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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 19:44:55
Becuase of a lack of psychiatrists in Darwin, I am currently being looked after by a GP (for prescriptions for the drugs my shrink in Adelaide was giving me) and a psychologist.
She wants to go down the path of "mindfulness meditation" (she doesnt do CBT which was my original thought)
Anybody tried it, and was it helpful?
Posted by SLS on October 13, 2011, at 19:57:51
In reply to Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 19:44:55
> Becuase of a lack of psychiatrists in Darwin, I am currently being looked after by a GP (for prescriptions for the drugs my shrink in Adelaide was giving me) and a psychologist.
>
> She wants to go down the path of "mindfulness meditation" (she doesnt do CBT which was my original thought)
>
> Anybody tried it, and was it helpful?Helpful for what? What are you seeking to accomplish?
Learning to live in the moment and increasing one's awareness of things in the present can cultivate positive energy and invite personal growth. Does it help depression to feel less severe? Not for me. However, it does help me cope with depression by nurturing those parts of my being that are pummeled by negative energy and destructive thoughts.
- Scott
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 21:55:23
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it » jono_in_adelaide, posted by SLS on October 13, 2011, at 19:57:51
More for anxiety than depression - my depression is pretty well controlled with Zoloft 100mg/day and Edronax 4mg twice a day.
The anxiety still verges on panic sometimes, occasionaly I feel I am on the verge of panic even with Xanax 1mg three times a day.
So, I'm hoping for reduced anxiety levels
Posted by Phillipa on October 14, 2011, at 0:37:36
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 21:55:23
Jono I know for me that to be quiet and sit with anxious doesn't work. I would CBT first? Phillipa
Posted by JohnLA on October 14, 2011, at 0:43:42
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 21:55:23
hi jono-
i've tried 'mindfulness mediation' for depression and anxiety. it's getting to be a 'hot' topic in psychology for the past several years.
does it work? depends on you really. i can suggest going to apple's itunes and listening to some of their free guided meditation podcasts. the one i like is called 'meditation oasis.' don't buy any of them initially. the women who does the guided meditation for 'meditation oasis' has a very soothing voice. there are several different free podcasts for different meditation goals; rest, sleep, anxiety, etc.
initially they were helpful in a way for me. but, it was difficult for me to concentrate (which they say is fine by the way) after i did it for a few weeks. i also have read that meditation may not be good for severe depression (like me) due to ruminating etc.
i say try it out and see how it feels. i'm sure there are other free guided meditation sites on the web as well.
good luck.
john
Posted by floatingbridge on October 14, 2011, at 1:04:32
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 21:55:23
Jono, I found/find it helpful. I was in a small class of four with a skilled psychologist. With her insight, it was more than just sitting because she could help us identify difficulties we had in sitting or be with us when issues arose. I would say it helped with anxiety greatly for two of the four participants. The third, I felt, was resistant to the therapy (he took a somewhat argumentative stance). For myself, when I would practice on my own I would often have painful or frightening memories and thoughts. Yet I still pull from the skills I learned. I hope to go back to sitting when my memories are less charged. I practice breathing I learned, and while it may not abolish my anxiety, the incidence and intensity is overall being slowly reduced. It's one of the skills. I often practice the breathing while driving or standing in line somewhere. Often when dealing with an unpleasant of tense interpersonal situation.
Would you work one on one with her? What I did was called MBCT, mindfulness based cognitive therapy. Maybe ask you psychologist what her version of mindfulness therapy looks like. Is it simply meditation on your own? Is it 'just' meditation or is it more meditation and therapy.
Some people do better or prefer CBT. Are you saying you cannot find CBT where you are?
Posted by SLS on October 14, 2011, at 6:07:34
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 13, 2011, at 21:55:23
> More for anxiety than depression - my depression is pretty well controlled with Zoloft 100mg/day and Edronax 4mg twice a day.
>
> The anxiety still verges on panic sometimes, occasionaly I feel I am on the verge of panic even with Xanax 1mg three times a day.
>
> So, I'm hoping for reduced anxiety levelsI found reboxetine to be anxiogenic. This doesn't mean that it is the root cause of your anxiety, but I wonder if nortriptyline might not be a better drug for you to combine with Zoloft.
- Scott
Posted by gadchik on October 14, 2011, at 13:17:17
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by JohnLA on October 14, 2011, at 0:43:42
I always end my daily hike by sitting on top of a mtn,and staring into the sky,the trees,the distance,and I enter into a feeling of pure bliss,for the moment,and I am in the moment entirely free from worry.
Posted by emmanuel98 on October 14, 2011, at 19:24:13
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by gadchik on October 14, 2011, at 13:17:17
It helped my depression and suicidality a lot. But I work every week with a DBT therapist and attended, for over a year, a weekly DBT group. I don't think I could have done it on my own.
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 15, 2011, at 19:25:14
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by SLS on October 14, 2011, at 6:07:34
I havent found reboxetine increased my anxiety...... it and sertraline have helped the panic attacks, but the other anxiety is about the same.
What country are you in Scott?
BTW, i have tried nortriptyline (75mg per day) along with citralopram, and it felt about the same as reboxetine, but it caused some weight gain
Posted by SLS on October 15, 2011, at 20:30:00
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 15, 2011, at 19:25:14
> I havent found reboxetine increased my anxiety...... it and sertraline have helped the panic attacks, but the other anxiety is about the same.
>
> What country are you in Scott?I live in the USA.
> BTW, i have tried nortriptyline (75mg per day) along with citralopram, and it felt about the same as reboxetine, but it caused some weight gain
Yes, nortriptyline can cause weight gain, but it is not as bad as the parent compound, amitriptyline.
- Scott
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 15, 2011, at 21:36:13
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it » jono_in_adelaide, posted by SLS on October 15, 2011, at 20:30:00
I'm somewhat tempted to try switching the sertraline for mirtazepine, because I dont think it does much for me..... over the years, I have tried paroxetine, fluxoetine, citralopam and sertraline, and none of them realy did much..... reboxetine is good for my depression, but I'd like to see how mirtazapine went with my anxiety....except for the weight gain issue..... i have a stocky build as it is, and have always had to work to keep my weight down.
What my therapist is doing is cognitively based mindfulness meditation..... I could easily get a CBT therapist up here, but i have deicded I will give this a go and see how it helps, I can alwans switch over to CBT later.
I (and my psychiatrist) both beleive that my problem is biochemical, I dont have any "issues", my mother didnt make me wear a dress, my father didnt beat me, so i dont think traditional psychotherapy has much to offer, but I'm keen to give this stuff a go as an add-on to drug therapy
Posted by SLS on October 15, 2011, at 23:16:07
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it, posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 15, 2011, at 21:36:13
> I (and my psychiatrist) both beleive that my problem is biochemical, I dont have any "issues", my mother didnt make me wear a dress, my father didnt beat me, so i dont think traditional psychotherapy has much to offer, but I'm keen to give this stuff a go as an add-on to drug therapy
I hope it works for you. You deserve to hit a homerun.
I don't see venlafaxine on your list.
- Scott
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 16, 2011, at 18:42:36
In reply to Re: Mindfulness meditation - anyone benifited from it » jono_in_adelaide, posted by SLS on October 15, 2011, at 23:16:07
Tried Effexor in doses upto 300mg/day and it did very little, thats when I was refered to a psychiatrsit and switched to sertraline plus reboxetine...... and within a week I was feeling very much better. Stuck with that for a while, then changed to sertraline + nortriptyline to see if that was better for anxiety, but it didnt make much difference, but did cause weight gain, which I didnt need, so went back to reboxetine.
Have also tried sertraline + bupropion, found it about equal to sertraline plus reboxetine (insurance in Australia only covers bupropion for smoking, not depression as that is all it is lisenced for here, and its quite expensive if you pay cash for it, where as reboxetine is covered for depression and is cheaper, so I went back to reboxetine)
My current regimen is sertraline 100mg in the morning, reboetine 4mg twice a day and alprazolam 1mg 2-3 times a day.
I'm pondering switching the sertraline for mirtazapine to see if its better for anxiety.
This is the end of the thread.
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