Group therapy time
I have been living a completely untenable daydream for a good four days now. I mean really living it--thinking about it constantly, playing the story out years into the future in my mind, planning out a variety of imaginary conversations I would have in this imaginary series of events.
Before you go all, "Live the dream!" on me, let me reiterate that this daydream is not just unrealistic, it is completely and totally impossible. I understand that it's typical escapism, and not surprising for a person under stress... but knowing the origin hasn't stopped me from focusing on it yet. How unhealthy is this, and how long before I ought to be concerned with the obsession?
How completely and totally impossible is it?
Hmm...is that really wrong? Does it affect your life?
LB's question is the whole thing.
As obsessive thoughts go, this is probably one of the better ones. There are the hoarders, the counters, the hand-washers...
my thought is that if you are concerned about the obsession... aware that it is an obsession then isn't that the first step in getting control of it?
doesn't AA say that the first step to recovery is awareness and admitting to a problem?
now then... onto the more important matters.......where did I leave that vodka?
Daydreams are just escapism.
Indulge yourself.
I do.
Clod, no matter what you do, Dana will NOT have sex with you. Oh wait, that's my obsession. ;)
Seriously, though, is your daydream harmful to others? If you're dreaming about what you would do with your powerball winnings, it's no big thing. If you're dreaming about running away to join the circus or shooting someone, you probably want to move on.
If you're dreaming about running away to join the circus
It is somewhat similar to this. Except somehow I would take my kids with me and their medical care would not be adversely affected in any way. :)
Just reaching, buttttttttttt...
If it's a crush on another one or another way of life, it'll pass. And it's normal. Especially for someone with the challenges you face.
Keep thinking about it.
Eventually, like everything else, it'll lose it's allure.
Clod,
It is a choice and an indication. You can take small steps toward it and stop before the point of no return and see if it gets better or worse. You can also choose to put your mind and attention somewhere else.
When it just won't go away then you need to look at what it is saying to you.
Find a moment or two of quiet (I know, easier said than done) and listen to your heart, not your head. If it is the right thing, then the universe and FSM will underwrite your actions. If it is the wrong thing then you will be swimming upstream.
Not sure if that makes sense or helps. :hug:
She was beautiful as southern skies
The night he met her
She was married to someone
He was doggedly determined that he would get her
He was old, he was young
From time to time he'd tip his heart
But each time she withdrew
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Well eventually the boy and the girl get married
Sure enough they have a son
And though they both were occupied
With the child she carried
Disagreements had begun
And in a while they fell apart
It wasn't hard to do
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Two disappointed believers
Two people playing the game
Negotiations and love songs
Are often mistaken for one and the same
Now the man and the woman
Remain in contact
Let us say it's for the child
With disagreements about the meaning
Of a marriage contract
Conversations hard and wild
But from time to time
He makes her laugh
She cooks a meal or two
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
What is the point of this story
What information pertains
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly
Into our hearts
And our brains
--Paul Simon
Philip Larkin
An Arundel Tomb (cropped)
The stone finality
They hardly meant has come to be
Their final blazon, and to prove
Our almost-instinct almost true:
What will survive of us is love.
It's not true of course. Love dies before beauty. And the survivor loves again, so it trascends death, if not in the way poets mean. I love to read about love, and cry about it, but it doesn't mean anything to me in real life.
I too have a recurring daydream of stepping into the past and then living this alternate reality where all is well and the worries of my "new normal" (as its called) are gone. Where I can choose the future I wanted without the restrictions and responsibilities that I now deal with 24/7. . .
It comes and goes for me now. I cannot think about it much - it depresses the hell outta me knowing it cannot happen.
I try to focus on the little things, the positive things and just go from there.
Keep thinking about it.
Eventually, like everything else, it'll lose it's allure.
this
Yep, still thinking. Still hasn't lost its allure. Still want to get the hell out of my life.
On the other hand, it also still hasn't become any less impossible, and I'm getting better at internally acknowledging that. I'm just crushing my soul back into its box, rather than realizing that the box was so great to begin with.
Four days ain't enough. We all want to get the hell out occassionally -and occassionally doesn't necessarily mean fleetingly.....
Thread was started on the 3rd, had been going on for 4 days at that point. We're up to 2 weeks now... but I know 2 weeks still ain't bad for a midlife crisis. I'll let you all know when I buy the Porsche.
sry, I meant to check that and got distracted, but rly, you only need panic when it gets to years
Give it until a week from Tuesday.
Are the daydreams getting in your way of say ... doing the washing, feeding minifob, or dealing with other and sundry responsibilities?
Not unless those sundry responsibilities require me to act like I care while I'm doing them. Nah, that's hyperbole, I'm actually quite good at putting on the smile when I need to. It's all internalized.
It's at the extreme of unhealthy when you contemplate suicide because it's so impossible and you can't bear to not live the dream.
I know. This is me.
Yep, still thinking. Still hasn't lost its allure. Still want to get the hell out of my life.
On the other hand, it also still hasn't become any less impossible, and I'm getting better at internally acknowledging that. I'm just crushing my soul back into its box, rather than realizing that the box was so great to begin with.
would a brief torrid affair with an overweight, but undeniably sexy and amiable Yankee help alleviate the doldrums you suffer from? I only ask because I care. And because I'll be in Charlotte in early September.
How does the Porche drive? They ain't really all that are they. Get a 280z.
would a brief torrid affair with an overweight, but undeniably sexy and amiable Yankee help alleviate the doldrums you suffer from? I only ask because I care. And because I'll be in Charlotte in early September.
If her answer is yes, then I would probably fly down there. Just sayin.
Clod, it sounds to me like you're skirting around the edges of depression. Don't let it go on for too long. Might be time to have a chat with a doc. xx
Depression? Don't go to the doctor! It's a lot more fun to self-medicate
Depression? Don't go to the doctor! It's a lot more fun to self-medicate
Yeah, but the right doc can give you a script for some really good stuff to self-medicate with! ;)
Pshaw--I'm not skirting, I've been in the middle of it for 2+ years now. Actually though, escapism is better than despair, so this probably ought to be seen as a step on the way up. Read a study awhile back claiming that 80% of the special needs moms examined showed multiple symptoms of PTSD. A majority of my friends are on some type of antidepressant or anti-anxiety med (or both,) but it's not so easy to mix those with the anti-seizure meds I'm on. Those do double-duty as mood stabilizers though, so I guess I could talk to my neurologist about upping the dose if I can't ride this one out. The more I take the better I sleep, at the very least.
The more I take the better I sleep, at the very least.
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause – there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
and so on...
Autism is a great killer of marriages and mental health. One of my little dudes is doing some unofficial hippo-therapy, seems like that could help Moms too.
Interesting idea. I rode horses every summer for 9 years as a kid, and haven't really done it since. Both of us have been trying to find respite activities for ourselves, but I hadn't considered going back to horseback riding. Might have to look into what it would cost to "rent" a horse around here.
If her answer is yes, then I would probably fly down there. Just sayin.
ya know.. I was thinking of me, but you ARE a better fit for that description.
ya know.. I was thinking of me, but you ARE a better fit for that description.
ha ha. It is not lost on me that she has not dignified with comment our suggestion.
that says fainted, not farted
"And then she fainted!"
:thumb:
"And then she fainted!"
That only makes us love you all the more.
Read a study awhile back claiming that 80% of the special needs moms examined showed multiple symptoms of PTSD.
I absolutely believe that.
doing some unofficial hippo-therapy, seems like that could help Moms too.
Interesting idea. I rode horses every summer for 9 years as a kid, and haven't really done it since.
Yeah, but what about hippos?
That only makes us love you all the more.
That's kinky.
Also, I could never quite figure out this line:
...and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes
Read a study awhile back claiming that 80% of the special needs moms examined showed multiple symptoms of PTSD.
hmm - this could explain some things in my life as well.
As far as the special needs go especially for Autism, I can add a few cents.
Jeff is an adult now. In a lot of ways we are very lucky. He was able to find a part time job in high school and has been working there for 10 years.
I sometimes get depressed when I see an elderly woman in the mall with her 40-something special needs adult and wonder what my situation will be when I am 70+.
I also daydream, usually when the office lottery pool kicks in.
On a day to day basis, Jeff fits into our schedule the way any live-in child would. I take him to work on the few days he works and Marci picks him up. He mostly goes with us wherever we go, but can stay home for short periods by himself.
There are some special challenges with Autism, but raising a child is raising a child and a lot of the challenges are the same whether special needs or not. The issue with many special needs is knowing that the relationship will never change. There will be no marriage, moving out, occasional visits, etc.
During our
IEP's, I always stated the goal that Jeff would be in a group home environment by the time he was 25. I did this mainly because with bureaucracies, setting a goal is important. I don't know if it will ever happen and I am not pushing it. With a part time job and supports, the answer is maybe, someday.
The point is that stress is normal and so is daydreaming. If it doesn't impair your functioning, it's a lot healthier and cheaper than drugs. But what is even more important is doing things for yourself and your spouse. There used to be funding for 'respite' care, which simply meant separating parents from children for some downtime. This usually meant babysitters, but it could also mean summer camp.
I doubt this support exists anymore, but the principle is sound. All parents need a break. Finding a good babysitter, be it from an agency or family member, and checking into a hotel for a weekend is probably the cheapest and best therapy.
In the military and sports, there is a concept called 'target fixation', where someone is so focused on something that they disregard obstacles and threats. In pilots this meant almost deliberately plowing into the ground.
With our children, particularly special needs children, there is a lot of pressure to be a 'good parent'. We are not conditioned to be selfish, even though sometimes being selfish is the correct answer to keeping ourselves mentally capable of parenting. Sometimes this means being so fixated on giving that we forget to maintain our own mental health.
When Jeff was growing up, we would sometimes sit down and ask ourselves how long it had been since we'd had a night out by ourselves and be shocked at the answer. I'm not any kind of health care expert, but you just might need some R&R.
Marci is the real expert on a lot of this. She does not have a Cellar account, but PM me if you have a question for her. She's been giving a lot of advice in this area lately. The 'official' supports for special needs parents in PA are not stellar and a lot of people do not understand respite, IEP's, services, and other issues.
Thanks Rich. I needed to read that. I too look into the future and it scares the hell outta me. Knowing he will be dependent upon me for the rest of MY life is overwhelming.
Probably not worth a new thread... but this is the sickest headline I've see in a long time.
More than one in 10 Americans use antidepressants
Wed Oct 19, 2011 4:55pm EDT
(
Reuters) -
More than one in 10 Americans over the age of 12 takes an antidepressant,
a class of drugs that has become wildly popular in the past several decades,
U.S. government researchers said Wednesday.
Antidepressants were the third-most common drug used by Americans
of all ages between 2005 and 2008 and they were the most common drug
among people aged 18 to 44, according to an analysis by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
The team analyzed data on more than 12,000 Americans who took part
in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2005 and 2008.
<snip>
[COLOR="Black"]I'm appalled that the US could be this far into the pill culture.
It is indeed time for Group Therapy, and time for medical schools
and the AMA and the government to get on top of this.
TV ads and physicians wanting to please their patients have made it too easy.
It is the physicians responsibility to diagnose and proscribe accurately,
There is no way that 10% of the population actually suffers from depression.[/COLOR]
As a first step, free speech be damned... get the Rx ads off TV
.
I just finished listening to an interview on the radio... a similar statement struck me. The subject said "Americans represent 5% of the world's population, but we consume 65% of the world's psychoactive drugs."
I can't find a cite, but I'll keep looking. The program I listened to was on KUOW from 8-9pm 19 Oct 2011.
we consume 65% of the world's psychoactive drugs.
Legal or illegal?
I think it has something to do with our attitude of happiness as a "right" --- we are going to be happy, goddamnit!, no matter WHAT we have to do to achieve it! that sort of thing.
Legal or illegal?
The CDC and NIH did the survey, and the way the remainder of the article reads,
I would believe these are legal Rx's from private physicians for their patients.
This is via Reuters, and tho not really suspect in itself, I could be a tiny bit leary. It is being picked up by other news services.
The positive flipside to this story might be that there is less stigma attached to depression in the US, making it more likely that those who do need help will actually seek it.
The entitlement to happiness thing is also a likely factor. Or, rather, an assumption that if you aren't happy then there's something wrong with you.
Another factor might be work culture. Mild depression may not really need medication, but if someone is struggling to keep their head above water, they may feel they need it in order not to end up taking time off work, or otherwise fucking up their job.
More than one in 10 Americans use antidepressants
I heard in a piece that 1 in 25 American kids from 12 to 17 are on antidepressants.
Legal or illegal?
Absolutely.
Our jobs (or lack thereof) depress us so we need the Rx to:
1) Keep going at our soul-crushing, inhumane work place
2) Keep going at our quest for a soul-crushing, inhumane work place.
We need $$$$ so we can buy their drugs.
welcome to Utopia! it's a brave new world!!
Give that chick a scooby snack.
There is no way that 10% of the population actually suffers from depression.
I do believe this is true, actually. They've done studies showing the more affluent you are (not in pure net worth terms but in lifestyle,) the less likely you are to be happy. I saw another study showing that most people are actually happier and more optimistic
after a natural disaster takes everything they own than they were before it.
I also believe, and I know this is a surprise to no one, that a large portion--if not the majority--of mental diseases are due to chemical imbalance in the brain, not experiential trauma (either a single large event like a death, or built up chronically over years like 'my mother never really loved me.') And I think we have brought these chemical imbalances on ourselves with the things we eat, breathe, and have otherwise consumed as a population over the last 100 years. Every single person I have met who is actually on antidepressants very much needs them (not that the pills are the only solution, but they very much need
something to help their brain chemistry.) I've never met anyone who takes them on a whim.
The positive flipside to this story might be that there is less stigma attached to depression in the US, making it more likely that those who do need help will actually seek it.
The entitlement to happiness thing is also a likely factor. Or, rather, an assumption that if you aren't happy then there's something wrong with you.
Another factor might be work culture. Mild depression may not really need medication, but if someone is struggling to keep their head above water, they may feel they need it in order not to end up taking time off work, or otherwise fucking up their job.
You said what I would have said had I been able to say it.
Also, I'm not surprised that 10% of Americans are on an anti-depressant. It's a chemical imbalance, folks. Do I believe that for a few SSRIs are a "happy pill?" Sure. As with anything, some are looking for a quick fix.
But for some, they make the difference between living and driving your car off a cliff.
I am the 10%. ;)
I am the 10%. ;)
I am Sparticus... I mean the 10%. ;)
I liked your post clod.
Spexx, you ARE Spartacus (I say that having no idea what it really means.) I luvs me some Spartacus Spexx.
When I opened this thread earlier, I thought someone had started one so we could all get our problems out in the open and talk about them as a group.
Then I realized the link for that one was
www.cellar.orgI liked your post clod.
Spexx, you ARE Spartacus (I say that having no idea what it really means.) I luvs me some Spartacus Spexx.
[YOUTUBE]-8h_v_our_Q[/YOUTUBE]
I thought Zen was Spartacus?
I can't keep all the Spartacuseseses (Spartaci?) straight around here.
Half of us on antidepressants are on them for anxiety problems, not depression
[size=1]were you guys waiting for me to come around and point that out[/size]
Well, my initial diagnosis, some 15 years ago, was chronic depression (you know, before it was all en vogue.) ;)
Finally, a year ago, I was diagnosed additionally with anxiety attacks (disorder?) So that's a different script.
SSRI every day, and anti-anxiety when really really needed.
Performance enhancing drugs.
Performance enhancing drugs.
Like Viagra?
If you feel confident and happy for more than 4 hours, see a doctor.
...There is no way that 10% of the population actually suffers from depression...
Ten percent taking antidepression meds means that ten percent of the population has been
diagnosed as depressed.
The
actual number of people suffering from depression will be much higher.
or lower...
I admit to my belief that unless it is a true "clinical depression",
there would be alternatives to Rx medications.
The world got along without them for quite a long time.
Unfortunately, for those with true clinical depression,
the options were scarce and awful.
My bias is
against the pervasive TV ads for these meds,
and physicians who simply write the script and collect their fee.
In part this is based on the article stating:
Patients who take the drugs often get them from their regular doctor
rather than a so-called mental health professional.
I agree with most everything said above. There is probably overdiagnosis, due to complacent doctors, marketing from drug companies and such. Current levels of depression are probably caused by modern lifestyles and the strange sea of chemicals we now live in. There is the assumption that if you're not happy, something is medically wrong, and that it can be fixed with a pill rather than changing your lifestyle.
I want to add:
Is it that antidepressants are overused in the US, or underused elsewhere?
Countries outside the OECD spend their health resources on life-and-death fights - malaria, TB, malnutrition, cholera etc. Anyone who is merely depressed can get along on their own, or fade away and die.
The OECD has much higher suicide rates than poorer countries, despite having much better living conditions. My guess is that anyone in Calcutta who doesn't have a strong will to live has already died of some disease, and has no need to actively end it all.
My father is a Dr of Pharmacy who talked and practiced for 52 years. He always joked, "better living through pharmaceuticals" should be catch phrase for the last 20 years.
My PTSD manifests thru anxiety and obsessive compulsive behaviors. Me off my meds is not something most people would want to see. Many of you have seen the changes in my behavior online when the VA lets me run out of meds
Half of us on antidepressants are on them for anxiety problems, not depression
[size=1]fuckers aren't reading my posts again[/size]
Sarge
This is a story from the local university about a new treatment for PTSD. I am absolutely not a doctor, but I do keep up on the news. This sounded very interesting. I hope you can make some use of this information.
Learning to not be afraid: UW psychologists treat PTSD with drug known to enhance learning
Oct. 11, 2011
...
“It may seem counterintuitive to ask someone to repeatedly recount an event that is so scary,” said Lori Zoellner, director of UW’s Center for Anxiety & Traumatic Stress. “But as someone does this he or she begins to look at the memory differently and the memory has less control over their lives." The once terrifying movie becomes not so upsetting.
The PTSD therapy – called prolonged exposure therapy – works well. About two-thirds of the PTSD patients treated with it no longer have PTSD after 10 therapy sessions lasting 90 minutes each.
But Zoellner, along with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Austin, has a plan to make it even better and faster. In a new study, the researchers scaled down the therapy to six daily 1-hour sessions. Each session is followed by a placebo pill or a dose of a drug called methylene blue, which is believed to help strengthen learning and insights that occurred during the therapy session. The compound is FDA-approved for other uses and has been used safely for years with few significant side effects.
...
I read your post [SIZE="1"]man[/SIZE] Is this a good time to mention that I will be ending all my comments using [SIZE="1"]man[/SIZE] as punctuation [SIZE="1"]man[/SIZE]
But for some, they make the difference between living and driving your car off a cliff.
I know this is neither here nor there, but I just had to chime in to say how close to home this line hit for me.
I spent about 8 months on SSRIs last year after Life got to be too much -- the stress of being a teacher paired with my father-in-law battling cancer shut me down to the point where I couldn't function on a daily basis.
This summer, with the school year done and Dad on track to good health, I met with my doctor and made the decision to wean off the medication.
Then the school year started back up.
Earlier this week, I found myself wondering if wrapping my car around a tree on my way in to work would mean I could take a few weeks off.
I'm headed back to the doctor tomorrow morning.
Part of me feels like a failure, like
surely I could keep my self together without chemical help. The rest of me recognizes the honest fact that I can only do so much on my own, and I wouldn't be doing much of anything if I ended up in a ditch down a wooded road one morning.
good for you, Choco.
hang in there. You don't have to suffer depression. I'm glad you're going to the doc tomorrow.
Half of us on antidepressants are on them for anxiety problems, not depression
[size=1]fuckers aren't reading my posts again[/size]
Do they really lower the anxiety that is caused by stress? My episode was caused by an intense overload of prolonged stress and anxiety. Imipramine did diddly squat for it. My problems only went away when I quit my job. I was prescribed prozac after the fact. I wonder if it would have worked beforehand?
Sarge
<snip>
Learning to not be afraid: UW psychologists treat PTSD with drug known to enhance learning
Just don't think you are turning into one of the Blue Man drummers :mg: when your pee turns blue.
/
Also, I'm not surprised that 10% of Americans are on an anti-depressant.
That number is way higher than 10%!
Especially if you count the schizophrenics twice.
Plenty of room in this handbasket.
:lol: Oh you naughty person. People. Tripod.
Patients who take the drugs often get them from their regular doctor
rather than a so-called mental health professional.
lamp, from your post.
Of course people are getting the scripts from their regular doctors. Regular doctors have psychiatric training as part of their core of study. I don't know if you're suggesting people would be better served to be referred to a psychiatrist or PsyD for meds that are to a depressive what diabetics meds are to a diabetic.
For one thing, I think it would preclude a lot of people getting the help they need. Specialists are expensive, even with insurance. Some people might think "I don't need a freaking shrink" (stigma) and not pursue it.
My doctor, a D.O. has known me for many many many years. He talks to me and listens to me. I have faith that he is working with me for the best 'cocktail' to get, and KEEP, my depression under control. Honestly, I wish I had known about such things when I was in college. I wish depression were "over-diagnosed" then, and I might have gotten help much earlier.
At any rate, to add fuel to your fire (well, not really a fire, more a reasonably contained campfire) ;) I am now on a second SSRI. I've been on the main one so long, doc thinks my body says "Oh, I see you have enough seratonin now" because the SSRI is blocking the reuptake. So this second one is supposed to "boost" if you will the first one. The first one is doing its job, so it wouldn't make sense to try to wean me off. (The main one is also the one with the shortest half life of the SSRIs and withdrawal, even for one day, is brutal.)
So, UT...I'm reading your posts. I don't know why my SSRI doesn't take better care of my anxiety attacks. I think it did for a while but I really believe perimenopause and worse PMS are taking their toll. My anti-anxiety is prescribed for pms, but I use it when I start to recognize I'm about to have an attack. And it really helps me to not blow things clear out of proportion.
Choco, hang in there girl. I know exactly what you mean about the car and the tree. You don't really want anything bad to happen but you have moments when it sounds like some sort of relief...to rest, to not have to DO, to have someone else take care of things for a while. I hope you feel better soon.
My bloodwork numbers were BETTER than they were 5 years ago. I'm glad it's not blood sugar or thyroid or whatever, but I must admit I was hoping for something that didn't make me feel more crazy.
But I'm not crazy. My doc says so. My best friend says so. I do have issues from my past I've never dealt with, and the next step is to contact the employeecare on campus for a recommendation. No, I don't WANT to talk about that stuff. That's why I don't talk about it. To talk about it makes it too real. Otherwise, I can just think about those things in a vague detached kind of way. Something blurry from the past. But I guess that option has left the building.
lamp, from your post.
Of course people are getting the scripts from their regular doctors. Regular doctors have psychiatric training as part of their core of study. I don't know if you're suggesting people would be better served to be referred to a psychiatrist or PsyD for meds that are to a depressive what diabetics meds are to a diabetic.
For one thing, I think it would preclude a lot of people getting the help they need. Specialists are expensive, even with insurance. Some people might think "I don't need a freaking shrink" (stigma) and not pursue it.
My doctor, a D.O. has known me for many many many years. He talks to me and listens to me. I have faith that he is working with me for the best 'cocktail' to get, and KEEP, my depression under control. Honestly, I wish I had known about such things when I was in college. I wish depression were "over-diagnosed" then, and I might have gotten help much earlier.
<snip>
IM, ... no evil intended
My OP spoke to medical schools and the AMA training more practicing physicians to emulate your D.O.
That business about mental health workers and psychiatrists came from the original article...
and frankly I took it to be the sort of hierarchical turf war that is so prevalent in medicine.
It's just evident from the numbers there is a lot of Rx-abuse going on, from many sources.
Oh, I know no evil intended. I was just running thoughts through my head, from the perspective of a long-term SSRI taker.
I am sure, like any profession, there are 'bad' and 'good' doctors. I think the difference is that a doctor prescribing oxycontin and the like all willy nilly presents much more danger to the patient than a doc maybe over-prescribing SSRIs. Except for finding out that young people are certainly not good candidates for that mode of treatment, and the occasional suicide from someone who is on an SSRI (which, we don't know how far gone, how likely they were to do so anyway) SSRIs are relatively safe. You don't feel a high, nothing happens instantly, it's a slow move back to utilizing the chemicals your brain needs to fire correctly. I wouldn't take them recreationally, that's for sure.
Just foods for thoughts.
Also, once diagnosed, the meds are no longer needed to be prescribed by a psych-doc. Maintenance goes to the family doc. I was diagnosed and spent the first year under a psych-doc, but I was a waste of his time by the end.
It's just evident from the numbers there is a lot of Rx-abuse going on, from many sources.
One notices that the words "just evident" were decided upon with only one piece of actual
evidence.
just another two cents in: in my area of the state it's really tough to get in to see a psychiatrist. First appointments can take up to six months and that's IF they will take you on. A Big "IF"
<snip>
One notices that the words "just evident" were decided upon with only one piece of actual evidence.
I do admit to bias here.
In
very small part it comes from events in my own family
when my grandson was put on Rx followed by new issues of suicide.
But for the most part my comments came
from the cumulative of the
published CDC report.
My OP also showed my bias against the ubiquitous TV drug ads.
Here is one journal report I found by one google search
I've re-arranged their findings on "consumer beliefs" for clarity.
Please note, where this "research" was published,
and the lack of acknowledgment of the funding source.
Marketing Health Services
Peyrot M et al.
Loyola College, Baltimore, MD, USA.
ABSTRACT
This study examines the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising
on prescription drug knowledge and the requesting behavior of consumers.
The authors developed and tested a conceptual model of prescription drug knowledge and requests.
<snip>
"Drug advertising" - is associated with
~~ More drug knowledge - is associated with
~~ ~~ More specific drug requests
~~ ~~ Belief will result in lower prices
Less drug advertising - is associated with
~~ less drug knowledge - is associated with
~~ ~~ patients would upset their physician
~~ ~~ belief that physicians should be sole source of drug information
~~ ~~ less probability of specific drug requests - is associated with
~~ ~~ ~~ preference for generic drugs
CONCLUSION:
Media exposure and drug advertising awareness were associated with
higher drug knowledge and a greater probability of drug requesting.
So what to conclude is the purpose of TV drug ads ?
I would re-word their Conclusions, based on their results as:
Media exposure and drug advertising awareness were associated with
higher (specific, proprietary) drug (awareness) and a greater
probability of (specific, proprietary) drug requesting.
.
You know, I heard that some people on antidepressants are on them for anxiety problems, not depression
You were supposed to say [COLOR="Gray"]here[/COLOR] and [COLOR="gray"]here[/COLOR] and [COLOR="gray"]here[/COLOR] and [COLOR="gray"]here[/COLOR] and [COLOR="gray"]here[/COLOR].
[COLOR="LemonChiffon"]Nyah nyah, fooled you![/COLOR]
I had a 5 minute session with a psychiatrist who dismissed me with, "I doubt you're depressed" but recommended to the daycare team that I stayed on my medication to reduce anxiety. Subsequent mental health specialists tweaked my medication and now I think I am as stable as any "normal" person.
I'm still a worrier, but I never had any idea how much anxiety ruled my life until I stayed on anti-depressants for long enough for them to take effect.
I still don't know exactly what I take them for, but I rarely - if ever - get the fight or flight physical reaction for non-physical reasons. Example I will not feel my stomach drop followed by nausea just because I get an unexpected letter/ Yes my finances are as rosy as they can be, but it's chicken and egg - I return phone calls and open letteres and deal with things before they grow tentacles these days.
Another example, I accept training and advice as just that. I do not go into school feeling sick to my stomach because someone pointed out a better way to do things the previous day. Constructive criticism no longer makes me physically ill.
And I have far less violent dreams :)
I do still get an adrenaline fear reaction if I trip slightly, or someone steps in front of me unexpectedly, my fingertips tingle. At its most extreme it gives me a jolt like putting the car into the wrong gear while driving - inside my head.
But even if there were a medication for that I don't think it would be worth bothering with :) It's just that so few people I know experience it. As I have said before, I am just easily spooked.
I do still get an adrenaline fear reaction if I trip slightly, or someone steps in front of me unexpectedly, my fingertips tingle. At its most extreme it gives me a jolt like putting the car into the wrong gear while driving - inside my head.
But even if there were a medication for that I don't think it would be worth bothering with It's just that so few people I know experience it. As I have said before, I am just easily spooked.
Oh I do. Its just like that feeling you get when you are falling asleep and all of a sudden you feel like you have fallen. You wake yourself up wondering if your whole body jerked or not.
Oh my whole body definitely does jerk. It happens at least once a week as I'm falling asleep, I violently jerk awake again for no reason. Mr. Clod thinks it's hysterical.
Well described, Pico. It's that violent.
Clod, I've never had anyone witness it.
I've jerked awake, but my partner has stayed sleeping, so I've never known.
So it's always made me laugh the idea that if you have a bad dream or you jerk awake you immediately sit up in bed because it's tv/ film shorthand for a disturbed mind.
I've woken enough people with my nightmares to know that my flavour of them does not match tv/ film at all! No sitting up in bed. No screaming. No mumbling of words or tossing and turning. Just a low "nh-nh-nh" noise getting louder and louder. In the nightmare I am trying to scream and find myself unable, as the horror approaches me.
And, no- if you heard it you would not confuse it with a sex noise!
Eventually I wake myself up.
In the distant past I was woken up by the person I had just woken up,, if you get what I mean. These days I wake up Mum in the room next door, she thinks "Nightmare" and goes back to sleep.
I had a 5 minute session with a psychiatrist who dismissed me with, "I doubt you're depressed" but recommended to the daycare team that I stayed on my medication to reduce anxiety. Subsequent mental health specialists tweaked my medication and now I think I am as stable as any "normal" person.
I'm still a worrier, but I never had any idea how much anxiety ruled my life until I stayed on anti-depressants for long enough for them to take effect.
I still don't know exactly what I take them for, but I rarely - if ever - get the fight or flight physical reaction for non-physical reasons. Example I will not feel my stomach drop followed by nausea just because I get an unexpected letter/ Yes my finances are as rosy as they can be, but it's chicken and egg - I return phone calls and open letteres and deal with things before they grow tentacles these days.
Another example, I accept training and advice as just that. I do not go into school feeling sick to my stomach because someone pointed out a better way to do things the previous day. Constructive criticism no longer makes me physically ill.
And I have far less violent dreams :)
I do still get an adrenaline fear reaction if I trip slightly, or someone steps in front of me unexpectedly, my fingertips tingle. At its most extreme it gives me a jolt like putting the car into the wrong gear while driving - inside my head.
But even if there were a medication for that I don't think it would be worth bothering with :) It's just that so few people I know experience it. As I have said before, I am just easily spooked.
Y'know. It never occurred to me but, I take a regular medication to bring down the histamine response, which also acts as a mild sedative and can be prescribed purely as a treatment for anxiety. It's a way to short out that itch-stress-itch-stress escalation.
I do wonder if part of the reason I'm generally more stable in my moods over the past few years might be because of that medication.
Antidepressants are also prescribed to treat hot-flashes in women whose menopause is induced by chemotherapy. My friend eventually gave up and and took them and reports that they don't really work all that well for that. but she's a lot less anxious! :lol:
I didn't go to a shrink to be diagnosed with post natal depression and quite frankly, if i'd had to wait even a week to start getting the problem under control, I probably would have done serious harm to myself or my child, and that's no joke.
Yes, psychiatrists etc serve a good purpose, and I've seen shrinks before, but in some cases, the need is more urgent than their own importance.
Our jobs (or lack thereof) depress us so we need the Rx to:
1) Keep going at our soul-crushing, inhumane work place
2) Keep going at our quest for a soul-crushing, inhumane work place.
We need $$$$ so we can buy their drugs.
welcome to Utopia! it's a brave new world!!
I've had this theory that it's caused by television & advertising. Most TV shows portray a life filled with all the modern conveniences, gadgets, and fashions. The advertising during these shows is geared to cause you to think that you're a schlub if you don't buy the product being advertised. It can make you feel that if you don't live up to those standards, to that lifestyle, that you're a failure. Being a failure is so depressing.