Posted by coral on June 17, 2007, at 19:11:03
In reply to Question to us, posted by allisonm on May 22, 2007, at 8:18:12
I'm one of the very, very lucky ones. I escaped the living catastrophe of clinical depression. Spent 3 1/2 years in sheer agony before finally hitting on the right combination of therapy and meds. Was on Zoloft for a year. This was a decade ago. I've had a few minor emotional set-backs but a few weeks on Zoloft and I'm fine.
That is, until two months ago, when my brain snapped. The last eighteen months have been excruciatingly stressful and once I got through it all, my brain snapped. Fine timing, eh? My therapist says it's common when someone has gone through a sustained ordeal, like getting a PhD or finishing medical school.
It is/was an incredibly bizarre experience. I was not emotionally depressed but had all the old physical symptoms plus a new one. It was like having a second brain in my head. My therapist and internist both suggested I start Zoloft and use Librium, as needed. I ramped up on the Zoloft as fast as I could. I'm now titrating down because the physical symptoms have completely subsided. The only way to describe it was like part of my brain was broken. I had all the racing thoughts, black dog thoughts, etc., all the while knowing that it really wasn't what I was thinking/feeling.
What frosts me is that I knew going into the last eighteen months was going to be a living nightmare and resumed therapy as a precaution and thought....thought I'd handled everything. Bleech. Then, my brain snapped.
Well, as I said, I'm on the down side of this and know how utterly fortunate I am.
This place has been a Godsend to me and I've thought often about the people I've met and care about...
Coral
poster:coral
thread:758774
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/2000/20050828/msgs/763785.html