Head Meds

Instead of writing, I'm supposed be packing to leave on a surf excursion to Kenting for the weekend; serving as the 3rd wheel to my husband and Drew (and his still in-need-of-a-home- car-sick-dog, Tuco).

But I thought I'd post one last one for the road copying what I wrote on a fellow IFer's comment section.

The dilemma she was having was about how to proceed in dealing with her husband's hypochondriac symptoms/depression. Here's what I foisted on her blogworld:

Here's my biased take:

Drugs.

Head meds can be a good thing. Sometimes it is just circumstances that drives the need. Fine. But also, one's personal/familial chemistry can be such that they're deficient on brain hormones--as was the case for me--hit it right off the bat w/ The Zoloft. I was taking 50 mg. which did the trick, took at night to sleep off the major sleepiness and felt it get me on track right away. Prior to taking the meds (which I'm off at the moment due to TTC, but not off for life), it was always SUCH a struggle to pull myself out of the spiral. And the thing that really confirmed to me I was such an example of "chemical imbalance" was that there wasn't anything in particular that was setting me off when I finally admitted I was a good candidate for the drugs. YEARS of therapy cannot help a physical, chemical imbalance. After a lifetime of low-grade depression, when I finally gave over and took the drug, it was such a relief. Unfortunately, I still felt the sting of societal stigma: that it was a hush-hush thing I was doing. And honestly, I think there are a few of my friends who never "accepted" it and are glad I'm not on it currently. I get a bit defensive in my head and just let it go; if I vibed someone wasn't accepting, but judging, I made peace with it being their problem.

Here's the fair and analogous question:

Do people judge diabetics because they need insulin due to their pancreas not producing enough or any insulin?

NO.

But when people don't make enough of their own seratonin, just because the organ in question is the brain (i.e. the "mind") and not a pancreas, it gets lumped in as being "mental."

I go out of my way to openly talk about it and any other "taboo" subject I can b/c it's SUCH BS that these (OCD, depresssion, infertility) things are still SO not talked about and/or accepted, esp. in our American society.

Unfortunately, no solution is perfect for those of us w/ deficient organs. (As all of us struggling w/ IF know all too well.)

My dad, yes 1/2 of where I got these screwy genes, finally went on meds. Guess what? OCD/hypochondriac stuff dissipated. But he couldn't handle the drugged sleepiness and went off them. Yep, hypochondriac back in full force. My (lifelong) step mom was so bummed when he ditched them.

Please be patient with your DH.

...And there's my novella.