Wellness

[hckynut]

@Teddie

Nothing wrong with researching any or everything important in ones life. As with purchasing things "Knowledge is Power". There are good online sources, but unfortunately many bad ones as well. My best allie with my mental and physical health has been my long time relationship with learning, in person, from experts in their fields.

Throw in my decades of personal experiences with very serious  physical and mental health issues and nothing teaches a person better than having their own personal experiences and battles with these serious issues.

I happen to be one that picks my own doctors, and have for many decades now. My choices are their qualifications/referrals by others(patients and other doctors), and most of all, trusting them with life altering or life saving treatments for myself and my wife.

Having doctors in my direct family and several are my best friends, certainly has made my trust even stronger in their choices of treatments for myself and my wife. I am not a "skeptic of doctors, but I am skeptical of some specific doctors and their practices". 

Several of my doctors, have directly and indirectly, actually saved me from dying, and I am not going to trust them when it comes to post-event treatments? I still research every procedure and medication before I have them done, or swallow them. But to say "I don't trust most doctors"? Not me though I known and visited with many, my experiences do not qualify me to say "I have met most doctors".

When and if a day comes where I do not trust a doctor, I will find one that I do trust with my life, not generalize by saying "I do not trust most doctors".

hckynut(john)

[Teddie]

@hckynut  From all the years of being on these boards I know you have gone through some tremendous health issues, many even life threatening. So you certainly know from whence you speak.  For that, you are to be admired for what all you've come through. 

Maybe I chose my words poorly. It's not that I distrust all doctors. My first choice is to avoid any drugs, if possible. I need to research what has been prescribed to me and not blindly just take it. I am researching now, reading the pros and cons and weighing my health issues. We've had several negative experiences so that is what's influencing me -- and we're  more careful now. 

I appreciate your thoughts, John. You take care.  

[dooBdoo]

---

honeybuns wrote:

My 28 year old son has battled "minor" depression for quite a long time.  He has been taking Zoloft but now I believe he needs a med change and some therapy.  Should he begin with his general practiioner and go from there?  

---

                Hi, @bargainsgirl.❤️

                I'm sorry for your son's battle, which is something many of us have experienced.    I hope you've been reading the thread, which contains some good advice, a wee bit of questionable advice, but all of it is well-intentioned and comes from a place of caring.   

                I have been a warrior in the fight against disabling...  at times life-threatening...  depression for almost 30 years.   I've had 3 inpatient stays during my journey and would go for another if need be.    I've also moved many times, so each time had to find good support and help.    I agree that a psychiatrist would be the best resource to recommend this specific treatment, but please do start with the doctor prescribing the current treatment as a starting point.    Often medication is imperative, and it's not just a silly thing or a way to sell drugs...  it can be as important to our body as insulin is to a diabetic.

                Some psychiatrists are wonderful therapists, others are not.    Some counselors (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc.) are gifted, others are useless.   The same as with any profession.   I wince at any and all generalizations that vilify the profession as a whole because I know far too many physicians who are excellent and who also care deeply about the people they treat.   My late husband was a psychiatrist who included with his M.D. the study of talk therapy, pharmacy, and nutrition and who cared profoundly about the whole person.   He was wonderful and always had a rather heavy workload as a result.   There are others out there equally talented, knowledgeable, and compassionate.  I'm lucky in that I work in the health care field so I could ask questions of the people I knew and trusted to find good references.    Also each time I moved I would ask my current support team about good resources in my new location.  

                Along the way I've learned some people want a counselor/therapist/physician who only agrees with them and they dismiss and discredit the person who tells them things they don't want to hear.   Useful therapy often is uncomfortable and difficult, certainly not always pleasant or warm and fuzzy.   A good therapist has to tell us things that are hard to hear and assimilate, at times.    They also give us "homework," suggest helpful reading or tasks, and might direct us to specific groups that would help us in our journey.

               I hope your son finds what he needs.    My heart goes out to him, to you, and to all who are seeking help.❤️    Mental health concerns still sometimes hold that unfortunate and damaging stigma.

[hckynut]

@dooBdoo

I found your post to be the best written and to the point of any I have read or authored about depression. You hit every point I believe many did not know, or not aware of concerning the deep ravages of Clinical Depression.

Thank you for taking the time to add to this often overlooked, or still stigmatized, issue that for many could means life or death. Too many think they understand, I however feel that to know the true depth of despair, one has to have been there. It to me is not explainable, in the true sense of it's he!!.

Thank you and my best to you,

hckynut(john)

[dooBdoo]

---

@hckynut wrote:

@dooBdoo

I found your post to be the best written and to the point of any I have read or authored about depression. You hit every point I believe many did not know, or not aware of concerning the deep ravages of Clinical Depression.

Thank you for taking the time to add to this often overlooked, or still stigmatized, issue that for many could means life or death. Too many think they understand, I however feel that to know the true depth of despair, one has to have been there. It to me is not explainable, in the true sense of it's he!!.

Thank you and my best to you,

hckynut(john)

---

            I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your comments, @hckynut.    I know, from the comprehensive info you've shared over time, that you have a keen awareness and a profound understanding of mental health issues and treatment.    I've been on the brink of death more than once...  my life has been saved, literally, by physicians and all those good people working with them.   It's taken me a while to open up here about my experiences with depression, suicide, treatment, etc., and it's still difficult...  in part because of the slings and arrows tossed at some of us on these forums.    But I've decided if sharing some of it is helpful, even to one person, it's worth taking the chance.   I appreciate your posts, too, again more than I adequately can express.   Thank you, and my best to you.❤️

[Leeny]

@Trinity11

Thank you for posting. Yes, he does have diabetes and has had it since he was 26 years old. My father also had it, but he was a type 1 and passed away when he was only 57 from complications from diabetes. He also suffered from depression, but not on the level my son does. He has a lot of doctors taking care of him including his diabetic team.  As a mother I am praying he gets through this without any further problems right now. I hope he can begin to feel better soon.

[Leeny]

@hckynut 

I thought I'd fill you in today. I have had 2 emails from my son and he's hoping he can call us tomorrow. 

He describes his past couple of days like a roller coaster ride. Although he says it's getting better. The sleep issue is still a problem. The doctor is going to try and give him something for sleep and anxiety. I hope it will help him.

He also stated he's so worn out mentally and emotionally from talking and talking and talking. ( part of the therapy) He's not been a great conversationalist for a long time, so I can imagine he is worn out. 

He also mentioned that they do want him up and around other people throughout the day.  He was concerned about the roller coaster ride and the doctors reassured him that this would be part of the process of coming off the drug.  Even that helped him to hear that so he didn't feel like he 

was the only one that has felt these awful feelings. 

Thanks again for all your posts and all of your life experiences with this devastating problem. At least it makes me feel better and I can pass some of this onto him which makes him feel better too. 

[dooBdoo]

            @Leeny,   I haven't written in detail about my depression and anxiety, nor about my hospitalizations.    In one case I was an inpatient for 3 weeks, the others were slightly shorter stays.    They do push everyone to keep moving, to try and keep to a schedule, and there is a lot of talking and listening involved.    A schedule is important because gaining better mental health involves getting and keeping ourselves organized, consistent, active, engaged, and disciplined...  all of which is counter to what we want to do when we feel so miserable and hopeless. 

            All of this is hard... sometimes feels impossible.   The horrible irony is that at the very time we need to be able to listen, read, process, and talk, our mind has trouble concentrating, focusing, and functioning as it should.    It can be like a fuzzy cloud keeps invading our brain, and our body feels all sorts of bad hard-to-describe things.   Our senses are clouded and at the same time magnified.   Sleep can be impossible, other times we feel the need to sleep for days.   Unless someone has experienced it, I know of no way to fully provide adequate insight into what everything feels like, sounds like, or the way we are changed by our depression.    At times, it's as if our brain and emotions have been overtaken by a strange and devious evil presence and it's like slogging through thick fog and deep quicksand just to go from one moment to the next.

            It can get so, so much better, as @hckynut has said, with hard work, determination, love, and support.   There are books, videos, music, meditations and associated apps and sounds, daily readings and affirmations, exercise, therapy groups, good nutrition, guided imagery, biofeedback, self-hypnosis, guided active- or speed- journaling (different from keeping a daily journal, although that can help, too), and much more that can mesh with therapy and medication.   Not everything works for all, but we each keep trying and we find some of these do work for us.

          I want to send my prayers for your dear son, for you and all who love him, and for the team working to heal him.   May you all have strength, power, and success.   (((hugs)))❤️

[Leeny]

@dooBdoo

Thank You very much for all your information and experiences with this awful disease. It's good to hear from people like you and @hckynut who have first hand knowledge of depression. It helps to read your suggestions and experiences. None of us are perfect and we all have problems one time or another. It's good to be able to come here and find people who can put  a light on some of this stuff. I want to say Thank you again and God Bless You All.

[dooBdoo]

---

@Leeny wrote:

@dooBdoo

Thank You very much for all your information and experiences with this awful disease. It's good to hear from people like you and @hckynut who have first hand knowledge of depression. It helps to read your suggestions and experiences. None of us are perfect and we all have problems one time or another. It's good to be able to come here and find people who can put  a light on some of this stuff. I want to say Thank you again and God Bless You All.

---

          You're welcome, @Leeny.    I wish I could be there to help.   I think one reason the first inpatient stay was so beneficial for me was that I was so much more aware of how many people really did understand.    It helped so much not to feel so alone.   Thank you, and may God bless you and yours.❤️