Stop the insanity!

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I'm ramping down in dosage from my medication(paxil CR) and some depressive syptoms are starting to creep back into my head. I knew this might happen and am ready to fight back, but now that I'm here, I am having difficulty on concentrating on how to do it.

So I just need some advice on how to stop the insanity! I did a lot of cleaning today to get my mind off of being sad. I am about to go for a walk to get some fresh air.

What do you do to keep the depression demons at bay?

Are you ramping down slowly enough? Paxil is particularly nasty because it is addictive. If this is under medical supervision, check with the doctor on what to do. Myself, I'd probably step up by half of what I'd just stepped down by, then go down by smaller amounts, unless there's a solid medical reason you HAVE to drop the dose by a certain time. When the weather is particularly changeable, I find that I can suffer from added depression and paranoia, and that I need to offset that - usually for no more than a day - again checking with a doctor first.

I'd also consider looking at "conventional" solutions. Black tea has caffeine, yes, but it also relaxes and calms. I still don't know why, but it does. Physical exertion is a mood-altering activity and CAN be helpful. Too much, however, is addictive.

I've had no luck with St. John's Wort, but that's said to be a good herbal ant-depressant.

Do something to keep your mind off it. Read a good book, go for a walk, something like that, as long as it's enjoyable. I recommend a Terry Pratchett book, might make you laugh.

Don't be like Anakin Skywalker and give in to the dark side.

In other words, if you let yourself be depressed, then you will be depressed.

I'm struggling with severe depression myself. I've learned to be kind to myself, watch the inner dialogue, and be patient. I love to watch old movies that I liked as a child, or read classics that always please me.

goodluck. i dont think i have depression, but i need to take something to stop me from drinking thats for shure

I've battled depression on and off for the last 16 years.

I am now really good, but find I need to exercise regularly and eat healthy food to stay good.

Try to keep your blood sugar levels even by eating low GI foods regularly. Avoid really sugary foods because your blood sugars peak then crash - and so does your mood.

Go for a long walk (if you like walking).

Do you like animals? I find if I pat a dog, or just watch birds I feel calmer.

Good luck!
Helen

Apart from keeping busy and going for walks like others have already mentioned,
when I get depressed I try to think about as many positive aspects as I can,e.g.
I'm grateful that I live in the modern age with all its technology,rather than in
medieval times (no internet or TV in those days).Recent floods in parts of the UK
have left some people without drinking water and electricity and that kind of puts
things in perspective.I realise it's not easy if you've got clinical depression and been
on medication so hope things get better.

this thread got me thinking about a problem ive had latly, actually triggered by watching the movie 'jarhead'

I use the 1990 gulf war as a relative point in time for me, seemes easier to remember when things occured in early childhood when using this period in history "my first memory of international events" the time when I realized the world was larger then the town I lived in. Anyways, i never used to be like this, but on occasion I would wake up from having some crazy dream from that time or b4 hand, and have my mind going at the speed of light it felt like, I would have flashbacks of all those years, tons of stuff i remembered, and even recovered memories, and for some odd reason (i had a very happy childhood, mostly, but uneque) I would spend that entire day without any energy, would sit, do nothing, feel super depressed all day, go to work, have no ability to do my job or consintrate, It must eather be HFA related or im assuming some brain chemical is unbalanced. The next day, ill sleep, this time normal dreams, ill wake up, and be normal all day, it happens every couple of days and only recently has been occuring, to the point im starting to feel like i need to medicate to get me through the 'sad' day. I abuse pain medication on those days, and its potentially dangerous, as i get intoxicated from it, makes me feel better, gives me energy.

Im sorry to hijack this post... I dont mean to ramble sometimes it happens when things r on my mind and im reminded of something,

WOMEN, i did not realize taking to much anti depressants can cause depression? Have u discussed this with your DR? Do u feel the way I do sometimes? Maby im ODD, well i guess we all are . Have u had benifits from your paxil usage, maby i can use it only on the days I feel down, because most days I feel fine.

I recommend ducks

Cats too - they have nice soft fur.

Running out of paxil had to be the worst withdrawal I ever felt from a drug. Its among the worst memories I have in life.

I used antidepressant off and on since 1993. Mostly I have been on them but major depression always returned when off the meds. So some people will require life long treatment.

What are GI foods?

From what i've read & heard, some anti-depressants may had an adverse effect on patients & make them more depressed. Paxil helped me right away-I had no side effects when I began taking it. I would not recommend using it, though. Like TheMachine1 stated, the withdrawal is bad. Nausea, Headaches, Irritability, Low concentration, off-Balance(I look I'm drunk when I go for walks), and Dizziness.I'm taking it slow by ramping down in dosage, plus my timing is good - I'm between school semesters right now so its a pretty stress free time right now.

I began taking it because at the time I was a new single mom living with verbally abusive family members. It was soooo much stress - working, not sleeping at night, paying for daycare, etc. I am in a much better situation in my life now & have a wonderful home with a wonderful husband & amazing daughter. I have never had a happy family life until now, so I want to at least try to become med free.
Plus I want to become pregnant again in the next couple of months & want no drugs in my system.

Check out the Paxil drug makers - Glaxosmithkline. But then compare it to paxilprogress.org and quitpaxil.org. Its scary!

The efficacy of St. John's Wort depends on the nature of the depression, as it encourages uptake of serotonin by brain tissue. This provides a temporary life - and if your neurochemistry is close enough to normal, that can help you past a rough patch. It's especially helpful for cases of situational depression, in which Major Depressive Disorder is not indicated.

However, if you do have Major Depressive Disorder, the odds are that part of the causation is the fact that you system doesn't produce enough serotonin to regulate your moods. So, while St. John's Wort can cause a temporary lift, the crash that follows is by far worse. (For similar reasons, those with MDD should avoide Ecstasy [the drug, not the experience].)

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) tend to work far better for MDD, especially in conjunction with "talk therapy" (the SSRI enables the patient to actually begin to feel good about him/herself, while the talk therapy helps to overcome the habits of thought that can lead back into depression).

The fun part is, the underlying causes of the serotonin problem are only dimly understood. Also, since no two human biologies are exactly alike (quite similar, but not entirely congruent), the response of each person to a given medication or set of medications will differ slightly. In cases such as fever or infection, the differences are small, and can be easily overlooked; however, when the functioning involves the human brain, even small differences can add up quickly. Thus, it's extremely difficult to tell what medication, or cocktail of medications, will be most efficacious for a given patient, until you've actually tried something out. That's why there are so many varieties of SSRIs on the market...

disregard