Depression & Psychotic symptoms

[RiseAboveIt]

Hi

I have been psychotic for a few years now. At night I hear lady singing and touching my blanket to wake me up!

Obviously no one is in my house and that scares the living $hit out of me! I regularly hear ghost trying to crawl into my bedroom, just like horror film. Once or twice, I managed to confront frightening voice and face it - nobody was there! Anger is more useful than fear - basic psych 101 - arnie said that in that awful terminator film.

I am on anti psych meds and regular therapy. There is no cure so I have accepted my condition.

BUT what can I do about Depression which I hear is treatable!

Just looking for ways people here have perhaps found way LONG TERM to keep their depression in check or even beat it ?

Please share your experiences... Thanks in advance.

[White_Rose]

Dear RiseAboveIt

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am in awe of your acceptance of your illness. I understand there is no point fighting it or denial but it still takes courage to live in that situation.

Depression is different but how it is affected by being psychotic I don't know. Have you discussed this with your therapist? I would think that the best source of information. Depression can be overcome which I can attest to but it can also be a chronic underlying condition. BB has information on this which may be helpful. Look under The Facts at the top of the page. It's a good place to start.

The best thing that happened for me was a change of medication. Not merely a change from one SSRI to another but a change in the group of medications to one from the TCA group. SSRI meds always had dreadful side effects for me and I believe they did more harm than good because I could not tolerate what the psychiatrist called a therapeutic dose. As soon as I started the TCA meds I started to get better. No idea if this is helpful for you as your therapist would need to consider the interaction of any antidepressant with your antipsychotic meds.

For the past three years I had an excellent psychiatrist (not the one who prescribed SSRI meds) and was able to express myself more fully. There were other changes in my life which came about for various reasons but basically I had more support than in the past and was able to talk to several people who did not get embarrassed by my depression. Sadly mental illness is still a no-go area for many people. The larger support circle meant I did not feel I was abusing a few people by venting to them. This was important to me and I think many others feel the same.

I'm not entirely sure how this came about but I realised that I was accepted as I was with all my flaws. This made a huge difference because I did not need to hide those bits of me I thought were unacceptable. When I realised this it was just amazing but my point is that I had probably been accepted as I was before but could not see it. Too wrapped up in my own guilt for being depressed. This was also due to the work with my psych.

I don't know who you see with the psychosis but I wonder how it would be if you had therapy from a psychologist for the depression. Best to chat to your psychiatrist(?) about this.

I hope this is helpful. Please post in again.

Mary

[RiseAboveIt]

Thanks for sharing White Rose.

I agree, the medications interact with anti depressants.

My pharmacist and GP said, You are risking a heart attack. Its just not worth the risk.

For years I have been relying on nutrition and exercise to keep my depression in check.

Its no wonder I have been able to cope for this long.

I didn't expect myself to live this long though.

I feel at a loss about what to do with my life. since resurgence of my psychotic symptoms. I have to do another career change now, and figure out what I can do. So more soul reaching and tedious researching. Here we go again!

Anyways, I clicked on fact on depression, found it quite helpful. Thanks for that.

Self care is so important, like eating, exercise and sleep. I have been following CureSZ Foundation website for some inspiration. Its good to see theres life after a diagnosis. Those people were able to live a good life after they found right medication just like you have. Its encouraging to see.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Hope you are having a good week. Bye for now.

[White_Rose]

Hello RiseAboveIt

Thanks for your reply. Please don't think I am intrusive but I wonder why you need to consider another career change. Does this resurgence affect you during the day? As you can see I am not very well informed about this particular illness.

Self care is vital in all ways and especially for those who have a mental ill-health problem. Food with all sorts of additives is not really good for us and yet we get used to it and forget or do not realise that we can be healthier. I appreciate our modern conveniences and would not be happy to give them up especially in the medical field. But while we live longer etc we seem to have amassed another set of problems.

At the risk of sounding silly or rude, do you have schizophrenia? If so I can more easily understand this diagnosis. I think my knowledge of mental health conditions is woeful but I do have a better understanding of hurt, struggle and despair. There are many here who struggle with their thoughts and feelings of self-worth. Comparing two different illnesses is pretty pointless but the effects of depression are often devastating. Coping with that and another major illness takes a great strength of character.

Your exercise and diet routine has no doubt been effective for keeping your depression at bay. I'm not entirely convinced about antidepressants, especially when they so often have dreadful side effects. And yet we have them thrust upon us constantly. I believe we do not have the whole story yet.

I hope your days are going better.

Mary

[RiseAboveIt]

Hello Mary

Yes, I live with condition known as Schizophrenia.

I agree, optimal nutrition is consuming Organic vegetables and fruits.

I read, Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet, which recommended everything that you said.

The hallucinations have made my life a living hell to be honest which is why I think change in career would do me some justice. Right now, i am finding hard to cope with all symptoms that are beyond my control.

I try to stay positive and hopeful that I will find relief. Nothing lasts forever. I will be okay in the long run.