Depression Management

[randomuser]

Hi guys, again. I'm sorry because I post a lot, and my case is a joke compared with the people with actual severe T and H that post here, so I feel somewhat like a little girl ranting. But the fact is that in the last three weeks I've developed a moderate to severe depression, according to a friend who is in his fourth year of his psychology degree, so I trust him.

I know the obvious answer to this post... go and seek professional help, but this is something I have not at my reach right now, I am working overseas and the language is an enormous barrier for this kind of medical support. I plan to visit one in the next few months if the depression does not lift. What I'm looking for is for people's experience while dealing with depression but not taking any AD. I suspect that part of this is due to clonazepam withdrawal, because the t is as usual, very low baseline and nasty spikes every 2-3 days. I was doing fine in the summer but now is just unbearable, the depression is overwhelming and I have lost interest in almost everything except staying in bed, trying to close my eyes and relax. It might sound weird, but when in bed, the noise is the same but I don't care about it, I feel relaxed and somewhat isolated from the world (kind of habituated? sounds are really bothersome during the day, but not in the night).

I am in my 29th month of this suffering. I have had good and bad months, I was almost habituated not so long ago and the noise was actually softer, but since the withdrawal started, is bothersome, anxiety ruins everything, mix a bit of insomnia and you have depression as a result, it's not a nice combo.

I've been battling with OCD since I was a teenager, and 3 years ago I got "cured", after a very good psychologist helped me. There are some other users in the forum with ocd and they're not doing well coping with t, it's really difficult to forget or ignore the sound when you are obsessive and you, or your brain, who knows, sees t as a threat. I mean, I feel like I could lose my job, my family and everything due to the sound. It's by far the biggest threat I have faced in my life. For now, it has given me depression, an addiction to klonopin, loss of interest in many things and a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. The words "it's for life" "there is no cure" and "be careful with everything" are in my head 24/7. I know that most people naturally habituated, but, first, you need to stop viewing this as a threat, and it's not my case. Something has to change, and I don't know where to start. I'm going through tough times, it's not pleasant at all, and I dream with silence and quietness... years ago I really enjoyed laying in bed, in silence, and just thinking, now this is almost impossible and I am very frustrated. The most overwhelming thought is that "this is forever". Probably is a consequence of my depression, who knows.

Summarizing, the point of this post is, has anybody got benefit from psychotherapy for depression? I don't want to risk taking an AD, I had a previous bad experience with sertraline and worsening my t is beyond my worst fears, I can't risk it, not now. Probably after ending withdrawal things might improve, but who knows. My principal objective right now is to change my mindset, but it's autumn, almost no light, no family support, demotivation at work, and lots of frustration for everything.

 

[glynis]

Talking therapy can help depression by trying find out the cause so see how you go on.
Withdrawals can cause a rise in tinnitus and increase low mood and cause anxiety until the drug is out of your system.

Exercise is good for depression as release our happy chemicals serotonin.
Depression is nothing be ashamed of and you might benefit from medication with talking therapy also..lots of love glynis

 

[randomuser]

Thanks for your support. I know that withdrawal can be a bitch, I'm going through tough times lately, depression is kicking hard but at least I have got over insomnia, it was an absolute pain. And my t is absolutely affected by anxiety, I can be somewhere with a 5-6 tone in my ears, go back home, relax and calm down to a 2, in a matter of minutes.

I am not ashamed of my depression. I only want to get rid of it. I have been able to live with t, if I am calm it can be kept low and non intrusive, but as anxiety rises, it becomes a real pain. Now my brain wants clonazepam, but I can't take more drug. And if depression doesn't lift in few months, I know I am in trouble, because won't take any AD, and my only option is psychotherapy. Or let the time pass by. At the end, only two options are available: habituate or suffer.

 

[Onnie]

I'm not sure id this will be good advise for you but i have actually gotten myself a dog to battle depression. Excercise is good but do it outside! Even if it is clouded there is light enough where you can benefit from. And with a dog you are forced to take a walk outside even if the weather is not so tempting. It keeps me out of bed and also stroking a pet is very calming!

Edit: and also apart from going outside a lot and walking i am doing cbt. Even before t 2.0 i was seeing a therapist on a weekly basis. I have had depressions since early childhood and last year there was a burn out on top of that. Probably from all these years ignoring the depressive thoughts. I do think cbt is helpfull but it takes time to notice change and change your thinking patterns.

 

[LadyDi]

Hi @randomuser: I truly struggled with severe anxiety with my tinnitus onset -- had no experience with this disorder prior to T although in hindsight, I think I just did a very good job of stuffing my anxiety for awhile. I didn't end up with depression, however, even though anxiety and depression often go hand in hand.

I did do cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) along with other treatments in an effort to cope with my tinnitus. And it really, really helped me. I highly recommend it, particularly for people dealing with anxiety (of which OCD is a form) or depression. CBT addresses, among other things, catastrophic thinking like "this is forever."

There is research that suggests sound therapies, like Neuromonics or notched sound, work better when coupled with CBT. I coupled my CBT with Neuromonics and I definitely improved. This was just my experience and might be different for others.

Good luck to you. I appreciate you wanting to not go the drug route, so you can try CBT on its own. I did couple my CBT with an anxiety med (Xanax) but had little trouble going off that drug after a little more than a year of use, at a very low dose.