Posted by JenStar on August 26, 2004, at 11:26:28
In reply to Re: about the chemical imbalance concept » RH, posted by Atticus on August 25, 2004, at 10:41:42
As a fellow sufferer of depression and anxiety, I completely agree with Atticus that sometimes there are mental states that are just beyond my ability to "snap out of it" without assistance from meds. I am very thankful for Lexapro and Xanax; although I was terrified to take them initially, they turned out to be a godsend and allowed me to get back to normal funtioning again.
There are also times when I'm not THAT low, and in those times I CAN alter my mental state by focusing on it, talking, smiling, buying nice clothes, baking, reading, laughing, exercising, ec. I'm thankful that I have some control over my mental state and I am working hard to learn stress control techniques.
I've always been fascinated by Zen Buudhism and the control over the physical body that monks seem to have. I also love to read about how positive thinking can heal, because it's a wonderful thought and I'd love to get to the point where I CAN control my body better.
For me, a combination of positive thinking PLUS backup from meds seems to work. There may be people who can overcome depression through focus alone, and that's great. I wish I could do it too, and maybe someday I will be able to.
But I firmly believe -- FIRMLY! -- that brain chemicals and pathways are responsible for many of the things in today's society that we attack as personality flaws or character flaws. I think that brain chemicals (like insulin for diabetics, or TSH for thyroid patients) can definitely fluctuate and affect a person's outlook. And sometimes that person needs assistance from a chem (just like diabetics may need insulin at times) to get back to normal.
I think it's very hard to understand things like depression or panic/anxiety unless you suffer from them. I myself was dismissive and a bit condecending in my outlook on mental health issues as a younger person...it was only when I myself started having panic attacks & depression that I truly understood how it feels.I guess it's sort of like understanding an addiction (like alcohol.) Unless one suffers from alcoholism, it's easy to dismiss it and say "just be strong...don't drink!" Lucikly our society is starting to learn how strong addictions can be, and is slowly moving in the direction of help rather than stigmatization. Hopefully mental health care follows!
Anyway, sorry if I got up on the soapbox there. (It's a nice soapbox! I like it!)
thanks for listening.
JenStar
poster:JenStar
thread:381877
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040820/msgs/382543.html