Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
I should have done this a month ago. The signs were there, the sleep disturbance, the hair-brained schemes, the inability to concentrate or make decisions, excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, anxious irritability and loss of interest in…. well, everything. Stop messing about, I need SSRI’s.
I found a doctor here in chamonix, did some research and translation and then went to my appointment to explain what I needed. I didn’t know what to expect. There’s still a stigma attached to using antidepressants to treat depression. Surely you should be able to cope with life without needing drugs? Even I feel it sometimes, and I should know better. The doctor was great, and understood that I wasn’t looking for a diagnosis, just a prescription. So after a fairly long absence, SSRI’s are again a part of my life. Good.
What? I imagine hearing words of dissent….. “Ya big gayo. How come you can’t just self-medicate with booze, fags, cannabis, cocaine and coffee like any normal, self respecting depressive nut-job?”
Good point. Antidepressants are a bit safe and boring aren’t they? But the fact is; they work. Unlike self-medication. Here’s how;
In the brain, messages are passed between two nerve cells via synapses (small gaps between the cells). The sending cell releases neurotransmitters (of which serotonin is one). The serotonin is then recognized by receptors on the surface of the recipient cell, which is stimulated and relays the signal. Usually, 10% of the serotonin is lost in this process and 90% is taken back into the sending cell in a process called re-uptake. Some theories link depression to a lack of stimulation of the recipient neuron at a synapse, so SSRI’s inhibit the re-uptake of serotonin. As a result, the serotonin stays in the synapses longer than it normally would, stimulating the receptor cells again and again.
mmmmmm, I can just feel my barren, serotonin starved neurons bathing and becoming bloated, firing back up into life like the hot embers of a fire with a load of kindling chucked on it. Actually, that’s not quite the case. These things take a while to work. A few weeks at least. In the mean time there are a few mild side effects likeoccasional dizziness, nausea and some very deep mood dips I’ll have to put up with - but in a couple of weeks I’ll be right as rain, and able to concentrate other battles.
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I understood chronic to mean a state which renders one incapable of carrying out any activities of daily living. But long gone are my days of psychiatric nursing. Of course you could always call on St. Dympna the patron saint of such causes or Nurse Dympna.