please recommend a self help book, therapy, drug...

[LabRat]

Originally Posted by staceyv

I can't take the pill because #1, I smoke and I don't want t o be at a high risk for a stroke, and I'm not ready to quit right now, #2, I tried two types of pills and I was having black outs and heart palpitations...
I do seem to be depressed, and I know I would feel better if I could go to the gym and work out every day, but I can't because then I'm too tired/ achey at work and I get way more low blood sugar symptoms because I can't stop to eat at work, I can't even find the time to pee when it's busy- nevermind snack, and if I do stop for a bite, I'll either get dirty looks from people who are busy and think i'm slacking, or someone will call me over to help them. So, no excercise for me...I don't want to take antidepressants. I think I need to change my lifestyle, excercise and do less stressful things with my life. I have just one more year to deal with this crap.
I just ordered some books on Amazon.com- they actually have a book called : "The Highly Sensitive Person" and the description describes me very well- Everything around me seems to affect me, people's moods rub off on me, I can sense people's tension physically, loud noise, smells and bright lights bother me, I'm easily distracted and overwhelmed...Hopefully these books will help, and next year I'll quit this job that is SO wrong for me, excercise and figure out something to do with myself...At least there is light at the end of the tunnel...
I have to work tonight, so I'm going to go and take a 3 hour nap so that I am well rested and hopefully I won't have any breakdowns tonight. Thanks for all the advice

What this post says to me is, I am not willing to change anything in my life that may be making me the way I am, (changing my lifestyle by quitting smoking, trying a low dose BC pill like Ortho tricyclin-LO, or speak to a psychologist to determine if I am depressed and should be on Zoloft or Paxil etc.) but I want to be fixed anyway. Well, wouldn't it be nice if we all could wish our way to whatever we wanted. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but too bad. I didn't WANT to take antidepressants either, b/c that would mean admitting I wasn't 'normal'...but after ruling out other possibilities, and talking with a real doctor, it was the only option left. Oh, and my husband said talk to a Dr., or I am leaving. Lo and behold, 4 years later I am a hell of a lot better person, wife, mother, friend, daughter, and co-worker because I was able to admit I had an illness (that it turns out, runs in the family). If you had diabetes, would you say 'but I don't want to give up chocolate and take a shot everyday?' No, to get better, you would make the necessary life changes, then get on with a better quality of life I would think. So suck it up and talk to a professional. Zoloft, gift of the gods

[Elspode]

I'd like to throw in a hearty for anti-depressant therapy. I've been taking Lexapro (a relatively low dose, actually) for a few years now, and it makes an *enormous* difference in my attitude, my self-loathing, etc.

I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who use antidepressants, Stacey...and you'd never know it. No one else would know that *you* were taking them either.

[Troubleshooter]

What I don't understand is the need for so many people to be taking anti-depressants. Life just can't be that hard for that many people.

[Beestie]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

What I don't understand is the need for so many people to be taking anti-depressants.

Because they are available and because they work. You could have said the same thing about aspirin.

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Life just can't be that hard for that many people.

Alternatively, you could walk around in someone else's moccasins for a while and see if your perspective changes.

[staceyv]

I took that depression test, and I scored 14 on a scale of 0-27.."moderate depression". The thing is, I had to answer a lot of the questions about energy and sleep habits as "normal for me" because I have been tired as hell for years now.

[LabRat]

It's not about life being hard, it's about bad brain chemistry.

[Troubleshooter]

Only sometimes. There is situational depression as well as chemical imbalance. I don't think that there are that many people who all of a sudden have developed a chemical imbalance.

[Catwoman]

I hope everything’s going well with your psychiatrist. I think I can help you (and save you $80 an hour ).

First, what is a 'problem'? Let’s try and define it.

When I do not like what is happening.
When I do not like what has happened.
When I do not like what is going to happen.

For example:

Things that have happened
- You have burst into tears at work
- You’ve had bad relationships with strangers/friends/lovers
- You have reacted emotionally to ‘little things’ that ‘shouldn’t bother you’ (who says?)
- You find yourself ‘complaining, bitching, whining and moaning about things that upset me’ (we all do that!)
- You have related well to people with Aspurges (who generally have more common sense than most)
- You have been diagnosed as ‘depressed’ by a standardised test

Things you think might happen
- You'll be diagnosed as mentally ill
- People won’t like or want you in their lives
- Life will get better if you change jobs
- You can’t change jobs because no one else will want you
- Life will get better if you exercise more
- People will think you’re whiney, weak or ‘hopeless’ for talking about your problems
- You’ll find your identity in a self-help book

Now I’m going to relieve you of these terrible burdens. The things that have happened are behind you. They do not exist any more. Gone. Say goodbye. Go on, it’s really true. You should already feel brilliant!

The things you think might happen are just thoughts. No one knows the future - it only exists in your thoughts. Reality NEVER matches up. You know when you’re afraid of something but it’s not that bad once it happens? Or when you can’t be bothered to go to the gym but enjoy yourself when you get there? All the same thing. You do not know the future.

So there's no point worrying about any of that.

Back to the present. The other source of problems is what is happening now. For example, you are in a traffic jam, and if it doesn’t start bloody moving in the next five minutes I’m going to be late for work getamoveonyoublindoldbat I have somewhere to be!

To me, this is madness. This is what everyone does. If you are mad Stacey, you’re not alone.

Why is this mad? Because you are resisting what is already happening.

Do you see the irony? It’s already happening! This is now!

So, if you can succeed in living life without reacting to what is going on around you, just observing with a slight smile on your face as you watch everyone else get exasperated with the present moment, then your problems will disappear. This is a guarantee. A quick fix and a long-term solution. Don’t waste your money on self-help books or expensive psychiatrists. Enjoy the moment!

[limey]

Originally Posted by Catwoman

I hope everything’s going well with your psychiatrist. ...[snip]...Enjoy the moment!

I couldn't have put it better myself, catwoman. BUT .... it's not always so easy to do (ALWAYS worthwhile if you can manage it).

[staceyv]

Ortho Tricyclin is one of the two pills that I tried when I had black outs and heart palpitations which went away when I got off of the pill.

You don't take someone who's feeling down and tell them that now the's time to quit smoking..And that's not what I meant by lifestyle changes. I meant my job.
Anyway, I already have a plan to quit smoking by gradually reducing my addiction to nicotine. I went from lights (.7 mg nicotine) to superlights (.4 mg) and I will switch to Winston Ones (.1 mg) in a couple of months, then to the lowest dose patch. I KNOW that light cigarettes aren't necessarily healthier, but they DO have less nicotine per cigarette and I am using that as a tool to lower my addiction. "I am not ready.." to quit in conventional ways, because I'd be even more of a wreck.

I know myself well enough to know that if I excercise everyday, I don't NEED antidepressants. I don't see the point in taking them when there is a very healthy alternative that works just as well for me. I have nothing against antidepressants, except that they are a drug which can have side effects and excercise is all natural and the only side effects are great ones... I know a LOT of people on anti-depressants, I realize how common they are.

I have been to a psychologist before. They sit there and listen, and that's fun, but their main specialty is prescribing drugs...Like I said, give me a gym membership instead of a prescription, I'll be pumping out endorphins, boosting my confidence and feeling optimistic. It really is the best therapy and many studies have shown that.

You're basically saying that I'm whining about my problems and I'm not willing to do anything about them. I have a plan to quit smoking, valid reasons for not taking the pill, and if I took antidepressants, it would only be because I was too lazy to get my ass to the gym. I know that some people need them and it's not because they're lazy, but in my case, that would be exactly why I went on them...

And about "feeling normal"..I don't give a flying f$*# about being normal. I have always felt different, and I see no stigma attached to taking anti-depressants.
My husband loves me the way I am and he's never told me that I need help or drugs or whatever. He just says he wants me to quit my job, but if I do that now, it'll set us back.

I'm all set. You can add me being over-defensive to my list of complaints and sit there and shake your head and say "this chick is hopeless", whatever. I really am offended by labrat's post, which is just another excellent example of me being oversensitive...
Screw it, I have my books coming in the mail, so maybe I'll find some insight there. Thanks to everyone else who had nice things to say and useful advice...I really appreciate it. Even if I didn't walk away with my answer, I think more than anything, I needed to vent and hoped to find that I'm not the only person with issues, and I did accomplish that, so it wasn't all a waste of time.

[LabRat]

Originally Posted by staceyv

Ortho Tricyclin is one of the two pills that I tried when I had black outs and heart palpitations which went away when I got off of the pill.

They have come out with a LO version, initially designed for breast feeding moms, but I stayed on it and LOVE it.

Originally Posted by staceyv

I know myself well enough to know that if I excercise everyday, I don't NEED antidepressants. I don't see the point in taking them when there is a very healthy alternative that works just as well for me. give me a gym membership instead of a prescription, I'll be pumping out endorphins, boosting my confidence and feeling optimistic. It really is the best therapy and many studies have shown that.

So, are you exercising everyday???? You don't need to pay for a gym membership to go for a walk or run outside, or at your local mall if the weather is bad. I'm not trying to be a bitch, but I am talking from experience. Stop making excuses, and start being proactive. I know exercise helps me immensely too, but it is not a cure. The underlying problem is still there.

[Trilby]

The goal of therapy is to have the patient solve their own problem(s).

Congratulations.

You've solved your own problem. That should enable you to solve more problems.

Good for you. Keep hanging on!

[Trilby]

ts--I don't get it.

'course, I'm handi-capable...so, that could be it...

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Brianna

ts--I don't get it.

'course, I'm handi-capable...so, that could be it...

3/4 of the people treated with zoloft for major depression responded positively.

1/2 of the people treated with placebo for major depression responded positively.

They listed no significant difference between zoloft and placebo in people with mild or situational depression.

[Beestie]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

3/4 of the people treated with zoloft for major depression responded positively.

1/2 of the people treated with placebo for major depression responded positively.

They listed no significant difference between zoloft and placebo in people with mild or situational depression.

You've framed the problem quite nicely. However, what's the solution?

Ten people walk into Dr. Troubleshooter's office exhibiting signs of major depression. To whom do you give the sugar pill, to whom do you give a "quit-your-self-indulgent-whining-and-shape-up" speech and to whom do you prescribe an anti-depressant?

I'm not trying to be a smartass but to say that antidepressants are overprescribed and leave it at that is like handing out a scratch-n-sniff picture of a steak dinner.