Mood Swings

I don't know exactly how long I've been battling depression, among other things, but I would say at least since last July. Officially I didn't get a diagnosis from a psychiatrist until December 2011. I am currently on a dose of 150mg Sertraline (Zoloft). My official diagnosis, right or wrong, is Major Depressive, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder without Agoraphobia.

For about the past two months now I have been having frustrating mood swings. I can be reasonably happy and then out of the blue I break down and start crying. It started in its current form when I was carrying groceries home from the store. I can't pinpoint any cause, I just started bawling. It happens almost daily now, during times when I feel like I should be perfectly happy. Coming home from a good night out with friends, in the back of the car - crying. Going out to eat, waiting for the bus - crying. Sometimes things that bother me seem to be the trigger, but other times the crying starts and I try to figure out why I'm suddenly so sad, and then I think of the things that frustrate or depress me and it reinforces it.

It's making my days quite volatile, and I'd rather not suddenly break down in the middle of my friends or a crowded mall or anything like that. Any thoughts?

I would look to other people's experiences to see how they cope with medication and life after medication. It can help remind yourself who you are and why you chose to take medication. I've found youtube video journals to be very helpful in this regard, namely trichsurvivor's channel. Though I do not suffer from trichotillomania I've found the condition to be remarkably similar to depression and trichsurvivor's experiences parallel my own to an unusual degree. Not only this, but they also seem to have successfully recovered with the help of medication and I hope to do the same.