Agree with what Arkasi and Steponlego shared and it's great that you've "man up" to see either a psychiatrist or psychologist for it. Honestly, don't listen to those advice that say you need to be more positive, have a walk and it'll be fine, toughen up yourself and own your mind kind of nonsense.

I've had depression and later on anxiety with it for 4 years and even got admitted to hospital when it got too serious. I did see a few psychiatrist and psychologist along the way, but only felt at best 60% through a lot of different med combinations cos different ppl react differently to the side effects. My goal that time was to always try to cut off medications asap once I get better.

Then I switched to another psychiatrist and got diagnosed that it is probably genetics where my brain chemicals cannot generate enough chemicals like the normal person to be happy, manage stress etc so I need meds to boost it to a healthy level. After getting the right combination of meds, I recovered completely in 3 months but I no longer feel the urge to cut my medications off like last time. Cos now I feel as good as I was back in college like as if no worries, I can handle stress and problems much better and with a clearer mind. I just treat the meds like some high cholesterol meds or diabetes medication only.

Depression and anxiety have many types of manifestations and causes. The fact that you acknowledge that you need help and are willing to seek for one is the best decision. People who say why are you so weak etc. probably didn't experience actual depression and anxiety before. When they ask you to be positive or conquer your mind, it's like asking a temporarily handicapped person in the wheelchair to stand and walk straight away. They also need physio before they can stand back up on their own.

Sometimes it's fine to just admit we need help at some point in our lives. No need to worry about ego so much. Ego cannot feed us also. Just be patient with the medications, it's quite trial and error one. For me, psychiatrist work better than psychologist but that's also because I don't like CBT work. When the medications begin to work, you'll see things a lot differently and easier. Cos you can't walk if you can't stand. Take it one step at a time.

This post has been edited by alwy11: Aug 30 2025, 03:58 PM

Based on my experience during my ordeal, motivation was a big issue as your motivation levels drop when you have depression and like you, I was motivated by success by climbing the corporate ladder and dopamine. Actually, it's a common thing for a lot of us to think and behave that way. Especially our generation cos we are so wired through our gadgets that we chase dopamine through it as well. Over time, our brains adapt to needing to have these videos, shorts, stories to fill the gap or silence. So we chase these kind of things more. It's just one downside of technology advancement. You might want to watch this video on Youtube - "You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why." by Harvard Business Review. Just a quick 6 minutes video.

Regarding caffeine, it's not bad but you need to be careful with that consumption if you have anxiety. If not, it's ok but if you have anxiety, it can make it worse. You might feel more nervous or jittery cos of it. Well, in terms of taking medications, I told my psychiatrist when I was getting better mood wise, that I lacked motivation and I also had low self esteem as I had to quit my job due to depression. However, after her change of meds, my motivation levels drastically improved and you would be surprised, I was very risk adverse previously but now I'm about to start a business myself. So sometimes, it could be the chemical imbalance that we have in our brains, which is very complex that affects this part of us at THIS POINT IN TIME only. You may feel demotivated and have low self esteem now, but that may not define who you are when you are better.

CBT works for some people and it's good that you are open to it especially if you have trauma related or negative behaviour thought process being reinforced. However, based on my experience having a good combination of medication helps provide a solid foundation to recovery and then when you supplement it with CBT, it can be the total package/ gold standard. So the right medications can really help prevent you from spiraling down, as for my case it did. I was suicidal at one point and had to undergo Spravato treatment in UMMC to negate those thoughts. When I was admitted there, I befriended a lot of people with different backgrounds and there are so many successful people there like Ivy League C-Suite patients there. So depression and anxiety can happen to anyone regardless of how successful they, or in K terms, RM20k salary or not. That guy was probably earning RM60-80k per month based on his position, making big decisions in his company but it still happened to him. It could be genetics, upbringing, trauma or environment that cause this.

Your colleagues or boss may or may not understand depression or provide you the support you need but that's understandable as I was probably like them too before I had depression. So I choose to be open about it and share my experience when I need to, due to the stigma around it. Grounding techniques may help and I did try that out, but for me, it helped sustain my depression for a bit, but not improve the situation. It helps more for anxiety symptoms but depression not so. If you can afford a private clinic, I would recommend Introspect Clinic at Sri Petaling. The doctor there was a former lecturer and her medicine prescription method was very helpful for me. Also her method of documentation helps save time during consultation as she knows what to follow up on straight away during each visit. I have tried other doctors, and their dosing and medication choice didn't work that well for me. Maybe I got lucky but I sort of owe it to her for my drastic recovery after 4 years of drifting in and out. I take about 3 medications now (1 for depression, 1 for sleep/ mood stabiliser (not sleeping pill) and 1 for motivation/ energy-ish) and I pay about RM600+ per month but if cost is a concern, you can try UMMC out. It's just that their method may take a bit more time as they are a bit more prudent in dosing style i.e. they give you one med by one med.

Anyway, if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to PM me or just continue in this thread. I'm sure the others here are happy to help provide a listening ear.

This post has been edited by alwy11: Aug 30 2025, 09:08 PM

Well, you're not wrong entirely as it is always good to tackle the root problem where possible. Counselling however does not come from a psychiatrist, it's provided by either a psychologist or a counselor and it's not really a temporary relief. It all comes down to what type of situation a person is in.

TS, there are many types of treatment aimed at a long term fix in counseling to solve the root problem which can come from CBT, talk therapy, DBT and mindfulness (mbct).

These medical professionals are not just temporary solutions but of course, we ourselves need to be receptive and make an effort at recovery. But sometimes, even if we make an effort it might not work due to chemical imbalance such as mine, genetics. Then there's where we need a psychiatrist to help solve the "root cause" or sometimes, we need a temporary relief/ foundation to allow our mind to be a stable/ good state before we tackle the root cause.

Ooh seems like frequent rumination, yea mindful breathing can help. Anyway, good la that you're in the process with your psychologist. Hope it all goes well!

Er, bro better don't spread misinformation if you do not have a deep understanding in how medications work and to whom it should be given to. I don't mean to be rude but this kind of advice can actually prevent people from taking the medication route when they are actually in need of them to get them to a baseline level.

Medication are meant for people with anxiety, depression etc. There are various type of medications that work differently such as SSRIs, mood stabilisers, atypical, SNRIs. Some to tackle symptoms, some to tackle the root cause. Medications however like what another forumer pointed out is not like a flu medicine and not like you get healed within 5-6 sessions. Once a person starts on medication and even if they get better, the process to taper off will take at least 2-3 months per medicine depending on dosage. (Not directed to you but for general forum info).

People with ADHD, depression and anxiety may not have delusion or hearing things out of nowhere. Mainly those with psychotic symptoms have those bro. Psychologist or counselors are no doubt great help for people with trauma, grieft etc. and agree with you that if the patient is stubborn then it won't be an effective treatment for them.

However, people with severe depression and anxiety (without delusions) are highly recommended to go to the medication route. Counselling is a long process and generally requires more than 6 sessions at least to see some results. So supplementing it with medication, helps to either reduce or prevent their symptoms from spiraling down further.

I'm not saying everyone needs to take medication cos it depends on their issues but I'm saying, advising that medication is only highly recommended for a selected small group of people with delusion is rather incorrect advice and may cause more harm. Just my two cents.

This post has been edited by alwy11: Sep 6 2025, 10:10 PM

Both psychiatrists and psychologists are medical professionals btw. And not all psychiatrists like to simply just prescribe meds and just earn a quick buck from you. However, like all doctors, accountants etc there are good and bad ones.

Look, you clearly don't have a complete picture of how depression is. You can go re-read your post and mine back again, if you have comprehension issues. And yes, although depression is usually associated with lack of actions, it doesn't mean a person don't need medications for most part.

This part here is again not accurate. Aside from personal experience, the reason why I don't agree is because someone I knew, committed suicide after deciding against medication and just did not pull through solely with counseling/ therapy cos of these false preachings about medications. You can say whatever you want, about what most part etc but don't simply give advice that can prevent other ppl from seeking correct help.

You don't have to play down medications for the wider group if you are pro-therapy. No one is saying therapy is useless. Instead, combined they are the gold standard. You don't have to create a barrier or make medications sound like they are only for a small group of people to take.

Anyway, I'm not trying to simply pick a fight. It's just that having lost someone cos of that mindset is a bit unsettling.

Until now, I also don't fully know if it can but I've taken medications for about 4 years plus, I switched like god knows how many types also. Depending on the psychiatrist dosing style, some gave me really high dose and like 4 medications at one go, I went from 0-60% quickly which allowed me to work back. But not enough for me, to handle work stress at that point so had to add but never got much better. Then when I switched to the latest psychiatrist after my major relapse, I went to 100% with her prescriptions and dosing which I would say is a moderate to low dosing style of 4 medications but we quickly manage to cut one off and reduce the dosage and now I'm at a minimal dose with 3 medications but this is like the best I've felt in like more than 10-20 years so I don't want to kacau it also and try to cut further.

I'm starting a business soon and got a bit of stress here and there, but it seems a lot easier to deal with now, and I can sustain with this low dose. Like the whole mindset became more positive and stronger, self-doubts went away and motivation is up but my issue was genetics related plus grief. So I guess finding the right combination of medications is the key to long term sustainability and also the environment you are in at that moment. Like, if I stayed with the doctor who gave me high dose meds but not fully right for me, also won't help in the long run. Some people get better until 50% then they don't dare to trial and error other meds already, cos already sick of the possible side effects. Then they might be more susceptible to a relapse or the effectiveness drop in the long run when things get tougher.

However like TsubakiKira mentioned, you really need to complement it with a healthy lifestyle. I now have the motivation and energy to work out like 6-7 times a week and also socialise more now. Unlike last time, I became a total couch potato cos of the depression. So you have to really take advantage once you get better, and make full use of it to get another support system. Even if I'm happy with my meds now, I wouldn't count on it forever. You never know right, so instead of relying on one high performing stock better to hedge the risk and invest in multiple alternatives to form a good stock portfolio.

Edit:Just met my doc for a follow up visit and she said the medicines I'm on, are not the type that will build tolerance. So it won't really diminish over long term, even the one I take that helps with sleep which is not a sleeping pill.

This post has been edited by alwy11: Sep 10 2025, 03:16 PM