Too blue for you?

^
what he said.

only I'm still on the downside

i just cheer u up here. that's what i can do for now. and send you a big warm hug with my strong pecs for you to stay for a while as long as you need (if not offensive).

i normally go for;
ice cream
reading
running/swimming/exercise
crying if it's too much for me
going out with friend(s)
drinking (alone or with friends) - the last thing i will choose if no way out
the new choice to go for for me is LPSG ;)

i love to hug a pup (or even big dog), so you are in my arms now.

OMFG!

Who put you on that? Everything my friend has told me about her experiences with it and the experiences of others who've been on it screams "Cure worse than the illness!".

I wouldn't even tell you to try to get off it at this point (unless it's a brand new thing for you) because the hell she has described of the years she's spent trying to recover from it.

"I still feel like my brain is being zapped with an electrical wire."

Here's another person's experience. Antidepressants and the People Who Take Them

Psychiatric drugs scare the crap out of me.

Antidepressants are a mixed bag. Effexor has saved many people's lives. Unfortunately, it's trial and error for most ilnesses involving the brain. If Effexor works for NJQT, that's all that's important for her-- the rest is just fearmongering. Questioning her medication is best left up to her and to her physicians.



The discontinuation syndrome from antidepressants is well known now, but it wasn't for a long time. I'm glad clinicians are finally recognizing it. I've been through it, and though it royally sucks, you get through it. There are a lot of ways to ease the discontinuation syndrome, including weaning with or without other medications. Every medication in our pharmacological arsenal has side effects and potentially lethal and/or uncomfortable risks. You always have to do a risk/benefit analysis and do it with the best information you have on hand.

What scares the crap out of me is knowing that it's only within the last 75 years that we've had much success in treating mental illness. It scares me and saddens me that my grandfather lived most of his life in emotional agony because there was no good treatment for what was wrong with him. It makes me weep to think that millions of people missed out on having fuller, more productive lives because there was nothing that successfully treated mental illness. It scares me thinking about a world where psychiatric medication is not available. Psychiatry is a new field and there are always going to be mistakes made and things that aren't properly understood. How the brain works is the final frontier in medicine. The fact that there is anything available to help people from suffering is better than there being nothing.


If you're scared of them but want to learn, do more reading about psychiatry and how medication works. I'd recommend An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison as a good place to start if you're wondering about how mental illness works and what medication does (and doesn't do). She's a stellar example of someone who wouldn't have made it without lithium, and her story helped me understand why taking the risks that come with being medicated is so important.

blues? depression? what blues? what depression?

sorry I can't be any help here ... too busy taking life as it comes ... who has the time?

I jack off a lot... preferably with hot guys!

You'll feel better if you have sex with a Georgia Peach.

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Originally Posted by Gillette Quote: OMFG! Who put you on that? A board certified psychiatrist with 20 years of experience.

[quote=Gillette;1393342]

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Everything my friend has told me about her experiences with it and the experiences of others who've been on it screams "Cure worse than the illness!"

I have never heard of people having problems while on it. Just those idiots who stop taking it abruptly, cause they feel better. I know there are severe withdrawl symptoms when use is stopped abruptly.

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I wouldn't even tell you to try to get off it at this point (unless it's a brand new thing for you)

Nope, been on it since spring 2005. As much as I love LPSG I am not inclined to take seriously medical advice given here.

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because the hell she has described of the years she's spent trying to recover from it. "I still feel like my brain is being zapped with an electrical wire."

Yikes! That does sound horrible! I'm sorry your friend went thru that. I hope she soon finds a treatment which works.

Quote:

Here's another person's experience. Antidepressants and the People Who Take Them

Thanks for sharing but I am not reading that. Perhaps it will help someone else though.

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Psychiatric drugs scare the crap out of me.

Then it's a good thing you don't need them. However, as someone who has been on a variety of anti-depressants since 1999 I can tell you Effexor XR is a blessing for me. It literally was the only thing that got me out of bed.

You have to realise that depression is a normal state of mind and not a mental illness anybody who is not depressed is clearly delusional.
You shouldn't be taking drugs when you feel sad you should take them when you are happy. Happiness is clearly a mental illness and anybody suffering from this illness should seek treatment immediately, maybe you could start by reading my stuff on here that would be a start.

In the UK these days, for mild depression, instead of pills, they're recommending that doctors prescribe exercise as that has a longer-lasting effect and fewer side effects. I'm not talking serious heavy gym sessions, just things like walking, swimming and cycling - preferably in the countryside or failing that, in a park, or anywhere you're surrounded by greenery. Other things which are meant to be really good for you are joining dance classes or social groups.

A study a few years ago showed that, of all things, Scottish country dancing was meant to be one of the things that helped people's mood the most. It's good exercise, gives you quite a high level of social interaction and teamwork with a group of other people, takes a lot of concentration, so you're exercising your mind and also helps to improve coordination. Another good one is salsa, which has the added benefit of giving you a great ab workout.

One of the major factors in depression seems to be a sense of loneliness and being left out while everyone else is enjoying their life. I think the best thing you can do is to find an activity you enjoy which you can share with other people. It's even better if it's something that boosts your adrenaline.

I must admit I always feel better after a good badminton match. I also seem to play better if I've had a bad day at work. I take out all my frustrations on the court. My sister's outlet is bread. I know that if she's had a bad day, the best time to visit her is early evening when she's just taken a fresh loaf out of the oven. She batters that dough within an inch of its life and at the end of it all, she's made something which brings pleasure to her and anyone else who's lucky enough to be there before it's all eaten. I know that both of these things are more about stress relief, but some of the principles involved are similar. It's hard to feel down when you're eating some delicious fresh home-made bread or sharing a victory with your team-mates or just have the satisfaction of having done something which has made other people happy.

Actually, another thing which can lift your mood, especially at this time of year in the northern hemisphere, is to have a couple of short tanning sessions. It's amazing what a little exposure to UV light does for you - so long as you don't overdo it and end uplooking like your grandad's old brown leather slippers.

All the advice so far sounds good. I will add that for me helping someone else makes me feel better about my situation in life. Sometimes seeing that other people have problems too and maybe being able to help them a little is balm for the soul.

Joining an organization like BigBrothersBigSisters or if you don't want to commit even just volunteering at a homeless shelter can be very therapeutic. Retirement homes are full of people who would love someone to just take the time to sit and visit them. Do some volunteer work.

There are a lot of opportunities to help someone else and help yourself at the same time. You might meet some new people and sometimes just having some fresh faces around can add a whole new dimension to life.

I know it's hard to even think of getting out and meeting new people sometimes but it can give you a new outlook on life. And you never know, when you are not looking for something that's when you find it. You are a wonderful caring person Pup, with a lot to give. Give some of yourself to your community.

I wouldn't disagree with other peoples choice of being on medication for depression but it didn't work for me. I was on Zoloft for two years, I didn't have the low's but I didn't have the high's either. I was like a walking zombie, just existing. Not a good way to live, to me.

Now come here and let me give you a hug and scratch your belly and no lipstick!

lol, Ok

Actually, I forgot about this: Although I'm usually very skeptical about herbal supplements, many large trials and clinical studies have supported St. John's Wort's efficacy at improving mood in cases of mild depression (so-called sub-clinical depression -- as in a depression that doesn't satisfy enough DSM-IV criteria to meet the threshold for clinical depression). However, MAKE CERTAIN you check with your doctor before taking St. John's Wort -- it's a good idea for any supplement, but ESP. St. John's Wort, which has been shown to interact with a long list of prescription medications.

And, by the way, we should probably clarify terms here: Ordinary sadness (i.e., reactions to life's shortcomings, even the tragic and overwhelming such as the death of a love one) is NOT classified as depression. Sadness is a perfectly rational and expected response to tragedy and failure, and our psyche needs to feel that pain in order to make sense of the situation.

Depression is sadness -- and, as it happens to me, the absence of sadness, and all emotion -- that far outweighs the severity of the triggering event or, in my case, occurs in the absence of a triggering event.

I really don't give much of a shit what other people think, but in consideration for others who may be (justifiably) upset about anonymous strangers chastizing them for their theraputic, prescription drug treatments, please judge not pharmaceutical interventions unless ye've had the experience of clinical depression W/O intervention.

(And, Snoozan -- good point. My grandfathers on BOTH sides suffered from debilitating, clinical depression, yet slogged through every workday, feeding their families and putting away investments that are still paying off today. I can't think of anything more excruciating, and I just realized how much more respect I should have for them than I already do.)

to beat back the blues I dive into art or new experience.

Great literature, theatre, cinema, music, poetry sculpture painting, dance....

Nothing fills me with more inspiration and joy than the to see the creative eloquence with which humans beings can express the most profound and meaningful insights.

And it brings you into the realization how much in alignment your feelings are with the whole host of humanity that preceded and is contemporaneous to you.


OR... I shoot for New and novel experiences... go someplace I have never been, learn a skill I have never had...try something I never dared...

Took a high performance driving class recently... never done that before...
it was frightening, thrilling, enlightening....


Sadness is usually a sign that, on a deep level, you feel that you are not living enough.
And the more you think about yourself, the sadder you will be.


Henry Miller wrote:
"Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. "

My friend, That is so true. soul wrenching , yes, it can get that bad. I wonder if everyone is a bit bipolar, or has a touch of it.

Spoken like a true veteran of being crazy. Honestly I'm not sure that he was ever mentally ill, but that's something like what I do when I get into my work.