Embarrassed to go to the doctor

[notorious bum]

Oh, but I don't claim all chinese medicine is superior, only pointing out what many westerners still believe: that our medicine or modern science is the law when it comes to healing.

[Pyree]

Depression is a lot unlike other illnesses, it affects everyone so differently, and the treatments that work are very different for different people. Some people are able to get themselves out of mild depressions on their own, but a lot of people can't. It's completely ok for you to need help from someone else. You could consider trying some of the things already mentioned first, such as exercise, new hobbies, etc. If your symptoms aren't improving, then go see a doctor. It's up to you and your doctor to decide if just therapy or a combination of therapy and medication would be best for you. Really, there isn't just an end-all, be-all solution that anyone here is going to be able to give you. Just a lot of things that you can try, and eventually something will work. You should start trying to work through it now though. It will snowball if left unattended.

My story was pretty similar to what you've said, actually. I was depressed for over 8 years before I got help for it. I had my high and low points during that time, but I always told myself that I could get over it on my own, or rather that I have to get over it on my own or else it's a sign of weakness. It wasn't until I was partway through college that I was finally able to tell my parents that I needed help, through email because the words never come out when I tried to talk to them about it. Their response surprised me, they were immediately very understanding and encouraging, and they wanted to do whatever they could to get me healthy. I had never heard about it before this point, but my mom told me that my family has a strong history of mental illness and suicide attempts. Nearly everyone on my mom's side of the family has attempted suicide before, and a few people on my dad's side as well, so my parents weren't taking the issue lightly.

I first tried to work through it with just therapy, but after several months, it didn't seem like I was making progress so I tried to supplement the therapy with medication. I went through around a year of therapy and trying various medications for mood and sleep where nothing for mood seemed to be working (the sleeping pills were great!). This time actually was probably the worst time in my life, I was losing more and more hope because it seemed I was trying everything and still nothing was making me better. I was hospitalized three times for depression/suicide attempts, twice voluntarily and once involuntarily. I was diagnosed with Major Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and there's a specific therapy that has had good results for BPD so I tried that. Actually I had to, agreeing to it was the only way the courts would allow for me to be released from my involuntary hospital stay. This therapy was called DBT, and it ended up helping me a lot. I've since gone off of medications but I still have weekly therapy, and I'm stable.

But yeah, doctors are used to this, don't be afraid to reach out! It's best to try to treat this kind of thing right away, it'll get worse otherwise.

[Brill Weave]

Go to the doctor not a forum.

[Shazaam]

ever underestimate the power of exercise and meditation..

Tai Qi has basically restored order to my personal physical and mental well-being ever since stopped being so big-headed and tried it a year ago. Its amazing how we hold western medicine as the one-and-only truth above all other alternatives.

The Pharmaceutical practice has only been around for about 40yrs? Meanwhile the Chinese have been practicing medicine for centuries, yet their methods are considered fake, superstitious, and etc.




Care to elaborate? Just because you don't understand or disagree doesn't mean my reasoning is invalid.

You are an idiot.

Just because you don't understand or disagree doesn't mean my reasoning is invalid.

[Galaika]

To quote a great man "By definition, alternative medicine has either not been proved to work or been proved not to work. You know what they call alternative medicine that has been proved to work? Medicine."

Meditation and the like is all mental and relaxation, if you spent some time lying down listening to relaxing music it would probably have the same effect. Any chinese herbal remedy id either completely based on the placebo effect (which is incredibly strong) and therefore overpriced crap, or has already been discovered by 'western medicine' had the active ingredient extracted and refined and sold as a drug.

There's also nothing magical about exercise being good for you mentally and physically. Exercise releases a shitload of endorphines.

[notorious bum]

To quote a great man "By definition, alternative medicine has either not been proved to work or been proved not to work. You know what they call alternative medicine that has been proved to work? Medicine."

Yet, psychiatric drug trials don't follow any kind of rules that would give credible evidence that they "work", let alone PROVE how it works.

Make no mistake, I'm not one of those egocentric guys who put the asian culture on a pedestal. However, when it comes to most psychiatrics, SSRI's especially, we know that just as much placebo-effect plays into these drugs as does things like accupuncture. Except, unlike a harmless placebo, these drugs will kill you if you decide to take the easy road, along the way or after you arrive to Pleasantville.

Also, that definition of meditation is a crude generalization and only another example of the limits of western medicine's understanding. You cannot even meditate properly if you "listen to relaxing music". The key is to release everything and you cannot do that if you are still processing sensory. But, I don't want to go onto a rant, it is really one of those things you have to experience in order to find out whether it works or not.

[Galaika]

it is really one of those things you have to experience in order to find out whether it works or not.

Yes, but by just experiencing it and seeing if it helps, you have no way to say for sure that it was doing that that made you feel better. There are a million and one other factors which could have contributed to the improvement. Anecdotal evidence helps no-one.

[rog]

let alone PROVE how it works.

Is that important?

[Shazaam]

Yet, psychiatric drug trials don't follow any kind of rules that would give credible evidence that they "work", let alone PROVE how it works.

Make no mistake, I'm not one of those egocentric guys who put the asian culture on a pedestal. However, when it comes to most psychiatrics, SSRI's especially, we know that just as much placebo-effect plays into these drugs as does things like accupuncture. Except, unlike a harmless placebo, these drugs will kill you if you decide to take the easy road, along the way or after you arrive to Pleasantville.

Also, that definition of meditation is a crude generalization and only another example of the limits of western medicine's understanding. You cannot even meditate properly if you "listen to relaxing music". The key is to release everything and you cannot do that if you are still processing sensory. But, I don't want to go onto a rant, it is really one of those things you have to experience in order to find out whether it works or not.

No... you are an egocentric guy who is an idiot.

Please don't feed the idiot-troll. Just call him what he is, and ignore his bullshit.


Just because you don't understand or disagree doesn't mean my reasoning is invalid.

[notorious bum]

It only takes 1 post to declare you're a dumb fuck with nothing to add, but nice job repeating yourself like the mentally-challenged inbred that you are.

With that said, I was planning to let the topic rest since I have no intentions on arguing who's opinions are more betterer and I agree with most of what Galaika has said anyways.

Thanks for championing the American stereotype, asshole.

[Nekio]

It only takes 1 post to declare you're a dumb fuck with nothing to add, but nice job repeating yourself like the mentally-challenged inbred that you are.

With that said, I was planning to let the topic rest since I have no intentions on arguing who's opinions are more betterer and I agree with most of what Galaika has said anyways.

Thanks for championing the American stereotype, asshole.

As somebody who has spent 8 years and a quarter of a million dollars studying medicine (ALL medicine, traditional and alternative), I can solidly confirm that this guy has no fucking clue what the hell he's talking about. The sad thing is, despite growing up in upstate New York and never setting foot in Asia, I probably know more about "Eastern" medicine than this schmuck because I've actually read the studies conducted, proving which therapies work and which ones don't.

And lol at

Yet, psychiatric drug trials don't follow any kind of rules that would give credible evidence that they "work", let alone PROVE how it works.

Psychiatric drug trials follow the same "rules" as every other medical trial. Unfortunately, without training in statistics and an understanding of how to interpret studies, the layperson is going to make incorrect conclusions based off those studies. And, ironically, the only reason acupuncture still carries the "might work" label instead of the "bullshit" label is because it's damn near impossible to conduct a study involving "placebo" acupuncture using established study design rules. Study after study after study has shown that it doesn't matter how you stick people with needles, it always works for some unknown reason (ie. placebo effect). And, for the record, I recommend acupuncture for my patients all the time.

P.S. Untreated depression has killed a hell of a lot more people than any antidepressant ever has. Over 32,000 people successfully killed themselves intentionally in 2005 in the US alone.

[Rementoire]

Lately I have been noticing that I have been having mood swings

Lately, as in, coinciding with the onset of Winter? Sit yourself next to a 100 watt light bulb for 15-30 minutes.

And, to the mention of exercise, that'll certainly help, though it's just been far too cold to go outside. One of these days, I'm just going to get out there and start running. It's happened before.

It's called "winter".

Welcome to winter!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasona...ctive_disorder

Your just a beutiful flower who wants the sun to bloom!

[notorious bum]

Just wanted to add that any jackass layperson can google the word "placebo" and "antidepressant" and find out just HOW MUCH corruption and lack of cohesion there is in the drug trials in comparison to other drugs. This is old news actually, its not some conspiracy or my armchair medical expertise here saying this, its piles of research journals and credible news sources. Hell, even Newsweek covered one of the researchers who helped bring data to light.

But nice job pointing out you have participated in these mockeries you call clinical trials. Even with my lame ass pharm tech degree that collects dust is enough to say I probably know just as much about drug research as you do, and maybe more since I'm not viewing this from some bias perspective that requires riding the pharma dick-wagon.

P.S. Untreated depression has killed a hell of a lot more people than any antidepressant ever has. Over 32,000 people successfully killed themselves intentionally in 2005 in the US alone.

Conveniently leaving out the fact that antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts(even if the patient never had them previously) while taking and completing/ending treatment. Cool, we could possibly increase the suicide rate if everyone had the benefit of taking antidepressants.

[Weeks]

Conveniently leaving out the fact that antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts(even if the patient never had them previously) while taking and completing/ending treatment. Cool, we could possibly increase the suicide rate if everyone had the benefit of taking antidepressants.

Utterly unfounded and out of touch with the prevailing opinion regarding the increased suicide risk, FYI.

You also need to stop getting your information from Newsweek, or at least read past the headline. Everyone in the profession should know how weakly the pathophysiology they're treating is supported, and the modest benefit over placebo (In what happens to be a particularly significant placebo effect). Bottom line is most people with depression will respond, the drugs are much safer than the tinfoil hat crowd that you belong to suggests, and given the realities of the medical landscape it's usually the most realistic approach to treatment.

[notorious bum]

First off, I don't read newsweek lol I simply dropped a name to give a mainstream article about that particular data published I was referring to in my placebo argument.

Secondly, how can you even begin to lecture me with such arrogant remarks like this

Bottom line is most people with depression will respond, the drugs are much safer than the tinfoil hat crowd that you belong to suggests

Why go through the effort of basically reiterating my point and then try to say I don't know what I'm talking about because I mentioned alternative methods(tin foil, lol).

[Nekio]

Believing in the proven benefits of alternative medicines doesn't make you "tin foil". However, believing that somehow doctors benefit from prescribing medicines and/or intentionally harming patients, does.

By the way, I worked as a pharmacy tech for 6 years prior to going to medical school. Want to tell me you also have a degree in public health? Or wait, you're the surgeon general? I assure you, I know a metric shit-ton more than you do about this subject, seeing as I do it 12 hours a day 6 days a week.

You strike me as one of those anti-establishment retards who thinks that just because something/someone is accepted, popular or in a position of power it somehow must be misleading, corrupt and toxic. Just because you didn't fit into the system and make it work to your advantage, that doesn't make you a rebel. Similarly, just because I built a successful career doing something that matters to me and other people, that doesn't mean I'm close-minded. Don't be ignorant.

[notorious bum]

Believing in the proven benefits of alternative medicines doesn't make you "tin foil". However, believing that somehow doctors benefit from prescribing medicines and/or intentionally harming patients, does.

Where the fuck did I allude to the fact I think doctors intentionally harm their patients for profit? I'm about as conspire-y as any other internet expert, but I'm not that demented.

By the way, I worked as a pharmacy tech for 6 years prior to going to medical school. Want to tell me you also have a degree in public health? Or wait, you're the surgeon general? I assure you, I know a metric shit-ton more than you do about this subject, seeing as I do it 12 hours a day 6 days a week.

And, my cousin has been facilitating weed for over 20yrs now. I know all about public health and pharmacies. Bitch, I got this.

You strike me as one of those anti-establishment retards who thinks that just because something/someone is accepted, popular or in a position of power it somehow must be misleading, corrupt and toxic.

Damn, you must really hate coming to these forums.

Just because you didn't fit into the system and make it work to your advantage, that doesn't make you a rebel. Similarly, just because I built a successful career doing something that matters to me and other people, that doesn't mean I'm close-minded. Don't be ignorant.

Man, I don't hate the player, I hate the game. Get it straight.

[Shazaam]

It only takes 1 post to declare you're a dumb fuck with nothing to add, but nice job repeating yourself like the mentally-challenged inbred that you are.

You perfectly describe yourself.


"And, my cousin has been facilitating weed for over 20yrs now. I know all about public health and pharmacies. Bitch, I got this."

"Just because you don't understand or disagree doesn't mean my reasoning is invalid."