Mental Health: There really are people out there who care

Posted by Shirley Hugh-Jesst @audriana, Sep 3, 2021

I'd like to meet the person who wrote this, but the author is unknown. This was posted on Facebook today, 3 September 2021:

Sertraline- Zoloft
Venlafaxine- Effexor
Citalopram- Celexa
Mirtazapine-Remeron
Fluoxetine- Prozac
Duloxetine- Cymbalta
Seroquel- Quetiapine
Lamictal- Lamotrigine
Lexapro- Escitalopram
Wellbutrin- Bupropion
Lorazepam- Ativan
Klonopin- Clonazepam

If you're savvy enough to know what these tablets are or know a loved one who takes them, then I don't have to describe to you what this post is regarding. But in case you don't, I will fill you in.

That medication allows people to deal with a normal day to day life. Although most days it leaves them tired, spaced out, emotionless, or even super emotional. Crazy right? Why would anyone want to feel like that? Well this is why!!

You see, some people suffer from severe depression and anxiety. In their brain it doesn't sit right, something seems different. They notice little differences that other people wouldn't. Most days they wake up sick and feel sleepless. They consistently over think every situation. A comment about them-- was it a joke? Was that person supposed to laugh? Or did they mean it? Are they being nice? Are they talking about them? Do they talk about them? They then think I bet they don’t like me really.

They say sorry all the time. They feel like they annoy everyone.
And for all those questions they will spend hours trying to answer. Let it all build up in their mind, until it sends them to tears...... it's mental that they see things that way.

It's not only mental changes, but physical changes. They don't eat a lot or they eat way too much. Insomnia, up all night answering questions to situations that don't even exist, or sleep too much and waste half their day still feeling tired. They still smile and they have every excuse for when you ask why.

But the tablets can help them.
Because they know when they start to feel this way or think this way, they need help. They know that when their behaviour starts to change, They need guidance. And they understand that they don't need to be ashamed. They don't need to be understood. They just need to be accepted. Everyone is fighting a battle and sometimes you need to be kinder.

So I may just be another person who's talking about mental health....

Living with this illness is hard, but trying to understand it, is even harder. It’s also 100 times harder if they have another condition on top of this.

Don't suffer in silence.❤

#speakout
#CopyAndPasteIfYouCanAndAreWilling

Stop the stigma!

Mental health is just as important as physical health.

#mentalhealthmatters
#mentalhealthadvocate

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

This is indeed a very powerful piece! While the author may not be known, I have no doubt there are many people nodding their heads in recognition. There is a very wide definition of the term "mental health", and we deserve to be all we can be, with medications if needed, or therapy of a sort, and keep trying until we feel satisfied with the results. That can take a long time.

What medication speaks to you, have you tried, what other methods have you used to restore yourself to a good place mental health-wise?
Ginger

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@gingerw

This is indeed a very powerful piece! While the author may not be known, I have no doubt there are many people nodding their heads in recognition. There is a very wide definition of the term "mental health", and we deserve to be all we can be, with medications if needed, or therapy of a sort, and keep trying until we feel satisfied with the results. That can take a long time.

What medication speaks to you, have you tried, what other methods have you used to restore yourself to a good place mental health-wise?
Ginger

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In my case, a lifetime...not solely a reliance on meds.... ECT, hospitalizations, CBT, mindfulness...body, mind, spirit.
.I have a vast toolbox in which I root around. My Grandpa used to say, "If you have the right tool, you can fix anything. Sometimes I have to make the tool....and I take care of my tools..." I can smell the sawdust...🤎ahhh...
And my best tool I have??? as recently pointed out to me by my therapist, Alida Mason---"Audrey, you have an exquisite brain..."
Thank you

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@audriana

In my case, a lifetime...not solely a reliance on meds.... ECT, hospitalizations, CBT, mindfulness...body, mind, spirit.
.I have a vast toolbox in which I root around. My Grandpa used to say, "If you have the right tool, you can fix anything. Sometimes I have to make the tool....and I take care of my tools..." I can smell the sawdust...🤎ahhh...
And my best tool I have??? as recently pointed out to me by my therapist, Alida Mason---"Audrey, you have an exquisite brain..."
Thank you

Jump to this post

Yes, there has been untold good to come of these drugs. But as many of know there is a cautionary tale that comes along with them, too Some of us never received the negative until it's too late and have to suffer the consequences of withdrawal. These drugs have just relatively recently come under vast scrutiny because of their side effects and any one pondering the cost/benefit in taking them, would be wise to heed the warnings.

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@clutch yes...absolutely ...cause and effect...risk and reward,...and affect--flat affect...15 min med checks...all to "fix" the most complicated chemical and environmental interrelationships in the world...a cautionary tale...
When I entered into this saga it was with an expectation of cure.
After years of trial and error, monitoring and adjusting, (blah X3) one of the most effective treatments has been________...
Nope! Can't say...because I'm still figuring me out. I do know in my lifetime, I will not experience the benefits of medical science with the brain in comparison to a spleen, a liver, a heart...I also do know that I, and you, and a gazillion others are breaking ground for the truly last frontier: our Grey matter.
I am glad I stepped out of the shadows. Stigma is very _______________________!

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Thank you so much!! A much needed article for now for so many people . Thank you again.

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That was so well written and true.God bless the person who wrote it especially with all everyone is going through now. Please stop the judging and be kind.

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I only agree with you to a point on the medications! It is up to us to ask our doctors many questions about some about the pluses and minuses of each drug we are offered. I was on lithium for an extended amount of time and I knew the risk but I had to decide myself use lithium and manage my mania or take blood tests every 3 months and watch my kidneys!!! Well I chose to stay on lithium but I stayed on lithium way longer than I should have only because other drugs were not controlling my manias like lithium was doing. Again it was a gamble I chose!

Finally now in my late 50’s my body has accepted seraquel and I’m off lithium but it to late for my kidneys. The damage is done! Would I do it all over again? YES IF IT MEANT CONTROLLING MY MANIAS. My manias could have cost me everything including my house, my job, and my family , including my siblings and parents! Don’t get me wrong I did have many down times but as I explained to my therapist what is being locked and talking to others going to do for me that you and I can’t do for one another? I never once missed an appointment either on an mania or on a depressed side! So for me being locked up was not the answer. The answer is being honest to yourself!

Meds only work if you have the correct ones. Here is what I ask every time a doctor prescribes new meds for me:
1) will they clash with the meds I’m currently taking?
2) are they addictive?
3) are they a narcotic or opiod?
4) if I need to come off of them is it going to be an easy task?
5) will they or could they hurt any of my organs over time?
6) are there any other meds that we may try instead to come out with the same conclusion?
7) though newer drugs are more expensive are they any better?
**REMEMBER NEWER DOESNOT ALWAYS MEAN BETTER! SOMETIMES IT JUST MEANS MORE MONEY! AND BEING ON SSI AND I CANNOT AFFORD MORE MONEY!
**MOST OF THE OLDER DRUGS WORK TWICE AS BETTER AND THERE IS MORE DATA ON THE OLDER DRUGS THEN THE NEWER DRUGS!

These are all valid questions to ask! If you don’t ask you will never know. That is why people get addicted because they do not ask any questions! I have some siblings that were addicted to alcohol and street drugs so l learned quickly to ask questions. Think about all of these things before coming afraid of taking any medication for depression, PD, CKD, OR ANY KIND OF MAJOR DISEASE EXCEPT FOR COVID!

Sorry but I am not a Covid vaccine fan! Not enough data out there for long term side effects. How do I know what the Covid shot will do to my PD, CKD, THYROID ISSUE, IN 2, 5, 10 years from now? I DO NOT NOR DOES THE MAYO CLINIC, DUKE UNIVERSITY, THE CDC, FDA, AND JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY! Now they find out blood problems! No thank you I will let my own immune system fight it off like it should!

People these are just my two cents. Take them or leave them. Maybe you agree with some and not the other. Maybe some will sink in but just remember we are talking about YOU and YOU MUSY FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT YOUR DECISIONS!

Editor's Note:
Edited according to Community Guidelines https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/

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I have taken one of those medications for a long time. I have NO serious side effects. They make me feel normal and I enjoy life.

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Thank you for sharing this for all who suffer with mental illness 🙏🥰🐞

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Thank you for sharing. I have anxiety & depression & have never been able to articulate how it feels. I showed it to my husband & said, ”this is what goes on in *my* head.”

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