My Dark Night of the Soul

[kycahi]

i think we should start a thread on this. i tried meds and then woke up. gave up meds, sort of. most pharms are there to dumb us down and make us sick so we buy meds. imo. but everyone does what they feel is best at the time. i don't regret using medication when i felt it was right. it helped when it worked.

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i take supplements now too. what do you take Ky?

My mental health supplements in no particular order:

• Flaxseed oil (veg for fish oil, Omega 3)
  
• DLPA D-L Phenylalanine
  
• DMAE dimethylaminoethyline
  

The flax oil (also fish oil) provides Omega 3 fatty acid, which helps about 40% of depressive patients. Besides lifting me off of rock bottom (including suicidal thoughts), it improves my overnight sleep. I take one four times a day: pre-breakfast and -lunch, mid-afternoon and bedtime.

The D-L phenylalanine is supposed to promote the neurotransmitter nor epinephrine. It helps me two ways. I take it at bedtime because it makes drowsy. Then the next day my mood is better.

DMAE is a mood improver and also contributes to a youthful appearance by reducing wrinkles.

My symptoms indicate that I am very low in the neurotransmitter dopamine. I probably also am low in nor epinephrine, because I took the prescription drug desipramine, known to increase that, for a big improvement. I had to stop it because of side effects, so now I use the DLPA for that.

The supplement L-Tyrosine is supposed to improve dopamine, but I use prescription bupropion for that.

I emphasize that this is MY regimen and it might not do you much good. At different times I tried two classic anti-depressant SSRI drugs, to enhance the neurotransmitter serotonin. Both made my sleepiness worse. Because the supplement St. Johns Wort also made me sleepy, perhaps it increases serotonin. Low serotonin level is the usual cause of depression.

Depressive disorder tends (think of the bell-shaped curve) to make females sad and tends to make males have low energy. If this is you or your partner, please take steps to correct it. Those steps can include exercise, human interaction, laughter and a change of diet (maybe eliminate, maybe add).