Current and Future MH Management
Hi everyone. This is my first 7Cups post in several years but I saw other helpful posts on this site that stuck with me so I thought I would try this out again. I sure hope this isn’t too long, but I need guidance I haven’t been getting otherwise.
I am finally getting stubborn depression symptoms under control for the first time in my life. I did the protocol for Spravato treatments and have also found natural methods to prevent my symptoms from returning. The main techniques for me have been fixing my sleep habits, journaling everything and communicating boundaries. Others have included a deeper relationship with my therapist and being content with my current friends instead of stretch myself thin.
My current mental health doc was one of the best in my treatment so far but I’m fed up with her like every other doctor I’ve seen for depression. She was encouraging in validating my feelings over situations like a toxic church group I was involved with in college. However, when I started expressing worries over other stressors (a difficult camping trip, stressful holidays, etc.) in the most recent appointments, she gave cliched responses that “you can’t control other people”. She recommended resuming Abilify, which was ineffective for me and made me gain weight. I was also given advice to do PHP when I have already been snowed under with other obligations like my FT job, Chron’s Disease treatments, and buying a house.
I continued Spravato even after the usual plan, but I felt like I had died mid-session during an unpleasant dissociation. When I woke up, I almost vomited for the first time in years. In the following days, it seemed like I could never get enough sleep again. I’m also on fluvoxamine, baclofen for tension, and propanol for anxiety symptoms. The latter two meds were helpful but I’ve blamed the fluvoxamine for my dry mouth, congestion that was already bad from hay fever, and feeling like I stopped sleeping for 2 months.
It has seemed like I’ve received far more benefits naturally now that my obligations have slowed down and I’ve finally found more of a social life outside work. It was helpful that my parents went from texting me daily to only doing so if we really need something. Loved ones believe I’m doing better, and my mom didn’t mind my hint over dropping some meds. So I’m wondering if I’ve been over-medicated, especially recently. If that’s the case, I am wondering how to slow down on my medications without having to go through my doctor again. I’ve felt great for myself and in front of others, so I’ve felt less of a need to see my mental health doc soon. But as stated, my feelings of helplessness and resentment toward my doc have contributed to my lack of desire to see her for the first time again since early December.
Would you all agree that I’ve done enough with Spravato and meds so far? If so, how can I wean off them and minimize appointments? Thanks 7Cups!
@Sasquatch254
I know it's difficult talking to doctors but you need to advocate for yourself, especially if you feel you are being too medicated, but if the decision you make with your own health in mind is to come off them, you need a safe plan in place, as coming straight off is not ideal 💚
@Amanda84 Thanks so much for your reply! If I come off meds I’ll be sure to slowly taper. Hope that my doc won’t bother me about it like she did with Abilify and PHP.
Seeing a response like this means I’ll come back for future posts here!
Update on this post already. Yesterday after only getting 2 hours of sleep the previous night and planning to work 10 hours I decided to see my MH doc. She was open yesterday afternoon at my usual lunch time and gave me Hydroxyzine. Once I took the new meds, I had one of the best nights of sleep I've had in months. It's all because I reached out on 7Cups and got help. Thanks everyone and @Amanda84 for sure!!
@Sasquatch254 Phew, I'm glad you're doing better now! You've come so far, you got this! If you happen to feel like this ever again, don't hesitate to reach out, we're all here for you🤗
@Sasquatch254
Im happy to hear that 💚
@IvoryNotes Thanks so much for replying to me! Hopefully I get to stay on the positive track I’m on. I’ll probably come back here no matter how I feel!
@Sasquatch254 My pleasure! And I'm so happy you feel comfortable and seen here!
@Sasquatch254
Would you all agree that I’ve done enough with Spravato and meds so far? -> first of all, it is your own body, only yourself knows better that is why even a doctor will also ask how do you feel before giving a medication because the doctor doesn't know it feel caused it ain't exp it, it was you who sick and it was you who get can feel if you get better or not, the diagnostic of the doctors is always from the feedback of the patient and honesty in each feedback is important because it will determine which medication or treatment will be given towards you.
If so, how can I wean off them and minimize appointments? -> well, if your root caused is depression then I would like to advice you to solve the root caused which is the depression itself, why do you get depress and what is triggering you?
Well, I once was diagnosed with presistance depression but was able to get better now and so, I might know one or two things how to get better and you might be able to relate to it but again, everyone might be different, so, if you like, we could talk more on these topic of depression but in the more depth because depression happen not because one or two years of chronic stress untreated and fail coping mechanism but many many years of forcing your mentality to the limits.
Thanks @organticUnicorn9398 for your response! It is empowering to know that I am in charge of my own body, which even my parents have failed to understand at times. Although part of it has to do with a general resentment I have against modern-day doctors.
Thanks also for sharing part of your journey and offering to help. I am open to any and all discussions about handling my depression symptoms and validating my emotions. I like your take on treating depression as being forced past mental limits for too long, rather than a physical condition alone. I viewed it as just unresolved stress but I have let it all fester for too long.
My depression is complex, but a lot of it started with long-term pressures to succeed to prove myself worthy. Then my emotional needs have been disregarded even by people I’ve looked up to, which triggers feelings of helplessness and I am only defined by what I do rather than who I am. Thankfully I am improving because of therapist sessions rather than extra meds and appointments, which also shows that depression is more than just a health problem.
@Sasquatch254
My depression is complex, but a lot of it started with long-term pressures to succeed to prove myself worthy. Then my emotional needs have been disregarded even by people I’ve looked up to, which triggers feelings of helplessness and I am only defined by what I do rather than who I am. Thankfully I am improving because of therapist sessions rather than extra meds and appointments, which also shows that depression is more than just a health problem.
Well, first of all everyone wanted to be succesful but not everyone is realistic enough.
I mean everyone wish to be very wealthy like if possible the richest person on these earth but they don't understand where they live or what background they are from and where do they live, I mean their community and enviroment.
So, sometimes, they are wishing the impossible, cause these things I said was the limitation we all have, it effected how far you can unlock your potential, I mean even our gene are different, not alone the system that implemented in each places or country are different.
I do understand the pressure of being success but when you can't measure all of these, then you are aimless and pushing something that is impossible to reach, well ofc there is a miracle but what are the odds. usually, the pressure is because you are start to comparing with other ppl that is far above you, beyond your league.
I got the best advice from someone, your income doesn't exceed your personal development or your skills.
well, look at the bright side, it is part of life, it is a journey of life, the better you understood yourself the better you will learn to abandon the non-sense. Such as wasting time for not gaining any value. usually, you are stress or feeling hopeless is because you don't know yourself, you don't know what are you, what level are you, what do you need, you can't do priority, let alone know your purpose and determine 1 speisific goal you want to achieved.
Cause there is a lot of ppl wasting their time aimlessly wondering or drifting in life or just flow that gain nothing but depression and for these kind of people who aren't focus then they are easily to be distracted by many many things and usually are very hypocrite with life. Like, they are unsure of anything and hard to decide anything. can't get things done cause they don't even know what they want or need.
So, to stop being depress cause pressure of being stress first done this:
1. Learn where are your level.
2. Learn to accept the hard fact or reality of what it is cause it is the hardest, usually people doesn't want to accept the hard reality they don't want.
3. Learn to know yourself better, what do you like? what do you want? what do you think is important? what is your purpose of life? what is 1 thing you will keep knowing that all will be lost for keeping these 1, this is to train very precise focus.
4. Once you have it then you have to determine your priority, thus, you can know what first and what next, and you won't get distracted because the noise outside cause you know yourself.
5. Seek community or people who can get align with you or support you, if you don't like the enviroment, move out or do less interaction with them and choose a better community, who can influence you will make you become like them cause you learning to build the mindset and habit.
6. Be realistic and make sense, know your affordibility.
Don't pay attention on things you can't afford, it waste of time unless it was your goal.
7. If you know your level is down bellow then make things very simple, which means follow the rules cause you can't afford to break it. someone who doesn't know their place will always end up suffering and you were lucky if the upper ppl or people with real power ain't targeting you cause if you are targeted then the risk is dead.
In my view, only ppl with at-least $1b are the real deal cause they are in the fobes list, they have connection with another Billion Dollar ppl and can easily get rid anyone bellow it.
~ don't try to beat another league, just submit to them, it sounds cruel but it is the only way to survive and go up if you are on the bottom and not having at-least $1b or being smart.
8. Learn to enjoy life base on your affordibility,
adjust your lifestyle with your affordibility, don't follow other ppl cause each ppl have different affordibility.
9. adjust your emotion, if you angry then understood that people life not all worthed.
if you are the bottom understood that die now or later it is the same so, welcome to cruel world and thus be realistic. meaning if you can afford to get rid someone, done it. Just make sure, you can afford it and done it all on all the line(leave no survivor to tell the story, only dead could be trust not to tell anything). never do just 1 person cause it ain't worthed or it means you can't afford it. cause there will be retaliation. if you couldn't do it or can't afford it then you should have no emotion or any negative feelings focus on what is important.
I hope this help you navigate life.
@organticUnicorn9398
This is a great post. This is something I could hear in a therapy session. I think it confirms that I will be better off viewing things more realistically like this as I've tried to do recently. It's nice to hear from you we all have the power to change things but also live within our own means. Thanks for your perspective!
