Information on atypical depression? and hi to the group ?
Anyone know of any good sources of information on atypical depression?
I've only found some side mentions on it. The best information I've found
was a book about drugs used to treat problems it had about two paragraphs
and a checklist, every thing that was a symptom i could check. I can't seem
to find any books that deal with it for more than a paragraph. Even the
internet has nothing. And other information on just depression doesn't
describe my own problems
I'd love to help you. But I've never been clear as to what "atypical
depression" means.
"'Atypical' means unusual. Instead of feeling unrelenting gloominess and
lethargy, a person
with this condition might seem deeply depressed for a few days, then fine for a
while, or
anxious and irritable.
Like many other forms of depression, the atypical variety often develops without
a triggering event."
have been diagnosed as having atypical depression. I was
told the main symptoms that differ from other depression are no loss of
appetite, no trouble sleeping at night, overly sensitive to remarks that
are made.
Typical medications don't always work with atypical depression. It tool
me 5 months of experimenting with medications and a very good
psychiatrist who specializes in medication to get some relief.
I now take Prozac (which didn't work alone), Desipramine, and Lorazepam
(tranquilizer for anxiety and anger).
My depressions are atypical. I gain appetite (and a lot of weight)
and must sleep up to 12 hours a day when it hits bad. Went the route
of non-med therapies, concentrated on controlling symptoms rather than
actually getting rid of the cycles I go through, and it has worked
fairly well. Read The Depression Workbook by Mary Ellen Copeland for
techniques on working with any and all symptoms of depression. She
doesn't separate atypical out from other depression, but it is an
overall helpful book.
One other thing about atypical you might consider. I not only do not
lose my appetite, I get cravings for things that make the situation
worse: sugar, salt, starch. You might read "Sugar Blues" by William
Dufty, which I am pretty sure is still in print after 23 years, about
sugar's influence on moods and health.