I have suffered with depression since the age of 13, does depression ever go away? I don’t personally believe it does, not completely; more that it sits in the background waiting to strike again.
While I now suffer bipolar depressive moods, it does have some similarities to what you expect with depression. It still causes a low depressed mood and because the symptoms are so similar, sometimes people with bipolar disorder are incorrectly diagnosed as having major depression as is what happened to me for many years.
I am swayed to believe that if your depression is cause by circumstances, following the death of a loved one, loss of a job or a relationship breakup for example, then yes its possible this depression once treated correctly will pass and stay away, but if your depression is triggered by brain chemicals I believe you are stuck with it for life.
I think if you can find the root cause of your depression you are one step ahead to recognising and fighting it. There does not always appear to be a cause, yet usually there are underlying issues that have caused this mental illness to rear its ugly head.
I do believe that we can learn to accept and live with depression, that when it does strike again, we are more able to deal with it but it takes a long time to accept we have a mental illness, to realise that antidepressants and therapy are not bad for us and we are not weak by accepting help.
Personally for me depression has always been in my life and I know no difference, I have worked hard and through cognitive behavioural therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy I have learned many techniques yet still when the depression hits hard, there sometimes is no escaping it.
Let’s hear your views; Does depression ever go away?
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They say depression can go away, but ive suffered with it since i was 14, and even when i didnt need tablets, it still reoccured, so i believe i will always suffer with depression x x
hun i been depressed since before i even hit my teens am now diagnosed as bipolar. in my experience depression just lays dormant from time to time x
Depression can lay burried for a while… untill something triggers it…. everyone is at risk of slipping into depression… and people that have suffered it are always at risk of slipping under again… xx
Having suffered with deppresion and phycosis it never trully goes away you can learn to deal with it and control it to a degree but it never fully goes away
I think depression stays with u. I think you find ways of adapting and feeling better but then depression finds its way through. xx
i dont think depression ever fully goes away i think once u have got it u just learn t live with it and deal with it better u can have periods of ups and downs but i dont think it ever leaves u takes one little thing to trigger it again xx
i dont think it goes away but lays dorment can return at any time but each time u become stronger to deal with it better
I don’t think it ever goes, just stays hidden until something triggers it
I don’t think depression ever goes away I had it since 17 after my 1st lo and am on anti depressants again now..it lays there until something triggers it off I believe xx
I don’t think it ever goes I think it just stays dormant for a while until something triggers it off xxx
I personally don’t think that it ever goes away .. it will stay there, and certain things triggers it off again x
I don’t think it ever fully goes away but I learn to deal with it and take it as it comes xx
I don’t think it does ever leave–at least it hasn’t for me. I just wrote about this recently as well. I have learned and tried many ways of dealing with my depression over the years. Mostly I work on being grateful for the good moments and to remember that the bad moments do pass…
I think it can stay with u and certain togs can trigger it off I dunno :/ x
Right now, im wondering this
x
i dont think it ever goes away, you may learn to cope with it in everyday life, and even if you think you dont have it anymore, it can be triggered so much easier than with someone who has never had depression.
i dont think it goes away you just learn to hide it from time to time until someone or something triggers it off xx
Thanks Supermum for writing this article. This is the first time I have googled “does depression ever go away.” I have been dealing with this since the birth of my daughter in ’77. I have waited a lifetime to know I’m Okay and that I will never feel the infinite mood swing from hi-happy, to lo-depressed back in my life. Now that I’ve been going through menopause, including not getting along with my daughter, or having the type of loving family I fantasize about…I give up almost daily. I can’t count the number of times I have tampered to end my life. I have been on so many anti-depressants, since ’92 and none of them work; they just make feel worse, and I get fatter…especially now with menopause….Really! I needed to have this weight gain to add to my already insecurities about being fat before I was fat! And, I am a workout alcoholic, and even this has been messed with lately by back injuries and now bone spurs….very frustrating.
In 2006, I finally thought I made the right move transferring with my job, finding a mountain valley with mesas where it is quiet. Where there are outdoor activities I like, and my job requires me to drive and work in different working mountain towns…finally I felt away from the crazy, noise polluted lifestyle; it would be different. This couldn’t be farthest from the truth. I first moved to an area that the economy was over-inflated, house pricing were over the top, and my daily commutes could be up to 450 mi round trips; grocery stores were far from home and gas was higher. All-in-all I thought I could deal with this. The other half of my drama life came crashing down in 2007 when I realized that the remote town I moved to, I thought I finally met a man I could actually have a relationship with that included having a home and other things we enjoyed. We met playing on a pool league and he had a nice Harley that we would go on rides…one of my passions in my life. He seemed so together, until his true colors came out and I just mentally lost it on this one. I thought no more, I only attract the worst type of man for me; I’m no good therefore, I attract the no good men in my life. Then as the economy continued to crash in 2008, housing values dropped, so I bought my first home…red flag…my house dropped another $100k in the next three years. There are more foreclosed homes around me and fewer amenities to rely on.
I am miserable, I admit, and I can complain and make other people miserable because who wants to be around a sulker all the time. On the flip side, I can be very upbeat, optimistic, outgoing, loving, caring, forgiving…I can brighten up a coworker’s mood and make people laugh. I can be fun to be around, at least until a female or male friend or coworker berates me, esp. behind my back, and then I find out about it. This can be by what others say to me, or by watching their body language, their 3-dollar phony character or just by their total disgusting attitude. Not everyone is like this, and those friendships are few and far between.
I have worked hard to put myself through college and earn a better life, and make higher income so I can be self-reliant, independent. This isn’t working out as well as I like now either. I work for a state government agency, and no funds for raises, I bought my first home in an area that the value of the homes in the area have dropped by $120,000 – I could lose my home to foreclosure because now of my student loans, my debt ratio is too high, and I’m working to consolidate.
I don’t waste my money by going out to bars or dating or shopping. I’m upset that my daughter is alienating me, and it makes it hard to be with my granddaughter. They both live my Mother and she enables a bad situation, and one reason my relationship with daughter never built into a happy M&D relationship. It’s all very dysfunctional family relationship.
I feel worse, the tags that set me off, are when I am trying to make my life better through higher education, so I can get a better paying job, or work as a freelancer, consultant or online telecommuter etc. I like to be creative and energetic and motivated and I like creating a new business idea that may take off….tho, none really has, so I fizzle. I’ve put myself in debt so badly; I don’t know which next great deal I try will be the one to pull me out.
I feel happiest and more accomplished when I am able to create a product or service that makes other people happy, or it improves his/her knowledge for a better life. Ahhhhhh, but how do I focus on this when I have sooooo many failed attempts, and dealing with depressed anger from financial failures to dysfunctional family encounters. I feel I’m slipping out-of-touch. I can stay in touch when I get out and do a hard mtn bike ride, jog, or go camping to hike, and ride. And, I have my best friend Mocha dog with me. She is a life savior.
Yes, my Cognitive behavior therapist told me I need to be happy, but like others, I don’t know if I have ever been happy. I know what it feels like to be happy for a moment or experience a happy happening, but know what happiness is within me, I have no freaking clue. I grew up in such a dysfunctional home — parents fighting, forced religion,— all the crap I thought I would get to leave when I became an adult, clung to me like Velcro and grew in me. It pumped me into what I thought I wanted to be. I was a wild partien harley biker gal, doing drugs getting high and have sex with as many men as I could. I jumped jobs ever few months, because I knew my entrepreneurial mindset would have me waving bye with the wind in my face. I grew out of that when my daughter got older and I wanted to be a more responsible parent and provide her a loving home with a mother who cares and wants her to have the best life. But the damage had already been done; I guess….we have never connected. And now, she is a real bitch to get along with — when I fight with her and then I want to pound her when she is disrespectful to her grandmother she lives (who lets her get away with this) and whom takes care of her great granddaughter. After my last fight with my daughter telling her what a bitch and how disrespectful she is, we haven’t spoken. This was Oct 2012. I’m trying to reach out and let her know “hey I’m sorry, I mess up, and don’t always do the right things…but nothing comes back. So, I accept I deserve this and I best stay away. But it really triggers the depression around the holiday seasons. So, much so, I hate Christmas, and because it represents shopping for gifts for your loved ones and friends, and/or charities. Plus, I can never afford it. It’s sickening that I can’t even manage enough money these days to give what I want.
I thought this opportune time to work on my Masters in Adult Ed and I studied this online. My goal is to be able to work from home, by increasing my income and reduce my overhead travel expenses. Creating a life I could afford would be simple. Then I could be home, work in my garden, take care of my animals — who do give me so much unconditional love. Plus by being closer to home allowed me to do more outdoor activities and be involved with my community.
Sigh! But with my house looming in the shadows of foreclosure and the thought of creating a profitable work at home career, seems further and further, every time I try to make it happen. Basically no contact with family, and most of the people I know in the area, I don’t care to be involved with, so I am sort of isolated now. Which I thought by living somewhat isolated, esp. from all the crap that goes on where large groups of people live, my life would be better in a smaller community. At least, I know if I can’t get along with my own family, maybe I can volunteer with an organization for people that don’t have families or have disabilities, then I can feel I’m doing some good to help others.
But, I don’t know if this will ever make me feel like I will never experience depression again. I’ve tried so many things, and now a mindfulness breathing technique, writing things I’m grateful for, praying, and now this website because I hit a low today. Even though I am not dead, I feel dead inside. My soul is just empty and exhausted, and I’m so tired of trying and believing it will get better, and now I would like to have Electro-shock brain therapy. Just so I can forget the thoughts that cause these U/D episodes
Thanks for letting me post on this site; it does help to write down my thought, as it does clear up any mucked up thoughts.
Please read x I Feel Dead Inside – A Reader Comments On Depression http://t.co/X9N6pUD0
I wonder if it will for me maybe one day I hope………..
I’ll be turning 30 this year and have never talked to a professional about my problems, therefor I have never received medication for anything I may (or may not) have. I am somewhat proud that I have been able to make it this far and be functional but when those feelings get triggered I feel like “here we go again” and doubt it will ever be truly gone. Just something we have to deal with. With that said how did you all feel when you went to see a professional? I have always been reluctant and scared that it would hinder future opportunities if something ends up on my “permanent record”.
I posted this because I thought it was a general article about mental health. I’ve realized that this is a website for questions mothers and other women have, I’m a male so my comment can be disregarded if need be.
hi there rene,
well, 1st of all if you were clinically depressed you wouldn’t be able to hold it together. your life becomes so unmanageable that you don’t function at all. i couldn’t even put a load of laundry on, and my cousin (who is a phyciatrist) had to walk me through it on the phone. also, most people that go through major depressive eppisodes have to be hospitalized for suicidel thoughts. (like myself~many times) So, with that being said, sounds to me that you don’t have major depression. You may have dysthemia, which is a mild depression. Seeking a doctor is the best way to find out. Everything is 100 percent confidential with mental health. It is nobody’s business about your personal life~especially when it comes to the business world..Furthermore, medication may be something that you should consider, because that would help from cycling depression’s. Speaking to a doctor is not at all intimidating. They just ask you a bunch of questions regarding your family history, and about yourself. I highly recommend that you seek help. Depression can be a downward spiral. You don’t want to end up like me when i go through a depressive eppisode. You can’t work, you stay in bed all day, you think about suidice all day long…………………SEEK A DOCTOR RIGHT AWAY GIRL! Good luck! With the grace of God things will work out. With God all things are possible.
Blessings,
Gail
I’m hoping by the grace of God that I will never go through another major depressive eppisode. I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit can heal me of this debilitating disease. Truthfully, 4 eppisodes of depression is by far enough for one person to handle. I thank God each and everyday for keeping me free from that very dark place. So, with that said, I am wishing for a miracle from our Father that my depresions are taken away forever.