A safe place to talk openly about mental health & illness
Depression – it's one word to describe so many different things. The many faces of depression means that no one person's experience can ever capture what depression is. It's a simple word for a complex illness, so let's chat a bit about what that complexity can look like. Major depressive episode symptoms The list of… Continue reading The Many Faces of Depression
Some people write off antidepressants as being useless because the serotonin hypothesis was wrong, while others insist they need antidepressants because they don't have enough serotonin. There's a lot of confusion about what the serotonin hypothesis was and what it meant, so this post will try to clear up some of that. A bit of… Continue reading Clearing Up the Serotonin Hypothesis and Depression Confusion
Psychomotor retardation (PMR) is a set of symptoms involving the slowing of movement and thoughts. One aspect of motor activity that's affected is speech, which is what this post will focus on. This interests me because PMR is the most treatment-resistant aspect of my depression, and speech impairment has had a significant impact on my… Continue reading Speech Impairment and Psychomotor Retardation in Depression
Have you ever wondered why antidepressant side effects seem to be worse at the beginning, or why it takes so long for them to actually start doing what you expect of them? There is actually some rhyme and reason for it, so let's talk about it. Let's talk serotonin People with depression don't have enough… Continue reading Antidepressant Side Effects & Delayed Therapeutic Effect
Ask anyone of a certain age what comes to mind first when they hear the term electroconvulsive therapy (aka ECT, aka electroshock therapy, aka shock therapy), and chances are they will mention the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Jack Nicholson. The reality is very different.
There are a number of non-medication, non-therapy options for treatment-resistant depression. Somatic treatments involve stimulating the brain through the application of energy. ECT and TMS are the most well-known, but there are some more obscure options as well. And then there's cranial electrotherapy, which isn't in the same ballpark at all. So let's dive in!… Continue reading Somatic Treatments for Depression
Pretty much the same cocktail of meds I'm on now used to work well, and got me into full remission (i.e. no symptoms at all between episodes). I'm not sure what got me thinking about this recently, but while my depression has become increasingly treatment-resistant overall, my medications are still doing a pretty good job… Continue reading Treatment-Resistant Depression: What My Meds Do Help With
Mental illness often affects what we think about, but it can also affect how we think, including the speed of our thought process. This in turn can impact how well we're able to function. Effects of different illness processes ManiaMania is an obvious example of speeding things up, and this may show up outwardly as… Continue reading What Speed Does Your Mental Illness Mind Move At?
Sometimes, depression can cause busy mind that's focused on the negative. I get slow mind. Slow mind gets confused and overwhelmed. I rely on my organization system to compensate for this, at least to some extent. As time goes by, though, the system gets overwhelmed, at which point it needs a refresh or a broader… Continue reading Refreshing My Depression Organization System
Recently, I had a bit of an aha moment while commenting on a post by Caz at Mental Health 360º, making a connection related to anhedonia that had never crossed my mind before. She was talking about the idea that motivation follows activation. Earlier in the course of my illness, I figured it was worth… Continue reading An Anhedonia Aha Moment – Motivation & Depression