Posted by Racer on June 11, 1999, at 17:03:50
In reply to Re: So much talk of meds...Isn't there a better way?, posted by Trey on June 9, 1999, at 23:40:20
If you are diabetic, you take insulin. That part is true, but it's not the whole story. If you are diabetic, and you take insulin, you still have to adjust your lifestyle. It's a systemic process, in that you have to change eating habits, exercise habits, learn a lot about your body chemistry, and how to prevent and control blood sugar crises.
The same can be said for mental illness. Personally, I do not accept that depression is a primary element of my identity. The primary elements of my identity are bound up in what I do, what I know, what I have gained in my life. I am a woman, I am smart, I am a horse trainer and computer professional, I am well read, I am kind to others, I am a redhead, I am all sorts of things before we get down to things like I'm diabetic, I'm depressive, I wear a size six shoe. Does that make sense so far?
Still, just as the blood sugar impairment means that I have to adjust my lifestyle, so does the depression. Just as I needed to learn to assess my food needs, and to control my sugar by balancing food intake and exercise, etc, so too do I have to adjust my lifestyle around my depression.
Years ago, after a riding accident, I was told that I'd never be able to ride again. I didn't accept that, but I did change the way I rode. I stopped riding the big fences, I haven't jumped more than 3 feet since then. I stopped riding the really rank and the really psycho horses who had been my bread and butter before. Now I only take on the sorts of horses that I can get somewhere with. I have adjusted my lifestyle to accommodate my condition.
Now I have to learn to adjust my lifestyle to accommodate another kind of condition: depression. I'll learn about other ways to channel my fear and frustration. I'll learn to express my emotions appropriately, rather than letting them eat me up. All those things can be done. At the end of it, I may still need to be on medication, sometimes if not all the time. I imagine that I'll have to take anti-depressants most of the rest of my life. Still, they are an adjunct, in the best of all possible worlds.
That's long enough that my ISP disconnected me. It's probably confused enough to make the rest of you think I'm really nuts. What can I say... If anyone understood it and thought it thought provoking or educational or helpful, I'm glad.
poster:Racer
thread:7217
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990601/msgs/7289.html