do you take psych pills?
i know that we are not a fair representation of the populace as a whole, but....still. i'd like to know.
I was on Ritalin a few years back, but I still attest I didn't need them, and almost never took them anyway.
No never
Psych pills are "anit- psychotics". What did you take lj?
Ritalin and antidepressants are not psych pills. IBRAM...and you are right. You probably didn't need them
.( just cause you said you didn't)
i meant any pill designed to manage your moods, psyche, etc.
IBRAM...and you are right. You probably didn't need them
.( just cause you said you didn't)
Say more please.... how do you "know" if you "need" them? If I say I don't is that necessary and sufficient? How do I know I'm not wrong? How do you know I'm not wrong? What if things other people think are dragging you "down" are things you consider core components of your personality? What if you obsessively post to message boards (in between checking your package tracking status) at 12:16AM?
I think you need them steve...
Say more please.... how do you "know" if you "need" them?
If you think you can cope without them then you probably don't need them. Unless you (not
you) are psychotic in which case I'm not sure your opinion counts.
I take the lowest dose that they make for Paxil. I have some anxiety associated with my "condition" and what it is doing to my family, oh, and the whole chronic-pain-thing.
If you think you can cope
What does cope mean?
Unless you (not you) are psychotic in which case I'm not sure your opinion counts.
How do I know I'm psychotic?
(Yes, I'm being a smartass as usual. No, I don't think I'm psychotic. But really. How
do we know these things?
Say more please.... how do you "know" if you "need" them?
I knew someone would latch on to that.
Ibram seems to know himself well enough to tell us. I was being respectful and not second guessing him. Why not ask him?
If I say I don't is that necessary and sufficient? How do I know I'm not wrong? How do you know I'm not wrong? What if things other people think are dragging you "down" are things you consider core components of your personality? What if you obsessively post to message boards (in between checking your package tracking status) at 12:16AM?
no comment
Thanks: Lumberjim for the clarification.
Thanks: Aliantha for saying what I was thinking.
Thanks: Beestie. for saying what you were thinking.
No one really knows do they? Most of us just make our judgements on how others react to us. If we decide they've changed their reactions, we have to ask ourselves, is everyone else being weird or is it me?
At least, that's what I do if I think I'm losing the plot over something.
What does cope mean?
How do I know I'm psychotic?
(Yes, I'm being a smartass as usual. No, I don't think I'm psychotic. But really. How do we know these things?
If you don't think you need help then, usually, you don't. Its when you think you are losing control or that you are not in control that coping is no longer a viable option.
As far as being psychotic goes, I'm not sure a self-assesment is all that material. Usually, one's behaviour will bear it out in which case, the opinions of others (like Wolf's) become significant.
So in other words , I'm not strange I'm just like you ??
Oh and on the pill thing , no I do not , but in the 70's my mom had me be a guinnie pig for LOTS of studys( try some of [COLOR="Red"]these[/COLOR] , [COLOR="Blue"]These[/COLOR] are new try some of them , oh now [COLOR="Orange"]these[/COLOR] , nope now [COLOR="DarkOrchid"]these[/COLOR] ) , I don't rember much of the early 70's at all
BTW, I was diagnosed, as a teen, with a disorder, but the meds made it much worse. I learned to deal on my own.
I was diagnosed with adhd in my elementary years and took ritalin for awhile. I've been off for years now, but the attention portion is pretty bad these days. Its hard to describe to people what my mind does during the average day, its like some trippy movie. A commercial awhile ago kind of hit it on the nose with the whole "flipping channels" thing. Try to imagine listening to a professor in class, then a song or image or joke or movie or conversation pops into your head and you fight to suppress it for 5-10 minutes. Repeat every 10-15 minutes and thats a normal day for me. These days I'm more innattentive than hyperactive.
Sometimes when I'm tired it just goes on straight. Concentrating on one thing, even something entertaining like a movie or music or video game is not doable because I just can't pay attention. The slightest external stimulus will distract me. If one of the florescent light bulbs is buzzing in class it drives me insane. If the prof is speaking and so is someone else near me, I can't focus on either one. Its like trying to watch two tv's at max volume right in front of my face.
Though there is one positive. If I am extremely motivated about something, I can "hyper focus" on it and go through it with ease. I have always loved reading and when I get a good book I can sometimes finish in a couple hours. In grade school I consistently read 3-4 grade levels above mine. Other than that benefit, I'd say it is a living nightmare at times.
Depression is something that I have to deal with from time to time. It comes up seemingly without connection to events or level of general happiness/unhappiness. Doctors have given me various drugs at various times, but I don't think they did much good. Nowadays I have other ways of dealing with it.
I included myself as currently taking them, because I took the last one so recently.
I have no doubt that they helped me get through the worst of my depression - there were days when I sat on the sofa in pain from a full bladder unable to talk myself into going to the toilet for example. I'm not sure that I could have pulled myself out of that alone. My whole personality felt like it had been tied in a sack and dropped into the deep, dark well of my brain - I was cut off from my normal thoughts and totally hopeless that I would ever be "me" again.
I was started on fluoxetine (Prozac), but within 10 days I was back at the Doctors because I was having intense and recurrent suicidal thoughts. I couldn't even pick up the phone to make an appointment - I had to walk in there and sit in the surgery until someone was free to see me.
I settled on paroxetine (Paxil), which was increased from 20 to 30mg when it didn't have enough effect for the GP's liking. The most recent prescription I had was back to 20, and I felt I was beginning to get my life back.
I decided to stop taking them because although it's only been a short time (comparitely speaking) I hate the idea of being dependent on them for normality. I have a history of depression which has simply not been diagnosed before - this was the worst episode but I am aware they do pass.
Hence trying to work on my thinking and subsequent behaviour for the future.
I accept that some people need the medication on a long term basis - I honestly don't feel I am one of them and the previous month has helped confirm this for me.
Rite now I take simvastatin anti-depressent, trazadone for sleep, valium for anger managment. and cannibis to get stoned.
Alcohol is yucky!
Rite now I take simvastatin anti-depressent
Simvastatin is a cholesterol lowering drug (and it's engraved on my eyeballs at the moment as we're trying to switch 60% of patients on atorvastatin to simva to save money)
I wish I found alcohol yucky. I have finally decided to cut it out completely, but the decision took me a long time to implement. Teetotal total - 4 days so far.
I put no, never. My black moods are part of my charm...
I monitor my alcohol use pretty closely, I know I like it too much.
Simvastatin is a cholesterol lowering drug (and it's engraved on my eyeballs at the moment as we're trying to switch 60% of patients on atorvastatin to simva to save money)
I wish I found alcohol yucky. I have finally decided to cut it out completely, but the decision took me a long time to implement. Teetotal total - 4 days so far.
Oop's I farked up it's setraline thats the anti deppresant. i have no less than meds fhat I take twice a day. Thats down from 15 I was taking.
I've come to the conclusion that proper diet, exercise, and coping methods (cognitive therapy, etc) are better for me than any meds and the side effects that come with them.
Plus, dealing with insurance companies on this is a nightmare. I had a waiver on my last policy that stems from me seeing the doctor due to heart palpitations and since the diagnosis was stress, they declined to cover me for any neurological disease of any kind from that point, forward. "Neurological disease" could include damn near anything, including cancer.
Insurance companies are run by the devil.
Insurance companies are so the wrong people to be deciding on health care costs. If ever there was a case of the service users needs being in direct conflict with those of the service provider/facillitator it's insurers -v- patients.
I've been on Lexapro, 20mg (max single dose) for...well...several years now. It does what I need it to do. When I am depressed, I am angry. The drug levels all that out for me, making me a considerably less angry person.
My black moods are part of my charm...
Interesting. Another reason I refuse meds: my creativity stems directly from my issues. I don't want it to go away.
My camera is my therapy.
There really is nothing pretty about my moods but my reasons for living with them are similar to yours. I don't want to lose "me" in the process of becoming a socially acceptable person. Beyond the psych pills, I'm getting off of meds of all kinds now that I've reached middle age. I really don't want to end up over-medicated when I'm an oldster. Does it say something about us/me that I feel the need to explain why I don't med-up?
Does it say something about us/me that I feel the need to explain why I don't med-up?
It says you have valid and interesting input on this thread. Also that you don't want other people assuming you disapprove of their medication and sharing the fact that you have chosen alternative methods of coping.
I think anyway.
yeah. that's why the poll. i feel like the oddball because i take nothing.... other than advil for a headache, occasional decongestants and sometimes vit C if i get a cold. i try to avoid antibiotics, too.
I don't like taking my antidepressant in general, it makes me a bit too flat. I totally agree, that I don't feel as creative without the moodiness. However, In the interest of my marriage and my daughter's quality of life I take my medicine regularly. A small sacrifice by me to make the lives of those I made a commitment to, or chose to bring into this world, better. Should I find myself alone and my child(ren?) grown, I would likely go off of them. However, my depressions were getting worse before I trid a new drug, to the point of days of continual suicidal thoughts, so it my be that as I age, (stay on meds?) my brain is getting worse at making the right balance of chemicals so that this might not be possible.
Bottom line, I am not the only one who is affected by my depression, so I take my meds for everyone that I love including myself.
... Also that you don't want other people assuming you disapprove of their medication and sharing the fact that you have chosen alternative methods of coping.
I think anyway.
I'm definitely not saying adults shouldn't be free to decide what works for them. What we are doing to our children is a whole other thread.
yeah. that's why the poll. i feel like the oddball because i take nothing.... other than advil for a headache, occasional decongestants and sometimes vit C if i get a cold. i try to avoid antibiotics, too.
But you smoke herbs, right? Isn't that a sort of self medication?
I put down that I take nothing. But I do drink a little.
Mostly I'm thankful that my chemistry is pretty well balanced. I have ups and downs like anyone else, but they are very moderate. A good friend got post-partum depression after her first kid. That really opened my eyes to how depression is a very real thing that can strike anyone. She was always so happy and normal, and then one day she wasn't. Makes me thankful.
Sometimes I am so jealous of my husband for being 'normal'. At one point about a year ago I was asking him if he ever thought of killing himself, and he looked at me with a horrified look and said honestly, he had never thought of it. I knew then I needed to get to the doc. Stupid brain.
But you smoke herbs, right? Isn't that a sort of self medication?
I put down that I take nothing. But I do drink a little.
not so much anymore, really. i did yesterday, and it was the first time in ?4 months?
I have a wee dram of rum now and then. ;)
BUT...that's not to manage my moods or anything. purely recreational.
i try to avoid antibiotics, too.
On a side note, never ever do this if you catch strep throat. The complications of allowing it to progress are... not good.
I take two different SSRIs. They are what keep me from driving over a cliff. Doc says I'm chronic. I have tried just about them all over the past 13 years or so, and I think I have a good combo now. I've tried to wean off, only finding I am back where I started. It's chemical. I could have benefited from help as far back as college.
It isn't less of 'me' it's just less of the destructive depressed side of me. I'm still the silly person, the introspective person, the deep person, the inquisitive person, the thoughtful person...I just don't feel the need to go play on the highway anymore. :)
Blue moods are normal; real depression is not. To know that you can choose to cope without meds means you are not truly clinically depressed. The truly depressed have absolutely no control over the matter. You can't pull yourself up by the bootstraps. You can't take weeks of work off at a time because you can't get out of bed. SSRIs are quite simple in the way they work, really, and it makes sense.
I'm still me. No question.
depression is a medical illness. the brain doesnt produce enough of the chemical SEROTONIN which defines mood. I get S.A.D. (seasonal affected disorder) almost every winter and managed to stay off the Prozac for 3 seasons in a row, but this year I've needed them, so I'm back on them until March.
Anti Depressants are very useful for people who need them, but Doctors rarely tell patients how to use them properly. They are not a magic wand, issues still need to be addressed and they should be used time - limited. After 2 years or so they have the opposite effect and can make people feel more depressed than when they first went on them.
Weaning off them should be slow: allow 6 weeks to come off and expect a few dips in serotonin levels until the neurotransmitters stabilise again.
This episode was getting bad for me, and i know the signs - de-motivated, loss of appeteite, wanting to sleep all the time, irritable, pessimistic, staring into thin air, on the verge of tears for ne apparent reason and so on.
It's clinically proven that exercise helps to stimulate serotonin.
it seems to me that sometimes, when you give something an acronym, or name a 'disorder', you create it. A thing like SAD (not to pick on you, phil...and i don't know the first thing about it, really) sounds self fulfilling to me. I mean....it almost seems like they come up with the disorder to fit the acronym.
I get DRUNK: Drink Rum Until Naked and Kissy
I've been on zoloft for depression a number of times in my life. Right now, I'm not, although there are days when I'd like the "get up and GO!" that it gives me. My depression is not of the suicidal stripe. I'm not the kind of guy who walks out of the middle of a movie, no matter how shitty it gets, I always wonder what will happen next.
My depression manifests itself more as a complete lack of starting ability. Not lack of motivation; I feel like doing things it's just that I get overwhelmed by the enormity of getting dressed and all the effort that goes into that. Sometimes when it's been bad, I had to make the choice between putting gas in the car or going to the post office because doing both was more than I could manage.
Despite all the crap w/ the house this year, I've managed to keep moving, albeit slower. I can tell there is an episode waiting in the wings, I'm managing it by getting plenty of rest.
And drinking a half to 2/3 a bottle of red wine a night. Love me some antioxidants.
To answer the question, no, I've never been on psychotherapeutic drugs. I am on a variety of other medications (stimvistatin, metformin, one or two others) in order to try to stay alive and healthy.
I've definitely had "low" periods in my life, some that possibly did qualify as depression. I understand that that's not unusual. I am not really at one of those points now, though.
A question I'd like to ask -- is it possible to be non-depressed (i.e. having none of the classical physical symptoms of depression) and yet wonder why you bother getting up in the morning, and what would be lost if you... just gave up? The only reason I take the aforementioned drugs is because there are worse things than actually dying (renal failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, etc.) I'm actually rather neutral on the dying part. If someone told me I had an incurable disease and I was going to die in six months, I don't think I would bother to fight it.
I don't take any mind altering drugs. I take thyroid medicine, but that is about it.
But I always wonder about the fact that I get depressed sometimes. I don’t know if I am actually depressed… but it feels that way.
The thing about it is that it can’t be a chemical imbalance because I only get that way when things in my life are going down the tube. I always feel like I have good reason to feel that way, and therefore can’t shake it. If things get better at all then I feel better. But sometimes it takes a long time for things to improve. Or if they do improve, something else happens so I am back to square one. I don’t know if anyone else has this happen to them but it sucks for me. The last 6 or 7 months have been really bad though. I am still trying to fight it. I just don’t think pills will help since there is too much going on that saddens me.
To answer the question, no, I've never been on psychotherapeutic drugs. I am on a variety of other medications (stimvistatin, metformin, one or two others) in order to try to stay alive and healthy.
I've definitely had "low" periods in my life, some that possibly did qualify as depression. I understand that that's not unusual. I am not really at one of those points now, though.
A question I'd like to ask -- is it possible to be non-depressed (i.e. having none of the classical physical symptoms of depression) and yet wonder why you bother getting up in the morning, and what would be lost if you... just gave up? The only reason I take the aforementioned drugs is because there are worse things than actually dying (renal failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, etc.) I'm actually rather neutral on the dying part. If someone told me I had an incurable disease and I was going to die in six months, I don't think I would bother to fight it.
Wow Pie... I think you just summed up what I was trying to say.
A question I'd like to ask -- is it possible to be non-depressed (i.e. having none of the classical physical symptoms of depression) and yet wonder why you bother getting up in the morning, and what would be lost if you... just gave up?
Could be
raising of the Bodhi mind ?
I dont take anything.
Mersyndol occasionally to assist with sleeping, but its over the counter....Naphrogesic for girlie probs...and Paracetamol for headaches.
I've often wondered whether I need to be on something, but I think I have reconciled with the fact that happiness is *fleeting*, not something that I should be expecting to be continuous.
The things that get me down are really just *life* and I just get the fuck over myself these days (or try at least).
I guess I'm with you, Pie and Iggy, not depressed as such, but... I dunno, just... nihilistic? Resigned? Something like that.
Wow Pie... I think you just summed up what I was trying to say.
Yeah, I'm familiar with that feeling too.
I've been on Lexapro...
Same here. Alot of what's been said here hits the mark. It all came to a head last year when we found out that my oldest, at 14, was cutting herself, was on the phone for hours in the middle of the night with a "kid" from Cincinnati that she met on-line, and then started to run away, to Cincinnati, but got scared and called from 30th street railroad station. It was enough to drive me to drugs. As long as I can remember, though, I've had thoughts of hurting myself, and that maybe my loved ones would be better off if I just wasn't around anymore.
snip~
A question I'd like to ask -- is it possible to be non-depressed (i.e. having none of the classical physical symptoms of depression) and yet wonder why you bother getting up in the morning, and what would be lost if you... just gave up?
Yes, some mornings it's just not worth gnawing through the restraints. :(
It was enough to drive me to drugs.
Do you mean to say that, to control your reactions to your daughter's behavior and how you dealt with the whole situation? Or are you saying you think your feelings or behavior influenced your daughter negatively? Has your taking Lexapro had any impact on her?
If we're counting alcohol, I think I voted wrong.
Don't drink, don't take any anti-depressants or other prescription meds to alter my moods. Never have taken anti-depressants, but did drink in increasingly larger amounts until 3 years ago when I quit, cold turkey.
I was suicidally depressed as a teen, but somehow I managed to get through it in one piece.
Nine months after my daughter (now 19m) was born, I came down with post-partum depression. It was horrible in that I couldn't be bothered to do anything that I love. I couldn't get through a single page of a good book, didn't touch my jewelry work, couldn't get excited about or interested in anything whatsoever. I wasn't suicidal (or God forbid, homicidal), just blah...almost like I was invisible and irrelevant. I began taking some heavy duty multi-vitamins and L-5-hydroxy Trytophan (all natural product that enhances serotonin production). Within a couple of weeks, I felt back to normal (whatever that is :p ).
Stormie
... I felt back to normal (whatever that is :p ).
Stormie
Well said. That is what we cannot define.
Do you mean to say that, to control your reactions to your daughter's behavior and how you dealt with the whole situation? Or are you saying you think your feelings or behavior influenced your daughter negatively? Has your taking Lexapro had any impact on her?
Yes, yes, and yes.
I think that she was behaving unacceptably, and my response was probably more severe than it should have been, which cause even more poor behavior on her part. I was sweating the small stuff, and not seeing the big stuff. Relations with my wife were tense, and that spilled over into my dealings with the kids. When things came to a head with my daughter, it scared the shit out of me, and put things in perspective, but I was on an emotional roller coaster, and could break down at any time. I would wake up in the middle of the night and have to check to make sure she was still in bed, my legs would shake, I was almost incapable of doing anything that wasn't urgent and necessary, and lost my appetite (I called it my daughter diet). After starting Lexapro, I was able to just let things go. When she acted out, I could see that she just wanted a reaction, and was able to withhold a reaction. Our household is much more relaxed now. My daughter is still a 15 year old girl, with all those issues. My wife sometimes sees "letting things go" as "losing", and letting my daughter "get away" with poor behavior, which she sees as poor parenting. But in the long run, my daughter is happier, communicates with us more, and has stopped, as far as we can tell, her self-destructive behavior. I wouldn't say that Lexapro is solely responsible for all that, but I feel like it enabled me to do things differently.
Wow, I never put that on the intenet before.
Very interesting variety of responses. The brain is a tricky thing. It is what makes us who we are, yet can totally deceive us into thinking we are something we are not. When something goes awry, it may be only glaringly obvious to those around us.
For me, that's what has been the most scarypart of dealing with my 'imbalance'. I want to trust that I know what 's best for me, but time and time again, I've been fooled. It has taken a long time to learn to trust someone else to tell me what I can't see. I'm damn lucky he stuck through the nasty stuff long enough for us to get to this point.
Spexx, it was when my 3.5 year old daughter asked me over and over, "Mom, are you mad at me?" I knew I had crossed the line. Until she said something, I didn't realize how I was affecting her. She was starting to become afraid of me and my out of control temper as I was getting shorter and shorter with her. I could write off my husband telling me I was being out of control, but when my daughter basically was saying the same thing, it shocked me into reality.
This is what a depressive on meds goes through when increasingly shitty things keep happening and the pressure becomes too great:
Could I GET a gun?
Would a wrist slash be better?
How many tylenol does it take for an OD?
Thank god I have family I wouldn't dare hurt.
Just sayin'
Spexx, it was when my 3.5 year old daughter asked me over and over, "Mom, are you mad at me?" I knew I had crossed the line. Until she said something, I didn't realize how I was affecting her. She was starting to become afraid of me and my out of control temper as I was getting shorter and shorter with her. I could write off my husband telling me I was being out of control, but when my daughter basically was saying the same thing, it shocked me into reality.
Yeah, you're walking around doing what you're doing, and BAM! someone points out that you're being a dick. "But I'm just being me". "No, that wasn't you, it was a dick speaking through you". Oh...
This is what a depressive on meds goes through when increasingly shitty things keep happening and the pressure becomes too great:
Could I GET a gun?
Would a wrist slash be better?
How many tylenol does it take for an OD?
Thank god I have family I wouldn't dare hurt.
Just sayin'
Those things might fuck up your life insurance. Now, while you're driving 75 MPH on the highway, passing a semi, it won't take much to "have an accident", and it'd all be over real quick, and the insurance would take care of your family. [SIZE="2"][COLOR="Silver"]Maybe better than you could....[/COLOR][/SIZE]
This is getting depressing. Beestie, tell us a story about your neighbor and his dog.
OMG! I thought I was totally alone in all of these thoughts of mine till I read bullitts post on page 1. I was reading about ME! - that is exactly how I am! A flourescent light, a bug buzzing in the next room, a fan that whirrs off balance. . . hyper hearing . . . As I grew older I learned some coping mechanisms that work for me - like making lists if I have more than 2 things to buy or do. The best part was the "hyper-focus" Thats the best description and the most frustrating part. Why can I totally focus in to certain tasks, block everything else out and be incredibly productive at times and not at others? This still drives me nuts.
About 3 years ago my son was diagnosed with ADHD too and they put him on meds for it - as a show of solidarity I agreed to take them with him. I felt no different with respect to the distractions. I must say though, that I no longer felt happy or content anymore I mean it took the bottom spectrum of negative emotions away, but in the process removed the true happiness and joy away as well - leaving me with moderate feelings about everything. Never really happy or sad - just sort of ok all the time. I hated that and haven't taken anything since. Maybe I should, but I made it through the last year which has been hell with the split and all.
I'm still here and friends and family tell me I'm better than I've been in years so .... who knows? Certainly not me. Thank you bullitt, thank you very much.
Nice. Thanks for your support and concern, friends.
and the insurance would take care of your family. Maybe better than you could....
I don't have children. That is not what I was talking about. though your compassion is really overwhelming. Don't worry I wouldn't subject a poor kid to me.
I know, give it a rest, get over it, waa waa waa.
That's what all you boohoo I'm feeling blue people don't get.
See you on the flip side.:(
I don't have children. That is not what I was talking about. though your compassion is really overwhelming. Don't worry I wouldn't subject a poor kid to me.
..
Miscommunication? I was using the figurative "you", to mean "me".
My depression manifests itself more as a complete lack of starting ability. Not lack of motivation; I feel like doing things it's just that I get overwhelmed by the enormity of getting dressed and all the effort that goes into that. Sometimes when it's been bad, I had to make the choice between putting gas in the car or going to the post office because doing both was more than I could manage.
That is very similar to how I get when depression hits. The other problem is spending night after night in an anxious state: have I turned off the grill I was using earlier? leading to thoughts of fire, leading to an obsessive need to plan out my possible escape route, including how I'd get the dog out (there's only one access in and out apart from windows, I don't mean I just work it out. I kind of put myself into the situation and imagine myself doing it all, sometimes several times, almost as if, as long as I am imagining it and 'thinking it through' and not going to sleep, I'll be okay. Then there's the destructive thought patterns. Whirls and swirls of hopeless reverie, or self-character assassination, thinking through the conversations of the day, or encounters with other people and beating myself up over some small miscommunication or stupid remark. Death as a concept features quite strongly in my mind on those nights, my death, mum's future death, my Dad's more imminent one, my bro, my best friend...my dog. The absolute conviction that I have never been truly tested and one day something's going to tear my heart out and I won't be able to cope. Wondering if I am capable of the kind of honest emotions other people seem capable of, am I a fraud etc etc.
I won't go on....there's a lot more. It used to really knock me off my stride when I got like that. Weeks or months of 'trying to act normal' around people whilst secretly thinking I was completely lost. I used to engage in an unusual form of self harm.....so used to scratching the eczema rash, I would sit and just rake at the skin on face and hands, til I bled, but it made me feel better whilst i was doing it. Sometimes I'd do it for a long time.
Drugs didn't help. What helped was when i started to recognise the pattern and just let it happen. I don't 'pick myself up', I don't 'snap out of it'. But after a few days or maybe a week of slipping into those thought patterns, it usually clicks with me...I'm depressed. I then give myself permission to be depressed, I consciously refrain from any 'life-planning' or self analysis, I become completely hedonistic and just try to cope minute to minute in a semi unthinking state. It seems to work, usually.
What makes me think it's depression rather than just feeling down, is that it seems to be unrelated to my general happiness levels. I can be enjoying myself with it in the background, ready to come to the fore the second I am on my own.....it can completely wall me off from other people, or it can just make me feel unreal. But it happens regardless of whether I am doing well, doing poorly, succeeding, failing, surrounded by friends or alone. And it happens about usually about once every three months. Since giving myself permisison to be depressed, it is a hell of a lot less destructive than it once was.
I am grateful for the fact that I don't seem to get as floored by it now as I used to. I used to lose months at a time. Never entirely goes away though, there's always that little shiver in the background. I sometimes feel that it will have me by the throat one day
Nice. Thanks for your support and concern, friends.
I don't have children. That is not what I was talking about. though your compassion is really overwhelming. Don't worry I wouldn't subject a poor kid to me.
I know, give it a rest, get over it, waa waa waa.
That's what all you boohoo I'm feeling blue people don't get.
See you on the flip side.:(
I did write a reply which included words of support to you and other people who have shared personal information. Rereading before posting I realised it degenerated into mememe details of my depression that frankly no-one needs to know. When I decided not to post it I forgot that any messages to other posters also went.
Part of what I was trying to say is that not all clinical depression is chronic depression. I was on meds for 9 months - I can choose to come off them now as I am no longer suffering severe depression. Tests show my current state to be low to moderate (making me one of the feeling blue people).
A teenager on my bus the other day was talking on her mobile about someone she knew who had to inject herself daily (possibly a diabetic?) She made some sort of noise-pollution comment like, "Ewwww! I'd rather die than go through that!" That's sort of how I feel about going through depression again - so anyone who can live a productive life under that sort of cloud (rather than the sunshine and showers I endured) has my total respect.
Much of this sounds disturbingly and gratifyingly familiar. Thanks, everyone, for your comments.
I'm sorry everyone. I really do feel at my wit's end and I feel like no one gets it. I know I will get over this lowest of lows but I'm hurting so badly right now and NOTHING seems to be going right for me...so much so that I do entertain thoughts of just getting out.
I swore that I was going to get everything back on track this year after a really horrible year last year with the ex b/f practically ruining my life; but every time I take a step I get knocked back down. And knocked down hard.
I've always lived my life as a "pay it forward" kind of person. I am kind to strangers. I go out of my way to say nice things to make people feel good. I give out this good Karma so why does god hate me so much that he feels the need to keep kicking me?
I just don't know how much more I can take, to the point of thinking of heading to the loony bin for a while.
That's how I am feeling right now. I know none of you can make it better, I guess I was just hoping for a "we care" rather than snide comments. I know it sounds stupid and lame but I feel like I have a group of friends here who might actually accept me the way I am. I feel closeness because I am so able to write out my feelings, funny or serious, and I think so much of you are on that "level" if you know what I mean.
I am going home for the day. Stopping at library and getting some books and relaxing, then I will come back in this weekend when no students are here to yell. Hopefully I will have a better perspective. It's not just work, it's the way I am reacting to this incredibly stressful job because of my personal problems.
Again, I'm sorry. My bad day shouldn't make me try to ruin yours.
Take care,
Shawnee, don't think that by throwing some of this at the boards, you are ruining anybody else's day. We all need to vent sometimes:P
Incidentally, just in case it's not too late to say it, I care. I think most of us do in our own ways. You aren't alone, and you don't deserve to be feeling the way that you do. Remember, this feeling will pass, as everything does. In a few days, or weeks the way you feel now will be a part of your memory and nothing more. That doesn't change the way you feel just now, I know, but it's worth reminding yourself.
Keep using us as a sounding board if it helps and don't be afraid you'll push us away by doing so.
'nee, you do have that group of friends here who accept you how you are.
I couldn't have guessed that this was what you were driving at with your earlier posts, which is why I didn't say anything before.
Are you in talk therapy now, or just on the meds? All this negativity, you know, you must understand, is just your brain playing tricks on you, just as it has your whole life, if you're chronic.
When you come back to the thread toorrow, it will be interesting to get your fresh point of view. Please feel free to start your own thread, too. Several of us have done so, myself included. Tell your whole story. We need to know where you've been so far.
I did write a reply which included words of support to you and other people who have shared personal information. Rereading before posting I realised it degenerated into mememe details of my depression that frankly no-one needs to know
Unlike me who has no such self-control:P
at my wit's end and I feel like no one gets it. NOTHING seems to be going right
horrible year last year with the ex b/f I get knocked back down hard.
"pay it forward" kind of person.
I am kind to strangers. why does god hate me so much that he feels the need to keep kicking me?
I just don't know how much more I can take.
friends here actually accept me the way I am. I feel closeness
We're all here for you and I can personally relate to you and how you feel. For awhile after the split it seemed like everything kept getting worse and worse. But eventually things turned around and I'm happier now than ever! God doesn't hate you - don't ever think that! There may be some "miscommunication" going on.
You have always been very sweet to me even when others weren't. Keep your head up and find the little positives in life to keep you going. Soon enough they'll add up and you'll see more of them than the negatives. :comfort:
it seems to me that sometimes, when you give something an acronym, or name a 'disorder', you create it. A thing like SAD (not to pick on you, phil...and i don't know the first thing about it, really) sounds self fulfilling to me. I mean....it almost seems like they come up with the disorder to fit the acronym.
I get DRUNK: Drink Rum Until Naked and Kissy
youre not the first to say that LJ and i doubt you'll be the last. i guess maybe some people take them as "happy pills", but after 7 years of experiencing it andmonitoring it with my doctor, SAD is very real to me.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=5024I did write a reply which included words of support to you and other people who have shared personal information. Rereading before posting I realised it degenerated into mememe details of my depression that frankly no-one needs to know
Unlike me who has no such self-control:P
That works here, you see. Posting as much or as little as you wish, as you feel comfortable with, is OK. Don't feel you're cheating by withholding some stuff, nor that you're using up to many Kb. If you go on forever, people can read it or not, no problem. I know somebody wants to read it, even if they don't comment. ;)
Yeah, you're walking around doing what you're doing, and BAM! someone points out that you're being a dick. "But I'm just being me". "No, that wasn't you, it was a dick speaking through you". Oh...
Good point Spexx and it made me think of another point. Some people that are naturally reclusive, limit their normal contact with outsiders. People that are shy, sullen teens, or general loners, might never have that feedback of someone telling them they're acting differently because nobody sees them enough to know what their normal is.
If you see someone at the store, you know who they are, but don't know them, and they bite your head off over something trivial, you think they're a dick. They may be having a bad time or high stress, and you would never know it because you don't know them.
Of course....some people
are dicks. I don't know how you'd evaluate them. :smack:
do people that ARE dicks know they are dicks? Does evil recognize itself as evil?
I guess the ones who are real dicks are the ones who know they're generally regarded as dicks... and don't care.
do people that ARE dicks know they are dicks? Does evil recognize itself as evil?
Spexxism: Dicks and assholes act the same way, the difference is that assholes don't do it on purpose. Discuss.:D
Shawnee - you are one of my favorite posters!! Through good times and bad.
Chin up luvie!!
Spexxism: Dicks and assholes act the same way, the difference is that assholes don't do it on purpose. Discuss.:D
I guess that makes me an asshole.
...and a prick is one who acts like a dick/asshole, knows he does, and thinks it's cool to be that way.
Ouch - I really hope that wasn't directed at me :(
Ooh, anti-depressants...I could go on for a while about my experiences with these. For a short period before I was married the first time, I took Prozac. It seemed to numb me out for a bit and I suppose it was helpful due to the stress I was under at the time. I wove in and out of periods of deep depression, interlaced with periods of happiness and comfort. It was about 3 years ago that I tried the anti-depressant route again, and it got me through a very severe bout of depression, spurred by a miriad of problems in my life. I was taking Effexor for about a year until I felt like the drug was causing my brain to "jolt" which disturbed me. I switched to Zoloft for a while and then eased off of it once things started swinging back into a balance for me. I have been off these sorts of drugs for more than a year now and feel pretty good most of the time. Sure, I get mildly depressed, but I haven't felt the "maybe everyone would be better off without me" feelings. Skipping back to my teenage years I was a mess, with parents that either didn't pay much attention to me or weren't even there (my mother worked seriously long hours as a CPA and my dad travelled most of the time.) I was a pretty shy girl, as a teen, so I didn't have too many friends. I really trusted nobody. I went through some quite severe bouts of depression back then, accompanied by cutting my hands and thoughts of depression. I felt like the pain I felt with cutting was a comfort in comparison to my emotional feelings of guilt, anger and at some point, indifference. I tend to think (at least as of the last 20 years or so) that these feelings as a teenager are fairly common. It's just that some have people they can talk to about it (friends, family, counselor, etc.) and others don't. I dunno though. I could be way off base.
Shawnee, I wanted to tell you that nobody should think any less of you for baring your soul sometimes. Personally, I respect your honesty and ability to be so candid with people you might not know in person. Your ability to do this encourages others (like me) to trust this forum. Thank you for that.
Shawnee, I wanted to tell you that nobody should think any less of you for baring your soul sometimes. Personally, I respect your honesty and ability to be so candid with people you might not know in person. Your ability to do this encourages others (like me) to trust this forum. Thank you for that.
I heartily second that!
It is the fact that many of us *do*, in fact, bare our souls - the truth, warts and all - that makes this place worth a damn at all. Otherwise, it would be just another bunch of jerkoff posing. More than enough of those places online already, IMHO.
People who wish to jerkoff and/or pose don't seem to last long around here.
I guess that makes me an asshole.
me too :o
Bullshit, if you don't care what others think and you are only, or mostly, concerned with your own welfare and you communicate without concern with other's feelings you know it.
Feigning stupidity is just another form of being an asshole, it is a way of putting people off.
Those doing this should be called on it.
My point rkzenrage, was that I thought the statement was directed at me. I did not think I was being an asshole, and was simply asking for some corroboration. I do care what some others think and was not feigning stupidity - I was simply asking because the post was immediately after mine.
Nope, not directed at you, just a general point.
Unlike me who has no such self-control:P
I'm pretty sure you know this wasn't aimed at you, but thought I'd clarify just in case!
No, the post I deleted was much longer and far more detailed. There's sharing, and there's holding someone's head beneath the covers until they choke - if you get what I mean...
My point rkzenrage, was that I thought the statement was directed at me. I did not think I was being an asshole, and was simply asking for some corroboration. I do care what some others think and was not feigning stupidity - I was simply asking because the post was immediately after mine.
My post was not directed at you.
Bullshit, if you don't care what others think and you are only, or mostly, concerned with your own welfare and you communicate without concern with other's feelings you know it.
Feigning stupidity is just another form of being an asshole, it is a way of putting people off.
Those doing this should be called on it.
Why do you make the presumption that someone must be "feigning stupidity" if they behave in a way that you view as assholic? If someone viewed this post of yours as assholic, should you automatically be described as a dicK? Did you intend to be an asshole with this post, which would make you a dick, or was your dickness unintentional, which would make you an asshole? No offense intended, just speaking hypothetically.
Ouch - I really hope that wasn't directed at me :(
The prick post was just another side of the coin. Not directed at anyone in this thread. If I thought someone was being one, I'd just tell 'em so. :right:
I started taking some wed of last week...it's been a fun ride. I've been fucked up for 6 days and it's all legal....
What I don't understand, is how they decide which pill is best for you? I'm supposed to be taking anti-depressants to deal with depression but more so, anxiety...so the first day I take these pills and I'm out of my mind crazy with anxiety. I can't sit still...I can hardly talk because my mouth can't keep up with my brain or the rest of my body...I take them the next day and I felt like I'd taken a bunch of tabs. I was disoriented, freakin' sleepy as hell. I couldn't keep my eyes open and when I did open them I just wanted to close them again 'cause everything was making me dizzy. So anyway...if I'm supposed to be taking them so that I'm not anxious, and they make me feel more anxious than I was before...should I still be taking them?
Do I just need to let my body adjust or what?
So anyway...if I'm supposed to be taking them so that I'm not anxious, and they make me feel more anxious than I was before...should I still be taking them?
Do I just need to let my body adjust or what?
Yes, keep taking them. Your GP should have made you aware of this - it can take up to 4 weeks for your body to adjust (this is unusual though, I'd expect a dramatic improvement within 5-7 days).
If you still feel worse rather than better in 10 days, go and talk to your GP about reviewing your medication. S/he might tell you the symptoms are completely normal, but it's always worth double checking.
Also check the information that came with the drugs. You will probably find that your symptoms are among the stated side effects. Don't worry, they should pass.
Thanks SG...that's pretty much what I was guessing. She did tell me that it would take a few weeks for the pills to actually be FULLY into my system (so i didn't think i would feel them the way that i did) she also advised me to take them at night, because they will probably make me feel relaxed. I'm glad I took them in the afternoon, 'cause relaxed was anything but what I was feeling. I did notice that the side effects were normal, according to webmd...but I still didn't/don't like them. The side effects are lessening...but I can still feel the pills...and I still don't like them.
My guy friend, that i've been hanging out with everyday for like a month now started asking me if I had taken my pills...'cause he can tell when i take them...and he doesn't like them either. Oh well I guess. 3 weeks to my next appointment.
Yes, keep taking them. Your GP should have made you aware of this - it can take up to 4 weeks for your body to adjust (this is unusual though, I'd expect a dramatic improvement within 5-7 days).
If you still feel worse rather than better in 10 days, go and talk to your GP about reviewing your medication. S/he might tell you the symptoms are completely normal, but it's always worth double checking.
Also check the information that came with the drugs. You will probably find that your symptoms are among the stated side effects. Don't worry, they should pass.
it takes at least 3 weeks before the serotonin levels are adjusted and the re-uptake process is blocked, which is probably why Kinky Vixen is feeling all over the place.
mind you, this all depends on what medication it is.
.. she also advised me to take them at night, because they will probably make me feel relaxed. I'm glad I took them in the afternoon, 'cause relaxed was anything but what I was feeling..
I had a similar conversation with a work colleague about the drug were had both been prescribed. She said - "At least you'll be getting a good night's sleep now, the one thing I miss about not taking them any more" Riiiight. When I first started them I was twitching and gurning like a fool - tongue stuck to the roof of my dry mouth and eyes darting all over the place. It takes different people different ways I guess.
it takes at least 3 weeks before the serotonin levels are adjusted and the re-uptake process is blocked, which is probably why Kinky Vixen is feeling all over the place.
mind you, this all depends on what medication it is.
Well Phil, I'm taking (I don't have the bottle on me so the spelling is probably going to be incorrect) citalopram? generic for celexa?
I had a similar conversation with a work colleague about the drug were had both been prescribed. She said - "At least you'll be getting a good night's sleep now, the one thing I miss about not taking them any more" Riiiight. When I first started them I was twitching and gurning like a fool - tongue stuck to the roof of my dry mouth and eyes darting all over the place. It takes different people different ways I guess.
Did you change meds or did you stay on them? And, how do you feel about them now?
KV, did you decide to go on medication after reading how many of us are users?
Well Phil, I'm taking (I don't have the bottle on me so the spelling is probably going to be incorrect) citalopram? generic for celexa?
i dont know much about them hun, but heres a link :
http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/30003676/
read it ALL ... its very informative. hope that helps. :)
I want to thank everyone for your kind words and support. It means more than you could know.
I went to the library on Friday after I left work, went home, read a book, then slept for 15 hours straight (only one time waking up and falling asleep again.) Then I got up and read some more and fell asleep for another 2 hours. I guess I needed it.
I'm really trying to get a good attitude back. I think I should get a part-time job that I could spend a few hours at a day after this job. I need the money to get out of this financial hole. I don't want a job where I have to talk to the public; I get enough of that here...just something physical to also help me get some exercise and start paying things off. I had a second job for many years but it was all in restaurants/bars and like I said I don't want to deal with the public. Perhaps a temp service would have something.
I can't wait to get online at home again because I know I could have benefitted over the weekend from not only your input here but also the laughs I invariably get when I read your posts.
I'll probably be scarcer than normal as I try to get things straight with my work here...it just never ends and everytime we turn around there's a new problem or new grants to administer or something. I like the challenge but when I looked at my W2 it really hit home how much my wages are akin to highway robbery. Sigh...
You are all wonderful, and I again thank you for your support.
:)
I want to thank everyone for your kind words and support. It means more than you could know.
I think I do know what it means, having had the same support myself - this is a good place. It is a shame you can't log on at home (same here) but you can stop by and just focus on a couple of threads if you're busy at work.
I found supermarket work reassuringly physical after sitting in an office all day. There was a lot of interaction with other staff members some nights, but none at all on others (depending on the section I worked on). They pay good wages too, if they're a supplement rather than your full time job.
Look after yourself, ok?
Did you change meds or did you stay on them? And, how do you feel about them now?
I did have to change my meds to start with, but that was all the aforementioned symptoms plus a downturn in mood and an increase in suicidal thoughts. I stuck with Paroxetine because the symptoms were purely physical. It took approx 2 months for the symptoms to go away completely, but the major ones were gone well before that.
I went to my parents' while I was still suffering. Scared the hell out of them. What with the side effects and the actual depression they barely recognised me. I didn't find this out for months of course. Mum said, "I'm glad we saw you when you were like that. At least I knew that you were really ill" (she had issues about me being signed off work - didn't understand I was incapable of working until she saw me) "When you didn't want anything to eat I knew it must be bad"
That's Mums for you, straight to the point!
I have come off the medication. Unlike some posters, my depression is episodic not chronic and I didn't want to stay on them "just in case". Like Shawnee says, it's a choice I
can make because I'm not currently depressed.
Thanks SG...that's pretty much what I was guessing. She did tell me that it would take a few weeks for the pills to actually be FULLY into my system (so i didn't think i would feel them the way that i did) she also advised me to take them at night, because they will probably make me feel relaxed. I'm glad I took them in the afternoon, 'cause relaxed was anything but what I was feeling. I did notice that the side effects were normal, according to webmd...but I still didn't/don't like them. The side effects are lessening...but I can still feel the pills...and I still don't like them.
My guy friend, that i've been hanging out with everyday for like a month now started asking me if I had taken my pills...'cause he can tell when i take them...and he doesn't like them either. Oh well I guess. 3 weeks to my next appointment.
Hang in there...the side effects can be brutal when you first start, but they really will go away and you will feel better. Depending on the meds...the side effects of withdrawal are 10 times worse. One of my meds is effexor, with a half life of less than a day. If I miss a day due to not getting refilled in time or something, the following day I am sick as a dog until they get back on track in my system. Other SSRIs, like Prozac, have a much longer half life so the effects of sudden stopping isn't nearly as painful. Did you say what you were taking?
Also, sometimes it takes time to figure out what works best for you. If you think that they can be beneficial to you, stick with it because it's worth it.
Take care of yourself KV!
Welcome back, Shawnee, it's good to have you around. Take good care of yourself, and check in as often as you can.
Ditto. We're here for you whenever you need us!
I've been wondering why this topic was in the Cellar Meta section until I realized that we now have a handy record of which of us is crazy and which isn't... :D
I am allowed to be cavalier about this because I'm one of the mood-altering drug users here.
I've been wondering why this topic was in the Cellar Meta section until I realized that we now have a handy record of which of us is crazy and which isn't... :D
I am allowed to be cavalier about this because I'm one of the mood-altering drug users here.
wear it like a badge ... i find it helps. pisses off a lot of other people, but helps! ;)
I've been wondering why this topic was in the Cellar Meta section until I realized that we now have a handy record of which of us is crazy and which isn't... :D
LOL...it'll never stand up in court. That wasn't me writing, that was my evil twin Francesca.
KV, did you decide to go on medication after reading how many of us are users?
No Spexx...I actually tend to lean towards the leaders rather than the followers. Since I'm not quite sure about your intention with that question I'll let my guard down and answer honestly. I've been dealing with anxiety, amongst other things...like not relying on weed to calm my nerves and help me sleep, and to make me feel "normal". I had been doing really good...at least at not smoking...and then I kinda dropped the ball and continued on my path to self destruction. It had been a few weeks since I had seen my therapist, when I went in for my appt she had noticed the change and we talked about it. She thought that having anti-depressants to help me deal with the anxiety would help me to continue to stop using pot as my clutch.
And there ya go...
this is a good info site too.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000520.html
Good info, good reads...thanks Phil.
No Spexx...I actually tend to lean towards the leaders rather than the followers. Since I'm not quite sure about your intention with that question I'll let my guard down and answer honestly. I've been dealing with anxiety, amongst other things...like not relying on weed to calm my nerves and help me sleep, and to make me feel "normal". I had been doing really good...at least at not smoking...and then I kinda dropped the ball and continued on my path to self destruction. It had been a few weeks since I had seen my therapist, when I went in for my appt she had noticed the change and we talked about it. She thought that having anti-depressants to help me deal with the anxiety would help me to continue to stop using pot as my clutch.
And there ya go...
Just curious. I thought I needed them a long time before I started them, but I was always leery of the stigma attached - you know, the "people on pills are weak or crazy" kinda attitude that some people have. Only one of my friends or coworkers admit to being on medication. If I'd had a pool of friends saying what has been said in this thread, I would have started long before I did.
I would have started long before I did.
Was reluctance to get counseling part of the puzzle as well?--for everybody, I'm not picking on spexx? Or can you pretty much say, "hey, I want some zoloft" and get a prescription?
My doctor, oops, Primary Care Provider, gives a written questionnaire. :cool:
I was prompted - in part - to see my GP by discussions on these threads. By the time I went to see him I was barely functioning anyway, but discussions here took some of the stigma away.
I also didn't recoil in horror when he suggested anti-depressants because of here.
I was offered counselling at the same time as the drugs. The point at which my GP saw me I was already incapable of working, so starting on drugs immediately wasn't too much of a stretch.
Was reluctance to get counseling part of the puzzle as well?--for everybody, I'm not picking on spexx? Or can you pretty much say, "hey, I want some zoloft" and get a prescription?
I talked to my doctor, who referred my to a psychiatrist. I was surprised that the interaction with the psychiatrist - it went something like this:
Dr: why do you think you need medication?
Spexx: because blah blah blah
Dr: ok, we'll start you on this. I'll see you in a month. If this doesn't work, we can change it.
No talk therapy at all. I had reluctance to therapy, for reasons similar to my reluctance to meds, but by the time I saw the psychiatrist, we'd been in family counselling with a psychologist for a couple of months.
I was a psych major. Though I know talk therapy can be very helpful, it is as trial and error and the meds; it can take quite some time to find the one who is right for you.
Hopefully, when I have money to plop down the co-pay once a week I will find someone suitable. I know I could benefit...but I've seen and heard of some real doozies: those who just tell you what you want to hear, which doesn't help anyone, those who have no idea where you're coming from, etc.
I was prompted - in part - to see my GP by discussions on these threads. By the time I went to see him I was barely functioning anyway, but discussions here took some of the stigma away.
I also didn't recoil in horror when he suggested anti-depressants because of here.
I was offered counselling at the same time as the drugs. The point at which my GP saw me I was already incapable of working, so starting on drugs immediately wasn't too much of a stretch.
screw the stigma SG : there are approx 5 million people on anti - depressants in the UK. there are even trace elements in the drinking water because so many people are pissing it into the system.
seriously, if someone has a chemical imbalance, there really is no shame in treating it.:cool:
Good info, good reads...thanks Phil.
youre welcome.
I was a psych major. Though I know talk therapy can be very helpful, it is as trial and error and the meds; it can take quite some time to find the one who is right for you.
Hopefully, when I have money to plop down the co-pay once a week I will find someone suitable. I know I could benefit...but I've seen and heard of some real doozies: those who just tell you what you want to hear, which doesn't help anyone, those who have no idea where you're coming from, etc.
If you are taking meds and not doing something to get to the root of the real problem you are wasting your money.
I thought the root of the real problem was (often? usually?) a chemical imbalance. Isn't that what the pills are for?
Chem imbalance or not, if you are depressed or anxious it is about something... that needs to be discussed and dealt with. Tools need to be given and practiced.
Just handing someone meds does nothing toward that other than putting them into a frame of mind to help them receive that information and put it into action... nothing more.
They do not "cure" anything without the work and tools professionally given & monitored.
This is why I have problems with most Psychiatrists, they have lost their calling.
I thought the root of the real problem was (often? usually?) a chemical imbalance. Isn't that what the pills are for?
That's what I thought too Jinx, and actually, that was my biggest fight. I know that I don't have a chemical imbalance, the decisions that I am making and acting on are causing me to feel the way that I do. Pills wont change that. Apparently, pills are supposed to do as RK says, and help me deal...most especially with my anxiety and the fact that I try and not deal with my feelings, I push them away.
If you are taking meds and not doing something to get to the root of the real problem you are wasting your money.
totally agree. when its not a clinical depression the meds are meant to lift the cloud so you can see whats getting to you, but in some cases, where there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, there are no issues to be addressed.
Chem imbalance or not, if you are depressed or anxious it is about something... that needs to be discussed and dealt with.
Nope. I say nay.
Some people's brains just naturally "reuptake" seratonin leaving slowly firing neurons. Does that always have to be based on bad life experiences?
I think the jury is still out on this one but I would be inclined to think some people just have a problem with seratonin reuptake.
Sure guys... your emotions are just misfires and chemicals alone... and pills are magic that will make it all better... there is no need for personal reflection... ok.
Funny how that sounds like a lot of religion$ line.
You are wrong.
[size=1]it happens get over it[/size]
Hey... I'm agreeing with you...
Why not, anxiety and depression just being chemical sounds so practical?
Sure guys... your emotions are just misfires and chemicals alone... and pills are magic that will make it all better... there is no need for personal reflection... ok.
Funny how that sounds like a lot of religion$ line.
Conversely, we are all fucked up by our mother or our priest or the guy on the corner and if we could just get to the center of what is gnawing at us we would magically feel better.
Funny how that sounds like a lot of Freud$ line.
I never stated anything about dwelling on the past. I think that can be destructive and am not fond of Freudian.
However, learning coping tools is primary. Meds may be an important part of that.
I see what you're saying. I'm just thinking it's possible some people will just always have that imbalance...pointing out that possibility. I mean, it IS possible, seeing how it is a physiological thing.
Up until a few decades ago, when we didn't know much, psychoanalysis was considered to be the only route to treat mental illness, and the very idea that medication could be used to treat something like Schizophrenia was considered strangely bizarre speculation.
Now the tables are turned, and the main reason is the amazing success stories that have come so far, and the more amazing ones due as researchers turn to the brain to figure out what really, actually makes us tick.
Not believing in psychiatric medication is a bias of believing the science of the past and not following how science has moved on. Talk therapy will be of great assistance to many people. Others -- such as myself -- have chronic conditions that no amount of other coping mechanism solves as well as about $40/month in medication. (And please tell me what kind of professional therapist you get at $40/month.)
You are wrong.
about $40/month in medication. (And please tell me what kind of professional therapist you get at $40/month.)
One that will stretch your "needed" therapy to 15 years rather than 10 years to make up for the lost income? ;)
Chem imbalance or not, if you are depressed or anxious it is about something...
No, a chemical imbalance can cause depression or anxiety irrespective of any life issues.
If you have something to be depressed or anxious about, and you are depressed or anxious, that's not a chemical imbalance, that's life.
Of course, if you have something to be depressed or anxious about, and you take drugs to eliminate the depression or anxiety, you could be causing a chemical imbalance in the other direction. If the root cause is psychological, drugs may be dangerous, but if the root cause is a malfunctioning gland, talk therapy may be useless.
To play devil's advocate: another side of speculation is that depression causes your brain to reuptake the seratonin, slowing your neurons, worsening the situation. It's a chicken/egg thing.
I suspect for a lot of people its a combination of physiological and psychological factors. There are many different ways that depression can manifest itself and there are many different potential causes.
It's worth remembering though, that talk therapy also carries risks. A poor practitioner can traumatise their patient through injudicious use of their tools, just as easily as a pill can adversely affect someone physically.
If there is a problem (or two) plus a chemical imbalance, pills can balance the chemicals but might cause you to overlook the problems. I'm feel so much better everything must be fine.
Once the chemical thing is addressed, it might be a good idea to reflect on the things that had bothered you, from a new perspective. Can't hurt.:cool:
Hey, it worked for Tony Soprano.
Tony Soprano, on therapy:
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: It's like taking a shit.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Ok. I actually like to think about it as a childbirth.
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: Trust me. It's like taking a shit.
:p
Tony Soprano, on therapy:
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: It's like taking a shit.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Ok. I actually like to think about it as a childbirth.
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: Trust me. It's like taking a shit.
:p
there's nothing so under-rated as a good shit. ;)
I think that's what he was saying. It feels good when you do it, but once it's done, what's sitting there ain't no beautiful baby.
At age 13 I was diagnosed with depression and put on Elavil (an old drug--but it was 1977 and pretty much IT) but NO ONE told me that it would take 4-6 weeks to make me feel better so I stopped taking it (it made me tired)--and my parents never followed up. Mom took me to a gastroenterologist for my unexplained stomach pain and HE diagnosed me (correctly). I never went back, I never saw a psych and I never got any better. In 1989 I saw a therapist who knew, within 60 seconds of meeting me, that I was depressed. It had never occurred to me that I was--I just thought life sucked. She referred me to a doc who put me on prozac and it changed my life. I've gone off prozac many times---and it's never been a good idea. IMHO depression and anxiety (not to mention addictions) are all part of familial make up.
I've often wondered why the depressed/addicted trait has survived for so long and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of depressed/addicted people are just really attractive in some way to normal people.
I think that's what he was saying. It feels good when you do it, but once it's done, what's sitting there ain't no beautiful baby.
true, but its MY baby. :D
I've often wondered why the depressed/addicted trait has survived for so long and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of depressed/addicted people are just really attractive in some way to normal people.
Or...they're really attractive to other depressed/addicted people:P
Or...they're really attractive to other depressed/addicted people:P
Or maybe they are vulnerable to pregnancy. :(
Ed Hagan thinks depression might've served a beneficial function during human evolution.
Or maybe they are vulnerable to pregnancy. :(
Or they're really, really horny all the time.
Or they're really, really horny all the time.
i can vouch for that.
I'm now officially on the pills. I appreciate all the comments in this thread, which were a big help to me.
I'm now officially on the pills. I appreciate all the comments in this thread, which were a big help to me.
PM me if you want any help or have any questions about anti - depressants.
I'm just about to wean off mine. I wish you the best.
PM me if you want any help or have any questions about anti - depressants.
I'm just about to wean off mine. I wish you the best.
Same with me, any time you have questions, you can PM me. I'm an old pro. :)
I appreciate the offers. I'm sure it'll be a while before any noticable effect shows up. Of course, my only question was, "Doc, will I still be able to post on The Cellar?
I appreciate the offers. I'm sure it'll be a while before any noticable effect shows up. Of course, my only question was, "Doc, will I still be able to post on The Cellar?
To which he replied, "Damn, son, you don't need meds. We just gotta keep you away from those bat-shit insane Cellarites!"
I've been on all the drugs, am now off all the drugs. Never worked for me. Good luck though.