My personal experience (recurring major depression since childhood & cluster C personality disorder): Near complete drug & alcohol abstinence (i was a real pothead starting the day with a bong hit, and drunk at least once, but more often 2-3 times a week - selfmedicating gets pretty selfdestructive after a while), a lot of time and more therapy. Medication is a stopgap measure or to smoothen mood swings; what really helped me regarding my depression (and a lot with my other issues) was a therapy session per week for the last 4 years, 1 visit to the psychiatrist per month, and 2 group therapy sessions per week.
And time helps! The older you get, the less wild your mood swings get. Starting from my 30s i noted a distinct reduction in the extend of my depressive phases, and with my 40s i was able to cut back on a lot of my medication (i still take Duloxetin and Lyrica).
But for me it was mostly finding the right therapist and keeping at it with him (i have serious issues with developing relationships; it’s far easier to “reset” things by not meeting people more than a few times) for years.
I am lucky that i am recognized by my social insurance system as not able to work, because i will never be stable enough to cope with the pressure of even a part time job for more than a few months before i am a mental wreck again. In the US i would probably be dead by now.
My personal experience (recurring major depression since childhood & cluster C personality disorder): Near complete drug & alcohol abstinence (i was a real pothead starting the day with a bong hit, and drunk at least once, but more often 2-3 times a week - selfmedicating gets pretty selfdestructive after a while), a lot of time and more therapy. Medication is a stopgap measure or to smoothen mood swings; what really helped me regarding my depression (and a lot with my other issues) was a therapy session per week for the last 4 years, 1 visit to the psychiatrist per month, and 2 group therapy sessions per week.
And time helps! The older you get, the less wild your mood swings get. Starting from my 30s i noted a distinct reduction in the extend of my depressive phases, and with my 40s i was able to cut back on a lot of my medication (i still take Duloxetin and Lyrica).
But for me it was mostly finding the right therapist and keeping at it with him (i have serious issues with developing relationships; it’s far easier to “reset” things by not meeting people more than a few times) for years.
I am lucky that i am recognized by my social insurance system as not able to work, because i will never be stable enough to cope with the pressure of even a part time job for more than a few months before i am a mental wreck again. In the US i would probably be dead by now.