I've suffered from depression over the past year, my life was great until January 2006, when i was 19 years old. It all turned upside down. I hadn't started treatment until July, by then my depression was in full swing and it took me months of trial and error. I finally found a decent medicine combination, 60mg prozac and 100mg provigil. I'm doing much better now for the most part. I would have never pictured myself to be in such a situation before this, the depression i experienced was so unfathomably terrifying. It's powerful enough to bring death a whole new meaning, I honestly didn't think i would even live to see this day. Sometimes though, I feel as if I'm living on borrowed time. It d...

I've suffered from depression over the past year, my life was great until January 2006, when i was 19 years old. It all turned upside down. I hadn't started treatment until July, by then my depression was in full swing and it took me months of trial and error. I finally found a decent medicine combination, 60mg prozac and 100mg provigil. I'm doing much better now for the most part. I would have never pictured myself to be in such a situation before this, the depression i experienced was so unfathomably terrifying. It's powerful enough to bring death a whole new meaning, I honestly didn't think i would even live to see this day. Sometimes though, I feel as if I'm living on borrowed time. It doesn't help that I'm also in the midst of an existential crisis. I'm only a 20 year old guy, life shouldn't have to be this way. It's as if the gift of life has been forever tainted.

I decided to kill myself when I was 14. I was suffering from major depression but I didn't know what to call it. I managed to survive (obviously!) but the depression kept coming back.

Although I became a nurse and should have known better, for many years I blamed myself for being "weak" and a "crybaby". My sadness and desperation had no reasonable cause (in my opinion) and so I kept on struggling to be a better person. The truth is that depression has biochemical and hereditary causes - I could no more talk myself into being happy than a diabetic could talk herself into lowering her blood sugar.

I eventually admitted my feelings to my doctor and started on antidepressants. The fifth...

I decided to kill myself when I was 14. I was suffering from major depression but I didn't know what to call it. I managed to survive (obviously!) but the depression kept coming back.

Although I became a nurse and should have known better, for many years I blamed myself for being "weak" and a "crybaby". My sadness and desperation had no reasonable cause (in my opinion) and so I kept on struggling to be a better person. The truth is that depression has biochemical and hereditary causes - I could no more talk myself into being happy than a diabetic could talk herself into lowering her blood sugar.

I eventually admitted my feelings to my doctor and started on antidepressants. The fifth one I tried worked like a charm and now I can enjoy my life. I am writing these things in order to encourage others to seek help rather than wallowing in self-hatred as I did for so long.