No, Kristen, and lonely1, you are definately not alone in your feelings and challenges when it comes to dealing with chronic depression.

I have dealt with it since I was a child in varying degrees, and for varying amounts of time. I understand the addiction to those medications, and what bothers me is that docs don't tell you that will happen. And before you know it, you can't get off of them. It is very frustrating, and can make life very difficult.

I use to take a ton load of medication just to survive. There are times when medication is needed, but, then there are times, at least for me, when it needs to be stopped. And, that is very difficult to do, and takes time, and patience. It took me two years to work my way off of a myriad of medications, and for one of them, I had to replace it with another, to finally be able to quit it.

It also took other factors in my life to help me through it. I needed a reason to live. I needed people who needed me, and a social network. I had to re-evaluate my spiritual values and goals in life. This takes a lot of personal work, and effort.

Nothing worth having in life comes without personal effort. And, we all need a friend. We CAN NOT do it alone. We try, but, we will fail. We need a spiritual connection.

I have found that reaching out to help others, helps me. It gives me a sense of satisfaction, and makes life worth living. It gives me a sense of value. And that is something we all need. We also need to be needed.

I still fight this beast, as you can see by my posts. I am exploring different ways to fight it. Finding what will work for you is paramount, but, that takes a willingness to try new things, and to be patient with yourself. It can take a lot of time and personal introspection to find what it is that you need, and what will help you to keep surviving, and, eventually, work your way into enjoying life again, even if for a few moments each day.

It is true that people, in general, do not understand depression, and have a hard time dealing with people who suffer with it. But, that can be true for many ailments.

Self-pity is one of our biggest enemies. Fighting is tiring, but, can be well worth it.

I hope you can find some small thing to smile about today, and I hope you can find some small comfort to keep you going.

Coming here and writing is definately pro-active. It has saved me many times, and I have seen it do the same for others. When you are really fighting, push yourself to come here and read, and write about it. It can really make a big difference. And, the people here really do care, and they really do 'get it'