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mariiha
Toucan
Joined: Feb 12, 2007
Posts: 259
Location: WP
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 Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Ticker wrote: |
I think most people would cease having their depressive episodes if they would stop concentrating so much on "oh woe is me" and stop telling themselves that they are so much different than others, stop focusing on their diagnosis as an Aspie and stop whining over things that happened 20 years ago in elementary school. Just find something to keep your mind occupied and stay busy. It is proven that people that sit at home and focus solely on themselves will feel more depression. Also its proven those with chronic pain hurt more if they constantly focus on it. Just STAY BUSY. |
this is correct but to only to a certain point; sometimes our chemicals get out of whack and not matter how busy we are, we remain depressed |
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9CatMom
Ailurophile
Joined: Jan 02, 2007
Posts: 5650
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| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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Dilantin for control of seizures
Zoloft
Occasionally, Xanax for anxiety |
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FoxTwo
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 17, 2007
Posts: 32
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Fluoxetine |
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jfberge
Velociraptor
Joined: Mar 05, 2007
Posts: 481
Location: Cell block B, #9
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| Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:39 pm Post subject: fruitless topic |
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People's reactions to medications are so varied that it's largely irrelevant to discuss. Drug X saved someone's life, while it made someone else feel like crap. A certain diet or supplement calmed John's stomach, but just made Jim poorer.
What does interest me is the more global stance that people take on medications, particularly psychoactive ones. Because people have romanticized and elevated the role of conscious thought over the more inaccessible mechanisms of the brain, there is a popular notion that psychology trumps biology, and that drugs used to modify our brain state are unnatural and wrong. What research seems to be indicating, however, is that conscious thought isn't the origin of, but rather the result of our chemical processes.
Being a programmer, I like to think of it all in terms of a computer. In this analogy, the physical brain is the hardware, the thought process is the software, and the output is conscious thought. If the hardware is defective, the output is always going to be disordered or absent, and no amount of programming is going to help it. This correlates to conditions like stroke or, in milder forms, autism, schizophrenia, OCD, etc. Hardware problems require physical intervention.
The next layer is the software, which roughly corresponds to the rules and connections our brains make regarding life as we grow up, such as proper etiquette for a dinner party, how to find food, or what to wear. Software relies on hardware for proper functioning, but can also be faulty itself. Being more abstract and flexible, however, software is more easily modified. Talk therapy is roughly analogous to debugging: analyzing output and attempting to find and replace the erroneous instructions.
The final layer is program output - our thoughts, and also inputs - our environment. At this level, we can't really fix any deeper problems by ourselves. We can evaluate our thoughts, within the ability afforded by our programming, and perhaps alter our inputs. Still, if an algorithm is wrong or there's an IRQ conflict, the output is going to be hosed, and we won't know it.
Most people don't have hardware problems, so the idea of a hard solution seems unnecessary to them, and rightfully so. Messing with the hardware might make things worse, so it should be avoided unless things are already "worse." The problem with arguing such issues is that people without real problems find it difficult to appreciate what such problems are like, and trivialize them. Because a broken brain is invisible, it's also less of a consideration to most people.
Software problems are more common, and what most people think of when they envision mental disorders. Everyone has some, but they're not immutable. Input problems are also obvious to people. A kid in an abusive home would be better off in a loving one.
This is all a bit fuzzy, but my point is that there are fundamentals of our behavior and mood that are out of our control, and that a broken machine cannot repair itself. Most importantly, our conscious minds aren't free agents that operate above the brain, but are instead created and constrained by the brain systems that give rise to them. A desire to eat or a fear of flying aren't inventions of the conscious mind, but artifacts of a brain that senses low blood sugar or has a hyperactive amygdala. |
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philosopher
Butterfly
Joined: Jul 27, 2007
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:57 pm Post subject: Medication |
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I wouldnt take any medication and believe me i know how you feel Meditation may be an answer you could look it up in the yellow pages.
Good Luck |
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Ana54
International Incident Initiator
Joined: Dec 27, 2005
Age: 20
Posts: 6503
Location: Channelview, Texas, USA
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| Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:11 am Post subject: |
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For me, citalopram (SSRI). For the first few days I could have sworn the stuff was tailor-made for the likes of me. I don't know if that was the placebo effect or what. In the end, it wasn't enough... which is understandable; it's just a pill, just a pick-me-up; it's not supposed to replace your life. It stopped working at the same time as my confidence in it deminished... I don't know which one came before/as a result of the other if one indeed came before the other. But I need a better one or a higher dose of this one or something and my shrink is on vacation. 
In this old thread I read someone said that they almost died the first time they took Zoloft. I'd like to know more about this. I've never heard of a person having such a reaction from a (I presume) normal dose of an antidepressant.
You have to want it and have faith in it. I think it works when you do that. 
_________________
God protects fools. Be a fool.
http://www.lifeatauschwitz.info |
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tomart
Snowy Owl
Joined: Apr 11, 2007
Posts: 127
Location: southern New Jersey
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: fruitless topic |
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| jfberge wrote: | | People's reactions to medications are so varied that it's largely irrelevant to discuss. Drug X saved someone's life, while it made someone else feel like crap. |
Here's a website where people post their experiences with specific pharmaceuticals: askapatient.com
Type in the drug name, and get (for most antidepressants) hundreds of posts, organized on a scale of 5 (love it) to 0 (hate it.) Also it shows age, gender and how long the person has been taking the med. [Note: 1 day is usually not long enough...]
Cautions: [Wheat from chaff, grain of salt] Some posters have tried the whole medicine cabinet, some have been on one drug for decades, some people have been through sh** I can only imagine. Also note side effects.
It does make fascinating reading. |
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TrueDave
is learning the hard way.
Joined: Jul 28, 2007
Posts: 1062
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| Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 2:34 am Post subject: |
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I traded Zoloft for Wellbrutrin but was too agitated and could'nt sleep.
What i really noticed was the clarity of my thoughts after I went off Zoloft. I'm sure many of my memory problems were due to the pill and suspect the "enhanced mental energy" was a problem. If I have a problem with sociaL clues I think the best bet would be to maintain a more passive part in the conversation. However with Zoloft I was wound up and couln't keep quiet. I think that added to the problem.
I'm proud of you all who have stood up to your Doctors. It seems a shame we have to do this. I know not all psych patients should (my two bipolar friends for example) but it's difficult. I don't want to be an uncooperative patient and theoretically I should trust the experts. But who are the experts in our situation , really? |
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Benjammin
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Feb 18, 2006
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 12:55 am Post subject: Drugs have a bad side effect . . . They wear off . . . |
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I didn't become really aware of the world until I started getting high.
Those years are all behind me now, but they did help me a lot. And helped with my own self awareness, too. |
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busdrivertohell
Butterfly
Joined: Aug 12, 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Somewhere in Oklahoma
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:29 am Post subject: |
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| It's hard for me to be able to find a med that won't have pretty drastic side-effects. I've been through almost every anti-depressant there is, and I've been through every prescription sleep aid, too. Anti-depressants make me violently ill, and sleep meds.. well I tolerate them too well to the point where they quickly lose any effect. |
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jfberge
Velociraptor
Joined: Mar 05, 2007
Posts: 481
Location: Cell block B, #9
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:17 pm Post subject: Re: fruitless topic |
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| tomart wrote: | | Here's a website where people post their experiences with specific pharmaceuticals: askapatient.com |
Thanks for the link! Interesting stuff. |
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Vulcan613
Emu Egg
Joined: Jun 06, 2007
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| I take Ritalin when I am going into situations where I need to concentrate, such as driving, social interactions, restaurants, public events, etc. I don't really need it when I'm doing solitary things. I also take B-complex vitamins which help a lot with depression -- better than various antidepressants I've tried. |
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