Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
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Notes -
Perhaps not a small question, but I'm curious if folks here have dealt with depression/anxiety and if so, how have they turned it around or alleviated symptoms?
Looking mostly for success stories.
Depression: I think a major factor was having a job where I had to put on a fake face. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Smile, and it will trick the treacherous mind into being happier. Though, that job also involved organizing stacks of heavy boxes, so it was simultaneously good exercise and a constant source of satisfaction for my 'tism tendencies.
For anxiety, the only solution I know if is to brazen through. Exposure therapy. IME, it really doesn't take that much.
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I suspect that my depression was, in hindsight, mostly due to a case of Shit Life Syndrome. Recently-ish, life improved and so did my mood.
However: I've written about my experience with a clinical trial for psilocybin. It worked wonders, even if the chemical didn't change the material aspects of my life or work. That was all the existence proof that I needed that I could be in a bad place, unhappy with how things were going, without necessarily feeling depressed about it. I've been on plenty of standard antidepressants, and they did fuck-all for me. That is not a general indictment of the class, the drugs aren't perfect, but they do work. For some people. Some of the time. NNT between 5-7. I feel this discrepancy in my bones, more than most psychiatrists do.
Then I dabbled with other substances, after my life got better. I would like to claim they helped, but the problem is that I was already feeling pretty good when I took them, and my main goal was to make the euthymia stick. It's been a month, and I'm doing well. I remember being terrified that I'd immediately relapse when I'm back to work, and that hasn't happened yet. Thank $Deity for that. If it does happen, I'm going to go see a psychiatrist and ask for IV ketamine, it's effective, particularly for treatment resistant cases like mine, and doesn't have the memory-loss issues of ECT.
And hey, if you need more tailored advice, DM me.
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I think you’ll get better results on the Wellness Wednesday thread, friend.
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