[Closed] Depression, or just MTFU?

The pills help you to a point where these treatments are effective

Not necessarily. Some therapists prefer to work with a patient/client without medication of any sort.

As far as 'pills' go - they worked very well for one friend, not so good for another (heightened anxiety, extreme sweating) and, for want of a better term, has totally deadened a recent prescribee...

Edit : Obviously I mean the patient on meds, not the therapist

Because I have a different opinion that maybe people should have a look at their life

Thing is though, as many people have pointed out to me my lifes not bad at all. Good job, good mates, financially well off, more nice looking bikes than I can shake a stick at...

I think there a bit more to it than feeling a bit down when life aint great IMO. Noones suggesting the pills will be the cure, but hopefully they will go some way to helping out.

A psychiatrist explained it best to me when I was arguing wanting to come off tablets.
Pills are to mental health are what crutches are to a broken leg.
They will never fix the problem but make it easier to cope.

There isn't a single 'normal' though. We're all somewhere on a normal distribution curve between 'Very depressed / anxious all the time', going through 'Normal' and up to 'Chirpy no matter what' at the other extreme. If you're born 2 or 3 sigma off the mean, no amount of CBT or chatting to relatives will normalise you. So there is a place for drugs and staying on them indefinitely.

A leg based analogy would be if you're born with one leg shorter than the other, no amount of hoping is going to fix it, so you may as well stick an extra insole in one shoe.....

i feel the OP's pain....having been in a similar situation myself many years ago. i knew there was something not quite right but i chose to ignore it until i couldnt any more...it was now starting to affect those around me and i couldnt hide it from them anymore.
i first went to see a counsellor at work for a few months to talk about what was going on and how i was feeling. she only confirmed after the first few sessions what i already knew. i then went to see my GP who asked the usual questions (self harm/suicide etc) before prescribing me with some happy pills. he didnt think i needed CBT yet as i was already having counselling through work and because i wasnt self harming or feeling suicidal.
i didnt want to go down that route so i left them in the bedside table and they're still there. the counselling sessions really helped as it helped my look at my life more perspectively and helped me identify some of my issues/trigger points and how best to deal with them.
that was 7 years ago and although you'll never really be cured of it, it becomes more about how you manage it and keep it under control.
i have my bad moments every now and then but i'm dealing with it better now than i did back then.
the hardest part i think is admitting to yourself that you have a problem with depression and then seeking professional help.
i'm not the only one on STW who has had this as there have been many more who have gone through the same thing. everyone has a different way of dealing with it so it will be hard to say what will work for you...but there are some old thread already on the forum covering this topic. read the comments in those posts to get the reassurance that you're not on your own here and that there is light at the end of that tunnel.

I don't take mental health lightly at all. I just believe too many are too keen not to solve the underlying issues.

If you know anyone who can fix my underlying issues instead of patching over it with anti-depressants and CBT, send 'em my way.

Unfortunately that's the standard course of treatment these days. Anti-depressants have kept me functional for years now, if I didn't have them I wouldn't be holding down a job, or anything else. Yes, I am dependent on them, I can't come off them, but what's the alternative? Living my life paralysed by depression and anxiety? At least I can live a relatively normal existence and I'm glad my doctor gave me them, because God knows I can't get any psychotherapy or whatever else to help me resolve the underlying stuff, despite wanting to. I had PTSD as a kid and have had multiple mental health episodes since.

I cannot get the help I need, because the NHS either puts you into the "easy to treat" box and sends you off for CBT (which isn't suitable for everyone despite being touted as the panacea for all ills, by the way) or, you are in the situation where you have tried to off yourself and are in danger of being sectioned, only then will you get help.

I may just be unlucky - the NHS is after all a postcode lottery and in no way do I suggest the OP shouldn't go to their GP - mine has been very helpful and is as frustrated as me that I cannot get any treatment beyond anti-depressants. There are also plenty of voluntary organisations around - I have found SANE very helpful, I use their forum, and my local MIND group is pretty active. But none of those things actually fix anything.

Anti-depressants have kept me functional for years now

Personally I don't see what's wrong with staying on them for ever if they work for you. You don't see diabetics trying to come off insulin as they don't like taking drugs....

footflaps, there is some evidence to suggest that some people who are mentally ill do just have a chemical imbalance and actually the anti-ds correct it.

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause depression as well especially B12 and vit D so it's worth getting tested if you do see the GP with depression symptoms.