My depression is getting worse

Question: My depression seems like it is getting worse not better. I wish I knew what to do about it. I constantly feel down, and I do not know what options I have, or what methods there are to reduce the impact of my condition. What I do know is that I do not like living this way, and that it is impacting my family as well as other aspects of my life. I am only happy if I am drunk, and am sick of relying on alcohol and other things to lighten my mood, and help me not feel so irritable and restless. Is this normal?

Answer: It is normal for people who suffer from depression to believe that nothing will help, and that there is no way to get better. However, this train of thought often leads to self sabotage, as it seems to be in your case. If you have talked with a doctor and have been diagnosed with depression, you should be on a treatment plan that uses medication or therapy, or a combination of the two. If that does not seem to be working, you need to talk to your doctor, not try to self medicate, change dosage, or use alcohol, drugs, or some other substance to make you feel better.

If you are turning to alcohol to help control your depression, it may actually get worse not better. One of the complications of depression is substance abuse problems. Many people with depression think that they can escape their problems for a while with alcohol, smoking, drugs, etc. However, in reality their problems are still there and they are developing a dependence on a substance, and possibly even abusing it.

So, what can you do? First, you can recognize that you need to stop what you are doing, it is not working, and can lead to premature death, medical illness, dependence, abuse problems, or even suicide.

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or others, call a help line, 911, the nearest hospital, or your therapist. If your depression is getting worse, it you hear voices that are not there, cry for extended periods of time without provocation, etc. then do not try and fix it yourself, get help. There are trained professionals that are able to help. Your medications may need adjustments, another medication you are on may be messing with your dosage. You may need a different kind of treatment, such as psychotherapy, of CBT. The point is, the more you drink, and the more you try to snap out of your problem, the worse it is going to get. It does impact your friends, your family, your career. So, it is time to call a treatment center, and get the help you need.

In addition, make sure you are getting plenty of sleep, and make sure you are exercising on a regular basis as both of these things can reduce the severity of depression, and help you avoid episodes of severe depression.