young FTM with depression

>>6859023
http://www.madinamerica.com/
http://www.mindfreedom.org/
'antidepressants until you can get your life back together' kek that's not how they work
i'm not going to just say 'eat better :^)' or some shit like that, i know you're experiencing a lot of anguish that you don't see a way out of, but psych drugs aren't the answer. if you have to bring in drugs, bring in nootropics or psychedelics, but even that is more of a last-ditch effort. i strongly recommend lifestyle changes, but i know they're really difficult when you're in a depressed mindset.

>>6859031
I understand where you're coming from, I do eat very well anyway. :P

I've never used antidepressants in the past because I'm kinda "too proud" for them, but I've experienced bouts of depression before that I've dealt with by making lifestyle changes. That's how I picked up running, even. It just seems like it's always coming back, in harder waves too, y'know?

I will definitely check out these links tho, thank you for responding.

>>6859023
Why not see a therapist? Is it just money or..?

>>6859058
if you do look into nootropics, keep in mind that nootropic communities are very pro-psychiatry and if you go to them looking for explicit depression treatments they'll yell about
C H E M I C A L I M B A L A N C E
honestly, psychiatry has done far more to decrease overall mental health than increase it
also, maybe look into st john's wort. it's not a psychopharmaceutical, it is a tested antidepressant. it has its own flaws, but i'm far more comfortable with its use than the use of antidepressants.

>>6859071
One issue is the money, yeah. I can't afford to see anyone else. Another point is that I really don't subscribe to therapy and I'm not responsive to it. I was raised to be very private, and if I had a problem I would talk it out with my family. I can't switch that off.

I was referred to a therapist at the beginning of my medical transition (the money was reimbursed at this time). I saw her twice and ended up wasting all the time talking about her and asking her questions, then I immediately called my doctor and said I didn't want to see the her anymore. I even had to sign a document saying I was going against my GP's advice.

I know myself, I'm a perfectly normal person going through some hard times right now. As I said to the other anon, I've tried all the lifestyle changes and the depression keeps coming back in waves. I've read that antidepressants can give you enough energy to get back to normal, and when I'm in that zone again I can come off them. I'm guessing in like a couple months? I just need to do something effective as soon as I can, I'm absolutely desperate.

Unless she can conclusively prove I'm having some kind of imbalance caused by the test, then I'll look at other options in that sense. But I've personally never heard of this happening, how about you?

>>6859127
I've read about st john's wart! Yeah, I heard it used to be used as a sedative? Something about people with anxiety? Same with lemon balm, etc. I actually bought a fancy tea that has lemon balm, elderflowers, etc. and no caffeine. I'm not sure it's the most effective way of getting the medicinal ingredients in the plant, but I've been trying it for about a week now. Unfortunately no change so far...

>>6859143
st john's wort is a very mild maoi, a drug class that at one point in a stronger form was regularly prescribed as antidepressants (now no longer prescribed as first treatment because the stronger forms interacted with every single other drug and a billion foods, further research needed to see if st john's wort does the same to the same degree). it doesn't have strong sedative powers (and honestly i would really hesitant to use sedatives to deal with the anguish medicalized as depression because depression is exhausting enough as is), but it does seem to generally improve motivation and mood.
also i should note that regarding imbalances caused by testosterone, not even has psychiatry not begun to prove the chemical imbalances it claims underlie what's defined as mental illness, its research is actually showing the exact opposite conclusion (for instance, rats bred to not have serotonin receptors do not show signs of depression). no way anyone could prove you have a problem caused by t.

>>6859143
>One issue is the money, yeah. I can't afford to see anyone else. Another point is that I really don't subscribe to therapy and I'm not responsive to it. I was raised to be very private, and if I had a problem I would talk it out with my family. I can't switch that off.
From the sound of it money is a real problem.. but I don't really agree with the rest of your reasoning. Therapy is, generally speaking, the best way we know of to handle depression. In cases where depression is caused by a chemical imbalance then drugs are the best way we have of balancing that out, but you can't really know whether that's the case for you without a professional exploring the options.

Ignoring those options? The best tools we have is shit like "try talking about it with a close friend, get a lot of sunlight, exercise, don't sleep less than 7 or more than 9 hours, go to sleep at a decent hour, and eat right". Either way, with all due respect for the other Anon, I'd stick with the opinions of the medical community instead of placing my trust in alternative medicine.

I'm sorry life has been awful to you and hope things work out. Be well.

>>6859191
Thank you for the input, anon. If money is a problem tho, I don't see the point of trying to make up other excuses. I'm relatively sure what I've got going on has got to be some sort of imbalance. I guess we'll see when I see my doc next week pbt

Thanks again, friend.

>>6859164
Damn, I was hoping they could prove that. I hope she doesn't think there's a relationship then, because really looking inwards I don't believe there is. And thank you, you have def given me some things to think about.

>>6859210
I mean, you've gone through a lot. The "chemical imbalance" sort of depression needs no reason to pop up. It is very possible you're just down because of everything.

>>6859232
I've gone through a lot recently, and I'm sure you're right that it is a contributing factor, but as said above it's been coming and going for a long time. I tried lifestyle changes first, like changing how I eat and getting /fit/, but since the last year and half or two years it's been so bad I can't even leave bed. When I do, I can't go outside. I just move from sleeping on my bed to sleeping on my couch. This was even before most of this stuff happened, and I've dealt with some stuff in the past and come out just fine.

Is it possible it's both? Or in your opinion, it's just outright non-chemical related. Is it true antidepressants won't effect me, in this case?

>>6859247
It's could be both! Really can't comment on the second question.

>>6859253
Thanks again anon! If you're the same anon. And I understand! I'm also really hoping someone in a similar situation will see this and respond, and tell us how their doctor responded.

>>6859247
well, the thing about antidepressants is that they do generally have an effect no matter what class of antidepressants or what one decides is the cause of depression. it's just that while it can be a positive effect it can also be a greatly negative one, the longer you're on it the more negative it turns, and even if you quit while you're ahead the withdrawal is not even slightly fun and greatly worsens depression (hence the idea that people quit antidepressants only to realize they 'need' them -- interesting how so few people seem to pick up that their withdrawals are so much worse than what they were experiencing before that it's unreasonable to call it the same experience). antidepressants will affect you no matter what, but the 'cure' is too often worse than the 'disease' no matter if your experiences have clear environmental cause or if they apparently popped out of nowhere and thus can be more easily ascribed to an imbalance of some kind.

>>6859023
Hi, roughly similar story, long time ago - so i'll share the follow-up.
At first (after the FTM stuff got settled), i felt embarrassed - to 'need help', again.
I did go to therapists - but they only wanted to talk, with too much curiosity, about ftm, be it regrets (none), or my supposedly traumatising childhood due to it... never the issues (initially depression) that I came for.
Ffwd - a psychiatrist let me try several anti-depressants (toxic shit, according to my body) - none helped at all.
Solution proved twofold: 1 minor tranquillizer (to help cope with sensory issues - that you may have or not) cured the depression and prevent recurrence;
Having testosteron checked and carefully optimised removed the cyclic lethargy (injected & long-acting - frequency was slightly raised).
It may pay off to look for patterns of especially 'unproductive' days that correlate with hormone treatment.
Best wishes you'll get past this soon.

Try learning to meditate. It does wonders for your mental health.

>>6859267
I understand what you mean... Actually, I asked my mom if she thought it would be a good idea, she agreed with you that it might end up making it way worse. I had a hard time conveying to her that although I agree it would help to accomplish something for my future, I had no energy or will to even attempt something like this.

>>6859331
Sorry, if you're still here - what are "sensory issues"?
My doctor recommended changing my dosage from 2/month to 4/month in smaller doses. We even tried doing subQ rather than IM. Overall, I hate taking the injections more than I need to. I hated subQ, but I did agree to lower my overall dosage from 2ML to 1.5ML. I don't really know if it has helped, in all honesty. We only thought to lower it because of the lethargy, and because my E levels were weirdly high over several bloodtests with regular injections. We thought my T was in excess and was being converted back to E.

Thank you for sharing your experience, and good luck to you as well!

>>6861360
Thank you for the tip. I did try yoga, but often I am too impatient, I think the word is, to sit for very long. Definitely will give it another shot tho.

>>6859023
Don't do it.
Getting them is extremely easy. Just say you're depressed all the time and you want to die and have no energy to move on.
Then take them and enjoy being high all the time, lowering your iq, memory loss, phyisical secondary effects, and after you quit, rebound with crying spells, brain zaps and being more miserable.
Don't ruin yourself. Antidepressants are a way for other people to turn you into a zombie and hide the problem under the carpet, not a solution for you.

>>6859023
ssris are only slightly more effective than placebo
http://reset.me/story/study-antidepressants-no-better-than-placebo/

However, meditation can treat depression
http://eocinstitute.org/meditation/8-compelling-reasons-meditation-can-cure-depression/

Psychedelics drugs could also treat depression
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/24/psychedelic.drugs.depression/


Read this as well
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-psychiatric-drug-crisis


-fellow ftm

>>6863014
T. Someone who's never taken anti-depressants