How many of you suffer from depression? I'm 45 years old and have been battling it since I was 18. I also suffer from panic disorder. They seem to go hand in hand. I'm on meds for both.

How do you cope with your depression/panic attacks?

I'm 68. For me it's been a bit more than 50 years. Some years were better than others. I never met a psych med that worked, and 99% had side effects.
I had almost a solid week of 'panic,' or something akin. Just once.
As I aged, I found ways to cope that were all about how I arranged my life and what I told myself. My life is simplified as much as I can. I no longer feel that I'm a failure and I recognize guilt over various things and think about them. If I feel depressed, I know that it is a cover for hurt and anger, so I work to think about all that. I get up before dawn because the lightening sky helps. I don't feel that I need someone else to guide me, a therapist, although I have learned from them, and groups especially. The one thing I don't fix is my consumption of sugar - I eat far too many sweets. Adds to depression, despite a temporary distraction.

How many doctors have you had and how many times have you had your meds changed or adjusted? What kind of lifestyle to you have and are you married? Have kids? How would you describe your environment that you live in?

What was your youth like? What were your parents like? Any siblings? Sorry about all the questions but a bigger picture is needed as everyone copes differently with their situation, and seldom is depression an only issue and there are more to deal with.

Agreed, the word depression says very little. To my mind it's not a real diagnosis. You can settle into a lifetime of meds if you choose, and there are doctors happy to keep you there, not for any nefarious reasons, but because they just go by the manual.
My reasons go back to my childhood. It's still easy to feel fragile about trying to cope with life when life didn't have much love growing up. But I can't stand the depressed feeling, so keep talking it out to myself. There is ALWAYS something more recent for old events to grab onto, and you CAN identify them, unless you have organic brain disease or are psychotic. Even if it's something someone said to you in a store, or a news story on TV, or a well meaning relative.
In other words, most depression is 'situational,' meaning brought on by your situation.