Hello - I have suffered from severe recurrent depression for most of my life. I am 51 and started dealing with depression from about age 10-11. My diagnosis shifts between bipolar II and major recurrent depression for some reason.
I have been medicated with just about every known psych med and now cannot take AD's due to they trigger bipolar symptoms. I get by on a low dose of Lithium 450 mg and sauna use and plenty of exercise and therapy.
I believe that other time, even when I am not depressed, I have slowly but surely suffered from cognitive decline. It's like my brain gets overwhelmed after too much information or too many things going on or too late in the day and it kind of shuts down.
I am on hormone replacement therapy which is helping somewhat with fatigue states and mental fog, but I am not the same person anymore. I don't know if this is learned helplessness over time or if this is a brain problem after years. I seem to suffer a major depressive episode every year, usually in the late winter and springtime that lasts for months.
Otherwise, I am up and down a lot. I have a good day and then I have a bad day, etc.. It's like some days I just can't function well. Low frustration tolerance, etc.
I am wondering if some sort of brain fatigue or damage has occurred after many years of all this. Does anyone else have a problem like this to the point of being disabling? I can only work part-time anymore.
Thank you!