But it’s very painful to work when your artificial limb is underwater, and returning to the scene of his trauma must have made him highly anxious. He was fitted with an artificial limb, and in time he went back to work. He worked in the water-logged rice fields, and one day he stepped on a land mine and his leg was blasted off.

The doctors told Summerfield a story about a farmer they had treated. Instead, they told him about something quite different. Puzzled, Summerfield asked them to explain, expecting that they were going to tell him about some local herbal remedy.

When he finished, they explained that they didn’t need these new chemicals - because they already had antidepressants. The local doctors didn’t know much about these drugs, so they asked Summerfield to explain them. Those psychotherapy treatments (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, and Family Focused Therapy) reduced depression in the long term without any risk of more mania or mood swings.As the 21st century was beginning, a South African psychiatrist named Derek Summerfield happened to be in Cambodia conducting some research on the psychological effects of unexploded land mines - at a time when chemical antidepressants were first being marketed in the country. The same large study that found antidepressant medication was not effective for depression in bipolar also found that specific kinds of psychotherapy were clearly effective. Medication may not be the most effective treatment for depression in bipolar disorder. And different medications work for different people, so trial-and-error is sometimes necessary. As you probably know, medications for depression often take two weeks or longer to help. Research suggests that some of the other “atypical” medications may also help with depression in bipolar disorder, but they are not specifically approved for that purpose. Two of the newer “atypical” medications (Lurasidone and Quetiapine) have been officially approved to treat depression in people with bipolar disorder. Lamotrigine is a mood stabilizer medication that may help more with depression than lithium or other mood stabilizers. There are other types of medications you could take along with lithium that might help more with depression. It sounds like you are one of those people who should probably avoid traditional antidepressants. But for some people, antidepressants clearly do bring on mania or more unstable moods (“rapid cycling”). For some people, though, antidepressant medications may help reduce symptoms of depression without increasing risk for mania or mood swings. The largest study of antidepressant medication for depression in bipolar disorder found it was-on average-not better than a placebo. And traditional mood stabilizer medications-like lithium-are generally more effective for controlling or preventing mania than for controlling or preventing depression.įor people with bipolar disorder, use of antidepressants is controversial. Most people who live with bipolar disorder spend more time feeling depressed than they do feeling speeded up or manic. Unfortunately, your situation is a common one. I only consider taking my life when I'm depressed not manic, what can I do? I need meds for depression, that is what is crucial to keeping me alive.

I'm not on an antidepressant, as it will push me into mania, but I'm in so much emotional pain.

I have a diagnosis of bipolar, and am taking lithium for my mania.

Depression medication to take as needed