Posted by med_empowered on December 6, 2005, at 3:50:04
In reply to Re: Dear God what's Gad more questions, posted by the anger without on December 6, 2005, at 2:27:57
hey! OK, I'll admit: I've been kind of too embarassed sometimes to post about my angry feelings. Or tell a shrink about them. Its like..youre anxious; OK. You're sad; OK. But..you start throwing things, getting angry getting..well, crazy...and suddenly things feel different. I can't tell you what exactly will help you with the rage. I'm learning to process it myself--writing helps, so does meditation, proper nutrition, exercise, and trying not to focus on the future. And I get that thing where you feel like you can't do **anything**...I've learned that sometimes just brushing your teeth can be an amazing accomplishment. The good news is that everytime you do that--everytime you brush your teeth, get out of bed, shower, whatever--you win a little bit. You take some of your life back from that gaping, dark vortex of misery, fury, and despair that is depression. So..that's my uplifiting thought for the day.
Re: meds...I'd avoid antipsychotics (they feel like chemical lobotomies...TRUST ME). Stimulants should probably be avoided. Benzo use should be minimal; higher doses can make rage worse, which no one wants. Unfortunately, antidepressants can sometimes do the same thing. So..my advice would be maybe a mood stabilize, like Trileptal/Tegretol, maybe Keppra, Depakote, or Lamictal (lamictal runs the risk of inducing hypomania, but still might be useful). Personally, I'd keep the doses pretty low; the idea shouldn't be to **elminate** the anger, or even diminish it, really...the goal should be to help you *deal* with the anger, so self-help stuff you do and talk therapy will be more effective.
I know how awful it feels to take out your rage on loved ones and then live with the consequences. My anger makes me cold, cynical, and mean; I fear I have severely damaged my relationship with my best friend. I'm working to be a better friend, but its hard. I guess all I can say is that alot of this probably needs to be done at an emotional/mental level, not at the biochemical level (minimize meds)..that said, it certainly can be done; I think I've made some progress so far, though it isn't quite at the night and day point.
Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:585979
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051203/msgs/585997.html