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Originally Posted by fishsandwich
When I was a social worker, I used to ask people if the drugs were really making them better . . . often they'd come to the decision that no, no the drugs weren't really helping. Many people said they did help, though. I think a lot of people get into the trap of trusting doctors/psychiatry and the idea that they will *eventually* find the right drugs, ones they can both tolerate and which alleviate the symptoms, but they never stop to think that they've tried nearly every drug and none of them work. Do you do other depression-releiving stuff? I personally think medicine has the wrong paradigm to deal with emotional distress, and things like diet/exercise, changing life circumstances, dealing with relationships, productive activities, etc. help more.
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I guess that I do keep hoping that the next pill will 'fix' me. I know that I've been on a lot of meds so far but I've not exhausted them yet. I think once I have that I'll have no choice but to move away from psychiatry...into what though, I have no idea. I do all the self-help stuff I'm supposed to - planning activities, volunteering, socialising, studying, spending time outdoors etc. At the moment I lack a T but hopefully that will be rectified when I go back to Uni in Sept. I could do more exercise but I do struggle with fatigue and motivation, which makes it harder to do. Though I do get out and walk the dog every day. Everyone thought that studying medicine was making me depressed and that when I left I'd be magically cured...which didn't happen. I don't know what else there is to do.
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Originally Posted by fishsandwich
I imagine it's more a part of life, actually. Especially life as a young adult  I know very few people our age who make fully thought-out decisions. |
The thing is that I used to be one of those few young people who thought everything through and knew where their life was going. I never made a decision without thinking both sides through very carefully. There was never any randomness or taking things as 'signs' or putting off making important decisions. I was clear and logical and decisive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishsandwich
I've heard a lot of theories about what causes the weight gain. Abnormal interactions in the stomach acid is a big one I've heard, and usually the recommendation is to take very powerful antacids. (Or just mainline Rennie if your doc won't give you a scrip??) Also I've heard about anti-inflammatory diets, which I was always too lazy to try but probably wouldn't hurt. Exercise never hurts and would probably help with the depression, too. I'm actually less hallucinatory when I'm running, and marathoning is sufficient punishment for even the most masochistic amongst us. :P
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I will research the stomach acid theory tomorrow, thanks! My CPN has tried to organise an exercise referral programme for me, but I don't think it's going to work out before I move to Uni now, so I'm going to get re-referred when I get there. Hopefully having someone I'm accountable to will motivate me and then I'll be in the habit and keep it up on my own. Maybe. I really do hate exercise you know! lol Marathoning is way above me I'm afraid. Even I'm not that masochistic!
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Originally Posted by fishsandwich
Also, dare I ask if you actually weigh an overweight amount?? Women are forced to obsess over what we weigh, but it's usually counterproductive.
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I'm on the cusp of normal and overweight, and the heaviest I've ever been. I don't so much care about what other people think as want to regain a feeling of control over my own body.
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Originally Posted by fishsandwich
PS: I think one of the healthiest things I ever did was to learn not to evaluate my life/decisions/unhappiness through the lens of the diagnosis I was given. I learned to be stupid, chaotic, disorganised, rude, angry . . . even happy . . . without wondering how it fit into that psychiatric way of looking at the world. I wonder if you could work towards that.
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I think that I do definitely need to be more accepting of myself in general, but it's not something that comes naturally to me.
I see my CPN on Tues. My last one was very pro-choice about meds and psychiatry, and so I could talk through my confusion without being pushed one way or the other. Just talking it through out loud was often enough to help me reach a decision. I'm hoping that new CPN is equally as open-minded because I have no-one else IRL to run this by (everyone else is pro-meds).
Thank for all your responses fish
They've certainly given me a lot to think about
*Willow*