Anti-depressants

G

gav

New member
Oh hey man, im not shitting on you.... some people choose to solve things one way and others in another way. Whatever you think is best for you is always your own decision... but there is a better way... not because i know it, but because there simply has to be.

What you determine healthy isnt always what your body interprets as healthy. Thats all im really saying. Sure you can run 5 miles in 25 minutes, lift 250 lbs and do whatever else you feel is healthy, but obviously something is not healthy about you or you wouldnt be depressed. I'm not saying that you're doing something crappy or that you just can't deal with things... im saying there is an overlooked cause to the problem of depression among other things that they simply solve by forcing your body to do something it doesnt want to do.

Also i dont know if you read the post just before you posted, but i would look into it.
 
kre8orofchaos, I almost completely disagree with you. This obviously is not the place to go into theoretical background of therapy, the serotonine hypothesis, the neural correlates of depression or any such thing. But I must say something as you might be costing somebody his/her life if they follow your advice.

Your opinion seems to tell me that you have not really had much concrete experience on mental illness. Have you ever tried to give talk therapy or even a motivational interview to a person in psychosis or to a one who is severely depressed? You say you have chatted with your ill relatives and they have gotten better. That is good, it shows you either have some good listening skills or that you are an important part of their social network. Still, if a non-professional tries to give "therapy", it more than often ends in complete disaster. Do not seek for a friend to give you therapy, they are of utmost importance but let the therapist do the job.

You say there is always a reason and that anybody can solve the problem that creates the reason. That is just why they get therapy. To find new ways to cope with the problem, to cognitively reframe it, to recognize it and maybe even solve it. It often is not about an external clearcut problem, you can't catch it and paint it red. It is often a problem that is inherent in the whole outlook on world. It makes you perceive things differently, it makes you think differently, it makes you act differently, reinforcing itself. It might be a problem dating to oral phase, it might be a maladaptive schema or it might be the constant stress and negative life-events. Surely to ask say a depressed person to find the problem, integrate it as a part of their positive self-image and to learn to view it from a different angle by himself (or even with layman friends) is too much. It might even be a devastatingly bad move if the person has depression because he feel not_good_enough.

But you are right in that sense that the client is the one who sorts the problem out in therapy. A clear cut answer is not given from the sky. The therapist is more like a parachute, that opens when needed and gives the person the safety needed to skydive in the first place. Continuing that metaphor helping friends can be seen either as knee pads (good) or an umbrella (not that good when skydiving without a parachute).

Depression causes chemical imbalance. This is well known, dopamine, serotonine and glutamate all hit a low point. Drugs, for example SSRI's, make serotonine stay in the synaptic clift longer by preventing the uptake. This makes the same amount of serotonine last for longer. It does not create more of it, it's uptake is just controlled. This leads to elevated mood, upon which a person can regain the mental capacity to work on his problems.

To say doctors or medicine are useless unless in surgical need is totally absurd. Ever heard of cancer, aids, other STD's, parkinson's, alzheimers, schizophrenia or any of the thousands of diseases out there? Of course staying away from alcohol, tobacco, fast food etc. is good for you, and alcohol even causes several diseases of the mind like Korsakoffs, delirium tremens etc. That's just common sense, but it doesn't help how much you excercise if your anxiety spawns from a repressed memory of sexual abuse.

So stay on your meds, seek therapy and work in little steps. I believe it'll get better.
 
I gave two specific examples of why medication AND therapy are important. My sister had two breakdowns, one the result of not taking medication and one the result of not seeing a psychologist.

Furthermore, no one is born sad, nor was I implying it. My father knows why he became depressed-he lost his job and it took him a long time to find a new one. I don't know if my sister has come to the root of her problem or not, but seeing as she's still in therapy, I doubt it.

I just remembered another example. I have a very close friend in Canada. We'll call her Lily for privacy reasons. She's been in therapy for about twenty years now, and was depressed to the point of suicide multiple times. She's only figured out the root cause of her problems (which go all the way back to childhood) within the last three months. She's in her early forties, and has been seeing the same counselor for twenty years.
 
sarotonin producers or "MOAI" inhibetors keep the existing sarotonin from being able to be broken down... period. It does nothing more. To say that pills are the only and best way is just IMO stupid. If thats what you wanna do. Fine... but you'll never be well.

Therapy is controlling your bodies intake... its contolling your outlook. If you cant do that without a pill... IMO... you fail.

I've been diagnosed personality disorder, manic depressive with hyper mania, social anxiety and a whole bunch of other shit. I take no pills and i cope just fine. Because ive taken a particular stance on it all. My mind doesnt control me i control my mind.

I'm drunk and probably shouldnt be replying to this right now... but... i think that if the only way you can fix sometihng is with a pill... you have bigger fish to fry.

I'll reply and probably edit this post when im sober.
 
You can't even spell serotonin man. Are you researching anything, or just going with your instincts for this argument? Like, I had a girl tell me, "it's all in your head" and all that bullshit. Maybe she can control her mind and whatnot, but that doesn't mean I can. And she just couldn't understand that.
 
Not to mention the monoamineoxidase-inhibitors (MAO-inhibitors , not MOAI), hypomania (not hyper mania) and thousands of other examples.

Of course drugs aren't the only way, and should always be administered after careful consideration. I know that they have the tendency to give them out like candy in the States due to pharma lobbying, but still it doesn't mean they aren't sometimes useful.

If you control your mind so well, how come all these diagnoses, as they surely are based on interviews about behaviour..
 
I have a 3.7 cumulative G.P.A. I'm a member of the English Honors Society, and am becoming involved in campus, and charity work. I might be going to New Orleans this Spring Break to build houses, and Romania this summer to build an orphanage. Due to scholarships, grants, and such, I have more than enough money to cover my bills. I have a wonderful, loving girlfriend, I live with my best friend and twin brother, and I wouldn't change anything in my life whatsoever.

Let me say again; I am happier than I have ever been.

Even so, once in a while I just become sad. There is no reasonable explanation for it. Sometimes, something just strikes me, and I fall into a pit of anxiety, sadness, and isolate myself from others.

Granted, there was a point in my life where it was much worse than it is now, because compounded with my feelings of inexplicable sadness were feelings of guilt, anger, and bitterness toward some in my life, and the things that sucked, but were beyond my control.

I think you can see that I have gotten past that stage in my life, and yet, I still occasionally suffer spells of angst, and bitter sadness. Why is that? My diet is good, I exercise regularly at the school gym.

FARCEUR:I'll take chemical imbalances for a thousand.
BIG BOARD:*ba-do-do-do-do-do-do DOUBLE JEOPARDY*
ALEX: Alright, this it for two-thousand... What is the cause of depression?
FARCEUR: (hits buzzer. There is an audible ding.) What is a chemical imbalance?
(There is a moment of silence. The tension mounts.)
ALEX: You are CORRECT!
BIG BOARD: *Ba-da-da-da Da-da-da-daaaaaa!*
 
lol, so because i made a few typo's in a drunken response im suddenly way off base? You do know that your body does not break down mercury and its toxic right? You do know that mercury is widely used in things you wouldnt even think they're used in right? you do know that there is in fact fluoride in your water and its toxic for your body right?

You do realize that there are people out there that can get stung by a bee and be fine... and there are others that nearly die right?

What im saying is that acceptable levels of these toxins and other toxins introduced into your body via food, water and various other sources could be (operative word COULD) the cause for much of the depression that americans face today.

The very fact that you all just take a pill to solve the problem vs looking into the actual cause of the problem speaks volumes to your education about the subject. So here you go kids.

Fluoride & the Pineal Gland
Melatonin is also partially responsible for your mental health

Mercury's Influence
Its about a third of the way down the page

MAOI - What is it? - Description, MAOI Side Effects, Usage, Warnings and More
It does not correct the imbalance, it simply prevents the breakdown of the chemical

Ions
What serotonin actually does, notice that the immune system comes into play

Immune System Modulators
Proteins that effect immune system

Protein
problems associated with lack of proteins

Pesticide Human Health Effects
effects of pesticides on the body. notice how most effect the nervous system
The MSDS HyperGlossary: Neurotoxin
effects of neurotoxins

Neurotoxins - Psychology Wiki
neurotoxins

If your body is not fed the right fuels, you will be sick. These links have pretty much outlined what im talking about.

As far as why was i diagnosed with whatever, because i just was. My diagnosis are irrelevant, the treatment however is what we're talking about. I chose not to take antidipressants, and instead changed my diet and exposure to certain chemicals.

There are a whole list of things that effect your ability to be happy... or transmit the things needed to get the sensation of being happy. If you simply think that your chemical imbalance was caused for no reason... then thats just stupid. Your "parts" wear out over time... not when you're in your 20's unless you're doing something unhealthy to them.
 
This is turning into the most sorry ever episode of House.


I wouldn't say so, it's just your typo's emphasized your off-baseness. Especially as they appeared to be between-post consistent. I've been staring at this post of yours for a while now as I don't know is it unethical for me to respond to it. After all this placebo belief system appears to be the one that holds your health together. So it would be wrong for me to crash it. So, I'll just point out some gentle facts. After all, anybody can get the facts from a clinical neuropsychology book (I'd promote Kolb & Whishaw).

I know that solid mercury is highly toxic and that is why it is not anymore used in practically anything. Even the thermometers with quicksilver need a prescription. It might be that in the US all your drinking water is filled with mercury, but here it surely is not. The levels of different chemicals in water is tested annually. Personal well's can be tested with government support. This actually leads to fluoride being added into the drinking water in some areas as it has great health benefits in small dosages
 
I didn't read the whole thread. It was tl;dl. So I dunno if this has been answered, but how does one be qualified for these so called anti-depressants? How depressed do you have to be?

Do they work? o.O
 
One goes to see a doctor, preferably a psychiatrist or a psychologist who interview you, have you take a test (often BDI-II, Beck Depression Inventory) and a mental state exam, and then they evaluate based on the gathered info whether you're depressed or not, and if, how much. Then a shrink may prescribe meds, or an ordinary doctor may do so, based on the psychologists evaluation. I believe you can get prescribed antidepressants even with minimal depression, especially in the US, but usually it's severe or moderate that get's that ticket.

They have been found to work better than a placebo and almost as well as therapy. Combined with therapy the results are rather high.
 
I highlighted and underlined what I've already said to make it easier for you.



What part of that has been difficult for you to understand?
 
Right, depression is the result of chemical imbalance... but what creates that chemical imbalance? Being sad? Its a bit more in depth than what you all are letting it be. But thats fine, chew your pills and get the latest prescription for a problem nobody understands. Do what the television tells you will solve your problem and everything will be okay.

And psycho, before you get all hoity toity about me addressing soely you, be aware that i am capable of addressing more than one person at a time...
 
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