Depression Support Group

I am not 'fairly young' .. at all, but wanted to comment. As a 14 YO, you are a minority on DS .. but no reason to feel 'pretty weird'. You are surrounded with 'old folks' and since they are the majority, they ASSUME anyone else is an adult. Some of us forget there are youngsters here. This will happen unless you 'hang out' in the teen groups .. it is a matter of 'population'. You are welcome in ANY DS Group .. but I suggest you always point out your age .. ONLY so that you are treated appropriately. This is entirely up to you though.

As I read your 'About Me' on your profile page, you do not sound like the typical 14 YO lady .. but more responsible, eloquent, and mature. You are an impressive 14 YO.

I would not resent the medication .. it is a matter of 'whatever works' .. and medication is the answer for MANY who have mental disorders. I don't think it is any 'big deal' if someone takes a medication .. it is for a purpose ... better health.

I had good luck with Zoloft .. much better with it than with nothing. My Mother started it soon after my Father died .. and she had open heart surgery 2 months after he died .. so she was pretty 'down'. She said Zoloft 'did wonders' for her.

Thing is, medication can work for some and not for others, so if you want advice on your medication or have problems with it, ONLY take advice from your doctor. This is VERY, VERY important .. antidepressants are nothing to experiment with. Take only what your doctor prescribes and if there is a problem, talk to HIM.

Glad you have found and joined DS. Check out this link .. for DS newcomers:

. www.dailystrength.org/c/Depression/...

Hello, I think I'm the youngest :S I've had OCD for four years and I'm ready to ask for help, but I still didn't tell anyone and not telling my parents aswell. I know that medication helps so I hope the doctor gives me one as soon as possible(when I actually go to one :P ), so zoloft is the best? but i'm kind of worried of taking pills, I dont want to be addicted by it, but i think i still need it. Good luck :D

>>I think I'm the youngest :S I've had OCD for four years and I'm ready to ask for help, but I still didn't tell anyone and not telling my parents aswell.

OCD can be a serious disorder but it is treatable. Usually, medication is involved. It is entirely your business, but I wonder why you do not let your parants know. FAMILY support can be VERY helpful.

>>I know that medication helps so I hope the doctor gives me one as soon as possible(when I actually go to one :P )

It not only helps, it is usually NECESSARY. No progress can be made without it. This is proven with depression, OCD, bipolar, and thousands of other diseases. I hope you can get 'into treatment' soon.

>>, so zoloft is the best?

Oh hell no. No one can say that and here is why:

The brain works by using dozens of chemicals produced by the body. Some of those chemicals are serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, melatonin, insulin, adrenalin, noradrenaline, histamine, endorphine, and prostaglandins.

It turns out the MOST people with DEPRESSION have a seratonin problem .. and Zolof is an SSRI .. selective seratonin reuptake inhibitor. It works for people with seratonin regulation. There are SSRI, SNRI, NaSSA, NRIs, NDRI, SSREm NDDI, TCA, MAOI, Augmenter drugs and more.

Thing is .. all these chemicals effect each other and while SSRIs seem to help MOST people with depression, others may need an 'adjustment' in one or more of the OTHER chemicals. Therefore, no ONE medication is 'the best'. This may work best for one person, and that or these may work best for another.

The other thing is your doctor does NOT know what you need at first. He/she tries 'the most common' thing (SSRI) and depending on how it works for you, may change your medication and/or its dosage. Soooo, it is VERY important for you to feedback to the doctor how you are doing on the medication he/she tries. With feedback, they can tailor the medication to get it just right for you. A lot of these medications can take up to a month to start noticeably working, .. so be patient and let your doc know what is happening. Both these things are VERY important in achieving good care.

>> but i'm kind of worried of taking pills, I dont want to be addicted by it, but i think i still need it.

That REALLY depends on what you mean by 'addiction'. One COULD call a 'dependency' an "addiction' .. but I think they are VERY different.

A chronic headache sufferer who gets relief from TYLENOL, is DEPENDENT on Tylenol to relieve their headaches. That COULD be called an addiction but CLINICALLY, it is not. They are better off using the TYLENOL.

An alcoholic or heroin 'addict' is WORSE off 'taking' alcohol or heroin ... these things CAUSE more problems than they solve AND harms the body/mind, AND effects the user to INTENSELY crave. THESE are 'addictions'.

I cannot think of a single medication for OCD or depression that is addictive. Addictive medications are usually opiates or synthesized opiates. They do not treat depression or OCD with opiates.

What you MIGHT call an addiction is NOT an addiction .. it might be a 'dependency' which is not a 'bad word'. It simply means you DEPEND on this or that medication for a better life ... like certain diabetics are DEPENDENT on insulin.

If you 'quit' an antidepressant (properly), you simply 'go back' to being depressed. It is not an ADDICTION, it is a 'course of treatment'. DEPENDING on alcohol or heroin does NOT give you a better life because using either CAN or WILL give you a worse life AND you have GREAT diffuculty in stopping their use. These are ADDICTIONS.

A diabetic CAN quit insulin .. they will probably die, but they 'can' take it or not. With heroin (an opiate), if they quit using it, they HURT bad .. very bad .. they will rob, beg, even possible kill to get it. They will vomit, get the shakes, intense body ache and hurt so bad, they WANT to die. THAT is an addiction. Antidepressants (many used to treat OCD) are not 'addictive'.

Some antidepressants should not be stopped suddenly though. A simple tapering off for a few weeks allows someone to 'get off' an antidepressant .. nothing like withdrawing from an addiction.

Your doctor will tell you what medication to take, and how he will 'change it' if necessary, and how you can 'stop it' if you wish. NO BIG DEAL .. just follow your doctor's instructions and feed back to him effectively. NO BIG DEAL.

"ADDICTION" is defined here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction

Taking antidepressants does NOT result in an addiction.

Wow! That was AWESOME,helped alot. thank you! =D

I found Zoloft didn't really work for me.... I'm on prozac now and it seems to be helping, more than the zoloft did. For me, I found zoloft gave me this flat, apathetic mood - not really happy, not really sad, didn't really care about anything - and made me feel worse than the depression - and tired all the time. But, I know it can work for others. Good luck!

Hi Survivor,


Many older depression patients have had it since they were your age or younger; it's just that diagnosing it was much rarer back in the "old days"- people said cheer up, have a better attitude, don't take things so seriously, and didn't recognize it as an illness. It's good that you got it diagnosed at an early age, and can look forward to enjoying your future.

I take Sertraline and it has helped me enormously.

I didn't take anything at your age, but I was 10 years old when I started with OCD. It was severe (I would wash my hands until they bled) and the stress of my parents divorce made it come out. I am on Zoloft now for OCD mainly and I guess it helps some.

Im only 16 but I had just got out of the hospital for suicide and depression. Just got put on Zoloft and kinda worried whats going to happen from here on in. =/

wow wanderingvet you know your stuff. good info to know