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Hello everyone, I'm here today to ask you if you know of any other option except for antidepressants to make depression better. I've tryed a lot of different antidepressants over the last four years, but all of them, when they really started to have the desired effect, made me behave in a strange way, meaning that i couldn't sleep cause i had too much energy, i was euphoric, i couldn't concentrate on anything for too long, i talked really fast, almost without a connection between the topics i was talking about. This as lead both me and my doctor to believe that antidepressants are not for me. I do fall into periods of depression, though, (usually short ones, from 3 days to a week or two) where i cannot seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and in those periods i am plagued by suicidal ideation or attempts and self-injurious behavior (which are the two things that concern me the most). I don't want to go through another one of those bad moods again. Does anybody suffer from this same problem? How have you dealt with it? Thank you in advance to anyone who will answer me! Kiki

Hello, I have had bouts of depression for many years. Both of my parents have depression so I most likely have a genetic predilection for this. I just started counseling and have discussed this with my doctor who started me on Trazodone for insomnia. The Trazodone worked great for 4 or 5 nights but I am now back to my miserable baseline of sleeping for 3 or 4 hours and then never truly falling into a deep sleep despite having ramped up the dosage from 50mg to 75mg. When I had the few consecutive nights sleeps I felt so much better but despite having ramped up the dosage my physiology seems to be fighting against me. I have had bouts of crying while listening to music or even just thinking about how hopeless I feel. I have lost interest in eating and kind of walk around hungry all day but have been forcing myself to eat some. Theoretically I have a lot of positives as I regularly exercise outdoors, eat a healthy diet, have a supportive wife and kids who are doing well. I work in an allied health profession that is theoretically one of the best professions in the US. I seem to be able to do maintain my ability to work but I find it taxing that I have to be upbeat, positive and energetic when treating my pediatric clients as I feel like I am being a fake and wonder if the necessity of wearing an upbeat mask is contributing to my depression. I am worried about the prospect of using antidepressants as they have side effects but maybe this is the best option? When I wake up my mind turns into a gerbil wheel of thoughts and I never get back into a deep sleep. I go to bed scared every night of the impending sleeplessness. Has anybody had experience with biofeedback? Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated as I feel like I am in a deep well with no rope to get out. Bman