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Tips for the depressed

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Re: Tips for the depressed

#41

Post by rjkennedy98 »

htk wrote: post #25

AFTER FIFTY YEARS, billions of dollars of intensive marketing campaigns, and tens of billions of dollars of profits for pharmaceutical companies, it is still far from clear that antidepressant drugs are any more effective than placebo. The only group of people who have demonstrably benefited from the widespread use of antidepressants are pharmaceutical executives and investors. I don't think this is accurate or helpf…

> I don't think this is accurate

Yes it is accurate. It is very accurate. The garbage studies routinely dumped on us by Big Pharma have been continually debunked, reversed, and retracted after the raw data comes out (often in lawsuits).

Nevermind the complete absence of long-term studies or any studies that reflect the actually usage of these drugs in the real world.

Re: Tips for the depressed

#42

Post by depressed1 »

durpleDrank wrote: post #2

Drink more water. Sleep more. Exercise. Stop listening to depressing music. Listen to happy music. Focus on the good things in your life. Force yourself to think about them at least daily. Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop feeling envy. Be creative and do something that's fun. Buy a note book, write all your problems down and work them out that way. In fact, write everything in your notebook. Journal. Plan. Dra…

PLEASE STOP

"Sleep more. Exercise. ... Stop worrying so much."

Most of of this "advice" is profoundly insulting to depressed people.

It not different than recommending a paraplegic person to learn to run... just do it one step at the time.

I understand that you are writing this advice in good faith, but it is not how depression works.

There's even a whole subreddit dedicated to such bad advice https://www.reddit.com/r/wowthanksimcured/

Re: Tips for the depressed

#43

Post by watwut »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #3

One of the biggest force multipliers in overcoming depression is accepting that you can modulate your condition by taking small, deliberate actions. It's also one of the most difficult and delicate ideas to communicate to a depressed person. Depression notoriously clouds peoples' judgment and makes simple tasks seem impossible. Depression also encourages a lot of binary thinking, where people tend to give up because…

> It took a while for them to accept that a 5-minute walk around the block is better than no exercise at all.

Because while it is good for your physical health, mentally it feels much worst then doing nothing. It reminds you of everything you cant do anymore. It makes you feel like shell of yourself. It also feels empty and you get none of the good felling you get from full workout.

Re: Tips for the depressed

#44

Post by klyrs »

econcon wrote: post #30

I was depressed for sometime till I found I've low T, once I supplemented it depression disappeared. I wonder why doctors don't ask you to get your T level checked when they find you depressed instead of prescribing antidepressants.

Testosterone has a lot of side effects people don't like: "male pattern baldness", hair growth pretty much everywhere else, acne, breast growth, changes in libido (either direction). Testosterone has been implicated in reduced longevity in men, too. As you note, it can have significant impact on emotional wellbeing, and that can also go either way.

Re: Tips for the depressed

#45

Post by jotm »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #13
jotm wrote: post #5

I hope they work for some, but for me, SSRI's are frankly, trash. All the downsides with none of the upsides. The only thing that worked was Imipramine, and I can't get it anymore because it's "old" and "not recommended". The newer focus on psychedelics and drugs usually used for recreational purposes seems more encouraging. If you're anti-depressant resistant, I'd recommend you try Gabapentin, a seemingly overlooked…

> I hope they work for some, but for me, SSRI's are frankly, trash. All the downsides with none of the upsides. They absolutely work for many people. Unfortunately, many people deprive themselves of SSRI trials because they read too many negative anecdotes online. If you're seriously depressed for an extended period of time, it's worth a trial of an SSRI medication. If it doesn't work, just taper off and be done with…

Of course, it's worth trying anything.

I did say they didn't work for me. Sertraline and fluoxetine specifically.

Anyone suffering should go to a doctor and try some medication. It's better than giving up thinking nothing will work (which is a symptom of depression!).

Re: Tips for the depressed

#46

Post by PragmaticPulp »

magduf wrote: post #23
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hope they work for some, but for me, SSRI's are frankly, trash. All the downsides with none of the upsides. They absolutely work for many people. Unfortunately, many people deprive themselves of SSRI trials because they read too many negative anecdotes online. If you're seriously depressed for an extended period of time, it's worth a trial of an SSRI medication. If it doesn't work, just taper off and be done with…

>Please don't recommend Phenibut. It's not an antidepressant. It's highly addictive and has severe rebound and withdrawal symptoms. Drugs that make you temporarily feel good should not be confused with antidepressant drugs. This kinda sounds like drugs like clonazepam or lorazepam. They're also very addictive, and are not antidepressants at all, however they are anti-anxiety drugs and they work very quickly. And anxi…

> This kinda sounds like drugs like clonazepam or lorazepam. They're also very addictive, and are not antidepressants at all, however they are anti-anxiety drugs and they work very quickly. And anxiety and depression seem to go hand-in-hand for many sufferers, so they do seem to really help some people, at least initially.

Phenibut works through similar pathways as those drugs. A lot of people overestimate their understanding of Phenibut by reducing it to a simple GABA-B agonist, but at the high doses that people take for euphoric effects it's actually doing a lot more.

> I think a big problem is the medical establishment really doesn't have a good handle on what depression really is (biologically) or how to treat it.

We can always improve, yes, but the standard treatment protocols (therapy, lifestyle changes, therapy + medication) are actually quite decent if you find a provider who cares enough to work with you. Many people find a lot of relief through standard practices. Unfortunately, many people don't have the resources or patience for therapy, and they won't tolerate any side effects from medication (which tend to diminish over time). A lot of those cases are the most vocally negative about depression treatment and "big pharma", skewing the overall perception. Many of the SSRI and therapy success stories don't go broadcasting their depression stories to the world. They just quietly go back to their lives.

Re: Tips for the depressed

#47

Post by GordonS »

jotm wrote: post #5

I hope they work for some, but for me, SSRI's are frankly, trash. All the downsides with none of the upsides. The only thing that worked was Imipramine, and I can't get it anymore because it's "old" and "not recommended". The newer focus on psychedelics and drugs usually used for recreational purposes seems more encouraging. If you're anti-depressant resistant, I'd recommend you try Gabapentin, a seemingly overlooked…

> The somewhat similar Phenibut also works, but it's a direct GABA agonist with terrible withdrawal symptoms and an extremely fast tolerance buildup

Some antidepressants can have terrible withdrawal symptoms too - I went through the worst couple of weeks of my life after tapering off dosulpine, and I know someone else who had it rough after tapering off a tricyclic.

Re: Tips for the depressed

#48

Post by PragmaticPulp »

GordonS wrote: post #47
jotm wrote: post #5

I hope they work for some, but for me, SSRI's are frankly, trash. All the downsides with none of the upsides. The only thing that worked was Imipramine, and I can't get it anymore because it's "old" and "not recommended". The newer focus on psychedelics and drugs usually used for recreational purposes seems more encouraging. If you're anti-depressant resistant, I'd recommend you try Gabapentin, a seemingly overlooked…

> The somewhat similar Phenibut also works, but it's a direct GABA agonist with terrible withdrawal symptoms and an extremely fast tolerance buildup Some antidepressants can have terrible withdrawal symptoms too - I went through the worst couple of weeks of my life after tapering off dosulpine, and I know someone else who had it rough after tapering off a tricyclic.

> Some antidepressants can have terrible withdrawal symptoms too - I went through the worst couple of weeks of my life after tapering off dosulpine, and I know someone else who had it rough after tapering off a tricyclic.

Apples and oranges. Not all withdrawals are equally bad.

Savvy healthcare providers will switch you to Fluoxetine, which has an extremely long half-life, and then taper the Fluoxetine.

Phenibut's withdrawal symptoms are on another level entirely, especially when people take abuse-level dosages to feel temporary euphoria: https://www.reddit.com/r/quittingphenibut/

Re: Tips for the depressed

#49

Post by papreclip »

htk wrote: post #25

AFTER FIFTY YEARS, billions of dollars of intensive marketing campaigns, and tens of billions of dollars of profits for pharmaceutical companies, it is still far from clear that antidepressant drugs are any more effective than placebo. The only group of people who have demonstrably benefited from the widespread use of antidepressants are pharmaceutical executives and investors. I don't think this is accurate or helpf…

it is accurate. i don't know if it's helpful to the antidepressant drug user, though. placebos work better than nothing, but not if you know they're placebos

Re: Tips for the depressed

#50

Post by quotz »

Had minor depression that lasted 2 years, visited a few psychiatrists who wanted to prescribe meds, which I refused. Despite nothing bad happening in my life, I felt depressed, therefore logically I assumed it must be my health. I tested for everything in my blood tests, and I went to every specific parameter and researched very well about it. Turns out, labs have very bad standardized measures about testosterone, which puts 20year olds and 70 year olds in the same bracket. I had the testosterone of a 60 year old. I got on testosterone replacement therapy and literally it helped in a week!

Conclusion: Sometimes its not your environment, or bad stuff happening in your life. Sometimes its just bad doctors and terrible public healthcare that doesnt have a stake in your wellness. Check your testosterone people!

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