When all that’s left is to re-boot your day: "When you feel all is going wrong with your day, stop what you are doing and sit down. Take a deep breath and then close your eyes for a fifteen minute nap. The nap is the re-booting of your “internal operating system” (as the doc liked to compare it). Then when you open your eyes again, the re-boot is complete and you must now pretend that it is a new day."
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Are we too happy?
In Praise of Melancholy - ChronicleReview.com: "My fears grow out of my suspicion that the predominant form of American happiness breeds blandness. This kind of happiness appears to disregard the value of sadness."
The author is careful in making the distinction between melancholia and depression. The former is a praise-worthy state of awareness of the true nature of our being; the latter is an often crippling illness. "Melancholia, far from a mere disease or weakness of will, is an almost miraculous invitation to transcend the banal status quo and imagine the untapped possibilities for existence."
Thanks, but I think I'll sit this one out. It reminds me of my childhood friend, Dave, who lit a match so he could see if there was gasoline in the carburetor of his car.
We don't receive news about unsuccessful antidepressant studies
The New England Journal of Medicine has published a review of antidepressant trials and has noted that nearly a third of the studies that showed an unfavorable result were not published. This, according to a follow-up story in the Wall Street Journal, "inflated the reported effectiveness of all 12 of the antidepressants studied, which were approved between 1987 and 2004."
Further, reports the New York Times, it's a reminder that finding an effective antidepressant is still very much a trial-and-error process. The Times quotes Dr. Erick Turner, a psychiatrist and former F.D.A. reviewer who now works at Oregon Health and Sciences University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "The bottom line for people considering an antidepressant, I think, is that they should be more circumspect about taking it,” he said, “and not be so shocked if it doesn’t work the first time and think something’s wrong with them.”
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Things we shouldn't need to be told
There are quite a few serious warnings associated with EMSAM, the MAO inhibitor that I have been taking:
Emsam in particular and the MAOI class of antidepressants in general have a lot of warnings regarding interactions with foods and other medications. So far, the restrictions haven't been burdensome. It's not a bad idea to avoid cheeses, given the risks of high cholesterol. (Jennie did comment, however, "What's Christmas without cheeses?")
The warnings that come with medication differ slightly from the warnings that are printed by the pharmacy, which, in turn, differ slightly from the warnings shown at the web site of the company that provides our medication insurance. Two out of three say that hot dogs aren't safe. One says that raspberries and raisins pose a moderate risk.
Yesterday, I was at the dentist and needed to receive a topical antibiotic. I was able to use my Blackberry to check on the safety of the antibiotic wrt Emsam (no problem).
So, the principles of common sense and moderation prevail. I won't eat a pint of raspberries in a sitting. The good news of this effort is that the medication seems to be working well. I have had a few nights when I haven't slept well (waking early) and that has the potential of causing trouble. Nevertheless, I continue to have more good days than bad and the good days have been among the best that I've had in a long time.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Depression Links - 1/15/2008
Here are this week's links on the topic of depression.
- Coming Out Of The Dark
- Depression beneficiaries double in five years - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
- The number of people receiving the sickness benefit due to depression has more than doubled in the past five years.
- Depression really is in your head
- Dr Shock MD PhD: Risk Factors for Psychiatric Disorders
- Twin studies suggest a heritability for depressive disorder of about 37%, which is much lower than the heritability for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
- Electroshock reborn as valid therapy
- Fighting the Darkness: My Secret Battle with Depression: The light at the end of the tunnel
- Getting stronger after depression - Case Studies, Health - Independent.ie
- God Will Restore Your Wasted Years! by David Wilkerson March 26, 1990
- Johns Hopkins: Depression|Anxiety on depression|neurogenesis
- Magic mushrooms could help depression, say scientists
- Oh, this sounds like a great idea.
- Nature and nurture are both to blame for depression, study says
- Old in Massachusetts? Say Goodbye to Your Freedom - World of Psychology
- Psychiatry24x7.com
- Re-occuring depression . . . an attack of tachyphylaxis « The Sidewalk Psychiatrist
- Tachyphylaxis is the fancy term used to describe the waning of benefit that some people experience from antidepressants or other medication.
- ScienceDirect - Journal of Affective Disorders : Gray matter reduction associated with psychopathology and cognitive dysfunction in unipolar depression: A voxel-based morphometry study
- The volumetric results indicate that regional abnormalities in gray matter volume and concentration may be associated with both psychopathological changes and cognitive deficits in depression.
- The Wild Moods: Review of MBCT: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression
- The monster strangled me and I never saw it coming - Times Online
- Treating Depression in Older Adults: Challenges to Implementing the Recommendations of an Expert Panel
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Depression - Out of the Black Hole
- this is the first book to be published about winning the battle with a medical implant procedure called VNS Therapy.
- dervala.net » Blog Archive » Against Depression
- sbc IMPACT! » Blog Archive » Depression: A Real Problem for Real People
- The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit? Proverbs 18:14.
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