Depression (major depression)

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• October 26, 2008 3:55 p.m.

  This has worked wonders for me. Locate Salmon Oil in 1000mg (that's one gram) soft gel dosage format, which is high in the Omega 3's: EPA (say, 360mg) and DHA (say, 250mg).I recommend these dosages because they are the very gel caps that I take. Give him 3 caps with his breakfast and 3 with his evening dinner. Tell him you are concerned about your diet balance, yours and his; your heart, your blood pressure, and so on, but be directive, allow no argument: he's to take them and that's that. You take them as well, to seal the deal, as it were. There are many claims made regarding fish oils and omega 3 fatty acids. As they say, some of them may even be true! For my part, I began to ingest them as a regimen to counter cancer and heart disease following surgery for cancer (my right kidney was removed in May2004) and an immediately ensuing heart attack. I was 64 in 2004 and found that my lifelong struggle with depression increasingly became really burdensome with the onset of these alarming health issues: you see, I had always been fit, physically. I should say, here, that I otherwise follow a conventional medical treatment schedule.I take a statin and a betablocker, have MRIs, CT scans and so on. As my depression deepened, not one of the many MDs I see regularly paid attention to my mental state - not surprising, really, given the ongoing battle with various cancer markers that we are constantly pursuing. yQjCwb

  - Brent

• October 24, 2008 11:51 a.m.

  Thank you for sharing your stories. It is so hard to see someone you love in pain. Keep encouraging them and go to the Doctor with them. Try therapy if it hasn't been tried. Tell your loved one you care deeply for them and that depression can be treated. Tell them you will be the cheerleader for them while they feel poorly. No Doctor, spouse, friend, or clergy can make someone follow a treatment plan, but an ongoing, consistent supportive presence can be very effective. Encourage your loved one to keep an open mind regarding treatment options offered by your health care provider. Be willing to try anything! If your spouse won't seek treatment, get support for yourself, so you can remain healthy.

  - MC.Com Staff

• October 24, 2008 8:59 a.m.

  I can identify with the description in the article. My husband realizes he has depression, but will not seek treatment as it has failed him in his late teen years. (He is now 28.) He has a high resistance to drugs of any kind, which necessitates increased dosages if they even effect him at all, so he doesn't really have hope that he can get the help he needs to lift out of this, giving him the strength and courage to go to counselling. He has bouts of extreme anger, a looming sadness and frustration that peaks at times, and a constant feeling of inadequacy which affects his self-esteem and his "highs" are more like a flat line, an absence of depression, not the presence of joy. It isn't the typical crying jag and hopelesness that occurs in women, though he has occasionally talked to me about suicide. When living on his own during a deep depression, he only left the house to work, barely ate but gained weight rapidly (perhaps due to sugar binges he has at these times), and didn't speak to anyone except occasionally me (which was only angry outbursts) since I was checking on him so often. That was an extreme time I hope to never repeat. How do I help him help himself? He really wants to change this, but seems stuck. No amount of pain or loss, physical or mental, motivates him. We now have a 7m baby. Is this hereditary? He is truly otherwise a wonderful man, he just needs some help. (Suggestions/expertise appreciated.)

  - Sandy

• October 23, 2008 8:07 a.m.

  My ex-husband (age 60) recently passed away. He died alone, friendless, living in a squalid trailer where the roof was falling in and the toilet had not worked in years; he had the money to buy a new place to live. There was rotting food in pots all over the stove & cabinets; the plates in the cabinets were covered with lakes of nicotine; the stench could be smelled at the street. He was an alcoholic and a chain smoker, looked like a skeleton, had not had a haircut in months, had bloody diahrea and would not see a doctor; he only left his house to buy more cigarettes & alcohol. His daily routine was to drink, smoke, and read. Many years ago he was the corporate controller of a fortune 500 company. His family was not able to convince him to get help and they were not able to help him. He was in deep depression and it got worse when his mother passed away. This is the story of what happened to him over his last 25 years of life. He was a brilliant CPA, a veteran, and was very handsome in his early years. How many more men like this are out there? What can be done to help them before it's too late?

  - Betty