Therapy doesn’t work

[hotspice58]

Liquid vitamin B works wonders for anxiety. Good luck to both of you,

My teen suffers from depression and anxiety. She is home from college now because of the virus, so it helps to keep an eye on her, but I don’t know what to do. She has been dealing with it for a long time and hasn’t gotten better, and it’s really affecting her in all areas of her life. We’ve tried therapy and that didn’t help. She felt it was completely useless and honestly nothing came of it except thousands of dollars I spent on it. Which would be ok if it was actually helping. I’m just at a loss and don’t want to continue seeing her suffer.

[Bubbs]

What kind of therapy? If one type doesn't work try another.
Traditional talk therapy is only helpful for me to organize my thoughts , CBT therapy worked wonders for my depression/anxiety and C-PTSD.

[Deleted User 670]

Is she willing to read up on CBT (cognitive behavior technique) workbook on anxiety? I'm going to order this book for my daughter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MQ ... tkin_p1_i0

[Anonymous 1]

Is she on antidepressants? If not, she should be. They do work. But it may take a while to find the right one for her.

She’s tried a couple to no avail and swore them off because she wholeheartedly believes they don’t actually work and any results from them are due to the placebo effect.

Someone needs to convince her that she's wrong. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right one. Has she had a physical work up and full blood work to check for hypothyroidism; for deficiencies in iron, magnesium, zinc, iodine, selenium, b vitamins, folate, vitamin d, essential fatty acids? Because being hypothyroid and/or deficient in these nutrients can cause depression too. Another thing that can cause depression is intractable insomnia. I'm prone to depression. My trigger is lack of restorative sleep. If I go through a spate of very poor sleep, I will start to develop depression. I take a low dose of elavil (a tricyclic antidepressant that works on keeping serotonin circulating in the brain) to help me sleep and stay asleep at night. It keeps the depression away. I have spinal stenosis and the pain usually keeps me from sleeping well at night.

Since she suffers from anxiety, there are a couple of supplements that work on anxiety and show promise with depression. Inositol is a b vitamin. Studies have shown that 12 grams a day help with anxiety and can help with depression if taken consistently (ie daily) after 4 weeks. Inositol powder is slightly sweet and easily dissolved in warm liquids.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/in ... s#section4

The amino acid GABA helps with anxiety too. My daughter takes it nightly to help her sleep and will take it when she's having an anxiety attack. I've taken it for my sciatica when it's unbearable. It helps with nerve pain too. Low levels of this amino acid have been linked to depression and anxiety. Researchers have found GABA to have a positive impact on anxiety.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... efits-gaba

Thank you so much for all this advice. She's had some blood work done, but nothing seemed to be abnormal. It's been difficult to convince her to continue trying since all the therapists and medications we have tried thus far have not made any improvement. So she concluded that it is all useless. It is especially difficult now during quarantine to figure out what to do. Dh and I have been laid off, so we can't continue paying for therapy sessions online right now, and I don't think that'd be particularly helpful for her anyway. So I'm just kind of at a loss of what to do for the time being.

[Anonymous 1]

I'm so very sorry for her but also for you as a Mom. As a Mom of a child who struggles with not only mental health issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD, and also an eating disorder; she is getting help for all but it took her a while to want to, too) but physical ones, it hurts US too as we watch our child going through so many struggles. We feel helpless and want to "fix it" for them but we know better.

Have you looked into NAMI for her as well as you? For parents and caretakers of a child, even an adult child with mental health issues, NAMI can be full of support too.

https://nami.org

Thanks for your input. It has been very difficult, especially now that she is cooped up in the house all the time and has no way of coping. It is so hard to see her suffer, I had hoped that by now she’d be better but it honestly just seems to be getting worse.

You're very, very welcome.

Are there things she can do while cooped up....maybe change up her schedule some how....that might help? Do you think she'd been willing to?

It really is difficult to watch a child suffer and no matter their age.

My heart and prayers go out to both of you. <3

Thank you, I really appreciate it. I have been trying to get her to spend time outside, stay connected with friends via FaceTime, things like that. It's just difficult right now because she needs more than what I am able to give her. I really don't know at this point what would be helpful, especially now in the midst of quarantine. I'm just at such a loss and I feel so helpless as I watch her suffer.

[Anonymous 1]

What kind of therapy? If one type doesn't work try another.
Traditional talk therapy is only helpful for me to organize my thoughts , CBT therapy worked wonders for my depression/anxiety and C-PTSD.

She’s tried traditional talk therapy and hasn’t found it useful. She hates talking to people about how she feels, particularly strangers.

[Anonymous 1]

Is she willing to read up on CBT (cognitive behavior technique) workbook on anxiety? I'm going to order this book for my daughter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MQ ... tkin_p1_i0

I’ll ask her. You have been so helpful We’re kind of at the point where she thinks nothing is going to help so I’m trying to change that mindset. She can’t keep going on like this. I want to see her get better.

[HaggardWitch]

I read an article last year (and I don't remember the source) that said college students are more anxious than ever. A lot of them are too overwhelmed to even finish one semester, so they drop out and go home.

At one time, college students would mingle with different types of people and they were OK. But these days, more people act demon-possessed if someone disagrees with them.

They hear about the "rape epidemic" there (I went to college, there isn't). Anxiety gives way to fear.

Differing viewpoints are despised. So if your college student disagrees, she may feel marginalized.

There are a lot of students there who are completely irresponsible. I could tell who was an athlete and whose parents were paying for it all (so no loans to pay back). So she has to deal with party girls and opportunistic men.

Then there are the weirdos who are drawn to colleges because there are a lot of uncertain young adults. Cults and criminals come. Your daughter would be targeted by cults; they hang at the counselors' offices and invite her to dinner, where they'll invite her on a weekend retreat. With criminals, she has to be vigilant. A lot of the young women are so F***ing trusting"cool girls" that they put others' safety at risk.

Maybe your daughter should take a year off. Perhaps if she works instead, she'll boost up her confidence and be better.

And FYI, depression is situational; so antidepressants will make her accept the unacceptable. She needs guidance from good people.

[Anonymous 7]

She’s tried a couple to no avail and swore them off because she wholeheartedly believes they don’t actually work and any results from them are due to the placebo effect.

Someone needs to convince her that she's wrong. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right one. Has she had a physical work up and full blood work to check for hypothyroidism; for deficiencies in iron, magnesium, zinc, iodine, selenium, b vitamins, folate, vitamin d, essential fatty acids? Because being hypothyroid and/or deficient in these nutrients can cause depression too. Another thing that can cause depression is intractable insomnia. I'm prone to depression. My trigger is lack of restorative sleep. If I go through a spate of very poor sleep, I will start to develop depression. I take a low dose of elavil (a tricyclic antidepressant that works on keeping serotonin circulating in the brain) to help me sleep and stay asleep at night. It keeps the depression away. I have spinal stenosis and the pain usually keeps me from sleeping well at night.

Since she suffers from anxiety, there are a couple of supplements that work on anxiety and show promise with depression. Inositol is a b vitamin. Studies have shown that 12 grams a day help with anxiety and can help with depression if taken consistently (ie daily) after 4 weeks. Inositol powder is slightly sweet and easily dissolved in warm liquids.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/in ... s#section4

The amino acid GABA helps with anxiety too. My daughter takes it nightly to help her sleep and will take it when she's having an anxiety attack. I've taken it for my sciatica when it's unbearable. It helps with nerve pain too. Low levels of this amino acid have been linked to depression and anxiety. Researchers have found GABA to have a positive impact on anxiety.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... efits-gaba

Thank you so much for all this advice. She's had some blood work done, but nothing seemed to be abnormal. It's been difficult to convince her to continue trying since all the therapists and medications we have tried thus far have not made any improvement. So she concluded that it is all useless. It is especially difficult now during quarantine to figure out what to do. Dh and I have been laid off, so we can't continue paying for therapy sessions online right now, and I don't think that'd be particularly helpful for her anyway. So I'm just kind of at a loss of what to do for the time being.

Another thing you should read up on is lithium orotate. Lithium is an essential trace mineral that we all need and it can help with depression and anxiety. The RDA is 1mg. Lithium orotate is a low dose supplement that contains only about 4.6mg of lithium to 120mg of orotic acid. Very safe and it is OTC. Some mineral waters even contain lithium (San Pellegrino and Crystal Geyser) You can get it from online health food stores and amazon. Read the reviews on amazon.

Very low dose lithium found in lithium orotate is completely different from the prescribed lithium carbonate. Lithium orotate contains a tiny fraction of lithium compared to the rx lithium carbonate. The amount of lithium in a 300mg lithium carbonate tablet is 56mg. Most people who take Lithium Orotate for depression or anxiety usually only need 1 to 2 tablets. Some only need 1/2 tablet. If you have any trouble reading these links let me know.

Understanding the differences between lithium carbonate and lithium orotate
https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/unders ... m-orotate/

No adverse side effects have been reported with low dose of lithium orotate.
https://www.drugs.com/npp/lithium-orotate.html

Here is the study done Dr. Nieper back in the '70s. He found low dose lithium in the form of lithium orotate to be effective for depression. There is a tablet form of lithium orotate with his name by NCI Advanced Research.
https://brewersciencelibrary.com/prodim ... e-CM12.pdf

Is There a Role for Lithium Orotate in Psychiatry?
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/1 ... b%3Dpubmed

Who Might Consider Lithium Orotate
https://psycheducation.org/treatment/mo ... m-orotate/

Lithium. Medication or Micronutrient
https://www.zrtlab.com/blog/archive/lit ... onutrient/

[Deleted User 203]

Thanks for your input. It has been very difficult, especially now that she is cooped up in the house all the time and has no way of coping. It is so hard to see her suffer, I had hoped that by now she’d be better but it honestly just seems to be getting worse.

You're very, very welcome.

Are there things she can do while cooped up....maybe change up her schedule some how....that might help? Do you think she'd been willing to?

It really is difficult to watch a child suffer and no matter their age.

My heart and prayers go out to both of you. <3

Thank you, I really appreciate it. I have been trying to get her to spend time outside, stay connected with friends via FaceTime, things like that. It's just difficult right now because she needs more than what I am able to give her. I really don't know at this point what would be helpful, especially now in the midst of quarantine. I'm just at such a loss and I feel so helpless as I watch her suffer.

I can't imagine what she's feeling right now....especially NOW with the quarantine.

What about other distractions? Little projects around the house and/or her bedroom to keep her motivated and going during the day? Do you think that might help at all? Not so much chores but just things she can do to stay going and even have her be a part of the planning of these projects.

What about some free online classes? A new language or something of a different type of specialty interest for her? My understanding is Coursera is offering up classes which are free and although they might be busy at the moment for enrollment from others looking for something to distract themselves during this time, perhaps this will give her a time filler and something to look forward to?

With our daughter and her own mental health issues, one of the things she's been doing since right after this past Christmas has been to go four days (M-Th) a week from 9am to 2pm IOP...intensive outpatient...for her eating disorders as well has her other issues. Since the place she goes to is currently closed due to the stay-in-place we have here, she's been attending the same IOP classes through Zoom and with the same people/dietitician/therapist.

On top of that, she's also self-teaching herself the Icelandic language which is important to her as her late grandmother (my husband's Mom) was from Iceland.

IOW, she's finding those distractions to help combat her anxiety, her depression, and her ED's.

Do you think that your daughter might consider doing some things to help her look forward to her day?

You're very welcome and I wish I could help more. <3