Depression FAQ
Here are short answers to the questions people ask most about this room.
Is this therapy or treatment?
This room is educational writing, meant to go alongside care from your doctor. It can't diagnose or treat anyone, and it doesn't offer therapy or counseling. If you need care, please see a doctor or another qualified professional.
Should I stop or change my antidepressant, or any other prescribed medicine, if reading helps?
Keep taking your antidepressant, or any other prescribed medicine, exactly as prescribed. Please don't stop, skip, or change a dose because a page helped you, or because it didn't. If you feel a little clearer, tell your doctor; if you feel worse, call your doctor rather than adjusting the dose yourself. Stopping on your own can be dangerous, so talk with your doctor about any change. If you're in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 (https://988lifeline.org/).
What is 988, and when should I use it?
In the United States, 988 is the number for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 (https://988lifeline.org/) if you're in crisis, if you don't feel safe, or if you're not sure your pain is bad enough to count. You don't need to explain it neatly. If you're outside the United States, call your local emergency number or a local crisis line. This website has no inbox that can answer you in a crisis, so please reach a person through one of those numbers.
Who is this room for?
This room is for anyone going through a low stretch. You might recognize widowhood, an empty nest, a long gray Sunday, late nights with the phone, or the date a loss comes back each year. Some readers have questions about a medicine and want help getting those questions ready for their doctor. Every circumstance is welcome here.
Where should I start?
Start with one page. The longer page is the depression room. If a circumstance sounds like your week, open that page: widowhood, the empty nest, nights with the phone, rainy Sundays, the anniversary of a loss, or questioning the medicine. If you're new to the site, the Begin path If you’re low is a short way in. The glossary defines depression and adjunct to care, and the main FAQ answers questions about the whole site.
Have these pages been medically reviewed?
The pages in this room haven't had a medical review yet, so please don't read them as if they had. If a review happens, the pages will say so clearly. Until then, read them as education alongside your care.
Is this a diagnosis?
Only a doctor or another qualified clinician can diagnose depression, grief, or anything else. If a paragraph here sounds like your week, mention it at your next appointment. Recognizing yourself in a page is never a reason to change your care on your own.
Can a page replace my doctor?
A page can keep you company while you read, but it can't examine you, prescribe, or change your plan of care. Keep any prescribed medicine as it is until your doctor changes it with you. If the heaviness keeps hanging on, tell your doctor what your days are actually like.
Is anything for sale, and will a product treat depression?
The shop is closed. You can look at a list of planned guides, but you can't buy them. None of them is meant to treat depression, and none will ever be a reason to stop or change a prescribed medicine.
Can this page tell grief from depression?
Grief and a low mood can overlap for a long while, and telling them apart takes your doctor, who knows your history. If you're unsure which one you're dealing with, bring that question to your next appointment. The widowhood page talks about one kind of loss, and it doesn't set a timetable for feeling better.
I have questions about my medicine. What should I do?
Write the questions down in your own words and take them to your doctor, and keep taking the medicine as prescribed in the meantime. This room will never tell you to stop, skip, or change a dose. The page on questioning the medicine helps you get your questions on paper. If reading leaves you hopeful or doubtful, tell your doctor about that too, and leave the dose as it is until the two of you decide together.
How does this room relate to loneliness?
Depression and loneliness are separate subjects, and they often show up in the same week. You can read about both without deciding first which one fits. The loneliness room covers loneliness on its own terms, with the same rules: it's education, it hasn't been medically reviewed, and it will never tell you to stop a prescribed medicine.
The longer page is the depression room, and the main FAQ answers questions about the whole site. If you're new here, start with If you’re low. Every shorter page written so far is listed in the library. The shop is closed, and nothing in it is for sale.
If you're in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 (https://988lifeline.org/) now, before you keep reading. If you're outside the United States, call your local emergency number or a local crisis line.