I`ve been depressed a lot. Actually there were periods when it disappeared and then it started over. After so many years, I`ve probably developed a mechanism that helps me a lot when I need to recover.
Unfortunately, there are cases when the doctor recommends antidepressants. If you`re asking if you should take antidepressant medications probably you should check a couple of things before going to ask your doctor or a qualified therapist, but the truth is that they are the only one able to give you the best answer.
Try one of these things:
1. Talk therapy
I know this is probably a common treatment for depression which helps a lot of people to recover but if this doesn`t work for you when talking with another person, try a different approach. Talk to yourself and try to examine what happened in your life, what took you here ?. Try to talk with someone you feel really close and comfortable with. When I was younger, I had a cat in my apartment and I remember that it really made me feel better, especially when I was depressed. However a pet is like a child, I mean you have to take care of.
Remember when you were not feeling depressed. What event changed your normal life to depression ? You must find the answer to this question and in the end you need to fix that. Actually this is the hardest thing to do.
2. Do things that will bring happiness
I know you`ve probably heard them but some of them might work, at least for me it worked. Change your eating habits with only those that are healthier such as vegetables, fruits and skip junk foods whenever it`s possible. If you had a healthy breakfast, go outside, take a walk, try to concentrate on each thing that you love when you went outside, call a friend if you have to.
If you feel depressed especially in winter time, you probably don`t get enough light. So make sure that you`re getting out daily or find a source of light.
3. If you feel depressed for no reason
If you don`t know why you`re feeling depressed it`s probably the result of prolonged stress. If you ignore one problem and another one, you`re going to create a mechanism that will allow your brain to ignore all of your problems. Probably this will work on a short term but in the end, this will become a stress and then a permanent depression. You will wake up in every morning and you will lie to yourself that you have no idea why you`re feeling depressed.
You have to learn to deal with your emotions, learn to fight and solve your problems instead of ignoring, hiding or running away from them, otherwise depression will return from time to time and each time will last longer.
In the end, if you need medication to get over depression, your doctor will let you know. They are rarely used as a treatment but your therapist/doctor will evaluate you and if you need it, they will know what treatment plan is right for you.