Kick Depression's Ass!

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

I hate the med process. I am taking 300 MG of Wellbutrin (generic), .5mg of Klonopin, and 15mg Concerta.

According to my psychiatrist...

You are on the MAXIMUM SAFE AND EFFECTIVE DOSE of Wellbutrin...

Hmm... how DEPRESSED are you?!

[bladevalant546]

I was suicidal, to put bluntly.

[GirlyMan]

I hate the med process. I am taking 300 MG of Wellbutrin (generic), .5mg of Klonopin, and 15mg Concerta.

According to my psychiatrist...

You are on the MAXIMUM SAFE AND EFFECTIVE DOSE of Wellbutrin...

Hmm... how DEPRESSED are you?!

More depressed than Wellbutrin can handle, apparenly. .. At least for me.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

I was suicidal, to put bluntly.

OHHHHH... gotcha.... definitely should have been on Welbutrin 300mg then! Not sure if it actually HELPED though...

#OMGDEPRESSIONFUCKINGSUCKS

[Kayenneh]

I gave you some ideas in a different thread you had about levels of happiness. It applies to this as well.

In a nutshell it is all about self discipline and control. People seem to think that they can't control how they feel but it's simply not true. Being depressed or having anxiety is actually a choice.

Now I'm not saying that a traumatic event won't get you down but that is temporary as all things pass. What I am talking about is general depression or anxiety. If you feel it all or most of the time it is because you chose to.

That really sounds kinda harsh to say but it's true. I know you are saying well my brain has a chemical imbalance and I can't help it. Guess what, the brain can be rewired and you are the only one that can do it. It doesn't happen overnight and it starts with rejecting the bad feelings. If you are depressed don't act like you are just reject it and get involved in something productive.

The only people that are incapable of rewiring their brain are those with very low Iqs. They can't help it. If you have average or better intelligence then you can use your intellect to change and grow.

Always be in control of your emotions not the other way around.

I cannot agree with you. Even though breaking the vicious circle is paramount to getting better, it is most certainly not a choice. All I can choose is to take my medication regularly, make sure to keep some human contact, exercise and eat well, but I cannot choose to feel better. I have no control over how fast my physical wounds heal, and neither can I control how my neurotransmitters are emitted and how well the receptors in my brain works. As I said, prolonged depression makes a physical impact on the brain and there is no getting over it, besides with consistency and whatever help I can get.

What I'm about to say next is completely anecdotal and subjective, but I want to illustrate my POV. I was quite stable this winter, but my migraines were getting worse and more frequent, so I got a prescription for candesartan, which has helped me in the past. What I didn't plan for was that it lowers the immune system, and I have been sick with different pathogens for two months, missing vital classes I should have taken. Now I can't do my vocational training this spring as I was supposed to, and it's a really hard blow for me. I had a great plan, but thanks to my migraine medication and unforeseen complications, I now feel as rotten as I did when I first acknowledged the fact that I was depressed. It has nothing whatsoever to do with procrastination or the unwillingness to make a difference in my own life, outside forces made the illness worse. Setbacks feel that much more difficult, when you have no happiness left over to take you over the threshold. Now I have to come up with a new plan, while being really anxious about my future and while the horrible thought of killing myself repeats itself over and over in my head, like a song that just won't stop playing. It's something I have to live with, probably for the rest of my life, the only thing for me to guard against it is to acknowledge that I am depressive, but that it doesn't define me. Sure, being a tenacious fucker is a definite benefit, but it doesn't help me to cure my depression.

[bladevalant546]

The issues my doctors are having trouble with is that ADHD mixed with GAD and depression cause emotional fluctuations on a dramatic scale. They also make each other worse in a compounding effect. So they are have a hell of a day trying to locate which to address....imho it is my ADHD as the root.

[sven]

I'm trying a theory of mine that you can treat depression with opiates. It's not based in anything except the fact that I enjoy opiates and they make me not want to kill myself all the time lol. It's working so far. Three days (friday, saturday, and sunday) are spent leaning, or taking opiates; and the rest of the week I feel fine. I'm not advocating this therapy for anyone else though as opiates can be very addictive. Although sticking with this Chinese proverb about opiates I heard years ago (no more than three days of continual usage etc) has paid off for me. Depression sucks...a lot. If I wasn't so busy with my school work I'd probably have time to be more depressed

meaning...stay busy

That is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Opiates are downers even though you can feel very good on them; when you kick the drug you feel ten, no a hundred times worse. Someone who is suffering from clinical depression would probably go into suicide mode on a opiate comedown. It is one of the worst of all drug comedowns. What you are suggesting is like saying drinking helps a lot.
I find it hard to believe you are really depressed. If you really are taking opiates, it is probably because you like them, as you said.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

Hmm... I have DEFINITELY been clinically diagnosed with general depression... I definitely have it...

I have DEFINITELY been diagnosed with ADHD... Right now, ADHD me is like, "Hmm... Every problem this causes me, I have learned how to deal with it better! Also, I am taking Vyvanse! It's supposed to help me CONCENTRATE better!" I definitely have both the inattentive and hyperactive parts of ADHD at the same time... The inattentive part is annoying ALL THE TIME and I function less well than a normal person... Things happen to me like, *puts a phone somewhere other than where I normally put it* *2 seconds later* ME: WHERE THE FUCK DID I JUST PUT MY PHONE... The hyperactive part is me being really aggressive and confrontational... *learned SELF CONTROL, no longer a problem * and my mind's racing all the time which sometimes means I can't sleep...

I might also have GAD... hmm... I have been really anxious all my life, affecting EVERYTHING about me, yet it has still not usually been debilitating to me very often... When GAD disorder is debilitating me I'm like, "WHY THE FUCK AM I EVEN INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE RIGHT NOW?! I HATE INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE! GOD I WISH I HAD A PILL THAT WOULD FIX THIS"... I have previously used prescription drugs recreationally... for some reason, the combination of a *muscle relaxer* and *some fucking thing that made me feel like I was floating* was FANTASTIC. Apparently a "muscle relaxer" also relaxes your brain... it kind of works like all drugs designed to help with anxiety... For some reason, me being on any prescribed drug that helps with anxiety is BETTER.

I think my psychiatrist right now thinks I have GAD and has not yet told ME this... Every time I visit him, he asks the question: "What is your anxiety level right now on a scale from 1 to 10?"


WTF DOES YOUR LIFE SUCK MORE THAN MINE?!

[MicahArmstrong]

I'm trying a theory of mine that you can treat depression with opiates. It's not based in anything except the fact that I enjoy opiates and they make me not want to kill myself all the time lol. It's working so far. Three days (friday, saturday, and sunday) are spent leaning, or taking opiates; and the rest of the week I feel fine. I'm not advocating this therapy for anyone else though as opiates can be very addictive. Although sticking with this Chinese proverb about opiates I heard years ago (no more than three days of continual usage etc) has paid off for me. Depression sucks...a lot. If I wasn't so busy with my school work I'd probably have time to be more depressed

meaning...stay busy

That is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Opiates are downers even though you can feel very good on them; when you kick the drug you feel ten, no a hundred times worse. Someone who is suffering from clinical depression would probably go into suicide mode on a opiate comedown. It is one of the worst of all drug comedowns. What you are suggesting is like saying drinking helps a lot.
I find it hard to believe you are really depressed. If you really are taking opiates, it is probably because you like them, as you said.

I concur.

---

I hate the med process. I am taking 300 MG of Wellbutrin (generic), .5mg of Klonopin, and 15mg Concerta.

Kolonopin is the cockknocking motherfucking Shit!

Damn I wish I could be back on it. It is so much fun to drink while on it...even though you aren't suppose to.

---

As for me, a former drug addict, my body does indeed have a problem producing enough Dopamine (thus, I deal with much depression). I tried a natural supplement called L-Dopa (from the Dopa Bean) by Solaray, and it's done wonders for me! The depression has lessened a bit every day. I think a lot of folks have difficulty producing Dopamine, especially in a world where we rely so often upon external sources for producing our happiness and "feelings". Plus, always a good read of a book on astronomy helps as well; seeing how small we are, yet how we are a part of something so very big feels pretty great most days.

Hey welcome to Atheist forums!

Thank you, sir!

[bladevalant546]

I gave you some ideas in a different thread you had about levels of happiness. It applies to this as well.

In a nutshell it is all about self discipline and control. People seem to think that they can't control how they feel but it's simply not true. Being depressed or having anxiety is actually a choice.

Now I'm not saying that a traumatic event won't get you down but that is temporary as all things pass. What I am talking about is general depression or anxiety. If you feel it all or most of the time it is because you chose to.

That really sounds kinda harsh to say but it's true. I know you are saying well my brain has a chemical imbalance and I can't help it. Guess what, the brain can be rewired and you are the only one that can do it. It doesn't happen overnight and it starts with rejecting the bad feelings. If you are depressed don't act like you are just reject it and get involved in something productive.

The only people that are incapable of rewiring their brain are those with very low Iqs. They can't help it. If you have average or better intelligence then you can use your intellect to change and grow.

Always be in control of your emotions not the other way around.

Before you can make a statement, you should study into neurology, psychology and psychiatry a little bit. Now I do not disagree habits can be changed, and changing cognitive habits are the other half of depression recovery. However, the idea that depression is some form of choice is like saying being sick with the flu is a choice. It is the way your brain is moving chemicals, not just the wiring. The medications they are using are attempting to enable the person to rewire their brain.

With that said, I sense a slight egotistical overtone in your message, which gives little bit insight into your psyche. I do not know your life, but I am sure you have been given the proper genetics to overcome whatever gets in your way through mental prowess....good for you use it and enjoy it! That however has given you a false bias towards your perception of reality. I got that by merely reading your IQ statement.

I know this is about depression, but lets go into ADHD another criticized disorder. If you look at statistics most of them score above average IQs, when on medications enforce those IQs. However, when they are off their medications their brains simply cannot process information correctly. This is because in the frontal lobe, the oxygen receptors in the memory cortex of the brain are much much lower. Not to mention there are genetic differences found in ADHD people vs normal people. So I say that to say this, Depression has genetic backing, as well as science. So if ADHD people cannot change their brains without aid, then depression is no different. Depression is not "feeling blue" it is not really a feeling at all. It more of a numbness to life itself, the only feeling you really feel is a sense of hopelessness, often under circumstances which are positive!

So I say this, re-examine your statement and match it with scientific opinion, because I can assure you I hated feeling this way for 8 years, some of them positive years. Now, because of the medications I feel like it is not the big bad monster, my brain is clear for once.

So I will finish as I repeat what so many others repeat. Most people do not get depression unless they have been there.