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mxihockey

Depression

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Never stop the meds cold turkey. It messes you up in a major way. Don't drink with the meds either. Actually, avoiding drinking altogether is wise.

I will second this. I've done it a few times because i didnt think I "needed" them, and trust me, I've had huge downward spirals. My recent one caused me to miss a semester of school. Even if you think everything is dandy, DONT STOP TAKING THEM.

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I agree with that. A lot of my episodes happened after I stopped playing hockey and a little bit when I stopped hitting the gym for travel hockey. If you take Ritalin I would suggest stopping and talking to your doctor as well. It increases dopamine in the brain so I started to abuse mine without really noticing I was abusing it.

Now I have a few questions for you guys. Do any of you guys feel like when you are off of meds you have destructive tendencies and when you are on meds you have the ultimate desire to stay away from destructive things? (alcohol for me)

Also for you fellow bipolars out there, when you are on a manic cycle do you sometimes find it very difficult to sleep at normal hours?

Lastly Do you ever cry tears of joy over little things that don't really call for it? That seemed to happen a lot for me.

Sometimes I don't sleep at all, routinely being awake for 40+ hour stretches multiple times in a single school week. After times like I almost enter a nocturnal period, sleeping from 7AM-7PM.

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Somewhere I heard the acronym 'HALT' for things that exacerbate depression/anxiety/mental illness - "Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired". Seems to cover the bases. With panic and bipolar disorder, I've had horrible sleep patterns, which messes up the waking hours, which further exacerbate the sleep problems. Exercise - hockey - definitely helps a lot - not just physical tiredness, but it's mentally calming. When I got back into hockey after a panic/etc induced hiatus, I played a two-hour pickup game and had the best sleep I'd had in over a year. :wub:

For me: the medication I take curtails my symptoms. They're reduced to background noise, but that's what therapy is for, too. With the meds it's easier to keep from getting too amped up or panicked or depressed, and easier to get out of it. They help me *think* about what's going on and back off - to calm down and say for example ok, I'm at the rink, here is what I am doing, what I am supposed to do, it's okay and nothing bad will happen. If I can survive a shift, I can survive a wait on the bench followed by another shift, etc.

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Meds do that for me too. Basically the have restored my common sense it seems, it can help me with just taking a step back and taking a deep breath.

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you dont need meds for depression, you just need a positive additude. Changes in your behavior changes your genetic. theres somthing called a epigenome that is a big part in turning off and on genes in cells aka how shit functions and what it does, mind over matter is really somthing !

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you dont need meds for depression, you just need a positive additude. Changes in your behavior changes your genetic. theres somthing called a epigenome that is a big part in turning off and on genes in cells aka how shit functions and what it does, mind over matter is really somthing ! wink.gif

Thats not always the case. Almost 2 years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD. Along with the flashbacks, the anxiety, also came both short and long bouts of depression. I can assure you that mind over matter would not have solved some of the situations I have been through since diagnosis, as much as I wanted it to, and as much as I tried. It was the aide of prescription drugs that have made the difference for me (amongst other things).

Pharmacuticals (when prescribed and taken properly) are really something!!

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you dont need meds for depression, you just need a positive additude. Changes in your behavior changes your genetic. theres somthing called a epigenome that is a big part in turning off and on genes in cells aka how shit functions and what it does, mind over matter is really somthing ! wink.gif

I definitely do not agree with this statement. You don't just need a positive attitude. Most of the time is is impossible to even obtain.

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I definitely do not agree with this statement. You don't just need a positive attitude. Most of the time is is impossible to even obtain.

This. You can't just tell yourself to be happy.

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Is it possible for someone to undergo a radical change by stopping cold turkey on a decent dosage of citalopram? I ask because my last relationship ended because my ex started acting strangely after she stopped taking them and she was on a moderate dosage of it before she said "I just need a positive attitude" and stopped taking them altogether.

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Is it possible for someone to undergo a radical change by stopping cold turkey on a decent dosage of citalopram? I ask because my last relationship ended because my ex started acting strangely after she stopped taking them and she was on a moderate dosage of it before she said "I just need a positive attitude" and stopped taking them altogether.

First off, I am by no means a doctor, so I am more than willing to admit if I am wrong here, so I'll only speak from my own experiences and people very close to me.

IMHO, is it possible to undergo a radical change? Yes, but not in a positive way. People I know have suffered from Serotonin Syndrome (Link). This was as a result of stopping other meds (specifically Lexapro) to try Viibryd, another depression medication.

The only time I have personally seen someone make a radical change for the "positive" going off of meds is when they go through a phase of Mania, and they were diagnosed Bipolar I. And that's not a real positive, because those people also the other side of the symptoms very quickly on their "Medication Holiday".

Now I could have some fact skewed/wrong, so I invite any of the Docs on this board to correct me, but from what I have seen, there is no real, actual benefit to stopping cold turkey with SSRI's. Your Doctor, if you/they think that you don't need them anymore should at the very least give you a taper to get off of them, as they also have other negative effects (liver damage, etc).

Hope the info helps.

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skeeter, That's precisely what I thought. It's a shame that she didn't change for the better but there was nothing I could do to stop her. She was supposed to wean off and she just stopped. I still wonder if that's why she ended up dumping me after 4+ years of a happy relationship- it went downhill quickly as soon as she stopped taking them.

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Is it possible for someone to undergo a radical change by stopping cold turkey on a decent dosage of citalopram? I ask because my last relationship ended because my ex started acting strangely after she stopped taking them and she was on a moderate dosage of it before she said "I just need a positive attitude" and stopped taking them altogether.

Anytime you plan to stop taking SSRI's you need to talk to your doctor who will prescribe an incredibly gradual weaning process. I stopped once and it was very, very unpleasant.

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I've dealt with bad anxiety and depression over the past few years. If you ever need someone to talk to I'm close by.

I have a question for those with bad anxiety......

How does marijuana affect your anxiety? Does it help?

I know a couple that smoke up regularly because of anxiety. It hasn't helped, it's just an excuse to get baked. They end up just as paranoid and would up, they just don't think they are.

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I have a question for those with bad anxiety......

How does marijuana affect your anxiety? Does it help?

Anecdata (talking to friends of mine) suggest that in the long term it actually worsens anxiety.

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I feel like most mind altering substances other than prescribed meds are harmful in the long run to depression. Drinking made me feel on top of the world at times when I was depressed, then I would sober up (sometimes) and then I would feel worse than before. It lead to suicide attempts and all sorts of bad decisions on my end. I could only just visit my exes grave about a week ago because I was constantly drunk and I didn't want to face "her" like that. A lot of the things you think help really don't in the long run. I'm not saying weed is as bad as alcohol abuse but I am certainly not going to be trying it anytime soon.

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I have noticed that the only time I experience my depression is when I am away from home playing hockey. I love hockey and all but I am alone most of the time and I also play on a losing team. I think the combination of lonliness and the fact that the team atmosphere is not good is a huge contributer to my depression. Anyone else in this scenario?

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Similar, last semester I didn't have a roommate and I was far from home, now my roommate and I do pretty much everything together and we are talking lots so I don't feel depressed or alone. Are you talking about billeting or when you are on a travel road trip?

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Billeting. I lived alone in my brothers house while he was in afghanistan for 4 months until he came back but still he is working all the time. Plus I live 5 hours away from my hometown and i'm 16 turning 17 it takes a toll mentally.

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I can only imagine the kind of toll that takes man, my best advice is to try and make friends at school. (I know it's hard on a AAA/Junior schedule trust me) if you struggle having a good team dynamic. I find talking about my problems to be very therapeutic especially with females (they seems to understand a little better)

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I think I might be somewhat depressed .... I have a history with Sciatic nerve problems.. I had been pain free for a year and half but the pain came back early this month. I have had 2 steroid shots and it hasn't taken the pain away. Couple this with the pain keeping me from being active and myself turning 30 in a month and I just feel off. I would rather just stay in bed , I'm short with everyone , and just don't feel like my old self. I feel really helpless because there is nothing I can do to stop this pain. I want to go work out or get on the ice but physically I can't . Its seriously horrible.

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Personally, I think the medications are probably the worst thing you can do to yourself.

I'm not going to sit here and say that depression is all in your head, because I do believe that sometimes it really is a physical issue and a chemical imbalance, but I think it has far more to do with our current North American lifestyle and diet than the fact that our brains don't work right.

There is an overabundance of people being diagnosed with all sorts of disorders. I think, in the majority of cases, it's because people want an excuse for why they feel shitty.

It's because we're lazy. Move your ass, eat properly, and in all but a minor percentage of cases, I'd be surprised if the "depression" hung around.

If you still love going out and playing hockey, having sex, and enjoy your other hobbies, you're not depressed, you just feel bad. If you hate doing all of the things that used to bring you joy, then you probably want to seek some help.

And yes, this is coming from a guy who spent a few years on meds, has a family history of depression, and deals with "feeling depressed" almost on a daily basis. But over the years I've come to realize that it's more because I'm lazy and don't do the the things that put me in a better mood (exercise a lot, eat properly, etc.).

That said, this is by no means belittling people who may be struggling with actual depression. I'm just saying that, in my opinion, it's becoming an overused diagnosis tossed around to sell pills. In 90% of the cases, a pill is NOT what you need.

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I disagree completley. Without meds it doesn't matter what I do I will feel depressed, there are different forms of imbalances as well. Maybe meds were bad for you, but they are great for some people. I live a very active lifestyle, hell athletes deal with depression on a regular basis as well. I had no sex drive, hockey wasn't interesting and work bored the hell out of me, whilst school just stressed me.

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