My mother has had severe anxiety and deppression for over 20 years. It seems that she has tried everything but still nothing helps. Is it possible there is something she hasent tried yet?

First medical care for this has improved greatly over the last years. And often people with this problems will not continue taking their medication becaause of side effects or when they start getting better they don't think they need to continue.

First a complete physical to rule out any medical reasons. And often mental health professionals can find things that will help.

She has been to many professionals. She has a sicologist who she trusts very much. But all he can do for her is perscribe more medication.

Hi,
Does you Mom work? Either full-time or part-time?
If not, would she be willing to volunteer some of her time in her local area; such as hospitals, library, nursing homes, rest homes, senior citizens clubs, etc.
Sometimes, getting out with other people will help get a whole new outlook on life. I do apologize in advance if this has already been tried. Best of luck.

Are you certain your Mom wants to overcome her anxiety and depression?

Some people like to use anxiety and depression as a crutch. It makes their life much easier when they can always fall back on their medical condition as an excuse. If it works for them, they have no reason to change. She might like the psychologist she is seeing because all she has to do is get the prescription filled.

The best thing to do is to take action. As Freg mentioned, getting her into social situations where she can come away feeling good about her interaction is a good first step. Building confidence is a slow process, but with help and desire, she can overcome it.

Has your mom ever tried cognitve behaviour therapy (CBT) for her anxiety? This therapy is considered to be the best treatment for anxiety and panic disorders, and if she deals with the anxiety, the depression may also be alleviated.

Anxious people as well as depressed people often think in ways that are distorted or unrealistic, and this can effect their whole lives negatively. For example, if your mom is constantly thinking to herself, "I am ugly and people hate me", she is obviously going to feel worse about herself, and react to this by avoiding people and situations. What cognitive therapy basically does is train the person to think in a new way. Cognitive behaviour therapists also use relaxation techniques, and exposure therapy, where the patient goes and does something they dread, in order to overcome an irrational fear. I highly recommend this therapy if your mother has never tried it. It has a very high success rate.

Exercise is also very important, and has been proven to alleviate depression in many studies. Your mom should be exercising vigorously for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week, and daily would be ideal. She should also be on a diet that is high in vegetables and grains, and low in fat, sugars, caffeine and alcohol. Has she ever consulted a dietition? If not, it would be a very good idea.

The sad thing though too is that some forms of depression are extremely difficult to treat. Does your mom have a definite diagnosis as to the type of depression she has? My friend's sister has what's known as psychotic depression, and in spite of medication and therapy, she is almost constantly suicidal and had tried to commit suicide dozens of times. This is spite of the fact that she has a loving family, an active social life, and a very caring partner. The only thing that seems to help her is electroshock therapy (shock treatments), which she now receives twice a month.

I wish you and your mom all the best!

As I said, My mother has had depression for a long time. It seems to me that my
Mothers behavior (besides for the suicidal part, my mother is very strong willed)
Sounds a lot like the person "Orange" knows. I think she has taken CBT but I will check on that. Also, I thank you for your input phillysteakandcheese (at one point I thought the same as you) but my mothers depression is genuine. I guaranty she is not enjoying her incarceration.
On her bad days she can't do anything but cry, so she has to knock herself out with more drugs.
I thank you for your help everyone. Please give me more suggestions. I'm desperate. Maybe a test drug or something.

My mother has had severe anxiety and deppression for over 20 years. It seems that she has tried everything but still nothing helps. Is it possible there is something she hasent tried yet?

Please explain in a little more detail the symptoms your mother has and the methods she has tried?

I have depression & anxiety, have done for 5yrs. It's something that you have to learn to live with and that I have done. I will help you to help your mother any way I can.

She says the feeling is in her stomach and it makes her cry. She told me that its
Not that she sad just that she doesn't really have any feeling at all. I don't know how true that part is though. Is deppression not a strong feeling of sadness?

To give you a better idea of what she's already done. She takes more drugs than I can count (which change all the time since none of them ever work in the long run). She's done electroshock therapy. She's done all the natural stuff:Blue green algae, St johns wort, wheat grass. She's done diets-all kinds-:Eat right for your type, low calorie, no sugar, no dairy, all at
Once. (By the way I highly recommend the eat right for your type diet for anyone who just wants to feel good in general. Lets see... what else. She's tried KI energy healing (Highly recommended for someone with cancer), Some kind of weird physical therapy which I can't quite remember the exact name, OH, she does enemas now.

I know I forgot something but you got the point. All of these things worked a little bit (maybe it was sociological, I don't know, But she always relapses.

Thank You for all your help so far.

Has your mother ever had an MRI or a brain scan? If she hasn't, it might be a good idea to get one if she can afford it. It could be that she has some actual brain damage that is causing the severe depression too.

Orange has made some good points in these posts.

It may be that your Mom needs to see a new doctor for a fresh approach, one who will review all meds she is currently taking (natural and otherwise). We did that in my mother's care and there was a complete turn around in her condition.

Hang in there -- depression is hard not only on the patient but on those who care for her.

To give you a better idea of what shes already done. She takes more drugs than I can count (which change all the time since none of them ever work in the long run). Shes done electroshock therapy. Shes done all the natural stuff:Blue green algae, St johns wort, wheat grass. Shes done diets-all kinds-:Eat right for your type, low calorie, no sugar, no dairy, all at
once. (By the way I highly recommend the eat right for your type diet for anyone who just wants to feel good in general. Lets see...what else. Shes tried KI energy healing (Highly recommended for someone with cancer), Some kind of weird physical therapy which I can't quite remember the exact name, OH, she does enemas now.

I know I forgot something but you got the point. All of these things worked a little bit (maybe it was sociological, I don't know, But she always relapses.

Thank You for all your help so far.

I would recommend your mum stay off the drugs, sometimes they can have to opposite effect and make you worse than were to start with.

I would suggest you try some Vitamin Supplements like Zinc & Magnesium. Keep your mum off anything that contains caffene and try to occupy her mind with something, a new hobby perhaps. It sounds like she experiencing a lot of anxiety. The mind is a very powerful thing and something your mum needs to gain control of once again. You ought to try some relaxation/calming techniqes, some counseling wouldn't go a miss either. Time to try an adverse approach.

DO NOT STOP ANY MEDICATIONS ABRUPTLY!! Talk to the doctor first. Many meds demand a gradual decrease in dosage.

She has been to many doctors. Caring doctors. Some of which I know personally. She has taken zinc and magnesium. (You should see my pantry. There's more vitamins in there than food! And its not that we don't have allot of food.) She has not stopped taking any medications abruptly.
My mother spends her entire life trying to cure her illness, and she's been doing it for twenty years! It hurts to think about it. Doesn't it?

I don't think Ill be able to convince her to withdraw from her medication but Ill take your suggestion into consiteration DJ"H.

Well I am not saying she should cut it out abruptly, bu slowly wean herself off it. It does not appear to be doing her any good, it seems to be making the problem worse. Has your mum tried counseling? Had she ever tried to talk about what goes on in her head? And things that have happened to her that could have lead to this?

Medication only made life worse for me. Talking about things (no matter how stupid they sounded) really helped me to understand me and what was going on in my mind.

Check out this link, it may give you some info that you don't already know and help you to understand a little more. There are many different types of Anxiety disorders and it can effect the best part of your life. (The anxiety disorer I had effected my everyday life for nearly 5yrs) I still get panic attacks on and off now, but I have learnt to control them.

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/mosby_factsheets/anxiety.html

Dear alivingspirit,

From what I read you mother has tried most of the conventional treatments, but there is still many others left, one of which is nutritional therapy.

Most depressed people have been found to have Insulin Resistance (http://www.google.com/search?complete=1&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=define%3A+insulin+resistance&btnG=Google+Search), which can cause hypoglycemia (http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/what_is_hypo.html).

This can be medically tested with four hour Test for Hypoglycemia (http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/testing_hypoglycemia.html). People on a healthy diet can have hypoglycemia without them being aware of this.

It can also be tested with the Nutrition Behavior Inventory Test (NBI) (http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/nutrition-behavior_inventory.html).

There are many other causes of depression, such as hypothyroidism, ulcerative colitis, coeliac disease.

Please read:

Psychiatric Presentations of Medical Illness byRonald J Diamond M.D. (http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/diamond.htm)

If you mother is in the hands of any therapist please let her discuss the following article with the therapist. It explains the relationship between nutrition and depression.

Depression: a Disease of Energy Production (http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/depression_energy.html)

For further research see:

“Nutrition and Depression” (http://www.google.com/search?complete=1&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=Nutrition+depression&btnG=Search)

The best is to consult a Clinical Nutritionist (http://www.google.com/search?complete=1&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=+define%3A+Clinical+Nutrition&btnG=Search).


It is important to treat the biological aspects of depression before any attempt at psychotherapy (http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/i-psychotherapy.html).