Absolutely agree. It's worth keeping in mind that antidepressants dont work like an instant high, so if you do play with them you're just gonna end up with a whole load of nasty side effects with no fun stuff. Kinda pointless really..... Suffered from depression for a number of years now, still on the tablets. I would recommend alternative therapies such as councelling, hypnotherapy etc before attempting the medication. However, if you do reach the point where you've talked yourself out and nothing helps, dont be ashamed to say 'I cant do this on my own' and get medical help. There can be a lot of stigma attached to taking anti-depressants, people think you've failed and just need a kick up the bum, or that you've signed yourself up for a lifetime of harmful medication. When you get to the antidepressant stage, nothing else works, you've tried it. People say 'its a crutch, its bad', but if someone has a broken leg, they dont kick away your stick and say 'its a crutch, its bad'. Antidepressants are a temporary measure to stabilise your brain chemistry to the stage where you can cope on your own. Whatever the reason to start with, when you get to the stage where you have been down for so long that the levels of chemicals like serotonin can no longer regulate themselves properly, you need help. However, the side effects can be as unpleasant as the symptoms and efficacy of treatment is very variable. The one thing I would say very strongly is that once you have started a treatment that is working for you, DONT say 'I feel fine, I dont need these any more' and stop. I've seen too many of my friends yoyo from confident highs to comatose lows in days that way. If its working, great, consult your doctor and reduce the dose, but dont ditch the medication without appropriate advice. Antidepressants are built to work gradually over a period of time. There are no quick fixes. If you come off them cold turkey you get a whole array of nasty side effects as well as the fact that your brain has got used to being dependent (lets not kid ourselves here, it is a dependancy) and is now in withdrawl. The only way to come off the medication safely once its helped you is to do it gradually, giving your body time to get used to the idea of producing these chemicals itself. I've heard mixed reviews about St John's Wort, it does seem to work for some people, but dont ditch your medication if its working just because you think its a quick fix. The most important thing to remember is that you're not alone. One of the worst things about depression is the isolation that you feel from your friends and family, who love you but just dont understand that you cant leave the house, no, there isnt anything specifically wrong but you just feel the need to sit on the bathroom floor and cry all day.... We are here, and we understand.... Take care x
Some of the greatest minds and bodies were victims of depression. Ernest Hemingway, not only a fabulous writer but apparently ruthless boxer, was also a victim of depression.
aw come on, that's just mean physical exercise helps, I find. Especially HARD stuff like pullups and handstand pushups.
Massive quantities of alcohol and really sad music......actually no, thats what gets me depressed, no that I drink too much, really.......spirituality is something that hasn't been mentioned much. Might be something that works for you.
i never liked sitting in the bathroom and crying.. too cold. i just used to sleep to block everything out. only mentione St johns wort cause everyone raves about it.. but i'm on birth control and it messes with that so i stick to my regulation doctor aproved drugs
how to practice "the way to a meanigful life" by his holiness the dalai lama. hey i just started reading this book and all i can say is whoa. regardless if your buddhist or not, his point is that people of all religions should work to cause no harm or suffering in their actions and live a happy life without pain. so its a good guide to happiness
heh i do the sleep thing instead too I've tryed st. johns wort before and it didnt do a thing. apparently it has a slightly more powerful effect than placebo so i wouldnt expect it to work in clinical depression
It takes 4 weeks before any anti depressent (including st johns wort) to begin to take effect, did you try it for that long? It has been found as effective as perscribed anti depressents for mild to modarate depression, and without the side effects. It can be used for other ailmants aswell, it can lift your mood, lower temperatures caused by fevers, boost your immune system and aleive some symptoms caused by colds and influenza. It has also proven effective in alleviating pain caused by burns. Some people have found it helps them give up smoking but no clinical trials have been carried out. If you take to much of it, it can result in photosensitivity (eyes becoming overly senstive to light) but those are rare cases. When used in conjunction with Ginko Biloba trials have found it boosted memory and lifted mood, with significant better results when compared to a placebo set of pills.
Depression can arise following difficult life events or just appear out of the blue. In either case it is treatable, SSRI based drugs such as Prozac are generally quite effective. If avoiding chemical treatments is an issue, then Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is probably the best 'talking' option. It has roughly equal efficasy as SSRIs in mild depression.
st.johns wort was something i took during a period where i was sick to the stomach of trying one drug after another only to come off it some months later because it either didnt work, had an adverse effect or the side effects were terrible (i.e. memory loss and confusion on amitriptyline) i could park my car the same place i do every morning and forget where my car was at the end of the day. I tried it for a couple of months before comming very close to suicide and being pushed through the system as quickly as possible to experiment with new drugs. as far as i'm concerned st. johns wort may only be good to relieve minor stress and worry i.e. exam nerves, tempory money problems etc..... when it comes to the point where your worst enemy is yourself you may as well be taking grass cuttings. do you have a link to any journals or a source to show the double blind test performed with st. johns wort on depressed people? i would be interested in reading the journal, failing that an abstract would do.
I dont have a link to those journals no mate, but Ill try find them for you, it looks to me like you had severe depression, which st johns wort proved ineffective against. Still, if you are exsperiencing memory loss or short memory loss still, I would recomend ginko biloba, it has no side effects, if your off prescribed anti depresents, ginko has proven doubley effective in helping memory if taken with st johns wort. Is everything working out for you now? if drugs (or herbs) are not working for you, have you tried councelling? All the best.
I dont know offhand which trial you mean, but there are plenty of papers documenting the use of st john's wort for depression. It's also interesting that there seems to be some evidence that it can interfere with other medication. Try going to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ then put in a search for 'st johns wort depression' You might only be able to get the abstract, although some of the articles are free. If you do find a paper of interest that you cant get without paying for, let me know and I can try to get a copy to you (I work in medical research... gratuitous abuse of the system.... )
It has been mentioned earlier that finding oneself spiritually or placing faith in a religion may help a great deal in battling depression. In fact, it may be integral for some people whose depression hinges on ethical concerns. But I would like to reiterate that there is nothing wrong with taking medications and that it is perfectly normal and not against any "divine maker's" plan. Earlier I was misdiagnosed and relatively recently given my proper diagnosis for severe depression. The medication I was on earlier had an effect on me that would cause either borderline mania, or a shell like zombie state. The medication I am on now after recieving a proper diagnosis has done wonders for me. Even during hectic rush hour traffic jams I feel calm and centered. I'm no longer groggy in the mornings and wake up feeling rested and prepared to work. If it's in your cards then I'm sure spirituality can do wonders for depression, but don't neglect or discard the effects of necessary medication.
thanks thats more along the lines of what i was looking for, i'm also going to search through the journal archives at university and see what I can dig up when i have time. at the moment i'm fairly bogged down with "work" research as opposed to "cause i'm curious" research lol. Alot of the journals seem to have conflicting views and many are using questionable studies as a basis for their discussion. one which i was fairly interested in and summed up my feelings about st.johns wort was http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15163246
That one looks pretty interesting. Unfortunately I cant get freebie access to J. Clin. Psychiatry at work so I am no use to you I'm afraid. Good luck tracking it down!
Yeah, depression is a killer, getting adjusted to meds sucks too. I've been up all night. arrgggh! But really if this is my body just getting acclimated to the medication then I think it is better than the alternative. That is my point. Mentioned earlier you need to medicate and seek council, possibly a third is taking solace in your religion. Sometimes it's hard to stay on medication, but don't feel weak for it, you should feel strong that you can confront your affliction and deal with it. Weakness would be ignoring it. I guess I am writing this more for myself.
I know what you mean about the side effects, first tablets I was on I hallucinated for days (and not in a good way )! It is important to stay on your medication, esp. given that they dont work instantaneously, but it's also important to know when they're not working. If you've given it a good shot and its not helping or the side effects are still too much after a number of months, see your doc again. Not every medication works for everyone, and there are a number drugs available, so dont just stick it out if its not doing you any good. Stay positive x
Thanks for the support. Also I would like to add that it's important to inform people who need to know. I let the people at my work and studio know why I've seemed lethargic or numb and they understand. At work they've given me some time off to adjust which is a great supportive thing to do. I just let my boss know this morning about my situation and she said "that explains a lot and I'm glad you told me," because even though I was getting my work done co-workers thought I was being standoffish or had an attitude but it's just themedication. So I'm getting rest acclimating to the meds. Again this might be for myself but if anyone else out there feels they have to keep it to themselves or it's shameful, know that it's not, and that by informing others you may be able to make it easier on everyone.
