So - what am I?

*edited upon request*

Well, you could be a great many things.

I'll point out the obvious, though - antidepressants don't react well with you. The fact that your GP prescribed you one, when it's a medication only specialists should prescribe, means you'll likely start having problems with it.

What are you doing to get well aside from taking medications?

ladyswan wrote:I'll point out the obvious, though - antidepressants don't react well with you.

Interesting - I do not think that is obvious at all - in fact on the three or so occasions in the last 15 years that I have come off them, within 6 months I have been very down again. Did not get on with Mirtazepine - thought it useless for lifting mood - but Setraline has been good/essential.

Other things I do to get well? Read self help stuff - (postitve thinking, assertiveness, Jung, Rogers etc) take vitamins and supplements, try to eat healthily - try to make myself exercise a bit - but admittedly not very good at that - no longer keep worries in - but try to find appropriate places to discuss them - try to limit alcohol - socialise a bit when I can face it, try to have some good routines re beauty/self care and housework/decorating - but all this goes up and down with my moods. Have found trying to mentally beat myself up to force my demotivated self to do more only makes me feel worse because then not only am I not doing things, I am feeling guilty about it. So, in short, I do what I can when, when I can given my depression/anxiety/totally out of the norm sleep pattern.

Tavia wrote:

ladyswan wrote:Other things I do to get well? Read self help stuff - (postitve thinking, assertiveness, Jung, Rogers etc) take vitamins and supplements,

what kind of vitamins/supplements are you taking? i'm interested in looking into a few supplements myself and i want to see whats been working for others

I take a multi vitamin and mineral - that way I cover all bases.
Thre are lots more things I have tried - or could take - but a bit confused by some of them - amino acids, enzymes etc - but evening primrose can be good for certain types of depression or pre menstral problems because it contins GLA
Good info here ...
http://www.joanmathewslarson.com/HRC_20 ... heBook.htm

Hi Tavia,

You sound like you've had the typical psych roller coaster ride. Honestly, the whole reason I'm in this forum is to share about alternative mental health treatments which have worked wonderfully for me. A few years back I had a Mayo Clinic Endocrinologist put me on a grain free (that is no rice, no wheat, no rye, no oats, or the like) and no sugar and plenty of veges and protein. I supplement with vitamins, aminos that suit me and essential fatty acids. Get lots of exercise, and have a wonderful support group. It has been a miracle for me, my life is better than I ever thought possible - my mental stuff has gone away. Try it, might work for you. : )

Good luck!

BH4 wrote:Hi Tavia,

You sound like you've had the typical psych roller coaster ride. Honestly, the whole reason I'm in this forum is to share about alternative mental health treatments which have worked wonderfully for me.

A few years back I had a Mayo Clinic Endocrinologist put me on a grain free (that is no rice, no wheat, no rye, no oats, or the like) and no sugar and plenty of veges and protein. I supplement with vitamins, aminos that suit me and essential fatty acids. Get lots of exercise, and have a wonderful support group. It has been a miracle for me, my life is better than I ever thought possible - my mental stuff has gone away. Try it, might work for you. : )

Good luck!

in what way do your support group help you? What changes did you go through in your later stages of the dieting?

I've been wanting to go on that diet for a long time now, I really believe it would keep the levels balanaced and make me feel cleansed. I just haven't got round to it properly, yet.

I'd add that the last guy you saw (the one from fifteen years ago) sounds unhelpful. Not really a solution orientated doctor. I don't think it's his place to make judgements on what is irresponsible or not, but that's just my judgement of him. Makes me think of my last doctor, who would always insist that all of my problems were caused by not getting out enough, regardless of the actual timeline of progression. I was very depressed and anxious long before I ever started secluding.

I've never belonged to a support group outside of a hospital setting, but I think that sounds like a good idea too. Not that anecdotes are always the best thing to go on, but I've heard good and bad recommendations for that kind of an environment, but mostly good. At the very least you might meet someone like you. You might also find that you can help someone else in your group.

I also wanted to say that I don't know a great deal about manic depression, but I have been told that certain types of antidepressants can lead to mania in someone with bipolar disorder. Those are also anecdotes though and I'm not a doctor and neither were any of the people I heard this from. Might be something to look up and ask about though.