Posted by banga on November 15, 2004, at 19:01:09
In reply to Re: Trying to find a solution, posted by mattw84 on November 15, 2004, at 15:01:33
I think that meds affect us profoundly....some may indeed affect our sense of "self"....but others can open the door to be more fully ourselves. I have a tremendous desire to give, to help, to be productive, but the anxiety componenent of my problems hinders me from fulfilling this. I felt this the other day--one half-day of the anxiety lifting--and I felt so more present, competent and able to engage in the world around me. One writer said that the opposite of depression is not happiness--it's human vitality. So if a drug helps us be more present, more engaged in life--both in the ups AND downs of life--I think it enhances the spirit. When an antidepressant worked well for me, I celebrated the depth of color in a rose, I felt life; when in deep depression, I felt my soul was dying. But as I said earlier, I think drugs can also negatively affect positive engagement with the world. Just think of what damage the illicit drugs and alcohol do to the human spirit....drugs are powerful and should be respected, both for the good and the bad they can do.
And I do personally think similarily to another poster here, I am having great reservations about SSRIs as pushing too hard in one direction-just sort of push the imbalance in another direction.
poster:banga
thread:416254
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/416377.html