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Posted 7/12/2016 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
If I am feeling depressed , I can always find a number of reasons why I feel this way. How can a pill change that? The reasons will still be there , right?
Like many here on HW , I have been on many different types of anti-
depressants. I really dont think I have ever got to a point where I had
a feeling that ( name any depressant ) has made a difference. When I think about my life , I see lots of reasons to be depressed. Should I really expect a pill to change that?
I am certainly no doctor , but how can a pill change a persons mood when that person sees so many troubles on the hoizon?

Derwood.
Posted 7/12/2016 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
I dunno, Derwood. Antidepressants are no panacea, that's for sure. I still get ups and downs, regardless of the Cymbalta, although I find that the drug gives me enough emotional detachment to survive the downs.

For me, antidepressants are less about making me happy and more about keeping me ambulatory. If I allowed my depression to run amuck, it's doubtful I'd ever get out of bed. Cymbalta gives me a mental tool that I can use to keep living life. Optimally? No. Am I my best self? No. Could I be happier? Hell yeah. But I'm still able to work and enjoy some of life's simpler pleasures.

I can't change any of the more prominent reasons that my life is emotionally difficult. The same sh77 that was there yesterday is gonna be there tomorrow. Nonetheless, there's power in accepting the futility of trying to change things that can't be changed - it stops me from wasting effort on fruitless pursuits.
Posted 7/12/2016 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Antidepressants change the chemicals in our brains. Or add what we are lacking.

I would say learn some coping skills. Maybe some talk therapy if you aren't already. A lot of it is attitude on our parts. Deciding whether or not to let things bother us. We have a lot more control than we think in the way that we feel and look at things. Maybe a good book on CBT. There is one called "feeling good" by Dr. David Burns. I recommend it highly. I have always found self help books to be so helpful to me.

Yes there are a lot of things a person could be depressed about. We all have that. It is up to us whether or not we get depressed from it. There are a lot of matters where we have choices.

I hope that you feel better soon Derwood.

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 7/12/2016 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
That is very insightful F27. Thanks; i must try to remember your last paragraph...it really is the bare arsed truth, isn't it? I probably shoulld have figured this out on my own , but thank you for spelling it out for me. I definetely spend too much effort bemaoning past negative experiences; things that just will not ever change. So I will try to remember this , and try to let go of some anger that I have inside. It isn't helping me one iota.

Thanks for the help F27 :)

PS- Curious which province you live in , fello Canuck. I'm in PEI.

Derwood
Posted 7/12/2016 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
I would add that meds can also give us the objectivity and energy needed to make changes to our lives. It has certainly been the case with me. Un-medicated, I would wallow and say everything is too hard and not worth changing/trying.

Depression is, in part, a point of view. The old axiom of "get up again after you fall down" is pertinent here. If we chose to see our lives as pointless, then we have failed ourselves (families,friends,pets,society, et al,) in some aspects. Choosing to see value is getting up.
Posted 7/12/2016 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Karen.

I will give all of this info some serious thought. I have had success with my psycologist in the past ( about 5 years ago ) but this time I dont seem to be getting anything from this doctor, this time. Mind , I have only seen her twice so far this second time around, but I am not sure I want to go back to her.

about a week ago I sent my psychologist an e-mail asking her for info on how to get in contact with a provincial disability rep, so that I can learn about the types of assistance that is offered here. I have not recieved a reply.

What should I do about this? Should I confront her ; ask her why she hasen't replied? Or should I wait , in case she is on holidays?
Are my expectations wrong ie I am asking the wrong person? Or should I seek a different psychologist?

Thanks for the help.
Derwood
Posted 7/12/2016 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Alberta born and bred. Prairies, mountains, and everything in between!

Friends of mine have a beautiful property in PEI that they keep insisting I use one of these years. I don't remember where it is, but the pictures they take from their front porch are stunning.

I always have to remind myself not to get caught up in things I can't change. Next lesson I'm trying to learn is to be able to figure out the things that are worth changing. That's proving to be tougher.

You working? Retired? Other?
Posted 7/12/2016 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
I hope to see this country from coast to coast some day. I would ideally take the train one way and then fly home. I have been to all
provinces east of Manitoba ( which still leaves a lot of territory! ) and visited about a dozen states , plus a trip to Mexico and a trip to Barbados.

I am on LTD. I am an electronics tech by trade , and work for Bell.
I have 30 years of service in now , although I have been on LTD for about 9 years. Still technically a Bell employee.

I went on LTD because of recurring depression and anxiety , but during the last 8 years ( and two accidents ) I have developed joint problems that I am currently trying to get help with. As you may have read , I have been waiting a year to see a Rhumatologist ( in Moncton NB ) and still have to wait until January 2017.

I am hoping the Rhummie may help me , but dont want to get my hopes too high. I have lived in both rural and city areas ( currently living in the small city of Charlottetown ) and have figured out that I prefer the country life. So that is one of my goals ; to live in the country again. So peaceful , quiet and relaxing. And so good for my cat Lupin too :)

Peace and best,
Derwood.

PS- if you ever take your friends up on a trip to PEI I would be happy to show you some of the sights and sceens. But not too much of Anne of Green Gables Lol ; that gets pretty tireing for most of us Islanders :)
Posted 7/12/2016 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
Heheh ... my friends originally went to PEI on an 'Anne' pilgrimage, and they loved the island so much, they bought a house!

Frankly, I think my only Canadian pop-culture pilgrimage will be to Roleaux SK. When my wife was at her sickest we used to watch Corner Gas DVDs ad infinitum. Couldn't get enough of that droll prairie humour, and each episode made us chuckle when chuckles were in short supply.

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6FqbcLKajo

So you're waiting for a rheumy, I'm waiting for a cardiologist. I think there must be one of each in Canada, and they're probably both on vacation right now.

I've dealt with Bell a number of times - good folks, at least the ones I've met are. In fact we still have a couple of old data lines we're keeping for redundancy. Come to think of it, I should check and see if we're still using them as a fail-over target.

Scratch Lupin for me.
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