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Lets all be anxious/depressed together.

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  • Registered Users Posts: 535 ✭✭✭bob50


    zimovain wrote: »
    My anxiety is real bad lately:mad:

    I hope ur anxiety eases are you on meds


  • Registered Users Posts: 535 ✭✭✭bob50


    Fandango wrote: »
    Only read the first few posts here but i would be in the same boat. The friends i grew up with for the most part didnt understand it at all. I suffer from anxiety and panic and while i tend not to admit it, probably mild depression also. Dont think of myself as depressed but having said that im worried and down about alot of things going on in my life so i suppose i probably am to some extent. The main thing that worries me is since i got the anxiety and panic, my dependance on drink has grown and grown. Started out having a drink before i went out to pubs as a sort of anxiety relief but has gotten to the stage now where i stay in, talk in here or chatrooms and have a few cans or shoulder of vodka almost every night. Easy answer is to stop doing it i know but easier said than done. My question mainly is does anyone else find themselves using alcohol as a crutch and eventually feeling like you need it to be sociable after getting anxiety? To be honest i almost feel like i cant talk to people without it these days, altho a few lads i know have been massively helpful recently on realising everyone has problems, some show em, some dont but that im certainly not alone on it. The alcohol thing is starting to scare me tho as the fear of getting physical illness from it is adding to the anxiety...unless i have a few and the cycle starts.


    Hi im in the same boat as yourself I find i need a few drinks every night whether i need them or not I always take the them when im using he laptop at night. taking drink at the moment and also when i go out to sociliase in the pub i feel i wouldnt have the confidence to talk to people in the pub without a drink I know its wrong what im doing but its a situation ive gotten into I also take Cipramil in the morning for my Panic / Anxiety


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,089 ✭✭✭Shazanne


    sam34 wrote: »
    i know plenty about seroxat and all other anti-depressants, as i am a psychiatrist :)

    the fact that one has to be weaned off it does not suggest it is addictive. this has to be done because of discontinuation effects.

    for addiction, there are a number of criteria that have to be met:

    a compulsion /craving to take the substance

    difficulty controlling substance-taking behaviour, in terms of onset, termination or level of use

    tolerance - ie needing ever-increasing doses to achieve the effect originally produced by lower doses

    primacy and drug-seeking behaviour - ie prioritising the substance over other aspects of ones life

    persistant use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences

    narrowing of the personal repertoire of the substance use

    withdrawal state

    for a diagnosis of dependence, you need to have three or more of teh above symptoms concurrently

    it is wodely acknowledged that some anti-depressants, seroxat and effexor in particular, have discontinuation effects. this is because they both ahve short half-lives. however, discontinuation effects alone do not mean the substance os addictive, or that the person is dependent on it.

    Many thanks for that very informative reply. I would put forward to you that your point on "persistent use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences" and "withdrawl state" apply very much to Seroxat and, while you clarify the difference between addiction and discontinuation effects, to the average patient there is probably not a great deal of difference, albeit it exists in medical terms.
    I have been taking Seroxat for more than 20 years. I no longer know A) if I need it, or B)How to find out if I do or not without risking a serious bout of depression and C) what is the best way to come of it?
    Could I suggest to you that it is possible to have a mental addiction as opposed to a physical one and that one is as bad as the other?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,898 ✭✭✭✭seanybiker


    I suffer fair bad meself as you probably noticed with some of my posts. I find laughing about things helps me. not as easy as it sounds obviously but I have to say, do ye not think we would have the best boards beers session ever, we would all be hugging each other and everything. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭WalterMitty


    Shazanne wrote: »
    Many thanks for that very informative reply. I would put forward to you that your point on "persistent use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences" and "withdrawl state" apply very much to Seroxat and, while you clarify the difference between addiction and discontinuation effects, to the average patient there is probably not a great deal of difference, albeit it exists in medical terms.
    I have been taking Seroxat for more than 20 years. I no longer know A) if I need it, or B)How to find out if I do or not without risking a serious bout of depression and C) what is the best way to come of it?
    Could I suggest to you that it is possible to have a mental addiction as opposed to a physical one and that one is as bad as the other?
    yes addiction can have a very significant psychological componenet.
    Prozac can be used as a substitute for seroxat as it is reported to produce much less side effects due to less serotonin specifiicity and longer half life. Go to a specialise first before you make any changes to your medical regime.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,073 ✭✭✭sam34


    Shazanne wrote: »
    Many thanks for that very informative reply. I would put forward to you that your point on "persistent use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences" and "withdrawl state" apply very much to Seroxat and, while you clarify the difference between addiction and discontinuation effects, to the average patient there is probably not a great deal of difference, albeit it exists in medical terms.
    I have been taking Seroxat for more than 20 years. I no longer know A) if I need it, or B)How to find out if I do or not without risking a serious bout of depression and C) what is the best way to come of it?
    Could I suggest to you that it is possible to have a mental addiction as opposed to a physical one and that one is as bad as the other?

    there is of course a psychological dependance on substances, which is not classified as an addiction per se, because it does not meet teh criteria i outlined above. eg, someone who takes a multi-vitamin every day may believe they need it each morning to get an energy buzz, when the reality is that there is no such mmediate buzz form them, and they have no addictive potential.

    the term "Persistant use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences" - i'm not sure why you mention this in relation to seroxat. the term is not used to cover side-effects of a medication. it is used to describe harmful comsequences such as social/domestic/occupational/legal - ie drink driving, marital breakdown, debt, as well as eg liver cirrhosis form persistent alcohol misuse. you could not classify anyone who gets a side effect of any medication as meeting this criteria simply because they contimue to use it after balancing the risks and benefits.


    your point about the difference to teh average patient - i know most people are not aware of teh criteria for determining addiction. however, an analogy would be that if you have chest pain, which is one symptom of a heart attack, it doesnt mean you are actually having a heart attack, there are other things such as ECG changes and blood results that are needed to make that diagnosis. one swallow doesnt make a summer etc


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 708 ✭✭✭zimovain


    Has anyone been on Zyprexa and found it really strong!?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Anyone else here not been able to get help yet? Think you guys are great that ye could take that step.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    betafrog wrote: »
    I'll be honest, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. As I said in my post it took me 6 months to be able to do so. I literally woke up one morning and said "**** this" and pretty much legged it to the Surgery in college. As soon as I was in that room with the GP the feeling of relief was immense.

    6 months aint bad though. I've been like this as long as I can remember but only realised what it was maybe 3 or 4 years ago.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    betafrog wrote: »
    So have you not seen anybody about it yet?

    Nope. Just can't talk about it


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,089 ✭✭✭Shazanne


    phi3 wrote: »
    Nope. Just can't talk about it

    Have you a friend or a family member you can talk to? It may be extremely difficult to begin but it will help. When someone cares about you they wont form an opinion or judge you, they will just offer a listening ear. I really wish I could help you.:(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,544 ✭✭✭hitlersson666


    Hi,
    Im 15
    live in foster care i get A LOT OF ANXINITY ATTACKS and i spent time in a ward in dublin 2 years age,
    unfortunley my foster cares dont know im depressed/anxious. They would thing it would be put on so i don't even bother
    Im posting here today because my mother has to have another breast check becaus ethe last 2 were ''abnormal'' she is a alcholic and always sick! Were convinced she has cancer and I cant sleep over it. If I could wish I was dead now I would take it.
    School is terrible like boards im always getting into trouble in it :(

    I also forgot i sometimes self harm but i do try to stop (my carers found out and thought my piercings were part of self harm as well but there were actually my identity)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Shazanne wrote: »
    Have you a friend or a family member you can talk to? It may be extremely difficult to begin but it will help. When someone cares about you they wont form an opinion or judge you, they will just offer a listening ear. I really wish I could help you.:(

    I have told a few friends about it. Only in text messages though. Never face to face.
    I don't think they totally understand though. They suggest going to see someone about it but then when it comes to going out or something, and I'm too afraid to go, they think I'm being silly or weird or something. I think my boyfriend does undersrtand coz i think sometimes he feels the same. But i can't really talk to him about it either.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    I'm not sure if this is allowed so if not, mods, feel free to delete and I apologise.

    There has been a forum request for a Mental Health forum so if any of you guys felt like showing your support, here is the place to do so : http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055831691


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 46 RIODEJ


    sam34 wrote: »
    there is of course a psychological dependance on substances, which is not classified as an addiction per se, because it does not meet ten criteria i outlined above. eg, someone who takes a multi-vitamin every day may believe they need it each morning to get an energy buzz, when the reality is that there is no such mmediate buzz form them, and they have no addictive potential.

    the term "Persistant use despite clear evidence of harmful consequences" - i'm not sure why you mention this in relation to seroxat. the term is not used to cover side-effects of a medication. it is used to describe harmful comsequences such as social/domestic/occupational/legal - ie drink driving, marital breakdown, debt, as well as eg liver cirrhosis form persistent alcohol misuse. you could not classify anyone who gets a side effect of any medication as meeting this criteria simply because they contimue to use it after balancing the risks and benefits.


    your point about the difference to teh average patient - i know most people are not aware of teh criteria for determining addiction. however, an analogy would be that if you have chest pain, which is one symptom of a heart attack, it doesnt mean you are actually having a heart attack, there are other things such as ECG changes and blood results that are needed to make that diagnosis. one swallow doesnt make a summer etc


    Such theory crap, some of it anyway, meeting all "criteria" and all that

    Peoples bipolar depression etc are all different, most people dont fit into the exact same models. There's physical and psy addiciton, and then theres physical on its own and theres also psy on its own too. If you really feel you cant go without a vitamin or a pill then its is a habit or some form of dependence or psy addiction, maybe a mild form. Theres too much of an obsession with theoritical "diagnosis"

    "Having" to take a pill is because theres a psychological association, a strong placebo effect. Probally not a real addiction but a subjective relience on it and this is technically a personal addiction putting all that classification diagnosis crap aside. whats with all that DSM stuff, having to meet 4 of the 10 symptoms etc. Says who?

    I did a BA in psychology, alot of it interesting but i'd say at least 25% of it was absolute useless crap, taking the piss out of students really!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,073 ✭✭✭sam34


    RIODEJ wrote: »
    Such theory crap, some of it anyway, meeting all "criteria" and all that

    Peoples bipolar depression etc are all different, most people dont fit into the exact same models. There's physical and psy addiciton, and then theres physical on its own and theres also psy on its own too. If you really feel you cant go without a vitamin or a pill then its is a habit or some form of dependence or psy addiction, maybe a mild form. Theres too much of an obsession with theoritical "diagnosis"

    "Having" to take a pill is because theres a psychological association, a strong placebo effect. Probally not a real addiction but a subjective relience on it and this is technically a personal addiction putting all that classification diagnosis crap aside. whats with all that DSM stuff, having to meet 4 of the 10 symptoms etc. Says who?

    I did a BA in psychology, alot of it interesting but i'd say at least 25% of it was absolute useless crap, taking the piss out of students really!

    i never said there wasnt both physical and psychological dependence.

    its not quite so simple to dismiss diagnostic criteria as "crap"
    without it, you dont havea diagnosis

    you cant rely on subjective report of symptoms, because what lay people mean by some clinical terms varies hugely and very often differs from what clinicians mean

    people use terms like "depression" , "obsession", "paranoid", "addicted" to mean a variety of things

    classifying them objectively is the only way to ensure adequate treatment


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,089 ✭✭✭Shazanne


    I understood that this thread started out as a place where people who were feeling depressed or anxious could find and identify with each other. Now its turning into a platform for people to give their "professional" opinions! That will simply scare away anoyone out there who is genuinely seeking a kindred spirit who may understand what they are going through and help them to understand it too.
    Leave the medical and psychological reams of information to another place - what people need here is friendship.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Please don't fight. This thread needs to be home to those of us that need somewhere to talk, to people that actually understand what we're going through. I would hope we can talk openly about how we feel without being judged and ridiculed like we do in everyday life.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,929 ✭✭✭IrishHomer


    I suffer with this problem of anxiety and depression also.

    I remember when i was 14yrs old we moved home and i became very depressed at moving from my pals to the country and i became tso depressed i think i had a mini breakdown without going for any help.

    Now at 40yrs of age i find i am getting worse as the years go by. I used to go to a councillor and she told me i seem to like getting into a depressed rut like as if its a habit of mine.

    I am now also suffering with extremely bad headaches and i think they stem from the immense anxiety i have.

    My GP recently said he thinks i am bordering bad depression he offered me medication but i never availed of any as I'm afraid of going around in a "spaced out" mode.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,559 ✭✭✭Millicent


    Hi,
    Im 15
    live in foster care i get A LOT OF ANXINITY ATTACKS and i spent time in a ward in dublin 2 years age,
    unfortunley my foster cares dont know im depressed/anxious. They would thing it would be put on so i don't even bother
    Im posting here today because my mother has to have another breast check becaus ethe last 2 were ''abnormal'' she is a alcholic and always sick! Were convinced she has cancer and I cant sleep over it. If I could wish I was dead now I would take it.
    School is terrible like boards im always getting into trouble in it :(

    I also forgot i sometimes self harm but i do try to stop (my carers found out and thought my piercings were part of self harm as well but there were actually my identity)

    Hey Hitlersson,

    I'm sorry you're feeling like this but if it's any consolation, I know exactly how you feel.

    My mam recently underwent treatment for breast cancer and I know what a horrible shadow cancer can put over your life. I know it's tough not to wind yourself up over it but breast cancer is very treatable and does not necessarily mean someone will die. I know that's is impossible to stop yourself getting worried but if you need to chat about it, let me know.

    I've suffered from depression for years, partly (as I suspect happened in your case) because I had to deal with too much at a young age. I self-harmed for years and still have to fight the urge to do it now.

    You mentioned that your foster carers probably wouldn't believe you but would they not take the time you spent in wards as evidence that you were not making it up?

    Drop me a PM if you ever feel like it. I know it can be awful lonely to feel like that and even worse in your teens (and I don't say that to be patronising; I say it form experience.) Hope things start to look up for you soon.xx


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,073 ✭✭✭sam34


    Shazanne wrote: »
    Leave the medical and psychological reams of information to another place - what people need here is friendship.

    people need support, granted. however, what they do NOT need, and what may be very harmful, is incorrect information, as was given earlier in the thread. thats what i stepped in to clarify, and when that was questioned i expanded further on the topic.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    Actually kinda starting to feel sad tonight. Thinking about the future and if i'm going to have one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 535 ✭✭✭bob50


    phi3 wrote: »
    Actually kinda starting to feel sad tonight. Thinking about the future and if i'm going to have one.

    Hi phi3 is there any reason why you feel sad did this just come on tonite for any or no reason


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭RubyXI


    bob50 wrote: »
    Hi phi3 is there any reason why you feel sad did this just come on tonite for any or no reason

    Sometimes it just hits you. If you ever let yourself think too much you'll feel sad. Right?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,089 ✭✭✭Shazanne


    phi3 wrote: »
    Please don't fight. This thread needs to be home to those of us that need somewhere to talk, to people that actually understand what we're going through. I would hope we can talk openly about how we feel without being judged and ridiculed like we do in everyday life.

    Very well said - I agree 100%


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,089 ✭✭✭Shazanne


    sam34 wrote: »
    people need support, granted. however, what they do NOT need, and what may be very harmful, is incorrect information, as was given earlier in the thread. thats what i stepped in to clarify, and when that was questioned i expanded further on the topic.

    I did not mean to offend or undermine you in any way and your information is very valuable. However, I personally feel that this threat should be simply for friendship and support. I realise I may have prompted some of your replies by question I asked about Seroxat, so I am just as responsible for going off on a tangent. I was really interested in what you had to say and would love to engage more with you on your expertise, but perhaps on another thread? And thank you for the time you spent with your replies - you are very clearly a caring person.


  • Registered Users Posts: 535 ✭✭✭bob50


    phi3 wrote: »
    Actually kinda starting to feel sad tonight. Thinking about the future and if i'm going to have one.
    phi3 wrote: »
    Sometimes it just hits you. If you ever let yourself think too much you'll feel sad. Right?


    Yeah i know the feeling when you think too much sadness just hits you im on anti d meds to try to help these sad toughts and they help some times


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    I've been diagnosed with severe depression and after months of counselling I've decided to start taking anti-depressants. Just started last week so fingers crossed for some improvement in the coming weeks. I was anorexic a few years ago, recovered and have since developed bulimia. Bulimia and depression have taken over my entire life and I often feel like I've lost everything in the last year. I frequently self-harmed in the past but I rarely do it anymore. However the scars are still there, you don't realise they'll last for years when you're doing it, and people are always staring/asking me about them.

    Basically I'm on the road to recovery but it's damn hard!


  • Registered Users Posts: 110 ✭✭RedNiamhy


    If find if I have too much time to think it's bad. Pondering that "What ifs". "meaning of life", "why are we here?"s just isn't good. I can do it for a short time but then I get pulled in to the vicious circle. It can be scary.

    I also have days where I feel like a good cry, for no particular reason at all most of the time. And when I am tired is when I feel like this the most. :(


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,898 ✭✭✭✭seanybiker


    good to see ye all being supportive. i likes this thread.


This discussion has been closed.
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