'Due to site maintenance, we can't let you in to your facebook account Mr. Clari. Please try again in a few hours'.

That was this lunchtime, and I'm getting the same message now.

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

I joined Facebook just two days ago - can I be your friend please?!!!!!

That's very strange, I've been getting onto Facebook all day with no problems at all!

Jacob.

Mine's Ok too!

When I can get back in again lottie, of course you can!



One or two of my friends are having problems, by no means is it everyone. It's just annoying it's me!!!!

Why is it so hard to write about something that I know inside out? Can't get motivated...

My heart sinks knowing that more lambs have been sent to the Facebook slaughter

I hate how I can really cheerful one minute, and feel like the world is crumbling around me the next. It's so frustrating.

And no, this isn't a sympathy post, before anyone thinks that. If anyone ever gets anything similar, I'd be really grateful to hear about it...

Agreed - I love Chess

Me. Unsurprisingly.

I think this pretty much sums up everyone on the planet who isn't on Prozac, to be honest.

What about the ones who are? Are they meant to live in a state of perpetual happiness?

No, chemically-induced denial

Nope, perpetual zombie-ness.

No, no, no... it's not slaughter honestly!!!

I joined Facebook a couple of days ago mostly on the advice of the external advisor for my PG degree (he told us to 'blog', 'twitter', 'facebook', 'website' and 'email' our work to the greater wide world). So I joined to promote my practice blog etc

Anyway, all of a sudden I'm 'speaking' to people I haven't seen since school over 20 years ago and it's brilliant to see what they've been up to!!! I'm also 'friends' with my cousin who I haven't seen for 10 years and other, closer friends..... I haven't laughed so much in ages.

It's not slaughter - it's really good fun!!! (But I don't know what a Farm is.... )

Neither, if you find the right medicine. If you find the wrong one, though, zombie-ness may follow. In which case try a different thing (medicine or otherwise).

Even then, the world can still fall apart seconds after happiness, it's just...more bearable, somehow...

I personally wouldn't touch any "uppers" if I were ever in need of/prescribed them, as they must be quite easy to become dependent on. There are sometimes other ways to combat the underlying issues.

mostly. I think sometimes, of course, they are totally necessary, but I think they're madly over-prescribed, and make it more difficult for some people to deal with life without chemical intervention. It's something they say to addicts a lot too - one of the reasons they're addicted to alcohol/drugs/whatever is because everytime something bad happens, they drink themselves silly, or take drugs or basically don't have to deal with it themselves... I think the same thing can happen with anti-depressants.

But then, of course, some people do need them.

Miss R, I've felt that way too. I hope you feel better soon. (That's not because I thought you were asking for sympathy, but because I know how you feel, a little, and just happen to be empathetic/sympathetic).

It depends on what you mean by 'uppers'. If you mean modern antidepressents of the SSRI class, they are extremely difficult to become dependent on. If you are talking about good old-fashioned meds, 'mother's little helper' of valium, then they are a completely different thing with a very different action and much easier to develop dependency with.
For modern meds, 'upper' is very much a misnomer. They don't make you artificially happy. They just stop the lows reaching qutie so low (some argue that in turn they stop the highs being quite so high - but as with all medicines, it varies between drugs and between individuals).

There are sometimes other ways to combat the underlying issues. But when after 25 years those things won't resolve, or they come back time and again, the fact of taking one tablet in the morning to get you through is brilliant. People don't tend to baulk at taking a medicine each day to fix their blood pressure that's too high, I'm just taking a tablet each day that sorts out my brain chemistry enough that I can leave the house Pragmatic - the cause is likely beyond repair now, so I deal with the symptom.

OK. So it's just gone 10.30. The Amazing Disappearing Student was due for a lesson at 10 - last one before her exam next week.

From the fact I'm posting here you may deduce that, completely not to my amazement, she didn't arrive.

She's just phoned up to tell me she forgot about her singing lesson because she was doing something else....so could she have the same time tomorrow, please? And any other times I've got spare between now and the exam.

Now, do I fill slots up for this young lady knowing her track record on getting to lessons?

Somehow I'm not convinced to do that....

Surely even if a biological/chemical addiction type dependency doesn't develop, you will still be dependent on them simply because of the massive difference in how you feel when you don't take them? It'll be too hard to get by without them?

Modern medicine is great in that it can deal with these issues, but as mentioned above, they are definitely over-prescribed. As a last resort it's fine, but I get the impression that other avenues aren't pursued enough.

I felt dreadful yesterday, and couldn't work last night due to dizzyness and nausea. My GP told me I have BPPV this morning It's horrid, but I'm not a bad as some people, I can walk.
FOr those who don't know, it's when a little "bit" comes off inside the inside part of your ear and gets where it shouldn't, causing the world to feel like it's turning over.
I shall sit very still at the piano, and do scales, and decide tomorrow whether I can do my Grade 3 on Wednesday.
Oh bu**er.

Oh dear, Bev. I do hope you feel better soon.

Thanks. So do I. No time to be ill, I've got children, Mum, house , garden, work and MUSIC to do.

I really hope you feel better soon...and all the best for Wednesday.

you'll be able to sit the exam.

By the time you stop taking anti-d's, the idea is you don't notice the difference in how you feel. Because you are better. So you cope perfectly fine without them. Initial courses are usually six months because that's a good time scale for a 'natural' depression to wear itself out.
For each episode of depression (or equivalent), you have a roughly 50% chance of relapse. So people with one episode have a 50% chance of a second episode; those who have a second episode have a 50% chance of a third (i.e. 25% of the original lot); and so on. But for each episode you are likely to need a longer course of treatment (be it medicine or otherwise). NHS guidelines say if you need three courses of anti-d's in five years, or five lifetime, then consideration should be given to staying on them for prophylaxis.

I think they probably are overprescribed, but also that alternatives are oversubscribed. I also find it ironic/odd/etc that if so many of these medicines are prescribed, so many people must have mental health issues (to a greater or less degree) but it's still all somehow a Very Bad Thing to admit.

Sorry, I'll shut up now

No, don't shut up, it's an interesting topic It *is*, unfortunately a bad thing to admit, as it can have an adverse effect on gaining employment if the company wants to know about medical history re: stress and depression.

I stopped buying newspapers a while ago because I figured out that reading about doom and gloom every morning before work was dragging me down. I rarely feel "down", but when I do, it doesn't take me long to drag myself out of it. I'm one of those people who is at the extreme end of pragmatic and I refuse to be in a situation where I'm sitting around feeling sorry for myself

With the high volumes of prescriptions being dished out, I'm still half-wondering whether people in general are just not well equipped enough to deal with hardship and life in general anymore - have we just become too sensitive and hence more prone to depression? I suppose at least treatment for mental illness is a bit less barbaric these days

Aaagh. But less of a scream, more of an upset whimper

At school, I was walking along with some of my friends, not really looking forwards (though I could tell where I was going!). I'd noticed a group of boys in the other half of the year group going the other way, but didn't really acknowledge them - I was feeling really tired and headachey already, and it was too hot and sunny. Then suddenly as they passed us, one of them bumped into me, whacking the side of my head quite hard. I heard them laughing as they went on. I didn't see who it was and I couldn't tell whether it had been accidental or on purpose. That, added to horrible lessons, the heat wave and extreme amounts of homework, has left me feeling like this:

Poor Bev... , hope you're better very soon.

Get well soon, Bev.


Sorry to drag it on, but I just wanted to add to the anti-depressant conversation. Yes, they are undoubtedly over-prescribed. I don't personally think that they should be the first resort. Surely counselling or therapy would be a better idea first? I'm no medical professional, but I feel somewhat entagled in this particular debate having spent a long time at the mercy of our local doctors. I was too scared to be entirely honest about how I felt for so long that everything just built up to a point where I simply couldn't function. And the idea of the medication was to help me function... When, after 9 months they realised that simply wasn't happening, it was back to the drawing board, where I still am. So they are rarely the easy answer. It's maybe very easy to brand people as 'depressed' when quite possibly there is something deeper rooted. Then again, I know it's very much not a one size fits all illness. I just wish there was a cure! But as long as there is a light at the end of the tunnel, well... that's enough for me.

Yep, I know a few people who have just been chucked on to ADs pretty much without any other questions being asked. It sucks

Light at the end of the tunnel is good, in my experience it's usually a train coming towards me but your mileage may vary

One would hope so, but the difference in financial outlay between a course of anti-depressants and a course of counselling is clearly huge - so anti-depressants always seem to be the first point of call

Not always - it depends on the individual in question and the severity of their condition. But, broadly, talking therapies should be used as a first line more than they are. Off the top of my head, the NICE guidelines recommend:

1) Mild depression: first call, refer for talking therapy; second call, medication. Rationale is that, give or take, at this stage people are still functioning well enough for a talking therapy to be effective.
2) Moderate depression - is a toss-up. Bias would be towards a rapid intervention with a talking therapy, though depending on the patient, they might not feel up to that or might not respond well to it, so medication has a role here too.
3) Severe depression - a combination of medication and talking therapy, with medication coming first virtually all the time to bringthe patient up to a point where talking to someone is feasible.

They're guidelines, so as I said, if anyone's personal preference would vary, that's to be expected. But, give or take, as you can see, talking therapies are very much recommended for mild/moderate depression, and these between them account for the majority of cases. The trouble, though, is that given the number of people who are currently being treated for depression, the NHS would require around 10,000 extra therapists to actually implement the guidelines - the facilities simply aren't there, so instead, we have waiting lists. For instance, if the most appropriate talking therapy is CBT, the waiting list is in excess of a year in 90% of NHS PCTs. Faced with this situation, anti-depressants end up being prescribed as the only option that might help any time soon.

I always find beer lifts my mood... can I go to the doc claiming depression and get some Ale on prescription?

They're not pills that make people happier per sé, but function by changing biochemical processes in a way that helps with things like dysphoria. As such, because life seems more enjoyable, one gradually reintegrates oneself with the rest of the world in a way that will normally provide a tenable mental state once medication is tapered off. Simply, it's a ladder out of a hole, not a cloud to float on. Less simply, various mechanisms are implicated in providing prophylaxis against relapse even once medication has been stopped (e.g increased serotonergic dendritic arborisation).


Sadly, plying depressed folk with booze would almost be as bad as getting Nike to sponsor the Samaritans.

Informative posts, by the way, YAP. I didn't realise this (hence me referring to them as "uppers").

Incidentally, the old-fashioned treatment for severe depression was amphetamines; and for anxiety, opium. For less severe cases, here, have a cigarette....

(Though as a footnote, amphetamines and methylphenidate (Ritalin) do have a role in augmenting SSRIs/SNRIs in cases of severe treatment-resistant depression.)

So in short, the answer was to go out raving and munch on some disco biscuits! Very 80's...

Opium surely just puts people so out of it that they wouldn't be on the same planet as everyone else? Hardly a treatment?

I would have thought you had enough to cope with without this problem cropping up as well in your ears. I am really sorry to read this post, and like the others have said, I do hope you get some relief soon. And enough to let you take the piano exam as you have planned, because of all the hard work you have put into preparing for it.

Oh bu**er indeed.

Bev, I'm so sorry to hear about your ear problems. I do hope you feel much better soon.

LOL, I see what you did there

I don't understand the Nike / Samaritans bit - please explain!

Open bedroom window = allows some cool air to enter room

Open bedroom window also = pollen + loud tweeting (I never knew birds could be so noisy)

Time to try and sleep...

Hey Nicki

This used to happen to me all the time because I was bullied by a group at school. Just remember they're the losers not you.

Hope you have a better day today

I didn't get the loud tweeting, but apart from that, that sounds like my experience last night.

It's so hard to sleep in this weather...

It is also hard to wake up.... not just because you've not had enough sleep, but also (in my case) because your're all blocked up and your throat hurts

poor you...

I do get the blocked up feeling on occasion. A symptom of silly hay fever...

Sorry, I went to sleep and then woke up again at 11 :S


They're still tweeting. I guess that is what birds do.


Mmm, yes...though I am grateful in a way because my eyes used to go horrible when I was younger, and at least I can wake up and open my eyes, even if I can't breathe!

What's their slogan?

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