Read more about the article IMPORTANT UPDATE: My nightmarish withdrawal from #Paxil has taken an unexpected turn
Depression Management / Medications / My thoughts

IMPORTANT UPDATE: My nightmarish withdrawal from #Paxil has taken an unexpected turn

Yesterday, I told you that Gavin's appointment with Dr. Reynolds went fine. What I didn't tell you was that I had a chance to talk to him about my current struggles with coming off of Paxil. I also wanted to update you all as well because I think it's been a little while since a more detailed update has been written. I took my last dose of Paxil last Thursday. I was taking 40 mg/day and over the last three months, I've slowly weaned off the Paxil, under medical supervision. This has been a nightmare at times and survivable at others. The middle part of this journey wasn't too bad because was I beginning to use the Fisher Wallace Stimulator and that has helped to take the edge off by…

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March 13, 2018
Read more about the article A major milestone in managing my #Depression
Confessions / Depression Management / Medications / My thoughts

A major milestone in managing my #Depression

After roughly six years or so, I am saying goodbye to a medication that has been helping to manage my depression. It's been a three month long journey to withdrawal from Paxil, under medical supervision. The journey was a mixed bag of feeling like I was going to die and being okay. I took my last dose tonight and I feel really awesome about it. I'm hoping that as my body chemistry stabilizes, I continue managing my depression successfully between diet, exercise and the Fisher Wallace Stimulator. My next mission is to withdrawal from the Wellbutrin but I'm going to wait a bit and let the dust settle. Should this journey prove to difficult without medication, I'll revisit my decision to discontinue it. My doctor will help me find a…

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March 9, 2018
Read more about the article Things That Can Directly Affect Your Mental Health
Contributed / My thoughts / Sponsored Post

Things That Can Directly Affect Your Mental Health

This is a collaborative post and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of this blog or its author. People don’t realize that there are things they do every day that directly affect their mental health, either in a positive or negative way. Mental health still isn’t taken seriously by some, although many people will experience things like depression, anxiety, and other issues at some point in their lives. It can happen to anybody at any time, so raising awareness and breaking the taboo surrounding the subject is a must. If you want to make sure you’re caring for your mental health, the best thing you can do is pay attention to the factors that directly affect it. Take a look at the list below: The Food You Eat The…

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March 8, 2018
Read more about the article Living with #Depression is a war, not just a battle
Depression Confessions / My thoughts

Living with #Depression is a war, not just a battle

I wanted to take a few minutes and share what I consider to be a major milestone in how I'm managing my Depression. Depression has been a part of my life since my early teens and will likely be an indefinite part of my life. While Depression is a consistent part of my mental and emotional health, how I choose to manage it can change from time to time. The three most important parts of managing Depression involves therapy, medication (if needed) and exercise. Everyone is different but generally speaking, the three pronged approach tends to be the best fit for most people. I'm not like most people and things like talk therapy, have never really been that effective for me personally. My weapon of choice has been medication and…

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February 28, 2018
Read more about the article An Important Update: Anxiety, Depression and Respite
General Update / My thoughts

An Important Update: Anxiety, Depression and Respite

There's a few things I need to catch you up on. For starters, Emmett made it to school this morning however, he came home sick about lunchtime. I understand there's a stomach bug going around the school but I'm not sure he's actually sick. I totally believe his stomach hurts but I suspect that something might be bothering him and he's just unable to articulate it. It's so easy to forget that Emmett is significantly emotionally delayed because he's so stinking smart. Part of that delay involves expressive language, of which he greatly struggles with. He's doing a bit better since coming home from school. We have therapy tonight and we'll focus on Emmett. Maybe even figure out what's bothering him. Gavin's having a better day today. I'm really glad…

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February 13, 2018
Read more about the article A major milestone in my battle with #Depression
Confessions / Depression Management / Medications / My thoughts

A major milestone in my battle with #Depression

I've been openly talking about my torrid relationship with depression for a long time now. It's important to speak openly and honestly because I want people to know that it's okay to talk about depression. There's no shame in battling depression and I think that when we suffer in silence, it's that much harder to stay afloat. At the same time, I understand why many people don't talk about it. Unless you're living with depression, it's very difficult to understand it. I have an update in regards to my current battle with depression. It's a big one and I'm feeling really good about it. Tonight marked the beginning of the third phase of my withdrawal from Paxil. That means I'm officially two months into the process and have one month…

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February 12, 2018
Read more about the article Depression Confessions: How the @fisherwallace Stimulator is helping me battle #Depression
Confessions / Depression Management / My thoughts / Reviews

Depression Confessions: How the @fisherwallace Stimulator is helping me battle #Depression

UPDATE: I was speaking Chip Fisher, the President of Fisher Wallace Laboratories and received an update on insurance companies that are now covering the Fisher Wallace Stimulator.  I'll add to the list as I get new information.  Insurance companies currently covering the Fisher Wallace Stimulator: United Healthcare Medicaid in the State of Maine Click Here to purchase your own Fisher Wallace Stimulator It's been a little while since I've updated you on how my withdrawal from Paxil is going. At this point in time, I'm about halfway through the withdrawal process and things are going pretty well. If you've never experienced it first hand, let me tell you that withdrawing from drugs like Paxil, with a very short half-life can be extremely difficult, painful and even dangerous in not done…

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February 5, 2018
Read more about the article Sadly, he’s hearing voices again
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

Sadly, he’s hearing voices again

Gavin had a pretty good day, at least physically. On his first full day of being an adult, he spent a large part of it hearing voices. Gavin's was officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia a few years ago. This is far from the first time Gavin's heard voices. In fact, he sorta lives in a perpetual hallucination. He has friends that only he can see and he goes on dangerous missions with them on a daily basis. These are the typical voices he hears. Unfortunately, what we're seeing now is that he hears us talking to him when we aren't. He's constantly keeps finding us because the says we called for him. I'm not sure what's going on with this but it's not something that's been very common over the years.…

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January 20, 2018