Treating Depression

Off Topic
42

[quote]Carnage wrote:
1/ Get a health check-up. First you need to know if there are medical problems that could cause your depression.

2/ Sleep: Go to sleep at regular times and get up at regular times. Don’t sweat it if you think you’re not getting enough sleep. But… if you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes get out of your bed and do something boring, but NO screen time (no tv, no pc). If you stay in bed and ruminate all night long, chances are that your bedroom will become a negative valued stimulus (bedroom = rumination = not feeling good).

3/ Eating: Eat at regular times. Get something in your system. If eating is difficult, then start with two meals a day, with one being something warm. Drink enough water! Try to build up from there.

4/ Get outside for at least 15 - 30 minutes. Doesn’t matter what you do. Take a walk, get on a bike. Make it a habit. Do this at regular times.

5/ Divide your activities into 2 categories: leisure (L) vs need-to-do (D). It doesn’t need to be something big. Pick one of each category and do them that day. No more no less. The name of the game is SMART-goals, standing for specific, measureable, agreeable, realistic, time-bound goals. Like vacuuming the living room (D), or a short walk in the park (L), getting groceries (D). Build up from there. This is behavioral activiation.

6/ Don’t make the mistake of thinking you should feel a certain way before you can do something. Like I don’t feel like… this is a trick of the mind and a lot of people fall into this. But don’t be too hard for yourself. Just when you notice this, treat yourself like your best friend does: comfort yourself and gently pick yourself back up.

7/ Observe your feelings and your thoughts, but see them for what they are, just products of your mind. They are not real, but don’t expect that you can change them, or to try to think differently. That doesn’t work in the long run. This is where practicing mindfulness can be very useful.

The only choice you have is acting upon your thoughts and feelings or acting upon what you see as valuable.

8/ Reach out! It’s a good thing that you’re posting on this boards. Keep contact with your peers.

9/ Get into therapy, preferably Behavioral Therapy. Look in to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

In essence: DO something everyday, do something you don’t feel like doing.
[/quote]

Good post.

43

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients…

The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others…

The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]

No need to be so black and white. Don’t simply dismiss that some people got better with the help of meds and only focus on the cases where it didn’t (including your own).

44

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:

Oh and EmilyQ, I’m actually making progress on going 12x a week actually, no need to worry about a hernia :slight_smile: [/quote]

Ha! Good. I’m not genuinely worried, in case that didn’t come through. Just thought it was an analogous worry. YES, meds and weightlifting CAN be dangerous, but they are NOT in the majority of cases.

Chushin, I work, as you know, with kids, so there is a lot of support. Maybe I’m out of touch with the adult experience.

OP, mind Chushin’s excellent advice.

45

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients…

The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others…

The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]

No need to be so black and white. Don’t simply dismiss that some people got better with the help of meds and only focus on the cases where it didn’t (including your own).[/quote]

Sorry its not that I am close minded I am aware it helps some people I just try to make people more aware that there are alternatives that deliver great results, and regardless of the med it is only a mask of symptoms so in most cases if those people ever want to get off them then behavioral therapy is a usual need. I just have a disagreeance with medication itself nothing to do with the people that make or prescribe it.

46

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
Medication along with counseling is shown to be more effective than either alone. Not all men have difficulty with side effects on mild antidepressants, and many find sex better with medication because of improvements in mood and energy levels. Maybe medication is for you and maybe it’s not, but it’s not something to be feared. Wishing to be dead before morning, on the other hand, IS something to fear.

I get really irritated with knee-jerk reactions. Talk to a doctor (general practice, psychiatric, whatever). See what they think. If you decide to take something and have side-effects, stop taking it and try something else. But it’s silly to jump at shadows, and even sillier to contort yourself looking for “natural” remedies. It’s all the same, chemicals derived from various places. Difference is, some of it has been tested for efficacy and safety and some of it has not.[/quote]

Have you ever personally been on any high doses of medication? You don’t realize how much the side effects can effect someone until you experience it yourself… There are also sometimes permanent problems even after the medication is completely out of the system… SSRI Post sexual dysfunction is a problem for many as an example… There are changes in mood patterns, behaviors, and blocked chemicals of the brain when you introduce a substance that is above normal regulation levels of the body there is going to be an adverse effect one way or the other… Plus getting off medication is a nightmare in and of itself… I suggested other forms of therapy to the OP because I have had dealt with the adverse side effects of medication many times myself especially coming of them… I’ll mention this again for anyone looking into getting medication for mood imbalances… Try you’re best with cognitive behavioral therapy first… I recommended Dr. David Burns “Feel Good” because it is literally prescribed to patients before alot of doctors even consider using medication… Its cheap and definitely worth at least giving a chance… As well as the Power of Now… It is about bringing yourself into the present moment and stops the incessent chatter of the mind, just like OP said about the gym to stop thinking… Well when you are present there is no stream of thought running… It is also important to apply Unconditional acceptance and to allow yourself to feel whatever it is fully and be present with it… Running away from those scary feelings and medicating does not answer the right path to recovery.

As human beings we chase pleasure and avoid pain, we try to make those negative dark emotions go away and we fight them… That does not work… You need paradox so that is why you must allow yourself to feel those emotions fully and without fear and not judge them… Just see it as an overlying emotion and it is what it is for that moment.
[/quote]

My assumption would be that the OP would start on a low dose of mild anti-depressant, if he took that route. In a risk/benefit analysis I rank constant suicidal ideation slightly higher than the very remote risk of sexual dysfunction after discontinuing a medication.

“High doses of medication” is not what I recommended, and in fact did not suggest that medication is the solution for OP. I merely state that in my opinion, medication is not the devil and it’s silly to Chicken Little about it to someone who is expressing major depressive symptoms, which include thoughts of - and longing for - death. Does anyone ask what the OP is doing at the gym 12 times a week? I suspect there is danger in hitting the gym more than once a day as well. Perhaps we should all be saying “beware the life-threatening inguinal hernia!”

Chushin, yes, ADs should be titrated both on and off, though I again note that we don’t know that OP would have more than a very low dose, which for many people does not require titration. But doctors handle that all the time and we’re not in here prescribing, so I don’t see a need to give the “black box warnings.” Just saying let’s not rule out a possible effective avenue of treatment.[/quote]

I understand Emily did not mean to offend, You are correct in that it is important to address these issues but I only mean that medication even a low dose is not needed… thoughts of suicide are pretty common in anxiety and depression cases but that does not mean someone is carrying out the steps to do it, medication does also have side effects of suicidal behavior and thoughts as well though… In fact thoughts in themselve mean nothing they are just brought on from habit or an exhausted mental state… He can handle and recover if he faces it head on with unconditional acceptance and allow himself to be as the moment is… nothing needed but awareness of what is, by gaining awareness he can literally rewire the brain and break the negative vicious cycle.

Meds are just a band aid of symptoms but it does not make the mental state vanish it just covers things up and leaves you foggy.
[/quote]

Yeah just love yourself and be in the moment, that’s all you need to stop wanting to hang yourself so much.

Those PET scans showing antidepressents curing depression really just show ppl becoming fuzzy.

I understand feeling frustrated when gps immediately hand out antidepressents for the most minimal of depression cases, but saying meds just make you fuzzy is so ignorant its almost criminal.[/quote]

I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients… The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others… The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]
Being a patient does not make you an expert that actually takes going to school and becoming a physician. Your experience is just that YOURS, giving advice while your right does not make you in any way shape or form knowledgeable or accurate.

47

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]Carnage wrote:
1/ Get a health check-up. First you need to know if there are medical problems that could cause your depression.

2/ Sleep: Go to sleep at regular times and get up at regular times. Don’t sweat it if you think you’re not getting enough sleep. But… if you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes get out of your bed and do something boring, but NO screen time (no tv, no pc). If you stay in bed and ruminate all night long, chances are that your bedroom will become a negative valued stimulus (bedroom = rumination = not feeling good).

3/ Eating: Eat at regular times. Get something in your system. If eating is difficult, then start with two meals a day, with one being something warm. Drink enough water! Try to build up from there.

4/ Get outside for at least 15 - 30 minutes. Doesn’t matter what you do. Take a walk, get on a bike. Make it a habit. Do this at regular times.

5/ Divide your activities into 2 categories: leisure (L) vs need-to-do (D). It doesn’t need to be something big. Pick one of each category and do them that day. No more no less. The name of the game is SMART-goals, standing for specific, measureable, agreeable, realistic, time-bound goals. Like vacuuming the living room (D), or a short walk in the park (L), getting groceries (D). Build up from there. This is behavioral activiation.

6/ Don’t make the mistake of thinking you should feel a certain way before you can do something. Like I don’t feel like… this is a trick of the mind and a lot of people fall into this. But don’t be too hard for yourself. Just when you notice this, treat yourself like your best friend does: comfort yourself and gently pick yourself back up.

7/ Observe your feelings and your thoughts, but see them for what they are, just products of your mind. They are not real, but don’t expect that you can change them, or to try to think differently. That doesn’t work in the long run. This is where practicing mindfulness can be very useful.

The only choice you have is acting upon your thoughts and feelings or acting upon what you see as valuable.

8/ Reach out! It’s a good thing that you’re posting on this boards. Keep contact with your peers.

9/ Get into therapy, preferably Behavioral Therapy. Look in to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

In essence: DO something everyday, do something you don’t feel like doing.
[/quote]

Good post.[/quote]

Thanks! I do this for a living :wink:

48

I had similar albeit mild feelings and the first thing that came to mind was to get my testosterone levels checked. Mine were right on the bottom of the scale, they wouldn’t do anything about it (TRT etc) because I was still within their range of normal even though I was in the bottom 1% of acceptable levels in a man my age.

A lot of the signs of depression are similar to those of low t, just a thought…

49

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients…

The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others…

The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]

No need to be so black and white. Don’t simply dismiss that some people got better with the help of meds and only focus on the cases where it didn’t (including your own).[/quote]

Sorry its not that I am close minded I am aware it helps some people I just try to make people more aware that there are alternatives that deliver great results, and regardless of the med it is only a mask of symptoms so in most cases if those people ever want to get off them then behavioral therapy is a usual need. I just have a disagreeance with medication itself nothing to do with the people that make or prescribe it. [/quote]

I tend to agree. Medication can be helpfull, but in a lot of cases just in the short run. For a lot of AD’s research doesn’t really understand yet how they work exactly, just that they sometimes do. Also there are a lot of interindividual differences within the (side)effects of a specific AD. Regarding ADs, they should not be addictive on a physical level as opposed to anti anxiety pills (benzodiazepines), which means there shouldn’t be any physical withdrawal effects when you stop using them. But on a psychological level they can become addictive (thinking you need medication to feel better). I think of ADs as a possible push in the back that can lessen some of the depressive symptoms. The effects of ADs can be described as being able to see things more relatively. With anti-anxiety meds, I tend to advice to stop them because they really could hinder progression in therapy.

Psychological flexibility, as in leaving thoughts and feelings for what they are and act upon one’s personal values, is in itself one of the most valuable things a human can learn. That doesn’t mean that thoughts and feelings are irrelevant though (like feeling fear when there is actual danger). But the more you try to avoid negative thoughts and feelings, by drinking, ruminating, trying to think positive, self medicating, social avoidance, compulsions,… the higher the risk of feeling stuck.

Problem is that in today’s society everyone should feel happy, happiness is being seen as the normal state of mind, which it really isn’t. Positive and negative emotions are part of life and under influence of many many external factors. So to try to control it is fighting a losing battle. The only thing you can really rely on and in my opinion is key in therapy is your behavior and what you’re trying to avoid while doing it. In a lot of cases depression is caused by avoidant behavior, sometimes it’s obvious what one tries to avoid, sometimes it’s not. This is where therapy comes in.

50

Don’t listen to anyone who hasn’t been in your shoes.

First, go read Darkness Visible by WIlliam Styron. You need to know you’re not the first person to go through this shit. It’s short; like 100 pages.

Then realize something has to change; you have to change. And that is the hardest thing for a person to do. You are fortunate that you’ve never been to a shrink, never taken medication. These are “first” steps, but could be enough to shake things up. If you are absolutely opposed to “professional” assistance…well, then try something else (you won’t get “well” by a method you are resistant to…but you will have to “surrender” to something). Some sort of retreat might be helpful if you have the time.

Otherwise, you had better find God or a bodacious bitty.

Feel free to message me. I am actually going through something similar (twice a day workouts, irrepressible thought hemorrhages, hopeless dreams of relief) and, although I do see a psychiatrist and am on medication, I am unequivocally opposed to “rehab” programs.

52

[quote]Chushin wrote:

[quote]Carnage wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]infinite_shore wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients…

The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others…

The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]

No need to be so black and white. Don’t simply dismiss that some people got better with the help of meds and only focus on the cases where it didn’t (including your own).[/quote]

Sorry its not that I am close minded I am aware it helps some people I just try to make people more aware that there are alternatives that deliver great results, and regardless of the med it is only a mask of symptoms so in most cases if those people ever want to get off them then behavioral therapy is a usual need. I just have a disagreeance with medication itself nothing to do with the people that make or prescribe it. [/quote]

I tend to agree. Medication can be helpfull, but in a lot of cases just in the short run. For a lot of AD’s research doesn’t really understand yet how they work exactly, just that they sometimes do. Also there are a lot of interindividual differences within the (side)effects of a specific AD. Regarding ADs, they should not be addictive on a physical level as opposed to anti anxiety pills (benzodiazepines), which means there shouldn’t be any physical withdrawal effects when you stop using them. But on a psychological level they can become addictive (thinking you need medication to feel better). .[/quote]

No offense, but this is at best a simplistic statement and at worst a downright wrong one.

While technically the use of “addictive” has been avoided with SSRIs, there is absolutely no question that changes in dosage and / or stoppage of them can result in a variety of very real, physical symptoms that relate to the body’s neurological system.

[/quote]

Definitely does have an effect but just not addictve in the sense that xanax or alcholol is… However obviously serotonin withdrawal is a very, very, real phenemona. I am still having sexual side effects post medication after months…

53

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:

[quote]cstratton2 wrote:

[quote]EmilyQ wrote:
Medication along with counseling is shown to be more effective than either alone. Not all men have difficulty with side effects on mild antidepressants, and many find sex better with medication because of improvements in mood and energy levels. Maybe medication is for you and maybe it’s not, but it’s not something to be feared. Wishing to be dead before morning, on the other hand, IS something to fear.

I get really irritated with knee-jerk reactions. Talk to a doctor (general practice, psychiatric, whatever). See what they think. If you decide to take something and have side-effects, stop taking it and try something else. But it’s silly to jump at shadows, and even sillier to contort yourself looking for “natural” remedies. It’s all the same, chemicals derived from various places. Difference is, some of it has been tested for efficacy and safety and some of it has not.[/quote]

Have you ever personally been on any high doses of medication? You don’t realize how much the side effects can effect someone until you experience it yourself… There are also sometimes permanent problems even after the medication is completely out of the system… SSRI Post sexual dysfunction is a problem for many as an example… There are changes in mood patterns, behaviors, and blocked chemicals of the brain when you introduce a substance that is above normal regulation levels of the body there is going to be an adverse effect one way or the other… Plus getting off medication is a nightmare in and of itself… I suggested other forms of therapy to the OP because I have had dealt with the adverse side effects of medication many times myself especially coming of them… I’ll mention this again for anyone looking into getting medication for mood imbalances… Try you’re best with cognitive behavioral therapy first… I recommended Dr. David Burns “Feel Good” because it is literally prescribed to patients before alot of doctors even consider using medication… Its cheap and definitely worth at least giving a chance… As well as the Power of Now… It is about bringing yourself into the present moment and stops the incessent chatter of the mind, just like OP said about the gym to stop thinking… Well when you are present there is no stream of thought running… It is also important to apply Unconditional acceptance and to allow yourself to feel whatever it is fully and be present with it… Running away from those scary feelings and medicating does not answer the right path to recovery.

As human beings we chase pleasure and avoid pain, we try to make those negative dark emotions go away and we fight them… That does not work… You need paradox so that is why you must allow yourself to feel those emotions fully and without fear and not judge them… Just see it as an overlying emotion and it is what it is for that moment.
[/quote]

My assumption would be that the OP would start on a low dose of mild anti-depressant, if he took that route. In a risk/benefit analysis I rank constant suicidal ideation slightly higher than the very remote risk of sexual dysfunction after discontinuing a medication.

“High doses of medication” is not what I recommended, and in fact did not suggest that medication is the solution for OP. I merely state that in my opinion, medication is not the devil and it’s silly to Chicken Little about it to someone who is expressing major depressive symptoms, which include thoughts of - and longing for - death. Does anyone ask what the OP is doing at the gym 12 times a week? I suspect there is danger in hitting the gym more than once a day as well. Perhaps we should all be saying “beware the life-threatening inguinal hernia!”

Chushin, yes, ADs should be titrated both on and off, though I again note that we don’t know that OP would have more than a very low dose, which for many people does not require titration. But doctors handle that all the time and we’re not in here prescribing, so I don’t see a need to give the “black box warnings.” Just saying let’s not rule out a possible effective avenue of treatment.[/quote]

I understand Emily did not mean to offend, You are correct in that it is important to address these issues but I only mean that medication even a low dose is not needed… thoughts of suicide are pretty common in anxiety and depression cases but that does not mean someone is carrying out the steps to do it, medication does also have side effects of suicidal behavior and thoughts as well though… In fact thoughts in themselve mean nothing they are just brought on from habit or an exhausted mental state… He can handle and recover if he faces it head on with unconditional acceptance and allow himself to be as the moment is… nothing needed but awareness of what is, by gaining awareness he can literally rewire the brain and break the negative vicious cycle.

Meds are just a band aid of symptoms but it does not make the mental state vanish it just covers things up and leaves you foggy.
[/quote]

Yeah just love yourself and be in the moment, that’s all you need to stop wanting to hang yourself so much.

Those PET scans showing antidepressents curing depression really just show ppl becoming fuzzy.

I understand feeling frustrated when gps immediately hand out antidepressents for the most minimal of depression cases, but saying meds just make you fuzzy is so ignorant its almost criminal.[/quote]

I am far from ignorant my friend… I was put on three different medications to treat myself before I speak from expirence… I was on Ativan, celexa, and a nuerontin anti convulsants… I had crippling anxiety; emotion numbing De personalization, and feelings of depression as well… Those “scans” are not proof of anything nobody truly understands how the brain works and medication only works in about 40% of patients… The placebo effect alone can cause on to feel better… Yeah I am well aware of how severe symptoms are, I’ve had plenty myself… But medication does not cure a person, it I discussed in many different books such as Dr Harry Barry of Ireland, Dr David Burns, Some others I have read before… There is a section in “when panic attacks” that disusses the issue with medication… The chapter is called placebo nation… He is a specialist in mood disorders from Pennsylvania and has been treating patients since the seventys, Dr Victor Frankl also discusses medication issues in his book, as well as plenty others… The issue is you have pharmaceutical companies making billions of these drugs so it’s no wonder it’s still so widely prescribed… I have seen plenty of those dark days myself so it’s not like I’m speaking out of ignorance… But I fully recovered and it wasn’t that meds that did it, it was an internal shift of consciences, will power, and perserverance. The two most powerful tools I used were unconditional acceptance and surrender. [/quote]
Being a patient does not make you an expert that actually takes going to school and becoming a physician. Your experience is just that YOURS, giving advice while your right does not make you in any way shape or form knowledgeable or accurate. [/quote]

Yes you are right I am not knowledgeable in the sense that a doctor may be, I am only mentioning working alternatives and opening medication awareness from professional well documented sources.

54

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
So getting right to the point:

I feel like shit, I have no ‘vitality’ and I go to sleep of a night hoping I don’t wake up the next morning. I know have plenty to live for, I’m in good health, smart, relatively good looking I guess, but I just can’t shake this feeling of emptiness I’ve had for the last 6 months or so.

Does anyone have any advice for getting over this sort of thing? I feel that it would be a bit of a dramatic step to go see a psychiatrist.

P.S. I still go to the gym, 12 times a week lately, mostly because I can shut my brain off and not think about anything.
[/quote]

There is that saying a “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I like to shorten it, at times “a mind is a terrible thing.”

I feel for you, and hope you get on the right track, unless you have been through it, no one could explain the despair an individual can go through with mental and emotional illness. Always misunderstood, often marginalized and always stigmatized.

I have dealt with depression and OCD for almost 20 years and have at times felt like an absolute lab rat with the amount of meds I have taken. I will concede that what got me out of my abyss was the combo of psycho therapy and meds.

Medication is a very, very difficult issue for me because while they helped I have been on them for so long I am terrified to go off of them for the fear of losing myself and family once again.

See a professional therapist and psychiatrist, do not go to a GP, as I did a long time ago and was prescribed Welbutrin and it led me into a pysch ward for a little while. As you can read that Welbutrin may effect someone better than others, I am living proof of that, it led me into a mania that could of ended horribly wrong.

You need to listen to other peoples journey but not follow it, while many of us have had similar issues no one has your issues specifically. Get help, understand your warning signs and triggers. Understand and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, don’t lose hope. Good luck brother

55

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
I’ll try the vitamin D thing for a couple weeks (fuck british weather) as well as trying to balance out my diet a bit more, if things don’t get better I’ll go see someone.
[/quote]

What kind of work do you do? How old are you? Do you have any addictions?

Is this a situational depression: loss of companion, friend, job, financial, family related problems? This list is of things that can change.

Eat healthy.

Have you had lab/blood work done to see where hormones are?

Answer us. Don’t make us come over there.

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So this is corny as hell… But as depressed as I was/am, this is still something that might make me feel better even if only briefly. I watched this over and over when I was going through xanax withdrawals cold turkey and couldn’t stop thinking about ending my life. Its what keeps me going…reminds me that its all worth it and to never give up. Best of luck man. (this is the best movie ever btw I dont care what any of you say!)

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[quote]E901 wrote:
So this is corny as hell… But as depressed as I was/am, this is still something that might make me feel better even if only briefly. I watched this over and over when I was going through xanax withdrawals cold turkey and couldn’t stop thinking about ending my life. [/quote]

Yeah and this too.

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[quote]conservativedog wrote:

[quote]E901 wrote:
So this is corny as hell… But as depressed as I was/am, this is still something that might make me feel better even if only briefly. I watched this over and over when I was going through xanax withdrawals cold turkey and couldn’t stop thinking about ending my life. [/quote]

Yeah and this too.[/quote]

lmao that too

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Im depressed

But in the cool self destructive way…

I drink absinthe from pussies to treat my symptoms.

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[quote]MattyXL wrote:

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
So getting right to the point:

I feel like shit, I have no ‘vitality’ and I go to sleep of a night hoping I don’t wake up the next morning. I know have plenty to live for, I’m in good health, smart, relatively good looking I guess, but I just can’t shake this feeling of emptiness I’ve had for the last 6 months or so.

Does anyone have any advice for getting over this sort of thing? I feel that it would be a bit of a dramatic step to go see a psychiatrist.

P.S. I still go to the gym, 12 times a week lately, mostly because I can shut my brain off and not think about anything.
[/quote]

There is that saying a “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I like to shorten it, at times “a mind is a terrible thing.”

I feel for you, and hope you get on the right track, unless you have been through it, no one could explain the despair an individual can go through with mental and emotional illness. Always misunderstood, often marginalized and always stigmatized.

I have dealt with depression and OCD for almost 20 years and have at times felt like an absolute lab rat with the amount of meds I have taken. I will concede that what got me out of my abyss was the combo of psycho therapy and meds.

Medication is a very, very difficult issue for me because while they helped I have been on them for so long I am terrified to go off of them for the fear of losing myself and family once again.

See a professional therapist and psychiatrist, do not go to a GP, as I did a long time ago and was prescribed Welbutrin and it led me into a pysch ward for a little while. As you can read that Welbutrin may effect someone better than others, I am living proof of that, it led me into a mania that could of ended horribly wrong.

You need to listen to other peoples journey but not follow it, while many of us have had similar issues no one has your issues specifically. Get help, understand your warning signs and triggers. Understand and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, don’t lose hope. Good luck brother[/quote]

Hmmm… that’s why doctors asked 4 or 5 times in different ways if I’ve ever had symptoms of mania before prescribing me wellbutrin.