleteI had a few more episodes until finally in 1992, I realized that I was in terrible, terrible shape. I kept going to work but I feared the weekends because I was sure that I was going to die on the weekend. I thought that if I died at work it would be better because there were lots of people around. I sought out a new doctor because I felt that my family doctor was not taking my symptoms seriously. My new doctor recognized that I was suffering from depression rather than some undiagnosed illness. She sent me to a psychiatrist and I started going weekly. I was sure that they were going to lock me up but I only had to go for an appointment once a week. The doctor recommended Paxil and it worked right from the beginning although I did not feel noticeably better for quite a few weeks. I went to the psychiatrist for about five years until I felt that I was able to deal with everything. I am still taking Paxil. Several times, I have tried to wean myself away from the drug but I cannot function in this world without it. When I look back now, the things that resulted in episodes of depression were very serious matters. My father passed away, my mother then became an alcoholic, my sister died of cervical cancer, Earl’s cousin died from pancreatitis; those terrible events caused me to spiral into depression. I could never deal with the terrible things that happened. My mother could never deal with them either and I know now that she suffered terribly from depression but she masked it with the alcohol.
Connie
I too have suffered from it for most of my adult life. As a teenager, I developed a severe depression in Grade 11 and I dropped out of high school when I was sixteen. The depression was not diagnosed but, looking back, it was a classic case. I did not want to go out of the house, I cried all the time, I slept for hours and hours every day. My parents let me stay home from school, I guess that they did not know what else to do with me. I managed to keep some of my friends because I pretended that I was a rebel from school and it was not frowned upon to be a drop-out for a few months. By the end of the school year, I managed to get back to school and I was able to complete the year. I moved on and things were okay until 1976 when it happened again. This time was worse than the first time. I had panic attacks and I thought that I was dying. It went on for weeks and months but I kept functioning in my day to day life. It was hell but eventually it went away again. I had no idea that it was depression. I thought that it was just stress-related which probably accounted for some of it.
ReplyDeleteI had a few more episodes until finally in 1992, I realized that I was in terrible, terrible shape. I kept going to work but I feared the weekends because I was sure that I was going to die on the weekend. I thought that if I died at work it would be better because there were lots of people around. I sought out a new doctor because I felt that my family doctor was not taking my symptoms seriously. My new doctor recognized that I was suffering from depression rather than some undiagnosed illness. She sent me to a psychiatrist and I started going weekly. I was sure that they were going to lock me up but I only had to go for an appointment once a week. The doctor recommended Paxil and it worked right from the beginning although I did not feel noticeably better for quite a few weeks. I went to the psychiatrist for about five years until I felt that I was able to deal with everything. I am still taking Paxil. Several times, I have tried to wean myself away from the drug but I cannot function in this world without it. When I look back now, the things that resulted in episodes of depression were very serious matters. My father passed away, my mother then became an alcoholic, my sister died of cervical cancer, Earl’s cousin died from pancreatitis; those terrible events caused me to spiral into depression. I could never deal with the terrible things that happened. My mother could never deal with them either and I realize now that she suffered terribly from depression but she masked it with the alcohol.