Depression / Bipolar Disorder

[MajorBloodnok]

Hello fellow sufferers,

anyone else "brave" enough to join this thread?


"Mike the Fritz "

[MajorBloodnok]

Extraorinary: No other member of the Forum suffering from the above?

Or is it still too much of stigma to admit to it?

Or does living in this tropical paradise, in particular the climate: lots of warmth and sunshine,
get rid of these conditions?

That's one of the reasons I came here!

It"s too early to come to any conclusions after only 4 weeks.
Still on expensive medication, and suffered a relapse yesterday.

Have a nice Sunday! What"s left of it.

"Mike the Fritz"

[dtaai-maai]

Extraorinary: No other member of the Forum suffering from the above?

Or is it still too much of stigma to admit to it?

Or there's only been an hour since you started the thread?
I have suffered from clinical depression in the dim and distant past, but only briefly. If I had a more serious problem, I'm not sure it I'd want to talk about it on this forum, not because it needs bravery, but because it can be quite difficult to convey emotions accurately and very easy for misunderstandings to occur.

And you haven't really made it clear what you hope to achieve with this thread - a show of hands won't really help anyone.

There are probably no more than 40-50 regular contributors to the forum, so you might be on your own.
Good luck anyway.

[MajorBloodnok]

Hello,

these afflictions are more common than most people would care to admit.


Only people who have suffered from these conditions or are are still suffering from them

can really understand.

People like Churchill and Stephen Fry are only two famous people affected.

So there is no reason to be ashamed!


Actually I wanted to encourage people to talk about their medications, their

availability here in Thailand, and the positive(?) effect of the climate.

After all there had been a very active thread about Psychiatry.

Of course, if there is no need or interest - that's it.

Take care!

"Mike the Fritz"

[MrPlum]

A basic tenet of natural healing is that disease has two major causes. Toxicity and Malnutrition. By cleaning the body of accumulated waste matter, then flooding it with nutrients, it is believed most diseases will resolve. This also applies to psychiatric conditions. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. Separating the head from the body does not bring health. Ask the French.

Are you eating highly processed, chemically-tainted, dead 'junk', grown in toxic, deficient soil, gassed and irradiated, shipped thousands of miles to your plate? Or are you eating the freshest, rawest, most nutritious 'superfoods', grown locally, in season? You do see the difference, don't you? One will sicken and depress you. The other will protect and energize you.

In my experience, ex-servicemen don't take care of themselves. Depression is far more common than people think and poor nutrition a likely culprit. Constipation adds to the problem. That pie and a pint might taste good but it has consequences.

If you haven't already been drugged into oblivion, you might want to look at nutritional supplementation. You may have a vitamin B3 deficiency. The following links explain...

http://www.doctoryourself.com/psychiatry.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/depression.html

If you are not open to alternatives I really don't need to hear about it. Nor how Andrew Saul is only doing it for the money, with a link to 'Quackwatch'.

Only people who have suffered from these conditions or are are still suffering from them can really understand.

Very true.

Best of luck.

[MajorBloodnok]

Obviously no serious interest!

Worth a try nevertheless!

[richard]

Food and drink have a lot to do with depression.

Firstly, years ago I lived and worked in Basingstoke for my sins. The quiet country town was transformed into a concrete jungle to accommodate the masses of companies and workers devolving from London. The local hospital had an active psychiatric wing which became heavily overloaded. The number one Doctor who later wrote a book, proved that diet affects mental health and it was a downward spiral whereby the more depressed then the need for more drink and junk food.

Secondly, a few years back I was getting depressed without knowing it. Boredom as a retired expat 60 fags a day, more booze no exercise and in-frequent eating. After some doctors advice, I stepped back and took stock. Ended up going to a friends place for a detox which involved 1 week with no fags, no booze, a healthy diet, yoga, sauna and exercises. Came out feeling 10 years younger and all because I was bored and in a rut

I reckon there are few on the forum that have experienced something similar

Oh, I forgot, .............Screw medication......

[MajorBloodnok]

Poosmate, GLCQuantum & Richard,

thanks for your posts and encouragement

You may be old HH hands.

I am an old bipolar hand! Having suffered from the disorder since I was 15!

Unfortunately in my case depression dominates!

But how I love those hypomanias!

"Drugged to oblivion" ? That may be necessary with severe cases displaying suicidal tendencies.

Depression is caused by an imbalance of agents in the brain, and can therefore be treated by medication

restoring the balance of those agents.

So DON'T SCREW MEDICATION! It definitely has helped me!

Of course, not everybody requires the heavy calibers. For some a regular intake of St. John's Wort might do it.

Good night everyone!

"Mike the Fritz"

P.S. Any shy soul unwilling to out his or herself in this thread can still contact me via Personal Message.

[MrPlum]

Depression is caused by an imbalance of agents in the brain, and can therefore be treated by medication restoring the balance of those agents.

Not so. There is no chemical or biological test for bipolar disorder. There is no test for any 'chemical imbalance' of the brain. If one exists please point me to it. Diagnosis is based on your reported symptoms.

If medication restores 'the balance of those agents', why have you suffered since the age of 15 and are still suffering? All toxic agents SUPPRESS symptoms. They must do, because when you stop taking them the symptoms return. This is to be expected because you aren't addressing the underlying cause. In fact they haven't even identified it. They can't. They just invent an hypothesis that creates an opportunity to push drugs onto you. Your psychiatrist is probably being rewarded by Merck with a freebie to Bermuda.

Toxic agents that cause permanent brain changes and shrink your tackle aren't 'medication'. They are poisons.

Are you really serious about wishing to resolve your condition, because it is not apparent. Talking up methods that have failed will achieve what exactly?

I agree that drugs can play a role if only to stabilize someone but after that you've got to work out what the underlying cause is and resolve it. Otherwise your dependent on drugs, with all that entails. The naturopathic approach will work irrespective of diagnosis. That's the beauty of it.

You said drugs were expensive. How expensive are vitamins? Aren't they worth a try?

They haven't got a clue. That's why they suggest everything but the kitchen-sink...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder#Diagnosis
'Prognosis depends on many factors such as the right medicines and dosage, comprehensive knowledge of the disease and its effects; a positive relationship with a competent medical doctor and therapist; and good physical health, which includes exercise, nutrition, and a regulated stress level. There are other factors that lead to a good prognosis, such as being very aware of small changes in a person's energy, mood, sleep and eating behaviors.'

[RAGE_715]

All the above was written in 7 hours... not bad for a thread that was deemed dead on post number 2.

You have to remember Major, that some of us aren't living the life yet, and are still on Greenwich Mean Time, therefore I've only just found this topic.

Elsewhere in the health section, I've mentioned the medication I'm on, so it's not a subject that hasn't been mentioned before, even though briefly and not in any depth.

I was diagnosed 3 years ago, I know what the main cause is, and I believe that when I get to Thailand, that particular cause will no longer be a problem. My medication isn't "working" as a cure as I found out when I tried to cut down, but it's a suppressant that I'm glad of for the time being.

I fully intend, as Mr Plum said, to carry on eating healthily, taking vitamins if necessary but by removing the stress factor, becoming well on my own.

[K2OWN]

I would like to know if there are any trained counsellors for expats in hua hin.. I would also like
to meet up with anyone who would be willing to just listen to me and not be judgemental.

[Takiap]

I actually think psychiatry as a whole, is somewhat of a grey area because what markers are used in order to determine whether a person is suffering from depression or not? Yes, the have questions and etc that supposedly help them to decide if a sufferer or not, but I truly wonder how many people are turned away and told they're fine? My bet is anyone could go see a shrink and 99% of them would be given prescriptions.


Richard mentions, poor eating habits, smoking and drinking, and hints that this indicates depression, but yet all three of these are part of my daily life, and yet I certainly don't consider myself to be suffering from depression. Sure there are times when I feel down, but if you ask me, that's perfectly normal.


I also believe that mood/depression and etc can be manipulated through diet and exercise.



Another grey area is ADHD in kids. A child only has to be a little bit more active that the "average" child, and they're given medication, which ironically enough, is classified as a Category II Controlled Substance, effectively putting the most common ADHD drugs in the same class as cocaine, morphine, and opium. But hey, it does make life a whole lot easier for teachers and parents. When I was a kid, the disorder was known as "naughty" and severe cases treated very effectively with a smack or a lack of pocket money. Strange how everything is a "disorder" these days.

My own daughter is clearly hyperactive, but there is no way I would even consider letting her take medication for it. And for those who say diet and exercise don't work, I'm pleased to say they do. By increasing my daughter's exercise, I have seen a huge change. Rather than suppress her energy with drugs, I allow her to burn it up naturally.


Anyway, sorry for going off topic. It's just that I'm a bit skeptical about all this psychiatry business.

[buksida]

The bickering and dross has been removed from this thread and can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=21359

[sargeant]

I stayed out of this thread because it was obviously about medical/clinical depression.

However when someone says depression is caused by what you eat i have to/must respond

My story is on this forum on the thread "fighting the selfish option"

My depression was caused by a wife gambling and screwing around and noone able or willing to help which lead to me eating comfort food NOT the other way round it certainly was not my diet that caused her to gamble etc

I agree with one poster to get rid of the depression one must get rid of the underlying cause I did
I threw the bitch out on her arse
was that the end of my depression NO it WAS NOT a new depression even worse than before descended
Fear of the future i did not think I had and loneliness was the root cause of that depression and guess what i had absolutely no nil nana appetite at all
Again NOT caused by my diet it was caused by my situation
at 1115hrs 29 jan 2011 my appetite returned and my depression disapeared why !! my new wife arrived in my life
again absolutely nothing to do with my diet

what i will advise is get out and exercise being a couch potato is extremely depressing
Also my Doctor thats a real medical doctor not a quack facsimile or alternative was awesome in how he helped me

[richard]

Sarge

My point was my 60 fags a day, bottle of spirits a day and irregular eating were not the cause of my depression, My boredom led me to the excesses above and only when I stood back and looked at the big picture I realised the downward spiral I was in.

Remember LOST? Wonder where he is now? At the time I seem to remember posters advocating a change when boredom and depression set in. I agree.