Saturday, April 30, 2011

SSRI Antiderpessants are Les Effective When Taken with Anti-Inflammatory Drugs




Researchers at The Rockefeller University have found that anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen reduce the effectiveness of SSRI antidepressants. In a study, 54% of patients responded to antidepressants, but only 40% of those using anti-inflammatories responded to antidepressants. This can be especially significant for elderly patients with depression because they also often suffer from arthritis or related illnesses that are treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. So anti-inflammatory drug use might be the reason why your antiderpessants aren't having the desired effect. If this is the case then you'll have to weigh the pros and cons of continuing anti-inflammatory therapy and decide whether you have to continue it.

You can read the original article here:




Hope you're feeling well


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Too Many Social Workers, Not Enough Programs



This makes Aleks upset.


I've been thinking about going back to school for social work, because I want to get better at helping people and make a a consistent income. However, I keep running into people who are either out of work social workers or know someone who is an out of work social worker. All of these people are brighter and kinder than i am so that kind of puts a damper on my plans. If these people can can't get a job (many of them have a masters degree) how the hell am I? What is the reason for this surplus of social workers? Is it the economy or is it the lack of programs?


Its probably both. Ever since i've been diagnosed with mental illness i've gone through phases where i've looked for support groups. They are not easy to find. There are so many people with mental illness who don't get help because the government is always cutting these programs. Its tough being mentally ill, though its a lot better now than it was a century ago. There are so many people out there that want to help us but the governement won't pay them.

Hope you're feeling well

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Antidepressants Are More Effective For Certain Symptoms of Depression Than Others





Researchers at UT Southwestern medical Center have found that antidepressants work better for some symptoms of depression than others. They found that while antidepressants usually help to reduce symptoms like suicidal thoughts and fatigue, they often don't help with overall sadness, insomnia, and concentration problems. This often leads to an incomplete recovery for depressed patients.


They also found that 33% of patients on SSRIs go into remission (lessening of symptoms) within the first 3 months. SSRIs are the most commonly presecribed antiderpessants. This means that most people on antidepressants continue to experience certain symptoms. They say the next step is to develop more targeted antidepressants to decrease depressive symptoms.


This explains why most people don't get adequate relief from antidepressants. This means that you're unlikely to find a wonder drug that will save you. Its up to you to do other things to help yourself. Personally, I think that the more coping strategies you have, the more likely you are to feel better and stay better. The most helpful things for me have been staying busy with the website, painting, playing music, spending time with family and friends, and medication. The combination of all of these has led to me generally feeling pretty good. I still have my bad days and bad moments, but most of the time these days i'm doing fine.


You can learn about other ways you cope here:




and here:




You can read the full article here:




Hope you're feeling well


Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Places Tend to have Highest Suicide Rates




A study was done by researchers at the University of Warwick (UK), Hamilton College (NY), and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Fransisco. It used a sample of 2.3 million Americans and compared satisfaction with life and suicide rates in The US states. The study found that states with people who are generally more satisfied with their lives tend to have higher suicide rates than states with lower avergae levels of life satisfaction. For example, New York ranks 45th in life satisfaction, but last in suicide rates. Hawaii ranks 2nd in life satisfaction, but has the 5th highest suicide rate.


Their theory as to why this happens is that people in "happy" places tend to feel more harshly treated in life. The lows of life are more tolerable when others around them are unhappy too. People often judge their well-being by comparing themselves to others.


This totally makes sense. I often compare my well-being to that of my friends and it makes me feel bad. Its seem so easy for them to be normal and do normal things like work and maintain/build relationships, while i find it difficult.


Lesson:


Don't compare your life to someone else's. You can't control how happy or successful someone else is but you can focus on improving your life one step at a time. Compare yourself to yourself. Have you moved forward since last month? Last year? Have you persevered despite mental illness? Are you taking steps to help yourself? We can't all have perfect lives but we can make our lives better.


You can read the original article here:




Hope you're feeling well


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Depression Self Help: Getting Up In The Morning






I've been having some problems getting up in the morning recently and i think its because I don't have a reason to get up. I just get up, then having nothing to do and go back to sleep. When i finally do get up i feel like shit for having wasted the day.


I think its important to have goals in order to get out of bed in the morning. So today I decided that i would add an "anxiety" section to the website. Its been a while since i've added something to the site and so many people (including myself) who suffer from depression also suffer from anxiety. I remember when I was building the website and every morning i'd get up and head straight for the library. I did that every day for about 9 months and i liked it.


So today i went to the library and got started. There are tons of books about anxiety and i'm sure i'll have to go every day for at least a couple of months to read them all. I'm so excited. The website is just gonna keep on getting bigger and better.


Hope you're feeling well

Monday, April 18, 2011

Depression Self help: Getting Help



Through these last couple of years that i've been diagnosed with mental illness and i've been going to group therapy, support groups, and talking to people through the website i've consistently encountered the same kind of person over and over. This is the person that claims to want help, but actually doesn't want it. They don't want to take medication. They don't want to listen to advice from people who have more experience than them. They somehow know that therapy won't work for them even though they've never tried it. They are completely hopeless. Are you this person?

Depression is a very tough demon to face on your own. It won't go away by itself one day. An angel won't just knock on your door one day and make you better. If you want to get better you need to ask for and accept help, whether its from a therapist, medication, or someone you met at a support group that has suffered like you have. Your attitude is so important. If you have the attitude that you're not willing to try anything and that nothing will help you anyway then you have no chance to get better. There are a lot of people and lot of cures out there that can help you, but its up to you to ask for and accept that help.


Personally, I only began to recover when I found a psychiatrist and a medication that works for me. It wasn't the first doctor i went to or the first medication I tried. I (and my family) didn't give up until we found a solution. There is a solution out there for all of us.

Don't be foolish. Get help.

Hope you're feeling well

Monday, April 11, 2011

Wounds Teach us Lessons




A wise man once said that

Well, i'm learning my lesson now. This is my 3rd day in a row being punished. I'm being punished for being a dumbass and i will continue to be punished as such until i stop doing the same stupid thing over and over. I can't just go out and party like a normal person. They don't have to crash and be miserable like i do after. I'm turning 27 this year and i'm still running around getting shit-faced and getting into fights. I can't just keep acting like a little boy anymore and expect my life to get better.

You know when you just wake up in the morning and everything sucks? Well thats whats been going on in my world these past few days and I deserve it. When you're depressed you can make the mistake of thinking that you're cursed and doomed to suffer, but that isn't true. A lot of the time its our own self-destructive decisions that get us into deep shit, not fate. Are we smart enough to make better decisions in the future so that we can avoid hurting ourselves? Absolutely!

So next time something painful happens to you, don't just feel sorry for yourself, but try to learn from your mistake so that it doesn't happen again.


Hope you (and I) wake up tomorrow and everything is spectacular:)