![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
OK I am not sure if indecisiveness is a disease, but I have a bad case of it, I am a complete flake and it really irritates me and the people around me !
Do any of the SSRI's help at all, can anything help ?
janejj
Posted by sienna on March 22, 2003, at 1:27:12
In reply to Can't decide........., posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
Hi jane
i dont like making decisions at all and have sort of centered my life around not having to. My friends know to call me the DAY that they are doing somethign to see if i want to go becuase they ask the day before i say uhm, maybe.When i feel better im more decisive but most the time im pretty indecisive.
Zoloft has helped me a little lately in life, but im not sure ive made more decisions...
sienna
Posted by BekkaH on March 22, 2003, at 1:33:13
In reply to Can't decide........., posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
> OK I am not sure if indecisiveness is a disease, but I have a bad case of it, Do any of the SSRI's help at all, can anything help ? janejj
***********************************************
Indecisiveness can be caused by many things. I don't think it's a disease in and of itself. It is often a symptom of depression. It is also a type of obsessional behavior. SSRIs have not helped me personally, but they do help many others. I think SSRIs can alleviate some obsessional behaviors, but they probably won't help you understand why you have difficulty making decisions. By the way, when making important decisions, it's probably best to weigh all factors and look at all the pros and cons. I know it can be carried to an extreme, but when making important decisions in life, I'd rather err on the side of being too obsessional and careful rather than impulsive and careless. Of course, if you're in a restaurant, ordering dinner with family or friends, and it takes you 30 minutes to decide between two different entrees, then I guess that could be a problem, but not an earth-shattering one.
Posted by jerrympls on March 22, 2003, at 1:35:28
In reply to Can't decide........., posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
A "compulsive overthinker" one of my past docs called me. SSRIs can help - but what do SSRIs really do except blunt your senses, make you impotent (if you are a man) and give you a hell of a time when going off of them. Not to mention the horrific weight gain.
Prozac Nation ? Maybe that's why Americans are the fattest in the world.
Posted by Questionmark on March 25, 2003, at 0:04:56
In reply to Can't decide........., posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
> OK I am not sure if indecisiveness is a disease, but I have a bad case of it, I am a complete flake and it really irritates me and the people around me !
>
> Do any of the SSRI's help at all, can anything help ?
>
> janejjThat's amazing-- i have TERRIBLE indecisiveness as well. A couple weeks ago i was even thinking of asking on here something like what one can do "for the disease of indecisiveness" or something. Wow that's so weird. Man i love mentally ill people.
But yeah for years i thought it was a component of the severe ADD i think i had/have, but the past year i've realized (as a couple here have mentioned) that it's got a major obsessive-compulsive aspect to it. i think it's closely related to like extreme perfectionism-- like a need for things to be just "right" (at least in your head). But those of you who suffer from this-- this disease of indeciseness-- do you also suffer from extreme slowness? i am SO freaking slow in everything i do. Oh, and procrastination? Yeah i have all these up the wazzoo and i think they're all quite related: chronic procrastination, riDICulously extreme indecisiveness, and severe, life-pervading slowness. AH i can't even type this dam* post without taking forever and trying to choose the perfect words and what not!! i am ridiculous. Anyway, sorry.
But yeah, so, what the **** is good for this **** though? The one person-- you're right about SSRIs-- they're only helpful insomuch as they make you apathetic about EVerything (i believe). Benzodiazepines don't do crap for it; stimulants can temporarily help in some ways but mostly just make it worse. APs-- no way. i do wonder if Nardil would be helpful though. (Oh and all this crap is even harder to deal with when you have all sorts of other mental problems on top of it).
There are two things i do think could be somewhat helpful, though, without any real side effects: inositol, and meditation. i'm trying to get some inositol here and am going to try a high-dose regimen of that for awhile hopefully. i don't know if it'll help or not, but hopefully it will; we'll see. And, well the meditation i'll comment on in a different post cuz , well just because. But so anyway, you might want to give those two things a try.
Posted by Questionmark on March 25, 2003, at 0:42:19
In reply to Can't decide........., posted by Janejj on March 22, 2003, at 1:06:58
Yes, that's meditation not medication. Funny there's only one letter difference. Sorry if this isn't supposed to be on psychobabble, but, i don't know. Meditation is good medication. Anyway...
Yeah, i believe meditation, particularly zen meditation, has the potential to be extremely beneficial for OCDish and ADDish type problems. And don't worry about it being blasphemous or serving another religion or anything (i could be somewhat worried about this if it was so)-- it does not have to involve ANYthing beyond just maintaining a certain posture and concentrating on, say, your breathing. Even if you do not add any kind of spiritual component to the meditation, i believe there can be subtle but major, deep psychological effects and benefits from doing this. It just has major practical and psychological utility.
One of the things i believe meditation does-- more and more so the more you do it-- is to condition your mind so that it is easier to focus and concentrate (just in general), and easier to focus oneself in the present. The benefits for ADD are obvious, but i think it could be really helpful for certain OCD stuff too. It helps one lessen attachment to unrealistic idealisms and excessively dwelling on past or future. It helps one live in the moment, in the present. Ah i'm getting tired and i'm not explaining this well. But seriously just try it for a little while (like 15 minutes a day, or every other day or something, for like a few weeks). And it's not difficult at all-- just read up on how to do it right (i recommend zen meditation but that's just me). i mean it takes some effort to do but it's so simple to learn. But especially anyone with OCD or ADD stuff, i strongly recommend you try it. And the worst it could do is nothing.
Sorry this was so long. Good luck everyone.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.