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One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

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Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My anxiety now is that using THC to sleep will cause issues long term. But without it I literally cannot get to sleep anymore. Edit: I regret pulling focus off parent comment and OP, but also deeply appreciate everyone’s comments.

If you can, try Semaglutide. I am a top % light sleeper - hard to sleep, inconsistent, never could sleep outside of basically ideal conditions. Was prescribed Tirzepatide (similar to Semaglutide) and it fixed my sleep like nothing else has - I actually feel tired at a normal hour and doze off , two thing I never really did before. At the lowest dose you won't lose weight beyond the first few months, and you can maint…

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Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#172

Weird, whenever I pull an all nighter my mood is usually noticeably depressed for the following two days. I also used to be a bit of an insomniac, and one sleepless night could easily throw off my circadian rhythm, creating all sorts of extra anxiety, which translates into demand avoidance, stress and furthering depression.

Yes, the 'sleep hangover': the after-effect that told me that what I was doing to myself by regularly staying up for 48 hours was similar to drinking a quart or two of scotch.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#173

Not for me. I think this will vary by person, especially as causes of depression vary and the whole phenomena is not fully understood. But for me, depression can be bouts of fatigue and lethargy, but also are sometimes accompanied by crippling thoughts off.. well, things that keep me awake. And losing an entire nights sleep like that was not at all helpful. I felt just as bad or worse, only with some additional thing…

Not for me either. But my insomnia is incredibly bad.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can, try Semaglutide. I am a top % light sleeper - hard to sleep, inconsistent, never could sleep outside of basically ideal conditions. Was prescribed Tirzepatide (similar to Semaglutide) and it fixed my sleep like nothing else has - I actually feel tired at a normal hour and doze off , two thing I never really did before. At the lowest dose you won't lose weight beyond the first few months, and you can maint…

I appreciate this greatly. After reading a lot of these comments I think I’m smart enough to realize it’s time to get help. I’ll speak with them about this idea and others.

A lot of "help" in this space are things like z-drugs, benzos, antihistamines like hydroxyzine, low doses of atypical antipsychotics like Seroquel, and antidepressants like Trazodone and mirtazapine.

IMO, THC can be the lesser of two evils in comparison.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#175
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went several years more or less depressed and observed this phenomenon and utilized it. Night of Kerbal Space Program and next day the world is much better. For a while. Also, a lot fuzzier. And I couldn't code very well (just good enough to do my job so everyone was happy but I could feel slipping). Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. But, for sure in a pinch it does alleviate unbearable darkness. Th…

> Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. How did you find that therapy helped you? I've started therapy a few months back and so far I can't find all that much value in it. They can't fix any of the stuff that is making me depressed, so it mostly feels like I'm mainly getting self help style advice.

That’s my experience as well- though my therapy was a while ago. I had worked a stretch of utterly miserable jobs back then and conversation would always drift back to the work mess I likely left just prior and only frustrate me more. I saw several, mostly because I’d be on different insurance plans, etc. But not once did anyone say “maybe you need a new career path?” If anyone of them had followed that up with “and since procrastination is a problem why don’t we work on helping you get there”, I’d be singing the praises of the field.

I’m not hating on the profession or anything and I have friends who swear by it. But each of them, after a bunch of these sessions I could almost see a hint in their eyes of “damnit… none of this crap is working.” Like I slightly felt bad for them in a way. Slightly.

And honestly, given the trajectory of the world, I’d be more concerned if many people weren’t depressed.

Out of the field, personally I did like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), but it mostly reinforced what I’d learned from a decade of meditation and my buddhist practice.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#177
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went several years more or less depressed and observed this phenomenon and utilized it. Night of Kerbal Space Program and next day the world is much better. For a while. Also, a lot fuzzier. And I couldn't code very well (just good enough to do my job so everyone was happy but I could feel slipping). Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. But, for sure in a pinch it does alleviate unbearable darkness. Th…

> Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. How did you find that therapy helped you? I've started therapy a few months back and so far I can't find all that much value in it. They can't fix any of the stuff that is making me depressed, so it mostly feels like I'm mainly getting self help style advice.

You might not have a good fit with your therapist. It took me a few tries but once I found someone with a similar mode of thinking I got a lot more out of the discussions because she said things (often the same things as the prior shrinks) in a way that resonated with my brain better.

In that regard, therapy never fixed my problems, but it did help me recognize unhealthy thinking patterns and provide mechanisms for handling them, both of which have helped me avoid spirals and getting trapped in negative thought processes.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#178
Now that I'm thinking about this, you can pull in an all-nighter on Thursday then wfh on Friday and just catch up on sleep over the weekend. People at work won't mind and the wife and kids will be okay as long as you're caught up for Saturday. This was timely advice.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#179
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went several years more or less depressed and observed this phenomenon and utilized it. Night of Kerbal Space Program and next day the world is much better. For a while. Also, a lot fuzzier. And I couldn't code very well (just good enough to do my job so everyone was happy but I could feel slipping). Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. But, for sure in a pinch it does alleviate unbearable darkness. Th…

> Therapy and SSRI:s worked much better in the end. How did you find that therapy helped you? I've started therapy a few months back and so far I can't find all that much value in it. They can't fix any of the stuff that is making me depressed, so it mostly feels like I'm mainly getting self help style advice.

Therapy helped me when I did it in a group. Mostly in making me realize how good I had it.

People that weren’t able to drive, weren’t able to go outside at all etc. I was just permanently afraid.

What I gained from my other sessions was mostly a ‘get out of jail’ free card to unload all of my thoughts. You can only do that on your family and friends so many time before it starts to wear on them hearing the same things again. But my therapist is paid for that shit, so I have no compunctions.

SSRI worked much better on a daily basis, but the therapy was nice when things were bad.

Re: One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days in mice

#180

Having suffered from severe depression for over forty years, this reminds me of when I was 17, 18, etc. and suddenly discovered that if I stayed up for two days, the problem went away. So I knew this a very long time ago; but it always seemed to me that, besides smoking, this was just about one of the worst habits you could develop. By my mid-twenties, I had stopped.

I recently was forced off of SSRIs after nearly ten years because I lost my psychiatrist and couldn't get a new one because the waitlists were ridiculous. After 10 years on them, the next 6 months were absolute hell (i legit thought at one point I might go full Joaquin Phoenix in Joker) but I made it through, no small part thanks to my wonderful amazing wife. Rebound depression have been an issue - though in general…

That's terrible man.

I hate being dependent on a doc. Try to reduce this horrible risk by going up and down on dose to get a little stock pile to feel a bit safer.

But changes little I guess

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