Posts by Gerald Fisher26

swifteagle12 said:Gonna give this a shot

Give it a go

George Garcia9 said:Hey Gerald Fisher26 🙂

Man, if I hadn't ended up in this ridiculous semester system (absolute nightmare 👎), I might actually enjoy being at university, haha 😁. But nope! This feels just like high school!!! Spending all day on campus and then having to churn out stupid seminar papers and whatever else... like on Tuesday, I'm stuck in class from 12 to 8 PM without a single damn break 😢
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Regarding the meds, I'll tell you what I've been taking since December: one Normabell and two Sulpiride in the morning (it's like a mild antidepressant... which doesn't even work lol), one Sulpiride in the afternoon, and then two Normabells and one Sanval before bed (for the insomnia). It usually works okay. Clearly not tonight, though, because I spent two hours just lying there before I snapped, got up, made a sandwich, and now I'm going to be scrolling the web for another three hours to let the food digest (I have an eating disorder, so God forbid I get fat by going to sleep with a full stomach 😛))
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I'd honestly prefer something stronger, like Prozac (I heard you lose weight on that too, hehe 😁). But whenever I tell my psychiatrist that my current meds aren't helping, she just completely ignores me. 🤷 Anyway... I think... I need a better (stronger) antidepressant. But the woman clearly refuses to prescribe it. WTF? Isn't the "stereotype" that psychiatrists hand out meds left and right? lol.

I'm feeling better today. I finished my third self-help book and got all hyped up on positivity; thinking I'll just dedicate myself to school and eat nothing but kale for a month to drop the weight I put on over the summer by drowning my depression in junk food. Don't tell me that's bad, I know it's not a healthy way to lose weight, BUT I have this voice in my head saying "you know you can slim down ASAP" and I can't stand looking at myself in the mirror feeling "fat" (143 lbs at 5'9")

Gerald Fisher26, are you feeling better now or are you still fighting it?

Kisses everyone 😘

Look, it's stupid for me to tell you what meds you should be taking—obviously, I'm not a professional, and playing doctor is dangerous... And based on everything, I truly believe my situation was a bit more serious than average...🙄 But I will say this: if you aren't seeing any improvement, definitely switch psychiatrists!

And one more thing that's vital: for me, it all started with an extreme diet back in high school, even though I was never actually overweight... maybe it's similar for you. Anyway, back when I was just a foolish, reckless kid, I had a Spartan kind of discipline—I lived on maybe two apples a day... and somehow I stayed at 110 lbs (I'm 5'11"...). Now, nobody ever officially diagnosed me with anorexia, and honestly, I don't even think I had it, because I felt like I was far too thin and unattractive myself. But... I started having literal depressive attacks from the fear of losing control—the fear that if I stopped eating, I'd die, or if I started eating again, I'd hit 220 lbs...😲 Ugh, that's where I broke. The depression hit, and it was intense. It's been following me ever since. To make matters worse, I didn't recognize it as an actual illness at the time, so I essentially tried to pull myself out of it using sheer willpower, or rather, I thought I cured it... but not for long. Depression is a cursed thing; someone who suffers from it has a 50% higher chance of relapsing within five years compared to someone who's never been depressed.😲 By age 22, everything came crashing back even harder, accompanied by panic disorders and don't even get me started on hypochondria... I was practically at the doctor's office every day getting brain scans, convinced I had cancer. I'm only telling you this so you don't go too overboard with the dieting... it's fine to lose a few pounds (though I don't think you even need to).😉 ), honestly—maybe I was just being foolish—I didn't realize I was stepping into that endless loop from which there seemed to be no exit... and yet, here I am today😁
Today I'm doing okay—well, alright—though I have to admit the last month hasn't been great, mostly due to some personal shocks😁 but it's still nothing compared to how things used to be... I haven't touched antidepressants in about eight months now... though, to be fair, while I was on them, I felt 100% fine... but I can't help feeling like this shadow will follow me for the rest of my life... and then I'll just be cycling through medications indefinitely😁 ...because it isn't something you can just "live with"—at least not for me, not when the doses are that high🙄 ...it’s like trying to tell someone with fourth-degree burns (forgive my graphic imagery😵 ) who is basically living on morphine because the pain is too much that they should just "deal with it" and enjoy life... except this kind of pain is invisible... or maybe it's even more intense

cosmicmaker6 said:Thanks for laying that out for me; things are looking a whole lot clearer now 🙂

Don't mention it.😉

cosmicmaker6 said:Well, look, I don't really understand any of this medical stuff, and I'm not trying to lecture anyone here.🙂 But now I'm actually curious about what someone might take if they were just feeling a little bit on edge, because I've heard rumors that all those pills are incredibly addictive? My apologies if I'm drifting too far away from the main topic...

Must be nice not having to understand it all—honestly, knowing about this kind of thing wasn't exactly my choice either, but here we are...😁

Your question about addiction is actually quite sharp—it hits on one of the most critical distinctions in medicine. Basically, anxiety medication (anxiolytics) can be habit-forming, whereas antidepressants generally aren't. I can vouch for that personally; I was on antidepressants for a few years and was able to taper off them without any issues whatsoever.

Here is a solid breakdown of how it works, according to medical resources....

A patient struggling with depression might feel some temporary relief if they take sedatives instead of antidepressants. However, that isn't because the sedative is a "better" treatment—it's more like using a painkiller to mask physical pain by numbing the brain's activity. While the sedative provides a fleeting sense of calm, these drugs are central nervous system depressants. They don't work "against" depression; they actually push the system further in that direction.
Sedatives can lead to tolerance—where the body demands higher doses just to get the same effect—and eventually addiction, which manifests as withdrawal symptoms or a significant relapse if someone tries to cut back or quit cold turkey.
Antidepressants, on the other hand, aren't depressants; they act as activators for the nervous system. While certain types may have a calming effect, they don't carry the same side effects or risks as sedatives. Because their mechanism of action is fundamentally different, antidepressants—regardless of the specific class—do not cause tolerance or dependency. This makes them suitable for treating both depression and chronic anxiety.
Treating mixed anxiety-depressive disorders should center on antidepressants, while sedatives should only be used as a short-term bridge. The same logic applies to anxiety without depressive symptoms. You might see a doctor prescribe sedatives alongside antidepressants during the initial phase of treatment to help settle things down, but those should be phased out gradually—usually within ten weeks—as the antidepressants begin to manage the anxiety symptoms on their own. For pure depression without anxiety components, however, sedatives shouldn't be part of the strategy at all.

cosmicmaker6;10634785 said:Hay Screamed!
I’m on the same page as you—that’s exactly the advice I gave Anne. It feels like she isn't getting much support from those around her, and since she clearly recognizes what she's going through and is reaching out, I figured she needs connection and conversation more than just a prescription. Besides, she mentioned herself that the meds aren't helping; if anything, they're making things worse.

Look, if that's the case, navigating this alone is incredibly difficult—honestly, it might be impossible without some sort of foundation from family, a partner, or solid friends.
As for the medication side of things, from what I can tell, she's mostly been taking sedatives—stuff like normabel and similar junk—which my psychiatrist says can actually backfire and make the whole situation worse... there is a massive difference between those and actual antidepressants.

cosmicmaker6 said:I’ve distilled your entire post down to this one specific point, because honestly, it’s the most vital thing you’ve said, and it is incredibly WELL put. If you truly recognize your own potential—and if you truly believe that success is inevitable—then there is absolutely no reason to dwell on such dark, pessimistic thoughts. I am certain you possess immense potential, and I don't say that lightly; it radiates through everything you write here, so why succumb to this gloom? We have all drifted through those shadows at some point, believe me, but it is merely a phase, and the final one at that. From what I can gather, it seems you don't even have a solid circle of friends to lean on right now, so perhaps there is no need to burden them with these struggles if they aren't capable of listening or offering real support; sometimes, it is better to simply let them perceive you as happy. You are heading off to college, and once you're there, you will encounter entirely new people, and among them, there will undoubtedly be someone who becomes a true, loyal friend. In my own experience, I found my best friends completely by accident, when I least expected it, only to realize they were wonderful souls who loved me just as much as I love them. Once you graduate, land a great career, and meet that special someone... well, you'll look back on this moment and find it all quite surreal. Life is far too beautiful to waste it on insignificant people or by brooding alone within four walls. I am speaking from the depths of my own experience, and surely, isn't it more efficient to learn from the lives of others rather than stumbling through our own mistakes?😉
I truly wish you nothing but the best, and I hope to hear from you soon with news of new, brighter dreams and renewed hope🙂

Look, this is exactly how people who love me have tried to help, and now I see where cosmicmaker6 is coming from—she's absolutely right.👍 ...BUT, when someone is dealing with depression, that advice just doesn't register. They simply can't see the silver lining because their brain won't allow it; it blocks out positive thoughts entirely. It's like cheering for someone with a physical disability, telling them they can walk and that everything will be fine if they just try harder—but the person doesn't have damn legs!?!?!?? Give them a pair of crutches first, and *then* you can cheer and offer support, but without them, it's impossible.🤷

Anne, unlike you, I actually found a bit of a lifeline through my studies🙄 — I managed to distract myself from the sheer weight of depression and panic attacks just by staying busy. My background is in law, which—let’s be honest—isn't a major that requires much face-to-face interaction or constant socializing. It suited me perfectly; I could be my own boss, study on my own terms, show up for exams, and move through them one by one. Now, I've been working in the field for a year already.😁

To give you some context, I've been battling depression, health anxiety, and panic disorder since 2017.🙂 After my very first panic attack, it hit me—there aren't enough words in the English language to pull you out of that kind of suffering. You need chemistry. I know there's a huge crowd of people who are strictly against medication and all that, but trust me—I've been in the trenches. Even if God Himself descended from the clouds to grant me eternal happiness, it wouldn't have fixed what was happening. It felt like something had physically snapped in my brain. I felt fundamentally different, as if I couldn't climb out of that hole just by talking it out, walking in the woods, or reading spiritual books. Honestly, those methods would have just left me feeling more hopeless. I remember the day before I finally saw a psychiatrist; it was easily one of the darkest days of my life. My only thought was is there any kind of medication, a pill, or some form of chemical help for this condition? Because there is NO psychiatrist on earth who can talk someone out of that level of despair. It’s like asking a cancer patient if they're worried about whether the tumor has spread or if they're going to die—it's the same thing. If a doctor had told me there was no medicine and that I just had to "will" myself better, I'm not sure I would have made it through that day.🙂 ...Look, I don't want to diminish anyone else's struggle, but when mental illness reaches this scale, it feels dangerous and frankly primitive to argue against medication. Telling someone to fight a psychiatric crisis with nothing but willpower and optimism is like telling a cancer patient they don't need chemotherapy and should just try being positive instead. For me, medication didn't just help—it saved my life.
Therapy and conversation are vital—and having people you love standing by you is essential support—but as
I've said, without antidepressants, I know for a fact I wouldn't be here today. Only someone who has walked through that specific hell can truly understand.