Topic Title: very shakey 2 weeks into it - advice?
| |  "very shakey 2 weeks into it - advice?"
, Sun 26 Feb 10:00
My friends...I'm looking for a little help, information and hopefully encouragement from some people who really know. I've suffered on and off from depression and anxiety for most of my adult life. Lately, after going off all meds and after a few very big life events, my depression and anxiety are at a real perhaps lifetime high. I 'overcame' this condition before once with the help of zoloft and cognitive behavioural therapy. Anyway, I decided to try sjw now. It's been 2 weeks. I had 2 days last week where I felt remotely ok...like I could relax and my brain wasn't chattering about all the negative 'realities' of my life...nonetheless, it's almost dabilitating and all the 'positive self-talk' doesn't seem to be sinking in. My mouth is dry and I'm waking up during the middle of the night, as well as difficulty falling asleep. It's difficult functioning.I feel a sense of emergency, but I want to see if sjw will take effect. I'm disheartened by 'studies that show it's ineffective'...I don't know my level of depression, but I believe it's severe - I'm hopeless, anxious, no apetite, sleep pattern disturbed. I'm not suicidal - I still go to school and try and exercise 4 times a week, but I'm so aware of my state of mind and the negative feelings...it'S PAINFUL...can anyone relate to this and the apparent 'ineffectiveness' of sjw after 2 weeks...anyone been there...anyone happily 'proved wrong'? I'm still afraid it's not as effective as Zoloft or some such med. I appreciate ANY input. Thanks.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Sun 26 Feb 2006 9:43 |
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| | "Re(1):very shakey 2 weeks into it - advice?" , Mon 27 Feb 14:41
SJW took two months to work for me. It lifted my depression enough to get me out of bed in the morning and find a job, but that was all. I'm thinking of going on SSRIs. SJW can work for major/severe depression, but it takes longer and the results are not as good. It will make you feel a bit more stable and content, but won't lift the black cloud completely.
Posts: 14 | | Registered: Tue 8 Mar 2005 11:36 |
| | "Re(1):very shakey 2 weeks into it - advice?" , Sun 26 Feb 13:51
Hey, sorry to hear your doing bad. I think SJW is very helpful for those who have a mild/moderate depression. It seems to me that you are going through a hard time and I don't think that you should have a stigma about going back on antidepressants if you feel that they helped you before. For someone who has a clinical depression that is mild, and isnt really going through a hard time it is helpful. I have recently come to the grips that i have had mild depression. When things get rough that depression can get severe. Some people with severe depression have had success with St. John's. A few months ago I had a nervous breakdown and came home from college and thats when i began to come to grips with things. My condition wasn't actually that bad I just had never talked about it or understood it so it snowballed. I have been on St. Johns Wort for a week now after going through the withdraws of coming off medication. It has really helped my motivation and concentration, i have the energy to get out of bed and exercise and am generally more optimistic. My suggestion to you is that if you feel like you have alot to deal with right now, it's probably not time to experiment. If you know Zoloft helped you don't feel bad about going back on it to help you deal with the situations in your life. Once things calm down a little and you feel better then maybe you can try St. John's. Make sure you have a quality brand: ie: Kira. Don't feel like a failure if you go back on antidepressants. I think sometimes we get over confident feeling like we can "beat" this and it will be gone. However its something that you have to deal with, learn the signs and symptoms of depression so you can deal with it before it gets bad. Just don't feel bad about what you decide. I can relate to what you say about it being "painful", you can't really understand that depths of pain unless you experience it. The two things that helped me get through that hard time where something we all need to hear. "It's NOT your fault" and "Things WILL get better" even though everything inside you want's to believe otherwise. I don't know if you have faith in God, but if you do pray that he will guide your decisions. Good Luck...and it WILL get better!
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Thu 23 Feb 2006 18:49 |
| | | "Re(2):very shakey 2 weeks into it - advice?" , Tue 28 Feb 05:10
Thanks both Heymona and Collegekid...It's been interesting the last few days. I was able to get a couple nights good sleep and somehow (it's just past the 2-week mark for me with sjw) I'm feeling a little better. It really feels like the negative, obsessive chatter has quieted some, and I'm better able to concentrate, distract myself, and simply feel ok. I'm hoping that this will continue ofcourse. I do appreciate the words of encouragement. When I'm in the thick of it, it feels like it could never improve. I'm glad I don't feel this way today. I agree with the idea that it's not always a good idea to experiment! However, I know you can't mix sjw with other meds, and I don't like the idea of weaning off sjw now and then waiting again for some other SSRI to take effect before seeing what sjw is really capable of. In any case, I'll let you know how things are going in the weeks to come. All my best to you!! (Keeping the fingers crossed:)
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Sun 26 Feb 2006 9:43 |
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