Now is the time of year when, as mental health professionals like to inform us, a lot of people sink into depression. Like most people, I've watched a couple of people I loved swirled away on a tide of despair, so I'm happy to pass along this stirring reminder from Dooce that this is not actually necessary, and toughing it out when you're sad or suicidal is silly puritanism. I don't try to buck up and bluster my way through a thyroid hormone deficiency, so why would I try to ride out a debilitating chemical imbalance in my brain? If you're feeling despondent, support your local pharmacist. That little voice in your head telling you not to talk to anyone is a lying bastard with a strong instinct for self-preservation.
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When I was living up north and shut in for the winter, I would visit tanning salons for 5 to 10 minutes a day. It did wonders.
Speaking of 'what you eat', people may be interested in
www.orthomolecular.org
a surprising many ills have simpler cures than provided by toxic chemicals.
I remember when I told my mom that my doctor told me I might be one of those people who would always need to be on anti-depressants. She was shocked and dismayed, and questioned the expertise of the doctor. Then a few months later her doctor put her on the same drug and her outlook towards her life and anti-depressants completely changed. It's truly amazing how much depression can eff up your perceptions, and how well drugs can lift the fog.
"And though she's not really ill
There's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day..."
"Mother's Little Helper," Rolling Stones, 1966.
They don't make enough drugs to cure my depression...
I couldn't agree more with this post.
I'm not sure what liberalrob is getting at. But citing a source in the 60's on mental health is problematic.
I quite agree. I suffered from both depression and anxiety attacks for years before I finally got help. Paxil has dramatically improved my life. For the first time ever -- despite having been successful in school, work, and relationships for all my life -- I'm actually able to be happy, instead of being convinced that doom lies just around the corner and nobody really loves me.
People who mouth all that Brave New World mother's-little-helper don't-take-drugs stuff are this generation's version of faith healers. "You don't need medicine! You just need to THINK yourself better!". No, jackass, I can't just think my serotonin levels up and down, thanks very much. The brain controls the mind, not vice-versa.
"That little voice in your head telling you not to talk to anyone is a lying bastard with a strong instinct for self-preservation."
You really nailed it there. I think it usually takes me about three months longer to see a doctor about depression than it should. In an opposite vane, how do hypochondriac's persist?
BTW liberalbob, one of the symptoms of depression is the belief that nothing can be done about it.
Liberalrob: I have always vehemently disagreed with all of your posts, given our differing interpretation of facts and different weightings of certain values. I have never thought that you were at heart a deeply evil and insensitive person - until now.
Now go join Tom Cruise on the express train for hell - he made a pitch for Scientology against Brooke Shields' post-partum depression and anti-depressant use, while you quote a 40 year old rock song by those paragons of the straight edge life The Rolling Stones. The appropriate words are DIAF
Good call, Megan. I would also highly recommend several other social responses developed to combat seasonal affective disorder before pharmaceuticals became available:
-- giving and receiving presents to/from people you love, or just like, or just know vaguely
-- preparating and eating large and satisfying communal meals
-- group singing
Christmas! It's the 12-step support group for winter.
Of course, if it's not working, go see a therapist and take some dang drugs.
I'm in a situation where I don't have the money/insurance to get help, but, due to the depression, it's very difficult to find a job.
It feels weird to share this on a political blog, but. Huh. What's up with that? Crazy world, etc.
Swimmy, check with your town hall or other social work center. There are doctors who take patients on a sliding scale, and prozac is now available in generic form.
Swimmy, go directly to your county Health Dep't. (there may even be a separate Mental Health Dep't.) they will help you. If you're really feeling low over the weekend, an emergency room will help. I know it's hard to get involved, or even motivated, & your brain doesn't want to do it, but there is help available. They don't know you're sitting at home feeling crummy, sleeping all day, or whatever. If they did they'd already have helped. You must let them know. Get on the internet or the 'phone book, look up county health, & call Monday morning. Seriously. It will be OK eventually, but you must make that first move. Do it!!
>. I don't try to buck up and bluster my way through a thyroid hormone deficiency, so why would I try to ride out a debilitating chemical imbalance in my brain?
Righto. If you've got a headache, take an aspirin.
Njorl--
BTW liberalbob, one of the symptoms of depression is the belief that nothing can be done about it.
It really sucks when "reality" is considered to be just another "symptom"!
I will use a metaphor easily understood by people who "read for recreation".
You buy a book... (due to the 'author', a 'recommendation', or the "blurb" on the cover). After 50 pages- you are pretty sure it sucks! (but, it might just be starting 'slow'...) So you read the next 50 pages, and it has gotten bad! But, still...
So you read another 50 pages that are even worse... By this time, an "experienced" reader must choose! Do I continue to waste my time on this identifiable 'failure', or do I just 'move on' to the next 'story'.
I have to think that my ability (perserverance) to complete all 1000+ pages of "Battlefield: Earth" (when I was 12) demonstrates why I haven't killed myself yet.
But I'm 43, now- and I don't think I'd even get thru page 150 today...
I guess my point is- The story never changes... only your reaction to the story."
Do Suicides Really Peak During the Holidays?
No.
No, jackass, I can't just think my serotonin levels up and down, thanks very much. The brain controls the mind, not vice-versa.
On the contrary, the mind, and the body, can physically and psychologically impact the chemical and physical makeup of the brain. It's been proven, but your mileage may very.
That said, and not waiting to go "all tom cruise" on the subject, doctors have found that regular vigorous exercise can balance out chemical imbalances, and be just as beneficial and anti-depressants. the best part of it? You have a better chance of weight loss, instead of weight gain, and you're causing the change yourself, instead of needing pills. Just the knowledge of a better body image and having control over that positive change can do wonders for the mind and self esteem.
Studies also have shown that exercise can cause new brain cell growth, and better interactivity between cells.
Anyways, while not scientific, most of the people I know who are bi-polar or manic depressant have never played sports, and never go to the gym. If you can get over that small hurdle, you might not need that pill.
ROFL. It's not my unabashed liberalism that makes me truly evil, but the fact that I quote Rolling Stones lyrics. Evil!
If the pills help and you want to take them, go for it. They're not the answer for me. I know that my depression is largely my own fault, in various ways. Taking happy pills will not change the circumstances that have led me to this point, they will just make me not mind being here.
Some people like being depressed. It's a very comfortably furnished rut. It gives one an excuse for lack of achievement. It is an intellectually superior position for existentialist poseurs and rational pessimists. Don't overlook the payoff of nursing one's depression!
I am an LPCC/QMHP so we get trained in considering why people hang on to their dysfunctions even though it doesn't seem rational.
Mind doesn't rule matter. I am as happy and optimistic and healthy as they come, but positive thinking hasn't stopped me from having three primary cancers. It's crazy biology entirely separate from my happy thoughts. You mind-over-matter people are just as bad as faith healers--the fallback position is that it's your own damned fault if you don't think/believe your way into good health.
Question. I think the yellow pill is the benzo called temazapam. It's an anti-anxiety med that just happens to be yellow. The other benzos are pink (xanax, clonapan...) and white (ativan). Temazapam is the only one in the benzo family that is an actual tranquilizer. So the lyrics about "tranquilize her mind" seams to fit this. Benzos are just as addicting as heroin, so it would make sense that this rolling stones refrence is about an addictive drug, not an anti-depressent. Anyone agree?
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