Lifelong Depression
 

I am 31 and have suffered from dysthymia/severe depression since I was a young child. The only thing that helps is medication, and I've been told I can expect to stay on this the rest of my life. Right now, I take Lexapro 20 mg per day.
While I feel better, I am still having difficulty with motivation and getting started and I feel like it runs deeper than just getting off my bum and doing it.
I would like some advice. I'm so fat I can hardly bend over and I'm miserable.

Thank you.

Did you just start your meds? Sometimes it takes a while before they work to the point where you have the desire to do things.

When I was first "getting back on track," I made a goal of doing just one productive task every day. Yeah, it wasn't much, but at least it was something. Maybe you could pick just one goal, like eating one extra serving of vegetables or going for a ten minute walk. You might take a long time to lose the weight, but if you make small changes, you won't be overwhelmed with a bunch of new lifestyle changes that you have to keep up all at once.

:hug:

Hi bigfig. :)
I've had depression for a very long time too. I am so very thankful that there are medications that can help me now, but sometimes it feels like they really stand in the way of losing weight. I don't know if I am one to give weight loss advice yet since I haven't lost a whole lot so far, but I have found that when I let go of trying to be perfect I can stick with healthy eating longer. Also, when trying to lose weight, be kind to yourself and patient with yourself just as you would if a good friend were trying to lose weight. I think sometimes we folks dealing with depression are way too hard on ourselves.

Best of luck to you. I hope to see you around the forums! :)

Hi bigfig. It really is a vicious circle. I agree with the other posts. Small changes. I am guilty of wanting to lose all the fat yesterday, and trying lose-weight-fast diets. But that doesn't work. You have to pick something you can handle relatively easy. Increase water intake, or eat wheat bread instead of white. Instead of focusing on weight loss, focus on getting healthier.

Have you tried different meds? Maybe there is something that would work better for you. Also, what about therapy? I am a big fan of therapy. It really works.

You can post here frequently, too.

Bigfig how are you doing today? Thinking of you!

Liz

hi
I have always been depressed, at times it had made my life a nightmare. Mostly I can function with no meds, but my life has more umph to it with meds. Right now i'm off zoloft because it had stopped working. I find my day to day life, just exsisting.... I know there is more to life....

I am a Diabetec and I have been depressed too most of my life. I find excersing helps. I too am on med. I find it is helping. I find that if I do regular excises I feel better and it helps with the depression. PINKROSES