Mental Health Update

And millions of people take Vitamin C supplements indicating . . . what? A near-pandemic of scurvy? Again, I’ll point to my depression posts here, and here, my depression op-ed, and the Horwitz and Wakefield essay that got me on this kick.

As an aside, a personal observation: Although antidepressants probably saved my life, they also seem to kill my creativity. A few years back, I was in a really bad place, very depressed. First antidepressant prescribed for me was Pamelor, a tricyclic (essentially a serotonin substitute) — the kind where you have to get your blood tested every few weeks because only a certain ‘window’ of dosage will work for a given person. I got some good effect from it though, a mood lifting…but I wasn’t creative at all while on it. Nine months later, I stopped taking it at my shrink’s suggestion — and all of a sudden, I was writing like crazy. For nine months after, roughly, I was producing a new chapter every week or two. A few years later, I tried the serotonin reuptake blockers — Paxil (made me sleep 14 hours a day, so wasn’t exactly a good choice), then Wellbutrin. Once again, the antidepressant really helped (more effective than the Pamelor, actually), and I got a lot done. Made huge and positive changes in my life.

As for the violence, I can only image its an expression of my subconscious, that I’m fighting with something within, an inner anxiety, I can think of 2 off the top of my head, but they are being dealt with, albeit frustratingly slowly.

7. Borderline Personality Disorder—Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

It is also commonly assumed depressed people have a very low interest in sex, or also in their partner’s sex drive. That may be true for some, but for me – and many others- it isn’. Having an orgasm – and that is also scientifically researched – as I already said releases endorphins, but also serotonin, which manages the mood. It sets your mind off all emotional pain, and for me it’s the only technique to free my mind. It primarily is the testosterone that comes into women that gives the rush of taking antidepressants for four weeks. Research show that women who had recent sex affairs without a condom are significantly less depressed and behaviors which state less suicidal acts than those women who have sex and do use a condom. So here it is, know you know and probably understand a bit more how much or why I detest condoms, and hardly use any. And if it means getting HIV, I’m totally fine with it as I want to kill myself anyway.

Sweet, I guess. Don't get me wrong — the column actually praises Kaman for being a genuine person that hasn't let fame or money change him, which is admirable, and it makes a quick mention of his battle with attention deficit disorder, which he's trying to beat without relying on medication. All around, he seems like a cool guy, probably one that I would enjoy spending time with. But if I were an NBA star, the last thing I'd be doing is outfitting my West Coast mansion like a glorified hunting lodge, spending every night in while ignoring all of the social opportunities that comes with with being a young NBA starter.

As someone who deals with depression, I sympathize with Mr. Alpizar and his friends and family. The man was a Christian missionary, and therefore someone I’m likely to admire. He was not taking his medicines and he was not comfortable getting on the airplane. I am sorry that he has to be the case that now results in a warning to patients to not fly if they do not believe they can control their behavior through the flight.

The child remained in foster care, and the couple dutifully appeared in front of a variety of psychiatrists and other "experts" who all gathered a variety of opinions on if there was a mental health problem at all, and if there was, what was it. A loose "diagnisos" of possible Borderline Personality Disorder at a sub threashold level was given and a lot of theoretical and hypothetical scenarios and prognoses were offered before a overwhelmed and baffled 18 year old as a barrier to getting her child back, and also a threat to the child in her womb being able to stay in her care after the birth.

Now, I don’t know if I will make the same vow this time around. I do know that I will not be getting into another relationship for a very long time, because I know when I fall for someone, I fall hard. I don’t know if I can take the rejection so soon or if I can even take the acceptance. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to, but that’s not something I can predict right now. Therapy and antidepressants work wonders sometimes, and I didn’t have that the last time. I feel stronger now, which will help.

I find myself having slipped into the holiday depression season, complicated with some burnout from too many funerals in too short a time. So I am finding myself remembering and searching for the pointers to the path out of the swamp.

In addition to the lack of medication, travel and sleep disruptions can aggravate bipolar disorders, but the resulting behavior is rarely a danger to others. Unfortunately, in this tragedy of errors, a man lost his life.

Women who indicated the highest levels of depression had a 43% greater risk of developing colorectal cancer than women with the lowest level of depression. More bad news - the correlation was greatest for women who were overweight. The good news - 90% of colorectol cancer cases are curable! Losing extra weight is possible and has a positive impact on your health, both mental and physical.

Lastly. We have newspeople and governments who are extremely enthusiastic about warning us about just about everything. They sound the sirens and start getting hysterical about things that haven’t happened but may happen. They react to possibilities like like dogs react to squirrels. The focus on them and chase them without thought of where they’re being led. Think about the dire warnings that have been made over the last decade. The deadly dangers that were stalking our existence; SARS, West Nile virus, Mad Cow disease. All these things petered out. The predictions of death and the destruction of civilizations never happened. The predictions weren’t accurate at all, were they?

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the mammalian brain and an important drug target for treatment of cerebral edema, bipolar disorder and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. We determined the AQP4 structure by electron crystallography of double-layered, two-dimensional (2D) crystals.

What does this say about me: hmmm, I am a well-organized, intelligent person who gets a lot accomplished, who is sociable with others. I care about the well being of others, and don’t experience undo anxiety about my own self. That’s just a few things that I took from their explanations.

In the last two years I lost my father, got married, list a dear friend, and lost a job. I have had terrible anxiety and stress, and although I don’t seem to have any depression, the doctor has put me on Zoloft for a while to try to cub the butterflies in my stomach that have worked thier way into my chest as well. It seems to be working. I was able to stop smoking and I haven’t had a panic or anxiety attack since the drug kicked in.

I just took an existentialism quiz, “How meaningful is your life? The Existential Anxiety Scale.” I scored a 13/32. I have no idea how to read the “How do you compare?” chart, but since my score is less than 50%, I’ll assume I’m not much of one. In fact, I find some of the things I marked to be rather contradictory.

dear diary...hi well im not gona say its been a long time cuz heck im tired of saying tht all the time...need a change something fresh something new to my life dont ya think so? now diary i went to the tripple bday bash of shayeste the im so hot and smart and always get watever i want girl and jee yungs and rustoms bday bash. now they hired the whole sputnik for about 200 dollars as rushad puts it and rushad also mentioned that the main reason why they bar manager allowed them to have the place rented was cuz their so called bar tabs have to be high enough and ppl should buy drinks.....thats wat rushad told me...makes sense to me....actually everything tht rushad says from a scientific perspective makes sense....then again he is this engineer and so one would assume he would be brainy enough as it is....so today i want to talk aboout the bday bash....well my feelngs while i was getting dressed for the bday bash were conflicting between anxiety and between nervousenees and the thought of facing dave after calling him freak online and after telling him "why dont u go pimp out with your homies"?

Volunteer your time. Opportunities to volunteer are endless. They range from reading stories to children at your local school, driving seniors to doctor appointments, getting involved with Meals on Wheels, to preparing food baskets. Call your local volunteer bureau – the need for volunteers is especially great at this time of year.