add and depression | ADHD Information

I experienced and episode of depression that lasted  2 years. i finally  agreed to take medication in 2001  after  I had woken up at 3am with the thought  "I have rope in my laundry room I dont need to feel this way anymore" I had no real  situation  that was causing the depression. I had gotten divorced  in 98 and struggled a bit with it but was  getting out of it when i just slipped back into  the depression. I was like mud  I couldnt scrape off. I took the medication 18 mo( it worked great with in aboput 3 weeks) and then weaned off  and haven't had a problem since. It was  like my  thinking was in a rut and I just couldnt   snap out of it w/o help. I had   a shorter period of major depression  I had snapped out of in the 80s.  I understand what depression is now and if I  had another episode of  it i would not resist taking medication again. It was a Godsend and i am grateful I was able to  take it a time, get out off the depression, stop taking it and, not slip back into it.In my case, most of my depression comes as the judgement of other people "you're too lazy" "irresponsible".. "have a selective memory"... . I think without all this forms of negative reinforcement, I would be one of the most happiest people in the planet.

 

My depression never involved an actual physical threat to myself or others - that may be why i got through the very peripheral depression screening without detection.

Sonya - please let us know what happens after you speak to your mid-wife.

 

I struggled with depression all through my teen years, and even went so far as to attempt suicide once. I started taking some pills and stopped after about 8 or 9, because I can't swallow pills and got tired of chewing them up one by one. I threw the bottle across the room and cried because I couldn't even do that right. 

Once I reached 22 I got a lot better. I actually have some self-confidence (sort of, anyway), and don't feel the need to sink into that doom and gloom anymore. I still get bad days, but nothing comes close to touching how worthless I felt in those teen years.
ADD is part of my depression, but there are other factors too-- situational, environmental, history etc..  It just makes it harder to fight than if I didn't have it.

Me and my shrink talked, and he decided that I had some serious depression issues, and he decided to get that treated first, and then he told me to come back to him after I started getting over the depression and he would check about the ad/hd symptoms...

I think it was their policy, or way, or something, to treat the depression first, because it could be life threatening..(I was suicidal)....so he wanted to make for certain that that was under control...

I was on wellbutrin, and it really helped with the motivation and the depression (everything was not such a huge deal anymore), but not so much with the focus and other little ad/hd tendencies...

but i ended up not going back to ever get the ad/hd tested for....we lost our health insurance and went through some life changes and a couple of relocations, so I ended up never going back...although, my family doctor, did try me out on strattera, but that really sucked (as mentioned in another thread...) so I went off of it....and then later I got pregnant, and went off of the wellbutrin too.

 

so now I am dealing with regular, RAW, untreated depresson, ad/hd, AND pregnancy hormones!!! I was dealing ok for a while, at first, but recently I have been getting really upset with my husband....ok, TOO upset whith him, and discouraged with my life...(i.e., I can't do anything right, anyway, so why in the world am I bringing a child into the world????)and my midwife thinks that I am prone to some serious mood issues and pregnancy depressions, and also post partum depressions, so when I go back to her she has given me the option for her to prescribe antidepressants that are safe to take in pregnancy.....I dunno, maybe I will try this....

Right now I feel myself sliding into depression.
Everything I do seems pointless.
Everything I plan seems pointless.
Posting this message lacks a point.
No, I think you are right.  I realized, NOW, that the reason I was depressed in my early 20's was because I wasn't up to par like "normal" people and I knew something wasn't right somewhere in my brain.  So, I used to take zoloft for about 2 years when I was 22-24y/o, then I took wellbutrin 2 years ago at the age of 27 which helped me with quitting smoking.  Now, I'm 29 and just started ritalin, but I've been feeling depressed lately because I'm not functioning well in school and I tried SOOOOO hard.  My heart is set on being a nurse and I just failed a skills test and got a D on a written test.  So, there are REASONS for this little depression I'm in right now and if ritalin helps me function better, then the depression will go away right?  I know it will and i think that's why i was depressed in my early 20's cause I didn't know I had ADD, and if you seen how much I screwed up college and my credit, you'd wonder why. ditzychick38431.9053587963i also have chronic depression as a result of my add and went  on ritalin a few months ago, after a life long battle with add. however, i feel as if the ritalin exagarrated my depressive symptoms, making me more zombie like as well as well as more hopless. i dont feel this reaction happens with all people on stimulants, but i have read a fair number of posts on this site with individulas (as well as kids) suffering from a more depressed state as a result of stimulants.

hence, i decided to stop taking my ritalin to see where i would fall, and thank god i am feeling alot better with alot more smiles and laughs. !!

it really feels good to feel myself naturally again without any anti depressants or stimulant meds in my system. i am by know means a doctor and not advising anyone to stop medication without proper consultation, however i just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

Avi.

 

My own depression improved tremendously after i went to counselling and after i started succeeding a little more - after i started to deal with the add.  however, i still get a depressed when i think about the regrets in my life ...

i guess everyone is different but some of the things that helped me have been going to counselling, accepting my situation objectively and stopping the blaming as much as i could, excercising more regularly, focusing on my own self-development like a goal, taking the time to really deal with the add symptoms, and starting to succeed a little more. 

i had to decide that i was worth the effort and that i deserved to have the best life i could make for myself.  i really didn't believe that for a long time. 

i have considered eventually adding an add coach and hiring someone to do some of the things i still get behind on. 

i found that focusing on positives, like the list of positive attributes of many people who have add, helped me very little - except when i used the positives i have in a concrete way. 

it would be interesting to see if others here have found effective ways to deal with the depression related to add.

 

 

i'm thinking that if someone has add and is not diagnosed until adulthood they would almost always have some depression.  Maybe i'm wrong. 

The resistance, being 47 and only recently considered my life-long problems are partly ADD related - I've been in and out of depression for 20 years - some worse than others.  Being a busy mother, worker, volunteer and wife I never saw the stress and depressions coming with all that had to be done - I just kept going - had to, with kids and no family in the area.

To really see where I am at heart/mind/soul I had to cut back on all unnecessary activities, spend some alone time and just give myself time to feel ' where ' exactly is the depression coming from and then how do I go about fixing this.  This never happened over night and often takes days, weeks of analysing.  Writing in a journal helps me alot to later see patterns.

I suggest you take time meditating, when you can, and find out where your peace is.

Best wishes.

Buzz

Hi Yellowdog, I most definitely agree.  I feel living with ADD has caused me to have chronic depressions, some worse than others.   How could it not, when you can focus well or do things as competently as you'd like to or know you can.

A late diagnosis is better than never.

Buss

[QUOTE=The Resistance!]Right now I feel myself sliding into depression.
Everything I do seems pointless.
Everything I plan seems pointless.
Posting this message lacks a point.
[/QUOTE]

Someone said....We are defined by our relationships with others.  By caring enough to post your considered reply you are validating your own goodness.  That is point enough for me.
ghead
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I couldn't respond to your poll for two reasons. First, I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety some 13 years ago and have been on and off anti-depressants ever since. Mostly, on however. It was only last year that I was diagnosed with ADHD the inattentive type and again with anxiety.

The drs. said that I would eventually be able to go off the anti-depressants as long as I were treating the ADHD with medication. I have done that. And, now I believe that I have to go back on the anti-depressants. As of lately, I've been really impatience and periodically feel  like I'm coming out of my skin. 

It's like I spend a good deal of my time anymore apologizing for whatever behavior. At times it feels like I don't have control over myself. Nevertheless, I am definitely loosing it.

All day today I beat up on myself for having ADHD and not being able to perform the way in which I perceive "normals" to perform. I want to get a good paying and interesting job but, I just can't work at the same pace as others. My reports are often late. So, I know that if I get a very competitive job (which are usually the ones that pay well and are interesting) then I'll have to perform at a level that seems presently as scary maybe even unobtainable. Presently I'm in graduate school and have been granted academic accommodations, which has allowed me extensions on my work. I don't know what to tell future employers. Of course, that's if and when I'm interviewed, should I let them know that I have ADHD? Federal work does not seem like the kind of place that I can survive (personality wise) however, I have many of technical and educational skills that the government seeks. I have, probably like you, a pretty big personality. This entire last year was spent working on taming it, however. Anyway, I feel like all of concerns are attacking me at once and I just don't know how to handle it.  

Wednesday this week I have an appointment to see my dr to get some help - maybe he'll put me back on  anti-depressants or something that will regulate my mood. This afternoon I thought that I was going to have to check myself into the crisis center. It's a little scary because I have no insurance and I don't want to complicate my financial situation by adding on an additional bill. 

 

 

theoptimizer38439.9970023148i'm 39 and was diagnosed adhd this past fall. so far, i've managed to keep myself from sliding down any further, but it's going to take a long time before i really turn things around - financially, emotionally, etc.

over the years adhd took a huge toll on my relationships with friends, family, and in business. i'm also quite broke. while medication helps and things are getting better, there are still plenty of problems that continue. it's hard not to be depressed when you know that the next couple years (and probably more) are going to be spent scraping to recover lost ground...