Posted by nicky847 on December 29, 2003, at 12:07:47
In reply to Re: Depression question » bluesfan, posted by Mariposa on December 29, 2003, at 11:40:50
Rapid eye movement therapy seems to help people b/c it simulates REM sleep..it also helps you confront your scary thoughts...what my therapist did was tell me to think one of my scary thoughts..which in itself is scary but with the therapist there i felt safe in doing so...he then told me to follow his finger with my eyes..and moved it at a rapid (but not blinding speed) to the far left and far right corners of my field of vision...he did this for about 30 seconds...then told me to take a deep breath and close my eyes...we repeated this 3 or 4 times..im not sure how or why it works..but my scary thoughts seemed to lose some of their impact after that..like my body had already processed these thoughts and recognized that they are harmless..
I have been on lexapro for 4 1/2 weeks now...I am encouraged by the fact that my recovery seems to be going more or less the same as it did on celexa...i get frustrated that im not all the way better...but when i think about the progress i have made, it makes me feel good...from reading what you have written to me you are well on your way to recovery as well..
an important thing to note is that when you are starting on an A/D..you will have many points where you feel like you are cured...and it makes it very frustrating when a few days later you dont feel like that anymore...remember that regardless of how you feel on a given day..every day you are one day closer to recovery....celexa really helped me..and i am confident lexapro will do the same..but do not expect a magic switch to be pulled..recovery is very very gradual and the number one thing i can advise to you is patience, patience, and more patience....i know its hard, but the cold hard facts are that it can take a couple months on the meds to feel better..so you have the choice to get frustrated and scared when you feel youre not progressing fast enough...or to have faith in the med and in yourself..let the lex do its thing..and recuperate without putting alot of extra pressure on yourself...believe me when you come out the other side it feels like you have a new lease on life..and you will come out the other side..
> I would just like to add in my support....have been on Lex since Feb., currently at20mg.
>
> First 2 months for me were terrible, but I'm glad I stuck it out, doing so much better now.
>
> 2nd week was the worst for me w/se's, then at wk 5 I felt a whole lot worse, increased depression and anxiety attacks. Did not actually start to fell *better* until wk 9.
>
> Please try not to get discouraged, tracking how you feel may help take your mind off, and frequent breaks (I went to bathroom, or stockroom to *get some air*) also helped a lot. Try not to focus on the negatives, keep thinking positive thoughts, drink lots of water!
>
> Also come back here OFTEN for support, it helped me so much to read posts here when I felt bad.
>
> We're all pulling for you!~~~8|8
poster:nicky847
thread:294271
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/294301.html