Depression [Aware Helpline 1890 303 302] (1 Viewer)

[mazzyianne]

For a workshop thing about various ailments and herbal medicine and stuff, a friend of mine researched a bit of stuff about depression. I dunno if this will be helpful for anyone here but I'll post it just in case.

Depression:

Plant oils have a powerfull effect on the nervous system. Citrus oils are mood lifters, clean citrus peel can be included in many foods.
Just peeling an orange or grapefruit releases oils into the air.
Apart from citrus, oils of rosewood and neroli are very useful.

Energising herbs include Basil, marjoram, thyme, mellisa, and mint.

it is important to eat well, wholegrains, vitamin A, oats, wheatgerm, carrots, celery, courgette, lettuce, pumpkin, apple, pear, peach, apricot, avocados (this list is mad long so I'll leave it at that)

Chamomile tea soothes nerves.

The B vitamins are helpful as they support the nervous system.

Exercise!

 

[Squack]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1769935,00.html

cant believe it, this was the pill i was on for acne
explains quite a lot

 

[Goff]

Isn't that the case with most of the jack and jill's though?

The fact that they say things like "can lead to loss of wanting to ride" (Or whatever the wording is) should be a clue. Though they should state it in BIG letters on every packet of medication that it effects. Like, most anti-depressants do the same. The pill does the same.

I think before you take any tablet these days, the best thing to do is do a bit of research on the internet. If there's ahint of it being a bit dodgy, don't take it. Unless it's for a life-threatening gig, of course.

And I don't mean, taking what joe's-blog says as gospel. I mean "proper" research. Medical sites. Look for the phrase "contra-indication".

I still think that GP's should be more forthcoming with the info though and not have to wait to be asked.

 

[Squack]

problem i find with the internet is there are alot of scare tactics
there is an element of putting your trust in the professionals
it is up to the individual to make the doc aware also of anything they are feeling
but i certainly feel better since i came off them

 

[Goff]

It can be hard to make the initial visit to the doctor. I've been thru it so it's fine for me but for someone who's in pain to admit that to a virtual stranger it cna be hard enough to be open until such a time as they realise it's for the best.

I think Doc's should, as a rule, try and discuss side effects with ALL medicines. Although there'll be the inevitable hypochondriacs who'll have them all.

I hear you knocking about the net. But there's also some good stuff out there. I always look at the CDC's site as a general browse (I know, what a thrill!) Then, of course, there's wikipedia. I mean, look at this:

That's the meds I was on.

That's great. But more than that, wikipedia gives more about the benefits as well as the side-effects than the official page.

Still, I'm a big fan of the professionals myself. Most of them. The ones who bother.

 

[brianoak]

This is probably most applicable on this thread.

There is a week long festival being run between Dublin and Donegal called "Out of the Silence".The festival will highlight mental health issues through the arts and it centres around the main production called "The Mental" which is based on a charachter called Joe who is a patient in St Conals(mental health intsitution in donegal) who's only outlet is music.There are numerous other free workshops and visual art exhibitions and also a free councilling serivce after the performance as some of the issues highlighted in the play may distress some people.It starts in the axis arts centre in Ballymun next Wednesday abd if anyone wants anymore information you are more than welcome to pm me or phone 8832115.

 

[krystal]

I'm about to start reducing my dose so I shall see what happens...

dudes, these things are a CUNT to come off. I have this really bizarre feeling in my head, like it's lower than it should be which puts my balance off, I am getting these weird 'zaps', I don't feel like I am present and correct most of the time, I am wrecked with the tiredness and generally feel like shite. Boo hoo. Poor me.

 

[Squack]

dudes, these things are a CUNT to come off. I have this really bizarre feeling in my head, like it's lower than it should be which puts my balance off, I am getting these weird 'zaps', I don't feel like I am present and correct most of the time, I am wrecked with the tiredness and generally feel like shite. Boo hoo. Poor me.

I was like that when I first went on them, just feeling spaced and out of it, sort of dizzy, but I think it faded quite a bit
Apparently it'll take a while to get rid of side effects when coming off them but give them a while and tell your doc

 

[krystal]

yeah so was I, I was all dizzy and kept bumping into things, starting sentences and then trailing off half way through etc, that only lasted a couple of weeks.

I was like that when I first went on them, just feeling spaced and out of it, sort of dizzy, but I think it faded quite a bit
Apparently it'll take a while to get rid of side effects when coming off them but give them a while and tell your doc

 

[Goff]

I never had that reaction, even when I came off the Seroxat (though I was more or less instantly changed to better tabs). Good luck with it and be careful. See below....

From The Guardian of a Saturday:

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Antidepressant linked to suicide risk in adults[/FONT]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]· Top-selling drug already banned for children
· Minister announces move towards talking therapies[/FONT]

[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] Sarah Boseley, health editor
Saturday May 13, 2006
The Guardian

[/FONT] Britain's bestselling antidepressant, Seroxat, can cause adults as well as children to become suicidal, according to the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline.

GSK, which for years denied there was a problem with the drug, has sent a letter to all doctors in Britain warning of the potential risk in some adult patients. The company has reanalysed data from the clinical trials of the drug and found that significantly more adults who were given Seroxat became suicidal than those given a placebo. Seroxat has been banned from use in children by the UK drug regulator for the same reason. The revelation came as the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, declared the end of the "Prozac nation" yesterday, launching a programme to cut the numbers of patients on drugs such as Prozac and Seroxat and extend counselling to the thousands of people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety.


"Millions of people suffer from mild to moderate mental health problems and treating them takes up about a third of GPs' time," she said in a speech to the National Mental Health Partnership's conference. "Too many people are prescribed medication as a quick-fix solution."Talking therapies worked just as well as drugs and people preferred them, she said. Two centres dedicated to counselling and psychotherapy will open in Doncaster and Newham as "demonstration sites" with the intention of extending access to talking therapies across the UK.

Seroxat is the biggest-selling SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) in Britain. In 2003 doctors wrote 19m prescriptions for the drug for patients with anxiety and depression. But concerns about the drug and others in its class have been growing.

GSK's letter to doctors is the result of a reanalysis of its trials requested by the US drug regulator, the food and drug administration, which is reviewing SSRIs. Seroxat is given to patients not only for depression and anxiety but, for a range of other problems defined by psychiatrists as separate conditions, such as panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. The analysis has found that patients taking the drug for those conditions may also have an increased risk of suicidal thinking and behaviour. But the clearest findings come from trials of the drug in people who were depressed. In those, says the letter, the frequency of suicidal behaviour was higher in patients on Seroxat than those who, without knowing it, were on a placebo. The numbers were small - 11 out of 3,455 on Seroxat and one out of 1,978 on placebo - but the difference was statistically significant, meaning it was unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Because of the small numbers, GSK says the findings should be interpreted with caution.

It adds that "all of the reported events of suicidal behaviour in the adult patients ... were non-fatal suicide attempts, and the majority of those attempts were in younger adults aged 18 to 30". But the data does suggest "that the higher frequency observed in the younger adult population across psychiatric disorders may extend beyond the age of 24".

GSK says in the letter that it "continues to believe that the overall risk:benefit of paroxetine (Seroxat) in the treatment of adult patients" with depression and other disorders "remains positive", but it warns that young adults particularly should be carefully monitored on the drug.
David Healy, professor of psychiatry and director of the north Wales department of psychological medicine, who has for years called for warnings about the suicide risk of SSRIs, said yesterday that GSK had been in possession of the statistics it was now making public for at least 15 years."Seroxat has a severe withdrawal syndrome, which seems to me to be worse than for other drugs in the group, and the withdrawal syndrome in its own right is linked to people becoming suicidal," he said.

GSK yesterday rejected any accusation of dragging its feet on the data on suicidal behaviour in depressed adults. It had taken advice from experts who had suggested new ways of looking at the information, a spokeswoman said. The analysis, completed recently, had been forwarded to US and UK authorities.


A few things stand out in this article.

GP's spend about a third of their time dealing with depression. So much for the "low" instance of depression at about 1 in 6( or whatever the oh-so-changeable statistic).

"all of the reported events of suicidal behaviour in the adult patients ... were non-fatal suicide attempts." (Well, it's kind of hard to report if you were successful).

After all the warnings, including the prohibition against prescribing it to under-18's, it is still the Biggest Selling Anti-Depressant in Britain. That shows the power of drugs companies to target GP's directly with their free gear. A practice that should be banned or limited. It obviously works as a marketing tool. Especially for over-worked and under-funded GP's.

 

[jane]

It's incredible that if GPs in Britain are spending so much time dealing with depression, that the rate of Ireland can't be too hugely different. And given that, the fact that there is a crazy shortage of services AND health care plans don't cover anything to do with mental health, except for inpatient care.

Which is insane, given the fact that most people don't need to be hospitalised, and talk therapies work as well for many people as medication, but that those are the only things that health insurance will cover. It's fucking insane.

I still can't get over how poor mental health services are in Ireland. I'm not saying they're brilliant anywhere, but if you want any therapy, you have to pay through the nose. Or, you have to go on medication that you not only might not need, but might make you worse.

 

[classic seanc]

Can I ask y'all something?

How does this depression affect you in your working lives? As in, how do deal with people's prejudices when applying for jobs or in work in general?
Are you open and honest about it from the get-go, or do you try to hide it?

If you're on medication/therapy for depression, does your boss act differently towards you than they would if you were on medication/therapy for arthritis or something?

If an employer finds out you got fired from your last job and asks you about it, what do you say? "oh well, I'm goin to counselling, I'm fine now"

I'm especially interested in what you would say if counselling/medication came up as a question while you were applying for a job.

I'm assuming that employers don't take kindly to folks with recurring mental problems that affect their work, but maybe I'm wrong?


Thanks.

 

[Goff]

How does this depression affect you in your working lives? As in, how do deal with people's prejudices when applying for jobs or in work in general?
Are you open and honest about it from the get-go, or do you try to hide it?

If you're on medication/therapy for depression, does your boss act differently towards you than they would if you were on medication/therapy for arthritis or something?

If an employer finds out you got fired from your last job and asks you about it, what do you say? "oh well, I'm goin to counselling, I'm fine now"

I'm especially interested in what you would say if counselling/medication came up as a question while you were applying for a job.

I'm assuming that employers don't take kindly to folks with recurring mental problems that affect their work, but maybe I'm wrong?

Thanks.

Some people are nice about it. Nay, most people are nice about it. Maybe some are wary, but most are nokay with it. .

Others are complete and utter cunts.

When I came back from my last bout of sick leave, I was threatened with demotion by a complete cunt. For "being sick", (I shit you not).

Of course, 'twas totally illegal. And impossible. There's the Employment Equality Act and the Disability Act and the Equal Status Act, which all have a direct bearing on the issue. Long term mental illness is a disability in law. So, if there's any shite going on with your job trying to squeeze you in or out, then look up those Acts.

It's down to arrogance and lack of training and prejudice in my case. Mainly prejudice.

With regards the mental illness affecting your work. Well, employers are obliged to give you "reasonable" support. It's something along the lines of "if you can do the job of someone without the disability with reasonable accomodation being made", then it's not a disability - even though it is - if you know what I'm saying. Reasonable accomodation is a bit non-defined but it's more to protect employers against undue expense.

Most people think of disability as being in a wheelchair, or blind, or deaf. And I can understand that. But there's mentallists like meself; there are intellectual disabilities; there's old people, who find it harder to get around; there's me whan I break my glasses; when I sprain my ankle. The list goes on. I work trying to make places accessible. Universally Accessible. No one gets special treatment. We're all equal. Some of us find it harder to do things than others, is all. There are so many different levels as well. Go up to St. Mick's House or the CRC and see how bad it can be. And how good it can be too.

In general I find most people are grand about it. I've never hidden the illness. I think people are afraid of the idea of madness. Most people actually start asking me about it cos they know someone or have been thru it or are just curious. To be honest, from what I can see, more people are depressed than the stats give credit for. I don't know anyone who hasn't had a family member or loved one affected by it. Or some other mental illness.

I think we're all going fucking mad at times.

But only sometimes.

In general, I wouldn't mention medication or counselling when applying for a job. For the obvious reason. If they find out later and try to sack you, then fine, at least you had the job for a while. And fuck them if they treated you like that. Bring the photocopier home and piss on their carpets on the way out.

Though employers can get a grant in some instances for taking on people with disabilities, so maybe mention it?

I still think prejudice will win out.

Anyway,

"Someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to. "

 

[classic seanc]

ah, I dunno. It's not like I've never been totally incapacitated by this sorta stuff...it's really nothing compared to a lot of what I've read on this thread, it's just when an employer hears "counselling" or "medication", I'd reckon the sirens go off in their head.

Just finished college, got an extension on my thesis because of this, which is shit, but I gotta go out into the real world so this is on my mind.

Thanks Goff.

 

[Juno]

I've been in this situation so many times at interviews and it's really hard to decide what, if anything, to tell them.I wouldn't usually mention being on medication/my medical history when applying for a job nor would I really advise it. On one occasion I was asked during a second interview why I'd missed several months off work so I told them I'd been sick. They were ok about it but given they were a charity it would've been highly hypocritical if they weren't. I was at a Aware-type meeting once and a woman who worked in HR in the civil service advised that the best thing to say if you're disclosing having an illness or if you're asked about it is to say "I have ---- but it's successfully controlled by medication."

 

[krystal]

Re: SSRI's. While they worked for me without a doubt, the withdrawal from them is actually nothing short of horrific. I keep missing work due to the most bizarre set of side effects I've ever experienced - I'm dizzy unless I am lying completely flat, I have vertigo, I have problems with depth perception which means I keep banging into things, my eyes are really photosensitive, I'm physically shattered most of the time, my sleep is disturbed by extremely vivid and disturbing dreams and I frequently wake up pouring sweat. Horrible. I also have no idea how long this is going to go on for either. And I'll probably have to miss the boredoms tonight too. Bah.

 

[BC]

very sorry to hear that kirstie, hope you get well soon. just one question: how quickly did you come off the SSRIs? you must taper off them extremely gradually to avoid such effects.

 

[krystal]

ah you know I think it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. If you reduce so slowly that your reduction takes longer than being on them full strength did then you're just drawing it out for a huge amount of time and getting symptoms each time you go down to a lower dose anyway. My doctor gave me what I consider to be really bad advice - he told me to start by removing one tablet, next week remove 2, next week remove 3 etc. So I was on this constant rollercoaster of feeling ok / feeling weird / feeling appalling and then back again. I have about 2 weeks of his miraculous scheme left but I'm not gonna take anymore, I just actually can't bear it and am determined to just ride out the rest of the withdrawal. I haven't had one since monday and hopefully the weirdness will start to fade soon.

 

[Super Dexta]

ah you know I think it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. If you reduce so slowly that your reduction takes longer than being on them full strength did then you're just drawing it out for a huge amount of time and getting symptoms each time you go down to a lower dose anyway. My doctor gave me what I consider to be really bad advice - he told me to start by removing one tablet, next week remove 2, next week remove 3 etc. So I was on this constant rollercoaster of feeling ok / feeling weird / feeling appalling and then back again. I have about 2 weeks of his miraculous scheme left but I'm not gonna take anymore, I just actually can't bear it and am determined to just ride out the rest of the withdrawal. I haven't had one since monday and hopefully the weirdness will start to fade soon.

that's how i came off them and i'd no trouble at all. took about six weeks. less side-effects than when i went on them which was still hardly any.

 

[krystal]

lucky you!!

that's how i came off them and i'd no trouble at all. took about six weeks. less side-effects than when i went on them which was still hardly any.