here's some things to do... IF YER DEPRESSED!
this was written by Spider from DPW after Caleb's recent exit... we were having a conversation about the effectiveness & dangers of psychiatric treatment...
there is only only one resource that i would add for those people who are considering taking psych meds:
http://www.crazymeds.us/
yes, it's a terrible name, but as far as i can tell, there is no one out there on the web that has done more to collect, interpret & provide access to research about psych meds than these people.
--- On Thu, 4/23/09, spider wrote:
From: spider
Subject: [dpw-list] Depression/Anti-Depressants
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 1:38 PM
here's some things to do
IF YER DEPRESSED:
1. Watch yer substance intake. Booze, pills, whatever else yer doing
might help in the short term but it all has a mean backlash. Cut that
shit out or if you can't stop, cut back.
2. Get out of bed, get off the sofa, turn off the TV and get the fuck
out of your house. Get some sun on your skin if you can.
3. Exercise. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Anything. Just get moving.
4. Tell a friend you need some help. I've had a buddy come over every
day and make me leave my house until I could do it on my own.
5. Talk to someone. Tell a friend or a couple close friends what's
going on. You actually can't get through everything by yourself. You
need to lean on people. Sometimes someone to listen and care is all
you need.
Sometimes your friends may not be super skilled in whatever your
going through, though. Can't fault 'em for that, but you may do well
talking to a therapist.
If you don't have insurance you can be referred somewhere by a city
clinic for free or sliding-scale. This can be a ordeal. You might
wanna take a friend with you for support if you go this route.
If you are having suicidal ideations, let them know. That will get
you to the front of the list. Be careful, though: If you tell them
that you are having thoughts of suicide, you'll get help. If you tell
them that you ARE going to hurt yourself (or anyone else), you'll get
hospitalized.
Once you get a therapist, make sure its someone you can work with.
Your wasting your time if you can't relate to the therapist or can't
be honest to them. Find someone else if it's not working.
6. Accomplish something. Make a list of a few things. It can be
something as simple as a phone call you've been putting off or doing
the dishes. Only put a few things on the list at a time or it can
turn into one more monkey on your back.
7. Do something with your hands. Build, garden, cook. Whatever it is
you do, do it.
if all of that fails, maybe you should see a doctor or a shrink about
getting on some pills. If that's the case, know that there are a
bunch of different ones out there, all of them targeting different
receptors in your brain. the first one you take might not be the
right one, but you gotta give it a couple weeks to find out. your
side effects should be zero to few and tolerable. if the side effects
of your meds are making you feel worse, get off of them. be careful
though, some pills you have to ween off of or you get some nasty side
effects from the withdrawal. never quit taking your pills without
telling yer doc.
a lot people that go on SSRIs just need them to get through a rough
patch, and can discontinue as soon as they've pulled themselves out
of the hole they were in.
if you've had a lifetime of cyclical depression, you may eventually
need to consider meds as a permanent solution, but cross that bridge
when you get there.
i've been off and on anti-depressants since i was 12. when i was a
kid the side effects were intense and the pills were hard to
tolerate. it's just within the last two years that i've found
something that's effective with almost no side effects. i'm pretty
lucky, but nothing's a panacea. life's always gonna be hard sometimes
and honestly i don't want any magic rose-colored lenses. i'll take
the highs and lows. i just want to be able to function day-to-day.
there are so many things out there these days that hopefully anyone
trying out meds now won't have to go through the same long trial and
error as doctors are more skilled at prescribing and have a much
better arsenal.
------------------------------------------
as for people killing themselves on anti-depressants, they usual kill
themselves because they were depressed, not because they were on
medication. the most significant number of suicides from those on
SSRIs are from adolescents. it is generally thought that those that
kill themselves after starting SSRIs were so depressed that they were
incapable of the effort it takes to commit suicide and that as their
medicines kick in the have more energy and more will and, ironically,
it's a sign of their improving that they are able to kill themselves.
pretty fucked up, huh?
here's some things to do
IF YOU ARE FEELING SUICIDAL:
1. Make a pact with a friend that you will call them and talk to them
before you do anything stupid.
2. Have a friend stay the night if you don't trust yourself to be alone.
3. If you can't reach a friend call one of the 24/7 suicide hotlines
at 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK.
4. If that doesn't work, go into any hospital and tell them that
your are afraid that you are gonna kill yourself. They'll 5150 you.
That means you are stuck in the hospital on a 36 hour hold. It'll
suck. Hard. But, hey, you'll still be alive.
-------------------------------------------
there is only only one resource that i would add for those people who are considering taking psych meds:
http://www.crazymeds.us/
yes, it's a terrible name, but as far as i can tell, there is no one out there on the web that has done more to collect, interpret & provide access to research about psych meds than these people.
--- On Thu, 4/23/09, spider wrote:
From: spider
Subject: [dpw-list] Depression/Anti-Depressants
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 1:38 PM
here's some things to do
IF YER DEPRESSED:
1. Watch yer substance intake. Booze, pills, whatever else yer doing
might help in the short term but it all has a mean backlash. Cut that
shit out or if you can't stop, cut back.
2. Get out of bed, get off the sofa, turn off the TV and get the fuck
out of your house. Get some sun on your skin if you can.
3. Exercise. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Anything. Just get moving.
4. Tell a friend you need some help. I've had a buddy come over every
day and make me leave my house until I could do it on my own.
5. Talk to someone. Tell a friend or a couple close friends what's
going on. You actually can't get through everything by yourself. You
need to lean on people. Sometimes someone to listen and care is all
you need.
Sometimes your friends may not be super skilled in whatever your
going through, though. Can't fault 'em for that, but you may do well
talking to a therapist.
If you don't have insurance you can be referred somewhere by a city
clinic for free or sliding-scale. This can be a ordeal. You might
wanna take a friend with you for support if you go this route.
If you are having suicidal ideations, let them know. That will get
you to the front of the list. Be careful, though: If you tell them
that you are having thoughts of suicide, you'll get help. If you tell
them that you ARE going to hurt yourself (or anyone else), you'll get
hospitalized.
Once you get a therapist, make sure its someone you can work with.
Your wasting your time if you can't relate to the therapist or can't
be honest to them. Find someone else if it's not working.
6. Accomplish something. Make a list of a few things. It can be
something as simple as a phone call you've been putting off or doing
the dishes. Only put a few things on the list at a time or it can
turn into one more monkey on your back.
7. Do something with your hands. Build, garden, cook. Whatever it is
you do, do it.
if all of that fails, maybe you should see a doctor or a shrink about
getting on some pills. If that's the case, know that there are a
bunch of different ones out there, all of them targeting different
receptors in your brain. the first one you take might not be the
right one, but you gotta give it a couple weeks to find out. your
side effects should be zero to few and tolerable. if the side effects
of your meds are making you feel worse, get off of them. be careful
though, some pills you have to ween off of or you get some nasty side
effects from the withdrawal. never quit taking your pills without
telling yer doc.
a lot people that go on SSRIs just need them to get through a rough
patch, and can discontinue as soon as they've pulled themselves out
of the hole they were in.
if you've had a lifetime of cyclical depression, you may eventually
need to consider meds as a permanent solution, but cross that bridge
when you get there.
i've been off and on anti-depressants since i was 12. when i was a
kid the side effects were intense and the pills were hard to
tolerate. it's just within the last two years that i've found
something that's effective with almost no side effects. i'm pretty
lucky, but nothing's a panacea. life's always gonna be hard sometimes
and honestly i don't want any magic rose-colored lenses. i'll take
the highs and lows. i just want to be able to function day-to-day.
there are so many things out there these days that hopefully anyone
trying out meds now won't have to go through the same long trial and
error as doctors are more skilled at prescribing and have a much
better arsenal.
------------------------------------------
as for people killing themselves on anti-depressants, they usual kill
themselves because they were depressed, not because they were on
medication. the most significant number of suicides from those on
SSRIs are from adolescents. it is generally thought that those that
kill themselves after starting SSRIs were so depressed that they were
incapable of the effort it takes to commit suicide and that as their
medicines kick in the have more energy and more will and, ironically,
it's a sign of their improving that they are able to kill themselves.
pretty fucked up, huh?
here's some things to do
IF YOU ARE FEELING SUICIDAL:
1. Make a pact with a friend that you will call them and talk to them
before you do anything stupid.
2. Have a friend stay the night if you don't trust yourself to be alone.
3. If you can't reach a friend call one of the 24/7 suicide hotlines
at 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK.
4. If that doesn't work, go into any hospital and tell them that
your are afraid that you are gonna kill yourself. They'll 5150 you.
That means you are stuck in the hospital on a 36 hour hold. It'll
suck. Hard. But, hey, you'll still be alive.
-------------------------------------------