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Why don’t you see a doctor, and get prescribed some meds?
> I've put off finding a new therapist and psychiatrist because of the same catch-22 that was affecting me earlier, being depressed removing my motivation, but writing this post and reliving the last few months has reminded me that nothing good will come of continuing that.
Kudos for the courage of writing this up. Just one thing that occurred to me. Reconsider the necessity to find a good therapist. It can be so immensely helpful. Best of luck on your ventures and your health!
When I had depression I found this a very difficult and frustrating task that was depressing by itself. I don't want to say that most therapist are bad but they are humans and it's very hard to find one that matches well with the patient.
1. Break your fall.
Depression, and any 'invisible' illness, are highly distracting. Like trying to getting an A while getting electric shocks during every class and study. It can be done (not by me, but by some I guess) but it is really really hard. You'll miss obvious problems, solutions, and obvious signs that act as cues at other times. You need to turn down the voltage a bit.
First, quick fixes. These are antidepressants. They are a good temporary measure but not more than 3 maybe 6 months. Depression kills all forward progress, and antidepressants can release some of this pressure temporarily - freeing you to begin moving to long term solutions. That is really all antidepressants are good for.
2. Find out-of-the-box effective solutions to your depression - immediately.
First, I have been helped by western herbals (St. John's Wort is proven long term effective but takes time to get going), ayurvedic Indian herbal treatments (start with Ashwagandha), Chinese herbs, gut related bacteria and probiotics (strong ones like kombucha every day - not gentle 'nudges' like yogurt).
Focus on the medicine vs the doctor/treatment. Dr visits can take a month or more and are expensive - your health can't wait. Focus on the herbs themselves vs visiting the ayurvedic practitioner, acupuncturist, or Chinese Herbalist. Via the internet, I stole bits and pieces of the most effective treatments in non-western medicine and cobbled together my own solutions.
Second, Yoga exercise routines, and add the Yoga mindfulness stuff later if you can (but at least the exercise routines). You must do this. Yoga is proven and will help you - but you can't stop there (and will find it hard to start if you have not broken your fall yet). Exercise and treatment must always be combined.
Third, mindfulness. Know you will make it through. You may not know how yet, but you will make it. Fake it 'til you make it is a proven strategy - but not enough alone.
3. If you do not have the ability to share your focus with your job (balancing your health treatment and your job) get a quick fix (antidepressant) going right away to 'turn down the voltage'. And let whatever happens to you job - happen. Panic and anxiety about a job you may be losing is waste of your very precious and limited resources (you may even find your wrong about your fears!).
Remember your solution order -
1. Break you fall (quick fix) and turn down the voltage a little.
2. Come up with long term solutions/strategies to turn it down a lot, and keep it down.
3. And finally - focus on your job last. Your good health will do much more for your job and life than your very best but highly distracted efforts can ever do.
Best of luck - I will be watching for your updates.
You have a chronic problem - you must treat it like one.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disability insurance too.
Unfortunately, this advices is potentially too shallow to be useful, as (private/individual) DI is tricky. For it to be useful long-term, you'll need to find a policy with both guaranteed renewal and guaranteed coverage increase as your income rises, before any chronic conditions appear (or are diagnosed) or things like car accidents occur and become pre-existing conditions. There are other details that make shopping…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, this advices is potentially too shallow to be useful, as (private/individual) DI is tricky. For it to be useful long-term, you'll need to find a policy with both guaranteed renewal and guaranteed coverage increase as your income rises, before any chronic conditions appear (or are diagnosed) or things like car accidents occur and become pre-existing conditions. There are other details that make shopping…
Do you have any suggestions on where to learn more about DI?
https://mobile.twitter.com/patio11/status/988094196274769920
As someone prone to depression throughout their entire life, I have to agree that a bad job situation can make a depressive-leaning person's life really bad. I've been going through similar things for the last few months.
I think this is also pushing me to get my own therapist lined up again, as it's been a while. Like you, I know that there are some things I need help with, and there's no shame in that. But god, finding mental health professionals is so hard! Just don't slide back, it's so easy to do, and it can really hurt for a long time.
1) long walks in nature 2) eat well 3) sleep (If necessary get a prescription for trazodone, they’re cheap $7.50 for 90 pills) 4) antidepressant meds
When I read stuff like this I'm so glad to live in a country (France) that doesn't let people without any money when they're fired or have serious medical issues. Nation-wide solidarity costs little to each person but gives a lot to those who need it. So sad that our public unemployment and health systems are getting destroyed piece by piece by successive governments (the current one is particularly agressive).
Federal income tax in France is greater than 45%[1]. There's nothing cheap about that. I much prefer the freedom of saving my own money, especially when working in something as lucrative as tech.
1.https://tradingeconomics.com/france/personal-income-tax-rate
Michael Jordan has a coach. Programmers and other brain workers have therapists.
It's so obvious to me that having a neutral person who helps you track and set goals, track your moods, and help you process work relationships and events has a huge benefit.
But people ignore this! They are in this macho culture where you need to be self reliant and going to a therapist is weird and weak.
So instead of getting help, they place the burden on their friends and family and co-workers to tolerate and correct their shitty behavior.
Your friends or wife is not your therapist. They are not trained, are not impartial, and wouldn't you rather be having a good time then forcing them to listen to your constant whining?
I'm diagnosed bipolar and have gotten things under control with the help of a therapist WITHOUT medication. It's a powerful experience and a cheat-code to productivity.