Do antidepressants help?

[SKYBLUE22]

lost my soulmate after 35 years depression meds dont help therapy didnt work grief 6 months  s real hollow 988 they just listen have no one to talk with

[KayC]

You have us now.  I am so sorry for your loss, I know it to be the hardest thing I've ever gone through.  It helpd to come here to read and post and know there are others that listen and care, we've been through it, all in varying stages of grief, there is no exact timeline.

Grief Process

This is not a one-size-fits-all, what strikes us one day will be different a few months/years from now, so please save/print this for reference!

I want to share an article I wrote of the things I've found helpful over the years, in the hopes something will be of help to you either now or on down the road.

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR WAY THROUGH GRIEF

There's no way to sum up how to go on in a simple easy answer, but I encourage you to read the other threads here, little by little you will learn how to make your way through this.  I do want to give you some pointers though, of some things I've learned on my journey.

• Take one day at a time.  The Bible says each day has enough trouble of its own, I've found that to be true, so don't bite off more than you can chew.  It can be challenging enough just to tackle today.  I tell myself, I only have to get through today.  Then I get up tomorrow and do it all over again.  To think about the "rest of my life" invites anxiety.
• Don't be afraid, grief may not end but it evolves.  The intensity lessens eventually.
• Visit your doctor.  Tell them about your loss, any troubles sleeping, suicidal thoughts, anxiety attacks.  They need to know these things in order to help you through it...this is all part of grief.
• Suicidal thoughts are common in early grief.  If they're reoccurring, call a suicide hotline.  I felt that way early on, but then realized it wasn't that I wanted to die so much as I didn't want to go through what I'd have to face if I lived.  Back to taking a day at a time.  Suicide Hotline - Call 1-800-273-8255 or www.crisis textline.org or US and Canada: text 741741 UK: text 85258 | Ireland: text 50808
• Give yourself permission to smile.  It is not our grief that binds us to them, but our love, and that continues still.
• Try not to isolate too much.  
• There's a balance to reach between taking time to process our grief, and avoiding it...it's good to find that balance for yourself.  We can't keep so busy as to avoid our grief, it has a way of haunting us, finding us, and demanding we pay attention to it!  Some people set aside time every day to grieve.  I didn't have to, it searched and found me!
• Self-care is extremely important, more so than ever.  That person that would have cared for you is gone, now you're it...learn to be your own best friend, your own advocate, practice self-care.  You'll need it more than ever.
• Recognize that your doctor isn't trained in grief, find a professional grief counselor that is.  We need help finding ourselves through this maze of grief, knowing where to start, etc.  They have not only the knowledge, but the resources.
• In time, consider a grief support group.  If your friends have not been through it themselves, they may not understand what you're going through, it helps to find someone somewhere who DOES "get it". 
• Be patient, give yourself time.  There's no hurry or timetable about cleaning out belongings, etc.  They can wait, you can take a year, ten years, or never deal with it.  It's okay, it's what YOU are comfortable with that matters.  
• Know that what we are comfortable with may change from time to time.  That first couple of years I put his pictures up, took them down, up, down, depending on whether it made me feel better or worse.  Finally, they were up to stay.
• Consider a pet.  Not everyone is a pet fan, but I've found that my dog helps immensely.  It's someone to love, someone to come home to, someone happy to see me, someone that gives me a purpose...I have to come home and feed him.  Besides, they're known to relieve stress.  Well maybe not in the puppy stage when they're chewing up everything, but there's older ones to adopt if you don't relish that stage.
• Make yourself get out now and then.  You may not feel interest in anything, things that interested you before seem to feel flat now.  That's normal.  Push yourself out of your comfort zone just a wee bit now and then.  Eating out alone, going to a movie alone or church alone, all of these things are hard to do at first.  You may feel you flunked at it, cried throughout, that's okay, you did it, you tried, and eventually you get a little better at it.  If I waited until I had someone to do things with I'd be stuck at home a lot.
• Keep coming here.  We've been through it and we're all going through this together.
• Look for joy in every day.  It will be hard to find at first, but in practicing this, it will change your focus so you can embrace what IS rather than merely focusing on what ISN'T.  It teaches you to live in the present and appreciate fully.  You have lost your big joy in life, and all other small joys may seem insignificant in comparison, but rather than compare what used to be to what is, learn the ability to appreciate each and every small thing that comes your way...a rainbow, a phone call from a friend, unexpected money, a stranger smiling at you, whatever the small joy, embrace it.  It's an art that takes practice and is life changing if you continue it.
• Eventually consider volunteering.  It helps us when we're outward focused, it's a win/win.

(((hugs)))  Praying for you today.

 

[Marq]

48 minutes ago, SKYBLUE22 said:

lost my soulmate after 35 years depression meds dont help therapy didnt work grief 6 months  s real hollow 988 they just listen have no one to talk with

A grief counselor or a therapist who understands grief and loss are so important.  Spending time in the company of friends and family helped me tremendously.  Sometimes just in silence and I would cry.  Nothing said.  They understood nothing could be said.  But their presence helped.  I am sorry you are here and experiencing this.  But you are not alone.  Everyone’s experience is individual, but people here understood my pain in a way other people didn’t.  Keep coming back.  Eat healthy, drink water, touch grass when you can.  

[KayC]

I got a horrid counselor, stated he was grief but he was anything but.  I remember after two sessions he gave me a book to read, I opened the beginning of it when I got home and it opened with: "I took my wedding ring off..."  I couldn't stop crying.  I couldn't help but feel this "counselor" had no clue about my grief.  It wasn't long and his wife divorced him.  I couldn't help but feel he should have stuck to drugs and alcohol counseling, something he knew something about.  I went back for another session or two and quit.  There were no other counselors in town.

I highly recommend counselors but if they aren't helping after three sessions or so, try another.  It would have put me home way too late to go out of town and it was out of the question when I was commuting 100 miles/day.  

[SKYBLUE22]

sometimes but i have  been on all different   ones and they dont work for me

[SKYBLUE22]

yes just talking to a person... loss my friends to various cancers and my family are to busy with their lives..once they find out your on depression meds they distance or stigmatize you

[KayC]

I am sorry. Right now surround yourself with those who are supportive, that's what you need in your life right now.