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What I have learned from my suicidal patients

theguardian.com

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Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#41

Post by petercooper »

Fnoord wrote: post #19
sillysaurusx wrote: post #9

I just wanted to say, if anyone is having a dark time, make an appointment with a doctor and ask them about Prozac. Unlike most antidepressants, the side effects don’t seem very noticeable. I think there’s a sort of stigma against talking about mental health (except in the third person), but it’s one of those things that should probably change. Taking Prozac doesn’t mean you’re somehow broken. It’s like a crutch: why…

I'm on Prozac. Mild side effects? When I started with it, my muscles hurt for weeks . I had to quit coffee (temporarily). I had to stop exercising (temporarily), and I was also very tired for weeks. Slowly all of that became less severe, though it never truly went away. Add to that, when I started my partner was about to bare our first-born. It was a hell of a time in my life, in many ways. A rollercoaster for sure.…

I used it so I can better cope with autism.

Has it actually worked? Your post outlines all of the bad things you've experienced, but has it, on the balance of things, been worth it?

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#42

Post by erokar »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #40
Fnoord wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on Prozac. Mild side effects? When I started with it, my muscles hurt for weeks . I had to quit coffee (temporarily). I had to stop exercising (temporarily), and I was also very tired for weeks. Slowly all of that became less severe, though it never truly went away. Add to that, when I started my partner was about to bare our first-born. It was a hell of a time in my life, in many ways. A rollercoaster for sure.…

>Nearly all medicine have side effects. People should be informed about them (it is included with the medicine, at least here). Most medicine has minimal side effects for most people. "Very common" side effects are ones that effect 10% of people taking the medication. People should be aware that side effects are possible, but they are unlikely. Going in with the attitude that side effects are inevitable makes one mor…

Most people will experience noticeable side effects from antidepressants for at least a week. It doesn't sound like you ever tried one honestly.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#43

Post by erokar »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #9

I just wanted to say, if anyone is having a dark time, make an appointment with a doctor and ask them about Prozac. Unlike most antidepressants, the side effects don’t seem very noticeable. I think there’s a sort of stigma against talking about mental health (except in the third person), but it’s one of those things that should probably change. Taking Prozac doesn’t mean you’re somehow broken. It’s like a crutch: why…

Prozac is not better than other antidepressants. It's good that you didn't experience side effects, but you can't generalize from that.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#44

Post by exolymph »

0xcde4c3db wrote: post #38

> To feel depressed about the state of your life is to demonstrate capacity to imagine something different, and that spark of imagination can prove a motive to change. This was arguably true for me, but not in a good way. I'm pretty sure that I started having intrusive suicidal thoughts because my depression had motivated me to try to change. Said changes utterly failed to even make a dent in my depression, finally c…

> Said changes utterly failed to even make a dent in my depression, finally convincing me that nothing I did would ever make me feel good again (this was after multiple trials of antidepressants and talk therapy over the course of 10+ years; it's not like this was the first thing I tried).

Oof, I didn't have quite as hard of a time as you, but that description resonates a lot. My experience(s) with depression have taught me to never make empty promises to people — it is cruel to present psychiatry or therapy as One Weird Trick™ that'll definitely solve your problems, as opposed to an option worth trying. In reality it's a crapshoot and you might luck out, but you also might not.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#45

Post by agumonkey »

sysbin wrote: post #14

I theorize society would be a better place if people could choose to end their life when they please by assistance in dying (commonly given to terminally ill). Although the idea is controversial I'm firmly attached to it from what I've witnessed in my life. Some people just have a terrible fate and nothing that comes in their life changes it because not everyone gets a good job, significant other, place to call home,…

Some people have all that yet have suicidal tendencies I believe. It should be normal to try to fix those bugs.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#46

Post by sysbin »

agumonkey wrote: post #45
sysbin wrote: post #14

I theorize society would be a better place if people could choose to end their life when they please by assistance in dying (commonly given to terminally ill). Although the idea is controversial I'm firmly attached to it from what I've witnessed in my life. Some people just have a terrible fate and nothing that comes in their life changes it because not everyone gets a good job, significant other, place to call home,…

Some people have all that yet have suicidal tendencies I believe. It should be normal to try to fix those bugs.

I see that rhetoric get thrown around once in awhile and I wonder if people that use it in fact work in the healthcare field. Sure, we get anomalies in life but it doesn't make sense to oppose someone of their wish to die because of it.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#47

Post by RobertRoberts »

0xcde4c3db wrote: post #38

> To feel depressed about the state of your life is to demonstrate capacity to imagine something different, and that spark of imagination can prove a motive to change. This was arguably true for me, but not in a good way. I'm pretty sure that I started having intrusive suicidal thoughts because my depression had motivated me to try to change. Said changes utterly failed to even make a dent in my depression, finally c…

The only thing that helped me with decades of depression was real hope. And even then it took years of having hope with lots of support from family (generic support in life, I kept my depression a secret) before I finally beat depression.

I've been free of suicidal thoughts for about 6 or 7 years now.

I don't think there is a short cut.

Keep working at it. Look for reasons to keep fighting and you will find them eventually. If you look for reasons to be depressed and give up you will find them too.

Stick with it even if you don't feel better. What other choice do you have? It's a sucky reality while you are in it. But one thing that helped me was to focus on other people. Especially when I felt my worst. It gave me just the tinniest amount of reason to keep going. And sometimes that is all you are going to get.

I am really sorry you are stuck here. There are a lot of people who understand how truly awful it can be.

I just put an email address in my about. I don't check it often. But feel free to email me if you just want to vent.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#48

Post by erokar »

sysbin wrote: post #14

I theorize society would be a better place if people could choose to end their life when they please by assistance in dying (commonly given to terminally ill). Although the idea is controversial I'm firmly attached to it from what I've witnessed in my life. Some people just have a terrible fate and nothing that comes in their life changes it because not everyone gets a good job, significant other, place to call home,…

This is a horrible idea. A lot of people commit suicide because of treatable depression, i.e. the wish to die is temporary and could go away with treatment.

There are certainly a lot of things that could make society a better place, suggesting more people start killing themselves is not on the top of my list.

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#49

Post by hos234 »

sysbin wrote: post #14

I theorize society would be a better place if people could choose to end their life when they please by assistance in dying (commonly given to terminally ill). Although the idea is controversial I'm firmly attached to it from what I've witnessed in my life. Some people just have a terrible fate and nothing that comes in their life changes it because not everyone gets a good job, significant other, place to call home,…

It's not straight forward. Someone has to be involved in the process of validating that decision and then we get these kind of clowns - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/4215059/Dignita...

Re: What I have learned from my suicidal patients

#50

Post by zzo38computer »

sysbin wrote: post #14

I theorize society would be a better place if people could choose to end their life when they please by assistance in dying (commonly given to terminally ill). Although the idea is controversial I'm firmly attached to it from what I've witnessed in my life. Some people just have a terrible fate and nothing that comes in their life changes it because not everyone gets a good job, significant other, place to call home,…

I think only in rare cases should be assistance by dying. In most cases either you can recover or you can commit suicide alone instead.
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