Brief Answer:
Why not try alternative therapies for emotional health? They work.

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXX,

I'm Dr. Neel Kudchadkar and I'll help you now.

The reasons behind your temporary problem (Yes! it really is transient), are not so
important as solving the issues that make you distressed and distraught. There is no reason why you should be, and the fact that you were told, that you might be having depressive issues, and that you have been at a crossroads in deciding whether to take antidepressant drugs, is a significant one.

There's good news for you.

Let's forget the diagnosis, (the cause of your problem). Let's focus on the solutions.

1. CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbooks.
2. Emotional Intelligence Techniques.
3. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction techniques. (MBSR)

These three approaches are drug free and millions of people, just like you have benefited from them. These therapeutic techniques have been in existence since the 1970's.

CBT revolves around thoughts and reactions. In these workbooks, you can unravel the subliminal issues behind your labile affect (I hate to call it emotional instability, that term indicates a wide swathe of other undesirable connotations, most of which do not apply to you).

Emotional Intelligence is an oxymoron. It's widely used by corporates nowadays. It revolves around you having an 1) awareness of your feelings 2) knowledge of what they are telling you as opposed to repetitive patterns of older painful thought patterns 3) the ability to act positively upon these feelings. You need to work on yourself for a while. It's like going to a gym. Here you become emotionally fit. For life. Equanimous. Nothing then can hurt, affect or unsettle you. It takes some effort. Most people though, enjoy the process of self discovery and the initimate relationship with oneself, that it opens the doors of the mind to.

MBSR - Mindfulness, is merely a very simple technique. It has been studied and popularized right from US academia to the senate. It's a series of practical methods of being in the present moment.

It's up to you which of these three alternative methods to choose for yourself.

Kindly reply back, and I will assist you in further eliminating your emotional issues
with step by step instructions and links to academic and open medical resources.

However, if you really feel that it's a tall order, and you would like some relief, quickly, then I would recommend that you ask of your local doctor NOT TO GIVE YOU TCA OR SSRI ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS. The side effects of these drugs are simply not worth the temporary relief they give.

Finally, the best drug for you is the humble SSRE called Tianeptine. Take it 3 times a day after breakfast, lunch and dinner, for 2 weeks.

I, however, have faith, that you are a fighter enough to face this transient problem on your own terms (It's obvious from the way you've put it across).

We know you can "beat" this issue down.

Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,

Dr. Neel Kudchadkar.

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