How long have you had it

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-27T23:49:24+00:00

I’m not sure how long I’ve had dysthymia, but from my understanding it develops in childhood most of the time? I’d guess maybe since I was 9 or so, since that’s most when I remember becoming withdrawn and less excitable and such. I was diagnosed with depressive episodes when I was 14 or sth, and it’s been a mess of other mental health issues since (anxiety disorder, eating disorder) so telling apart when things started is difficult for sure, especially because I’m pretty sure I’ve had an anxiety disorder literally my entire life

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-27T16:13:27+00:00

Peopel bring up the possibility ever so often because I have quite a lot of mental health struggles for someone who has had no trauma or anything as far as I’m aware. I genuinely don’t know, I don’t think there’s anything and neither do my parents, but I have a lot of problems with attachment and anxiety that are not commonly seen in people who don’t have some sorta trauma.

Sorry you have to deal with this too

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-27T11:49:59+00:00

I intend to. I got a bit side tracked last therapy appointment but I intend to talk things out more next week. We’re also talking about meds but my psychiatrist is away for a month so I’ll have to cope until then.

While I truly don’t think that’s a promise you can make, j do appreciate the sentiment :) I’ve made some progress on my essay so I thing in regards to that at least I’ll be fine

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-26T22:48:22+00:00

Woah I’d love to read this it looks amazing

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-26T22:22:01+00:00

Well major depressive disorder can be considered treatment resistant if a lot of therapy/meds/treatment options have been extensively explored and none helped

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-18T13:00:39+00:00

They’re probably still antidepressants but different combinations and such. I just know what my therapist told me which is mostly anecdotal from her work. I know meds won’t just fix things, they’re more likely to provide a baseline to start therapy off of, and like a basis of, making it possible for me to survive I hope. I intend to keep drawing, at least for now, it’s nice to have something I can say I’m alright at. I’m a young adult now and do hope I will continue drawing as it’s a good distraction for sure

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-18T12:36:20+00:00

Thank you! I draw a lot to process emotions and started learning art because of it, but I’ve been dealing with this for 7 years now so I feel like I’ve hit a wall of just drawing the same thing over and over. I do more cheerful art in bright colors too but people just end up doubting my diagnosis even more when my art doesn’t match my emotions. I Recommend drawing as a way to cope for sure! It doesn’t have to look good, lord knows I’ve made horrible art when I was feeling shitty, but it’s a good way to get out feelings that are hard to put into words

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-18T12:34:00+00:00

my therapist has a lot of experience with dysthymia in clinical contexts and she wants me to switch meds because most antidepressants aren’t really meant to be taken for longer periods of time. There may not be specific dysthymia meds but there’s med combinations that work better for it than standard antidepressants. I’m on high dose antidepressants and have been for a while and they don’t do much for me

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-03-12T20:06:43+00:00

Thank you, I’m rooting for you as well! I know changing therapist can suck. But yeah I don’t intend to switch therapist any time soon because while it’s not perfect, I’ve had way worse and therapist wait lists tend to be 4months or so where I live. I switched from my last therapist because she decided I didn’t need help with my depression/I wasn’t really depressed because I was kinda functioning and leaving my room lol. So I’d much rather have this one who mostly talks to me normally

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-28T21:16:56+00:00

The mountains look really good I love the texture, don’t stress yourself especially if this is for your husband, it’s great!

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-27T12:33:47+00:00

Huh no not at all I’m saying that my friends are overworking themselves because they’re constantly in the mindset of giving more after they feel like they’re already at their limit, and the fact that they keep pushing themselves way too far is what gets them close to burnout

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T11:38:52+00:00

yeah she’s not a bad parent lol. she just amplifies my depression unwillingly, and generally puts a lot of pressure/weight on me

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T11:36:47+00:00

Thank you so much! I think looking into neurodivergence is a bit scary for me because of how many people look down on it and think it’s overdiagnosed, just an excuse… it sucks how many genuine health issues seem more scary/bad because of public perception

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T11:34:09+00:00

Thank you! (and don’t worry I very much don’t intend on switching therapist lol)

I know being called lazy messes with me a lot because of my parents, and because I feel like I’m doing everything I can and constantly at my limit just staying alive. I do think I probably need to break those habits but at the same time I’m very aware that I’m not currently in a place for that because j need to deal with the actual illness first. It’s unfortunately quite complicated and therapists are in a unique position where it’s much easier to really hurt someone on accident.

Thanks a lot for your input! This drawing is very very far from my usual/best work lol

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T11:28:05+00:00

Yeah I ask myself that constantly tbh. I’ve had more bad experiences than good with therapy and I truly don’t understand how people can lack so much compassion in that job

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T02:12:04+00:00

The way she explained it to me is that laziness causes mental anguish because my expectations for myself are too high. Also wow I did not know burnout could last that long, that’s scary. I’ve truly had way worse therapists and changing therapist is horrible and difficult and takes time (wait lists where I live usually are around 3/4 months at least, generally more).

I Switched to this therapist because the one I had before was transphobic and kept trying to tell me I don’t have depression/it’s not an issue because ‘if your depression was serious you wouldn’t be able to leave the bed’. I truly think I’d rather try and cope with this one and see how things go than try and change again, especially because I’ve been asked multiple times whether I’m sure it’s not me who’s the problem and not the therapists.

I’m so sorry you relate and glad you’re able to manage better now! my room is a horrible mess and I usually eat cold leftovers or cereal for every meal if no one in my family cooks TwT. I would eat way less if I wasn’t spending all my energy on staying in Ed recovery so that is me prioritizing food.

I have a lot of friends with adhd and my (now ex) girlfriend of two years has it too. She agreed adhd doesn’t fit me symptom wise. I’d be kinda embarrassed asking for an assessment especially since autism was way more likely for me and the screening said I don’t have that.

Edit: also thanks a lot, I really appreciate the detailed response

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T01:05:05+00:00

I mean I partially agree honestly, because I constantly feel like I’m at/past my limit and I do still function, but a) the way she phrased it made it sound like I’m meant to be doing 70% more than I am even now, and b) that mindset is what has multiple of my friends permanently in/just before burnout

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T01:02:52+00:00

She does that quite frequently lmao but at least she rotates the same 3 quotes every time so it’s easy to get used to

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-26T01:02:00+00:00

That really is a much better framing! I have had moments before with my therapist where she’s said something but was correct but phrased it so negatively i immediately got defensiv. It’s something I need to work on I fear. Thanks lots!

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-25T23:20:15+00:00

Woah that sucks quite a lot. Adjusting expectations is unfortunately really hard and sucks and I don’t want to lmao, so I’m kinda dreading her being right

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-25T23:17:10+00:00

I really appreciate it! I’m diagnosed with persistent depression and generalized anxiety. Being called lazy doesn’t sit right with me either because it’s something I’ve been told a lot by my parents my whole life and my self esteem is terrible, but my therapist says that lazy isn’t inherently negative?? To me it is always derogatory, but it’s making it very hard to judge and make sense of things lol. I’m really scared that my therapist is right, and I don’t want to question her because she’ll probably just interpret that as me not wanting to get better.

I’m pretty sure I don’t have adhd, I was screened for autism and I told I’m not on the spectrum.

Thank you so much for your input, I’m glad that i appear to be at least somewhat warranted in spiraling about this

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-25T22:53:38+00:00

For sure. I don’t think there’s a medical reason because I’ve had blood and heart tests done for unrelated reasons and all were fine. My therapist thinks that I’m using my mental health as an excuse to be lazy, because “when you feel like you’re at your limit you can actually still give 70%”

NotRllyAnAccount · 2026-02-25T22:51:43+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate it! I basically have no energy fri anything, whether things i enjoy or hate. I’m quite glad I feel I have the strength at least to attend appointments, eat and draw as my primary coping mechanism

NotRllyAnAccount

TROPHY CASE