Posted by SLS on March 30, 2006, at 7:50:41
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania? » tygereyes, posted by TylerJ on March 30, 2006, at 7:23:02
> > I have often wondered, while reading this page: Is this why we switch meds so often? Because "normal" just isn't good enough anymore?
I think some people do indeed expect drugs to take away all of life's problems without doing the work necessary to deal with them. They expect not to become depressed as a reaction to a situation. I am not sure that this represents the majority, though.
People forget what it is like to be normal sometimes.
People are often left with some residual biological depression despite treatment. How do you tell the difference between residual biological depression and a depressive reaction to a situation? This is probably difficult for many people because they haven't felt well in years.
I think psychotherapy can be a good tool to work through the issues left in the wake of a biological depression. There are often issues that existed prior to this depression, and might even have precipitated it. These things really should be addressed so as to remove the psychosocial stresses that might trigger a relapse.
> I'm doing very well on Parnate, but it doesn't make me high, and I certainly don't feel "wonderful" all the time. I'm most definitely not depressed or anxious anymore, but I'm not ecstatic either. I think a lot of people's perception of what is "normal" is incorrect. Normal people have challenges..good times as well as bad. For me bad used to be miserable, in bed all day long, anxious, anti-social and sometimes suicidal. Now, with the help of Parnate, I don't experience these kinds of lows anymore...but I still argue with my wife, get pissed off, get frustrated, etc. these things I think are quite normal. It's finally nice to be alive. :)Amen.
Isn't there a difference in the way the two types of depression "feel"?
When a Parnate + desipramine combination brought me to remission, I did experience depression as a reaction to situations. However, it felt completely different from the biological depression that I had suffered before. It was a pleasure to be able to deal with very real issues and work through the situational depression in the absence of the biological depression.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:625584
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060329/msgs/626485.html