Nature Provides
Aug. 18th, 2011 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamcatchingsBit of a cut for the RL stuffs
As many of you probably know I have some issues with anxiety and depression. My mental health is a bit shaky at the best of times. While I don't like doctors as a general rule, I do actually like my doctor. There is a difference between liking a doctor and trusting a doctor however so even though he doesn't make me want to bolt out the door, I'm just not going to be candid with him. How my problems abound, right? My company's mental healthy benefits are also very dicey and hard to understand. They say that my doctor just needs to refer me to a mental health professional. My doctor says he would have to refer me to one they allow. Their website does not list anyone. I'm caught in a trap here. Then there's the fact that I'm not a fan of medication. The things I've heard about anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications especially make me wary.
So I did something else. I've started myself on a St. John's Wort regimen. I take two pills in the morning and two at night. I take them with food as they recommend. I don't know if it's working or psychosomatic, but I feel better. A lot of work changes and disappointments have risen their head over the past couple of weeks, and I? Have not had a meltdown. I have just sort of blithely laughed it off, dealt with it and kept going. I feel less like I've been run over with a truck at the end of each day. I didn't even feel that frazzled when I had to work six days last week and endure semi-rush hour traffic in order to get to a separate building for a special advanced training. I even got through my period without getting weepy over bad romantic comedies, which usually happens.
I'm inclined to believe that it's working. I'm hopeful that it's working. I'm still not at social butterfly level, but I never was. I'm not expecting it to change me. I just needed a hand out of the darkness, which was apparently at least partially chemically induced if it can be affected by a supplement.
The only side effect I seem to have? I'm less hungry. Seriously. I don't really see that as a downside.
ETA: Before anyone on here rips into me, yes, I did research this prior to starting to take it. I've barely been on it for a month, and I'm not going to continue taking it before talking to my doctor about it.
As many of you probably know I have some issues with anxiety and depression. My mental health is a bit shaky at the best of times. While I don't like doctors as a general rule, I do actually like my doctor. There is a difference between liking a doctor and trusting a doctor however so even though he doesn't make me want to bolt out the door, I'm just not going to be candid with him. How my problems abound, right? My company's mental healthy benefits are also very dicey and hard to understand. They say that my doctor just needs to refer me to a mental health professional. My doctor says he would have to refer me to one they allow. Their website does not list anyone. I'm caught in a trap here. Then there's the fact that I'm not a fan of medication. The things I've heard about anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications especially make me wary.
So I did something else. I've started myself on a St. John's Wort regimen. I take two pills in the morning and two at night. I take them with food as they recommend. I don't know if it's working or psychosomatic, but I feel better. A lot of work changes and disappointments have risen their head over the past couple of weeks, and I? Have not had a meltdown. I have just sort of blithely laughed it off, dealt with it and kept going. I feel less like I've been run over with a truck at the end of each day. I didn't even feel that frazzled when I had to work six days last week and endure semi-rush hour traffic in order to get to a separate building for a special advanced training. I even got through my period without getting weepy over bad romantic comedies, which usually happens.
I'm inclined to believe that it's working. I'm hopeful that it's working. I'm still not at social butterfly level, but I never was. I'm not expecting it to change me. I just needed a hand out of the darkness, which was apparently at least partially chemically induced if it can be affected by a supplement.
The only side effect I seem to have? I'm less hungry. Seriously. I don't really see that as a downside.
ETA: Before anyone on here rips into me, yes, I did research this prior to starting to take it. I've barely been on it for a month, and I'm not going to continue taking it before talking to my doctor about it.
