Thanks... this advice is very useful since I'd like to avoid prescription
medication. The last psychiatrist that I visited said that antidepressants
were something to consider, but since I was just on the boundary of fitting
the depression criteria (according to a questionaire), they weren't very
strongly recommended. This is good since I fear that medication will cause
immunity to be built up and more significant dosages/more dangerous
medications to be prescribed.
Many of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side also had problems with
depression, and out of all those people I don't think there's a single one
of them who wound up taking less medication in the end.
-- Michael S.
"John H." <johnh at faraway.com.au> wrote in message
news:3fd68123 at dnews.tpgi.com.au...
> Michael,
>> 1. Melatonin reduces the very brain chemical believed to be deficient in
> ADD: dopamine. Melatonin will not cure depression, it increases one aspect
> of the immune system implicated in depression. Don't take it, it needs
great
> care and in your case may create more problems than it solves as it can
make
> you very drowsy. Seasonal Affective Disorder relates to loss of sunlight
in
> vulnerable individuals. Loss of sunlight increases melatonin and decreases
> serotonin. You need to increase serotonin, not melatonin. Sleep problems
are
> very common in depression and in part probably drive depression.
>> 2. ADD is associated with other problems, depression being one of these.
> Your case is not that unusual and not surprising given that your mother
also
> experiences depression because there is a genetic component in depression.
>> 3. The conversations in your head are another part of depression, it might
> pay to compare these with what people actually say to you and how they
treat
> you. I suspect you'll find that comparison interesting. Write it down in
two
> columns.
>> 4. Social isolation itself can drive depression and is a key marker for
> depression. Try to spend time with people you can trust. Whatever you do,
> don't let yourself slip into total social isolation as this will probably
> deepen the depression.
>> 4. You should be seeing a medical professional but as that appears not
> possible I suggest:
>> Sleep:
>> Regular exercise but not within 3-4 hours of bedtime as sleep will be more
> difficult then. Exercise can help in depression, at the last Annual
Society
> for Neuroscience Meetings there were some presentations on this and it has
> been documented in the literature before. Exercise helps slow down
cortisol
> output, cortisol is a key stress hormone implicated in depression.
Exercise
> will also help to stabilise your immune system, which also plays a role in
> depression. Exercise is very good for stabilising sleep patterns.
>> Exposure to bright sunlight in the early morning is important, will help
> stabilise your sleep cycles and increase serotonin levels.
>> Boost your intake of vitamins B and E, either through vitamin pills but
> preferably through diet. Eating fruit and vegetables is a damn good idea.
>> Learn to relax one hour before going to bed.
>> You need to increase foods in your diet that are rich in tryptophan, the
> amino acid that is essential for serotonin production. Fish is good
because
> it also contains high levels of omega 3's which have been shown beneficial
> for depression.
>> Get on your Dad's case, you should be seeing a doctor about this. If that
> isn't possible there are a number of excellent web sites relating to
> depression. A warning however, there are also some bloody idiots out there
> so choose those sites that clearly are maintained by medical
professionals.
> No, I'm not one of those and I'm no particular fan of the general approach
> to depression by the professional community but they are far better than
so
> many quacks out there promising miracle cures.
>> Put this post up at sci.med.psychobiology. There are some excellent
> psychiatrists who visit that ng. who specialise in depression and they may
> offer some advice. Understand though that quite rightly they cannot
diagnose
> or prescribe remedies over the internet. As suicide is already an issue
you
> need to find professional help. If at your age your already interested in
> general relativity then it would be a great loss. You strike me as a
rather
> intelligent chap, there are ADD cases that demonstrate strong intellects
and
> creativity, you could well be one of those cases. Before you can realise
> your full potential however you must find a way to deal with this
depression
> issue.
>> PS: I was the same at school: hated the schoolwork but read every book I
> could get my hands about things that interested me. Over time that tends
to
> change and you should be able to attend to school and university work more
> easily. It's a bloody hard struggle but typically ADD symptoms decline as
we
> move into adulthood though residual symptoms remain. So remember this:
"The
> essential thing in heaven and on earth is that there should be a long
> obedience in the same direction, there thereby results, and has always
> resulted in the long run, something which makes life worth living."
> Nietzsche, Beyond Good & Evil.
>>> "Michael S." <m.sabino at comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:NKbBb.469203$HS4.3663427 at attbi_s01...> > Hello,
> >
> > When I was 5 years old, I was diagnosed with ADD (without
hyperactivity).
> > This is ususual since I'm a male, and most of those who exhibit symptoms
> of
> > ADD without hyperactivity are female.
> > There are a few reasons why I think this may be the case. But I think
> there
> > is an early-childhood origin in rearing that led to these symptoms in
me.
> > Mostly, I was educated from my parents in areas that differed from the
> > material tought in school. As an example... when I was 5 in preschool,
my
> > dad would teach me about electric circuitry at home, while at school the
> > teachers would watch in amazement as I'd drift offtopic while they were
> > teaching something as commonplace knowledge in that agegroup as the
> letters
> > of the alphabet.
> > I also notice that this parallel exists when females are tought less
> > education-orientated topics than males from their family, so I wonder if
> > that's the reason why females more often develop the add without
> > hyperactivity than males. Does encouraging distraction by barbie dolls
> allow
> > the brain to be deficient in long-term thought processes (such as those
> that
> > occur in the prefrontal cortex)?
> > Anyway, I digress. There were many family troubles that gave me problems
> > with what I perceived as depression at an age as young as 10. I would
> easily
> > be distracted from the task at hand, or become anxious due to the
negative
> > thought patterns that enveloped the task that I should've been
completing.
> > My mom suffered from depression, and I'm concerned that I may be
> developing
> > this same condition.
> > There's even a more significant parallel between my mom and I than that
of
> > general depression. I've become really concerned with what others are
> > saying, and have been completing conversations in my head without being
> > completely sure of what's going on. These conversations that I believe
I'm
> > overhearing are almost always about bad things about me. This may stem
> from
> > my fear of actually becoming involved in the conversation, since I'm
> afraid
> > to be around people (somewhat because of acne).
> > I get so nervous at school sometimes that the whole world seems to tune
> out.
> > Sometimes I've considered suicide, and sometimes I've feared that will
be
> > how I'll meet fate.
> > Right now I'm 16 and having difficulty focusing on schoolwork because of
> > this anxiety, and my dad keeps stalling about seeing a counselor or a
> doctor
> > since he doesn't like their advice. The counsoulers apparently give me
> > advice that's too much towards my own aims, and not much towards his,
> while
> > the doctors always prescribe medication. I don't believe this to be
true,
> > but if he does, there's nothing that I can do.
> > My last counsoler was "too intellectual". Perhaps my dad would be more
> > satisfied by the cajun women downtown who can give me some all-natural
> fruit
> > juice to remedy my problems. Then again, that would be too easy,
wouldn't
> > it?
> > I get very distracted by things outside of school, and it's constantly
> been
> > driving me away from schoolwork... I'd much rather read about general
> > relativity than about how to draw stupid conceptual models in junior
> > chemistry.
> > These problems don't exist during the summer regardless of whether I'm
> > waking up at 6am for summer school or not (though summer school lasts 4
> > hours, compared with the usual 7hrs of school). Does melatonin have
> > something to do with this? (I think I read somewhere that melatonin
> > concentrations are higher during the summer due to a reaction involving
> > sunlight)
> > Would pure melatonin pass the blood brain barrier? do you know of any
> sites
> > that provide a list of chemicals that cross the blood brain barrier and
> are
> > synthesized into a particular neurotransmitter?
> >
> > After searching on google I can across: "Some people become more
depressed
> > in the winter months when days are shorter and darker. The sun and
bright
> > light seem to trigger a response to a brain hormone known as melatonin
> > (produced by the pineal gland), which is, in part, responsible for
> > preventing the "blues." Stay in brightly-lit rooms on dark days.
Research
> > reveals that two hours of morning sun is very effective in lifting
> > depression. The evening light had comparatively little results."
> > What drugs can I take to make me feel this way during the winter?
> >
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Michael S.
> >
> > I stayed home today to complete my homework and I didn't really get any
> done
> > :(
> >
> >
>>