Depression

[MyLittleStudPony]

I use one of the ones in town where you buy a block of time and use it when you want.
There's always pumping dance music and over made-up women with absurd lip fillers in there too, which is a bonus.

[Trinity765]

I take a magnesium supplement as I've had calcification in my joints and you need magnesium to process calcium effectively. I read somewhere that we're all deficient in it as the soil isn't rich in it anymore due to over farming. There are different kinds (glycinate, chloride, citrate, l-theonate, etc) so it's a matter of finding out which one is best for you as magnesium also draws water into your bowel and can give you the shits - some types more than others. I take a complex of three. It helps your brain, mood and muscles and I've read claims that it stops overthinking. Bathing in magnesium salts is also good so perhaps have a nice bath with loads of salts in it and see if you feel/sleep better.

[Trinity765]

While we're on the subject of vitamin supplements, if I need a boost I use multi vitamin patches as the vitamins go through your skin not your digestive system. Some people can't absorb B vitamins through their lower intestine so patches are a good solution. I overdosed on B12 when I first used a patch (flu like symptoms) because I didn't take it off before bed - so be warned.

Edit: these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-1200mc ... 94&sr=8-36

[Cousin Jack]

............. I feel for anyone going through a mental health issue, it's an unpleasant place to have to be. What works for me usually to get out of the hole is to take stock of where I am and make a plan and some changes.

Similar to the process I use. I get miserable and a bit overwhelmed, then plan for a worst-case scenario. I soon realise that even in that I can survive. After sorting that in my head, what actually happens (perhaps bad but nowhere near worst case) seems like a walk in the park.

Works for me.

[Noggin]

I can be ok for ages and then I have a really bad few days where I feel down and I struggle to make sense of some things, it reminds me of the Pony the time when his burglar alarm was going off but he couldn't make sense of it. I don't know if it's connected to my migraine headaches but it's like a circuit breaker goes off somewhere and I'm not myself.

It's hard to explain but for example yesterday I literally couldn't understand a couple of the comments typed to me and on top of that I thought I'd sent a PM to someone that just disappeared, so I had to log off again because things didn't seem to be making sense, I seemingly couldn't function enough to understand the nuances of the things being posted to me as replies and I thought it best to switch off before I type something inadvertently that upsets someone because if I can't understand their humour then perhaps they won't get mine.
It's literally that bad, it's like I lose some cognitive ability for a day or two.

From what I've read it's short term stress related 'break-downs' rather than chronic depression or anything, I'm certainly no where near suicide or even any type of self harm, I'm just struggling to get along.

This is going to sound a bit weird, but that sounds awful similar to some hormone imbalance symptoms. I'm sure I remember you posting something about hormones, but, anyway, not sure if that's interesting or not x

[Taipan]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

Andropause or male menopause is a real thing. Don't discount it...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/

[Noggin]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

For a lot of women (so I've read) it's a combination of what you've written, anxiety, dread, depression, vertigo, tinnitus, total lack of any drive (sexual or any other type!) and various other things.

I'm pretty sure you aren't, but don't dismiss the hormone aspect - it doesn't show in the same way for everyone. For me it hasn't shown as depression specifically (I've had that since I was a kid), but my brain ceased to function for a while - to the point I was terrified of early onset dementia. I still have days where I don't understand things or can't form the sentences I want to. A serious challenge in a foreign language as well!!

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

Andropause or male menopause is a real thing. Don't discount it...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/

Partly why I posted, hadn't got the link to hand and couldn't remember andropause, but there is more and more research into hormones with relation to men and women. I really think that the results of the research are likely to show connections with a lot more than anyone thinks right now.

[Skub]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

[Taipan]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

Good call on the b12!

[Felix]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

How you getting on with that B12 jabs? I start feeling i need a fix at 9 or 10 weeks. I started to take B12 supplements but if i could get some syringes i would just inject the buggers myself.

[Skub]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

How you getting on with that B12 jabs? I start feeling i need a fix at 9 or 10 weeks. I started to take B12 supplements but if i could get some syringes i would just inject the buggers myself.

Honestly,I feel no difference at all,before or after. I wasn't tired or falling asleep all the time,the deficiency didn't seem to affect me in that way.

[Felix]

Honestly,I feel no difference at all,before or after. I wasn't tired or falling asleep all the time,the deficiency didn't seem to affect me in that way.

I am Mr Sleepy after two month or so but having said that they discovered Pernicious Anaemia at the same time so on Iron tabs and Folic Acid. I got nothing that Iccy mentions i was just tired and needed a nap before tea time.

[MrLongbeard]

Noticed I've started to slip, so ordered myself a therapy light

By buggery it's ruddy bright.
Comes with 3 modes, 'relax' (very warm yellow light) for first and last thing, 'active' (cold white light) for morning working and 'therapy' (white blue light that rivals the output of 1000 suns) to imitate normal daylight.

Been using it a week, and yeah, but nah, but maybe it's doing something, oh sure it may be no more than the placebo effect, but if a placebo fools the body into working is it really a placebo.....

The effect it's having on me is interesting, to me at least, physically I can feel the side of my face getting warm as if I'm outside on a summer day, which is an odd sensation when sat next to an open window in winter, will keep using it and see what happens, if owt, long term.

[Taipan]

Sounds interesting. I like teh idee of a gentle warm light coming into the room to help wake me. Seems better than a startling bell in darkness!

I've always said, if a placebo works, its better than medication!

[MrLongbeard]

I like teh idee of a gentle warm light coming into the room to help wake me

That sounds nice, I've got a wife and daughter that get up an hour before I have to, I've not needed to set my alarm in years

[Taipan]

I like teh idee of a gentle warm light coming into the room to help wake me

That sounds nice, I've got a wife and daughter that get up an hour before I have to, I've not needed to set my alarm in years

It was the wife's alarm that wakes me. I'm thinking of her as well as me you now...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Sounds interesting. I like teh idee of a gentle warm light coming into the room to help wake me. Seems better than a startling bell in darkness!

I've always said, if a placebo works, its better than medication!

Mrs D (and therefore by extension, I) has one of those sunrise wake me up lamps on the bedside table.

It really makes me laugh, cause if you don't wake up by the time it's finished doing it's sunrise routine it has a really aggressive "BEEP BEEEEEP BEEPEBEEPBEEPBEEP" alarm.

'You had your chance, it's time for a dose of reality' sort of thing.

[Taipan]

Sounds interesting. I like teh idee of a gentle warm light coming into the room to help wake me. Seems better than a startling bell in darkness!

I've always said, if a placebo works, its better than medication!

Mrs D (and therefore by extension, I) has one of those sunrise wake me up lamps on the bedside table.

It really makes me laugh, cause if you don't wake up by the time it's finished doing it's sunrise routine it has a really aggressive "BEEP BEEEEEP BEEPEBEEPBEEPBEEP" alarm.

'You had your chance, it's time for a dose of reality' sort of thing.

If it was within reach, i'd probably launch it!

[Yorick]

I spent a lot of the weekend with a lad who suffers badly. He's the sort of person you don't expect to as he's so batshit crazy normally and has us in stitches.
Any he had a massive meltdown about a mile into our 2nd enduro ride.
I got him back to tarmac and he was able to get back to his digs.
Talking to him last night he's on mega medication and finds it really hard sometimes. His mates who came with him are all very supportive.

He said he'd spent most of the day in the sea. Said he'd been free diving.
I thought that was going deep. Apparently not.
Only 10/15 feet down but just sits there for 3 minutes. Sort of medication. Loads of beautiful fish where he was.
And at nights he straps torches to his forearms

Helps him a lot.

[Buckaroo]

I spent a lot of the weekend with a lad who suffers badly. He's the sort of person you don't expect to as he's so batshit crazy normally and has us in stitches.
Any he had a massive meltdown about a mile into our 2nd enduro ride.
I got him back to tarmac and he was able to get back to his digs.
Talking to him last night he's on mega medication and finds it really hard sometimes. His mates who came with him are all very supportive.

He said he'd spent most of the day in the sea. Said he'd been free diving.
I thought that was going deep. Apparently not.
Only 10/15 feet down but just sits there for 3 minutes. Sort of medication. Loads of beautiful fish where he was.
And at nights he straps torches to his forearms

Helps him a lot.

That's sad to hear and no doubt it was tough for you too. Does he know what triggers these episodes? I remember during CBT that I had to learn the signs of a build up and the trigger, then take avoiding action.

I'm sure you know this already, but it's easily forgotten and then it's too late.

Just a thought.