Depression and treatment

[raudf]

I was put on Sertraline when I started having anxiety attacks. Suddenly I had trouble sleeping and was constantly tapping my fingers and toes and grinding my teeth (things I don't normally do). Apparently that's opposite of what most people experience.

No, I have some issues getting to sleep because of it, but not bad enough that three benadryl (per doc's orders - I have high tolerance and she doesn't want to give me anything else because of interactions) can't reduce.

My hubs, however, passes out asleep after taking it. My mother bounced off the walls almost literally while she was on it. Drove Dad batty, because she simply could not sit still.

Everyone's brain chemistry is different, even in families

[Seshat]

One note re antidepressant medications.

Assume - for the sake of argument, and be aware that this is a major, major oversimplification - that depression runs in a linear progression.
It doesn't, I know that. But I'm trying to illustrate a point.

Diagram of this 'linear progression':

Happiness
Okay-mental-state, call it serenity
Mildly depressed state
Very depressed
OMG-I-want-to-kill-myself depressed <no 'smiley' here>
Too depressed to even want to kill oneself <no smiley here either>


Now, the healthy mind tends to hover around the 'serenity' point. Neither happy nor unhappy. They see a lovely rose or a cute puppy and it brings a bit of a smile to their lips, they see someone suffering or something causes them to suffer mildly and they get a bit frowny and unhappy.
Really good things make them <<-- that happy. Really bad things make them about the same level of sad. But they always trend towards the 'serenity' point.

That's the mythical 'normal person'. Noone's ever exactly normal; some people trend a little high, some a little low, and emotion isn't actually linear anyway so it's really a lot messier than the diagram. Meh. You get the gist of this, yes? (Ask for clarification if you don't, please.)


Now. A depressed person's 'linear progression knob' is dialled down to negative-whatever.
Mildly depressed: you trend around
A more severe depression trends around
Depression that makes your doctor go 'omg' trends around making real plans to kill yourself.
And if you're dialled down to negative eleven; you trend too low to even want to do that.

Again: massive oversimplification warning! There are as many different types of depression as depressed people.
Also, even if you "only" trend around or , you can be helped and you deserve help. You're also the 'easier' type to help, and mental health people deserve some easy cases along with the challenges. So do go ask for help, okay?

Right. Side note delivered, and ...

Anyway. If you're dialed down to -11, and you start taking antidepressants ... guess what can happen?
Your 'base point' - the point you trend around - can move upwards. Right into 'thinks about suicide' zone.
Unfortunately, if your particular style of depression HAS that zone, then to get past it, you have to go through it.

Note: this is only the case if (a) you're below that zone, and (b) your personal depression style includes suicidal ideation.
BUT: for people with both those circumstances, the early part of being medicated can be more dangerous than being unmedicated.
That said, once you get up past the suicidal ideation zone, life becomes So. Much. Better. From personal experience, I can assure you that it's soooo worth it.


But those who are that low, and their families, should be aware of that possibility. And it's only a possibility - many people don't have a suicide zone at all. Might even be 'most'. And most depressed people aren't dialled down to -11. So this only applies to a small group.
But being surprised by that must be absolutely horrid. I don't want anyone I care about to be surprised by it, especially when they're reaching out for help.