antidepressants

[Taps]

Smalls...

Sounds like you're having a tough time. Look, what you're going through sucks...I've been there, and I have friends who've been there. A dear friend of mine tried to kill herself once, because she just couldn't get a handle on her depression. I know we're not really close, but if you want to talk about it, gimmie a call...I'll be around.

I'm no doctor, but from my experience depression is both a mental and chemical problem. The best solution for bad cases is a combination of drugs and therapy.

Therapy!?! Ack! Sounds scary, eh? You'd be surprised how many people need it...I mean really need it. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes you just can't handle things on your own. Talk to your doc about trying new anti-d's...sometimes they lose thier effectivness after a while.

Also, it may be difficult, but you should really talk to your family about it as well. Ask your parents if there's a history of depression in your family, or if either of them suffered from it.

Chemical depression sucks...it's one of the worst feelings in the world. No matter how succesful/attractive/popular someone is, they just feel worse and worse.

Oh, and I hate to preach..but you shouldn't mix booze and anti-d's. Bad idea.

Take care of yourself...and really, if you want to chat lemmie know.

 

[smallmovesal]

thanks... i've just had a lot of crap going on in the past year...

i don't want to tell my mum about some of this stuff because she worries about me enough.. i know i'll manage stuff but it's just hard.

i don't know if there's a history but my sister went through a major depression a few years ago in med school... she was in really bad shape and had to take some time off. she weighed less than 100lbs because her body was just all messed up and it took a while for her to get back to normal.

i don't know what the hell my problem is but it sure sucks.

 

[daised]

i'm in therapy, it's not as scary as people make it seem. it takes a while until you are erally close with your therapist, but when you really start to open up then you'll feel better.

 

[MoneyBags]

depression is just bullshit. you are just a miserable person. there is no chemical imbalance. your life isnt even difficult. you have it easier than most people.

 

[Test boy]

Why is it that people who got a good deal out of life are frequently depressed? You know...good looks, good health, good job etc.

 

[Test boy]

Oh yea...I almost forgot...daised, how can you be depressed for long over a rude phone call from a guy that you don't even see? You have got to toughen up I'm afraid.

 

[Taps]

Why is it that people who got a good deal out of life are frequently depressed? You know...good looks, good health, good job etc.

It's the nature of the desease. The more successful you are, the worse you feel. If you haven't experienced it, it's pretty tough to understand.

smalls...at least think about talking to your parents. Or your sister if she's a doc...hey, free medical advice, right?

 

[smallmovesal]

yeah i just talked to my sister on the phone actually...

 

[Weapon X]

Depression is most certainly not bullshit. I was a miserable fuck for most of my life and it destroyed every relationship I had. When I finally woke up anbd saw how miserable my second wife was and how I was endangering my relationship with my first son, I tried to kill myself. (This was before I owned any firearms.)
It wasn't for attention, because when I failed, I felt humiliated, and I didn't get any sympathy from anyone anyway.
[Anyone wanting to see what dpression feels like should read Stegner's Darkness Visible]
I got on anti-depressants. It relieved things enough that I was able to use my mind constructively and put things in perspective. When you are depressed, it seems that you lose the ability to keep things in perspective, and that is a huge fucking loss. Loading the dishwasher would bring me to tears, and dn't try to tell me taht was because I lacked self-discipline or wanted to be miserable.

Because I am on mds, I am able to be insanely happy with my third wife and second son. We have ups and downs; I am not an emotionless zombie. Sometimes I get sad, but it's not debilitating.
For instance, there is a 75% chance that I will lose my job this week. This disturbs me and I feel an appropriate amount of anxiety, but I am not reduced to tears and involuntary inaction.
Since I don't like being on meds, every so often I will "test" whether I still need them by reducing my dosage or going off them. Well, I do still need them, though I despise needing them.

Believe me, nobody would feel this way of their own volition.
If you are comparing sadness to depression, you're comparing the flu to cancer, man.

Peace,
Weapon X

 

[musclebrains]

Smalls: As a clinician, I can tell you that the nightmares are probably transitory, if you recently began the Effexor. It's a classic side effect of nearly all the antideps.

Effexor is not always prescribed alone when depression is diagnosed, by the way. I am curious to know if the drug was prescribed by a GP or a psychiatrist, if you fully described your depression, etc.

You are describing more than the average reactive depression, but a deepening depression that's occurred over time. So you are right to consider meds. But Taps is right in suggesting you combine them with therapy. If you don't have access to a therapist, people are right to tell you that you should talk to SOMEONE. Depression tends to feed on itself. The less you talk about what's going on, the more isolated you become in your despondency.

My own practice is unusual -- limited to artists, including writers, musicians, etc. I am very interested that you decided against an artist's carreer, that you were abused by the nazi in your dept. I am wondering if you have continued to make art. The production of images is the usual way artists work out their process. If you've interrupted that, it wouldn't help.