hospitals...

[chaostiny.livejournal.com]

Well... I just spent a few days getting my meds straight in a psych hospital... what I hate is this... I go in for 2 reasons... one, my meds arent good... they are not working and have nasty side effects. Two, I am horribly depressed and suicidal and wanting to cut etc... SOOOOOO>.... after 4days the shrink says HEY! You are started on your new meds... you have 4 to 6 weeks before they work, time to go home!!!
so here I am. Everyone at the hospital says my meds will work better if I stop smoking the greens... but I cant do anything but panic if I stop. cus my other meds havent kicked in yet. ARGHHHHH!!!
so... here I am, greenless, and trying not to do anything stupid.
If ya'll have any ideas, please let me know.
Thanks just for being out there somewhere
alex et al

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Have you considered the possibility that your two reasons are actually one reason? In other words that your feeling horribly depressed and suicidal is in fact one of the nasty side-effects of the drugs? Check out this site (http://www.thomasjmoore.com/pages/depress.shtml) for information, and if you need still more, there are a lot of links here (http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/psych_web.html).

It would be nice if you could learn to manage your life without needing drugs of any sort, and I hope you will get to that point some day. Since you're not to that point right now, there is overwhelmingly clear evidence that pot is far safer than antidepressants, and apparently more effective in a lot of cases. It is, of course, illegal, and those who use it have to worry about urine tests, getting busted, etc., which isn't exactly good for someone coping with anxiety.

My suggestion is that you start searching for a doctor who can help you get off the psych drugs - don't just quit them cold turkey on your own, because the withdrawal symptoms can be deadly - and for non-drug therapies and support for your other issues.

That doesn't do you much good tonight, I realize, so... here are two techniques you can use when things start getting bad. The first is Affirmations (http://www.io.com/~rga/affirm.html) - click on the link, follow the instructions - and the other is patterned breathing:

Breathe in through your nose "as if smelling a flower" to a slow count of six. Pause. Breathe out through your nose to a slow count of six. Pause. Repeat.

This sounds utterly simple, and it is, but it also really works, and works better the more you practice it. Other things that help: going for a brisk walk, playing with your pets, taking a hot shower, dancing, writing, painting, singing or playing an instrument, gardening, cleaning the heck out of your house, getting a task you've been putting off done and out of the way.

Good luck to you; hang in there - things can get better, even if it doesn't seem so right now.

[chaostiny.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions.. the breathing is something I do... I am fairly well practiced in the art of advanced biofeedback.... unfortunately, I have a pretty severe chemical imbalance along with major flashbacks that kind of make meds necessary. The depression and anxiety is me without any meds.... I have been trying to make sure I do things like walk my dog at least twice a day (other than just letting him out to do his business) getting dressed every day, making my bed... stuff like that. Basics I shouldnt have to think about but right now I do... oh well... I know that things will at least get different.... if not better...
thanks again:) its good to know someone is out there:)

[pengke.livejournal.com]

Here’s a few on antidepressants and the risk of suicide

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-01-21-antidepressants-suicide-usat_x.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/03/22/antidepressant.warning.ap/

http://www.cma.ca/staticContent/HTML/N0/l2/jpn/vol-28/issue-5/pdf/pg331.pdf

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0ISW/2001_May/73959341/p1/article.jhtml

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0689/8_52/106471659/p1/article.jhtml

And one on the effects of placebos; interesting in this one, the percentage of suicide attempts was not significantly different between the groups.

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1200/18_157/62258563/p1/article.jhtml

While I’m playing with articles, here’s a lovely one on marketing of antidepressants.

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1571/16_17/74337126/p1/article.jhtml

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Here ya go: more links and documentation than you probably care to read may be found here (http://www.breggin.com/).

Not meaning to be rude here, but in my experience it's very rare for a person involved in dealing drugs of any sort to be willing to admit that those drugs may be causing severe harm to people.

As for "overwhelmingly clear evidence" - the government has been trying hard to come up with evidence that pot is dangerous since about the 1930's, and all they've been able to establish is that it increases anxiety for some people - some others rely on it too much and may lose motivation to do what other people think they should do - it's not safe to drive while stoned - and breathing any kind of smoke is bad for the lungs.

The SSRI's, on the other hand, have only been around since the 80's - the drug industries have gone to great lengths to discredit and discount any evidence that they're harmful (kinda reminds one of the tobacco industry, in fact) - and yet how many lawsuits have been brought because people are dying of the stuff? How many Survivor Groups are there now, for people who are trying to rebuild their lives after having them trashed by these chemicals?

Don't take my word for it; there are a whole bunch of people out there - quite a few with M.D. behind their names - who have said it all better than I ever could.

People who don't like the effects of marijuana can just stop smoking it. It's habit-forming, sure - anything one does on a regular basis is habit-forming - but it's not physically addictive, and people who stop smoking it don't get months of withdrawal-symptoms the way those who quit antidepressants commonly do. You will never see warnings on even the most vehemently anti-marijuana sites, that quitting it abruptly may be hazardous, because it's simply not - while even the most pro-SSRI sites usually DO warn people that quitting them abruptly may be hazardous, even if they are very careful to avoid the big S-word (suicide) which is now appearing so prominently in such a lot of lawsuits.

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

I'd still take what elenbarathi said to heart. For instance, when was the last time you were not on medication? Could the depression and anxiety be caused by withdrawal? Did you know it sometimes takes years to clean that stuff out of your system? Just a few things to consider. I know doctors who would much rather see their patients use pot than meds. It's mostly based on what the pharmaceutical companies are pushing. Who told you you had a chemical imbalance?

Are you in therapy or a support group to help talk out, sort out and control the flashbacks? I take it this is PTSD? I have that, and it was never helped by medication -- only by talking out my experiences and fears either to myself (I don't journal in the modern sense -- I keep a diary), to the others in my household, or to an understanding outside person.

And, of course, by having just life experiences every day.

[chaostiny.livejournal.com]

Actually meds are a pretty new thing to me... I am actually able to keep myself alot safer now than I could before... like I can think before I act. It took me 15 years to accept that I actually needed meds... I am in therapy and that kind of helps but most of the work I do within myself.
Alex

[jinxtigr.livejournal.com]

I am not well advised to be on either- I was way too into pot though it provided a shield for me at a time when I couldn't provide one for myself- or work on anything. I mistrust psych meds pretty deeply for similar reasons- I can't accept myself while altering me because I'm not okay. It's a barrier I can't afford.
What I do have to do, however, is self-care (Tir_nan_og's Hannie Marten actually came up with a regimen for me, which I try to follow) involving getting sleep, food, detox, some rest etc. I can't do without that and still stay relatively sane, so I make an effort to stick with it. Once I was told I'd probably be on antidepressants all my life. No- but I may have to get X much sleep, eat food, rest etc. all my life. I may even have to take vitamins and drink dandelion tea all my life to process out the poisons I naturally create for myself. I don't know why I trust the simpler, more Thoreau-ish regimen so much more than the 'take a pill to do that for you' regimen. Maybe I just need to be making an effort, in order to stay existentially connected with my life and self. Singlets can be enemies of themselves too ya know! ;) I'm _usually_ a friend to myself, or at least a cordial acquaintance. I don't have to be an enemy to myself today.