Hello doctor, I am a 42 year old female. I have a 12-year-old son. My husband is 44 years old and is a heart patient who has undergone a CABG 10 years back. My husband is such a nice support and love to me. My son is very smart and vibrant I try my best to be happy with them. But I fail desperately. My issue is I feel like crying very often. I feel being hated by my friends and acquaintances. I fell into a toxic relationship one and a half years back. He betrayed me but I cannot let him go as I am so addicted. And now I do not have any close acquaintances to turn up on. I was under psychiatric treatment for the past one year. I was put on Fluvoxin 100 and Dicorate which I stopped due to weight gain. Now I do not want to be under medication. Some therapies or strategies would be better for me it seems. Please help.
Hello. You have clear depressive symptoms. It happens due to reduced levels of certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin which reduce the stress handling capacity of the brain. Medicines help to replace chemical deficiency and correct the imbalance. Counseling will on augment or add to the effectiveness of the medicines but it cannot replace it. I will give you one example. In fever, Crocin /Paracetamol helps is given. To this, you can add cold water sponging which helps, but you cannot replace Crocin with sponging. This is the exact same thing. There are medicines which also help you not gain weight, or are weight neutral. You can ask your doctor for the same. One example of such a dose plan would be Fluoxetine 20 mg and Lithium 300 mg and Aripiprazole 2 mg. Also if u wish, you can consult a psychologist for some sessions of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and undergo six to eight sessions online or locally.