Depression

[Felix]

Here's the science!

Sunlight and serotonin

We’re used to hearing about how too much of the sun’s warm rays can be harmful to your skin. But did you know the right balance can have lots of mood-lifting benefits?

Sunlight and darkness trigger the release of hormones in your brain. Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused. At night, darker lighting triggers the brain to make another hormone called melatonin. This hormone is responsible for helping you sleep.

Without enough sun exposure, your serotonin levels can dip. Low levels of serotonin are associated with a higher risk of major depression with seasonal pattern (formerly known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD). This is a form of depression triggered by the changing seasons.

A mood boost isn’t the only reason to get increased amounts of sunlight. There are several health benefits associated with catching moderate amounts of rays.

Apart from looking like a leather boot does the article go on to say what happens if you get to much sun/serotonin?

[Potter]

The guy that predicts how long you will live for (Gary Brecka) recommends 5000iu of Vit D every day (because we don't get enough sunlight).
Magnesium is also a good supplement to take for mood.

I play the dick on here most of the time, but to be serious for a moment, I feel for anyone going through a mental health issue, it's an unpleasant place to have to be. What works for me usually to get out of the hole is to take stock of where I am and make a plan and some changes.

I've had a bad few days...well...a bad few weeks leading up to a terrible few days...I generally try to be very positive and try to be optimistic but occasionally it cracks and this was the worst one I've had for years. I self-medicated and disappeared inside myself for a couple of days just to give my mind a rest and try to switch it off, the weekend was a blur. I have no answers about triggers or why, it just happens sometimes, I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders and I buckle.

This time talking has helped, it doesn't always but this time it has, and I feel like I have some sort of plan now, whereas before I felt like I was floundering.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I will try and get on the sunbed today. Not for MH reasons. But I think it does make my mood feel better after.

Good luck to all those feeling down.
.

[Potter]

I considered buying a sunbed for the UK, they definitely help my mood, I feel good after 12 minutes of stand-up tanning and even the smell of your skin afterwards is nice. I look healthier, feel healthier, etc - although I don't know what long term damage it might do to one's skin.

I haven't used a sunbed for about ten years because I've been living in the sun, but now I'm in the UK a lot more I'm considering one.
They're horribly expensive for a decent one though.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I use one of the ones in town where you buy a block of time and use it when you want.
There's always pumping dance music and over made-up women with absurd lip fillers in there too, which is a bonus.

[Trinity765]

I take a magnesium supplement as I've had calcification in my joints and you need magnesium to process calcium effectively. I read somewhere that we're all deficient in it as the soil isn't rich in it anymore due to over farming. There are different kinds (glycinate, chloride, citrate, l-theonate, etc) so it's a matter of finding out which one is best for you as magnesium also draws water into your bowel and can give you the shits - some types more than others. I take a complex of three. It helps your brain, mood and muscles and I've read claims that it stops overthinking. Bathing in magnesium salts is also good so perhaps have a nice bath with loads of salts in it and see if you feel/sleep better.

[Trinity765]

While we're on the subject of vitamin supplements, if I need a boost I use multi vitamin patches as the vitamins go through your skin not your digestive system. Some people can't absorb B vitamins through their lower intestine so patches are a good solution. I overdosed on B12 when I first used a patch (flu like symptoms) because I didn't take it off before bed - so be warned.

Edit: these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-1200mc ... 94&sr=8-36

[Cousin Jack]

............. I feel for anyone going through a mental health issue, it's an unpleasant place to have to be. What works for me usually to get out of the hole is to take stock of where I am and make a plan and some changes.

Similar to the process I use. I get miserable and a bit overwhelmed, then plan for a worst-case scenario. I soon realise that even in that I can survive. After sorting that in my head, what actually happens (perhaps bad but nowhere near worst case) seems like a walk in the park.

Works for me.

[Potter]

............. I feel for anyone going through a mental health issue, it's an unpleasant place to have to be. What works for me usually to get out of the hole is to take stock of where I am and make a plan and some changes.

Similar to the process I use. I get miserable and a bit overwhelmed, then plan for a worst-case scenario. I soon realise that even in that I can survive. After sorting that in my head, what actually happens (perhaps bad but nowhere near worst case) seems like a walk in the park.

Works for me.

I can be ok for ages and then I have a really bad few days where I feel down and I struggle to make sense of some things, it reminds me of the Pony the time when his burglar alarm was going off but he couldn't make sense of it. I don't know if it's connected to my migraine headaches but it's like a circuit breaker goes off somewhere and I'm not myself.

It's hard to explain but for example yesterday I literally couldn't understand a couple of the comments typed to me and on top of that I thought I'd sent a PM to someone that just disappeared, so I had to log off again because things didn't seem to be making sense, I seemingly couldn't function enough to understand the nuances of the things being posted to me as replies and I thought it best to switch off before I type something inadvertently that upsets someone because if I can't understand their humour then perhaps they won't get mine.
It's literally that bad, it's like I lose some cognitive ability for a day or two.

From what I've read it's short term stress related 'break-downs' rather than chronic depression or anything, I'm certainly no where near suicide or even any type of self harm, I'm just struggling to get along.

[Noggin]

I can be ok for ages and then I have a really bad few days where I feel down and I struggle to make sense of some things, it reminds me of the Pony the time when his burglar alarm was going off but he couldn't make sense of it. I don't know if it's connected to my migraine headaches but it's like a circuit breaker goes off somewhere and I'm not myself.

It's hard to explain but for example yesterday I literally couldn't understand a couple of the comments typed to me and on top of that I thought I'd sent a PM to someone that just disappeared, so I had to log off again because things didn't seem to be making sense, I seemingly couldn't function enough to understand the nuances of the things being posted to me as replies and I thought it best to switch off before I type something inadvertently that upsets someone because if I can't understand their humour then perhaps they won't get mine.
It's literally that bad, it's like I lose some cognitive ability for a day or two.

From what I've read it's short term stress related 'break-downs' rather than chronic depression or anything, I'm certainly no where near suicide or even any type of self harm, I'm just struggling to get along.

This is going to sound a bit weird, but that sounds awful similar to some hormone imbalance symptoms. I'm sure I remember you posting something about hormones, but, anyway, not sure if that's interesting or not x

[Potter]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

[Taipan]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

Andropause or male menopause is a real thing. Don't discount it...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/

[Potter]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

Andropause or male menopause is a real thing. Don't discount it...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/

I have some of those symptoms but it doesn't seem to be constant, it's more that stressful events or issues bring it on.
It's a bit scary to be honest, very humbling, I'm sometimes sitting there wondering why I can't understand what people are saying, it's like my brain checks out for a while and I can't fathom out simple things.

From what I've read I'm sure it's a short term stress thing, I was worried that I'm getting some sort of dementia but it comes and goes, so I don't think so.
I am very stressed at the moment, I have a lot going on.

But as I said there is no 'depression' as such and certainly not even a glimpse of wanting to harm myself or others, it's just a strange thing where I seem to blank out cognitively.

[Noggin]

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

For a lot of women (so I've read) it's a combination of what you've written, anxiety, dread, depression, vertigo, tinnitus, total lack of any drive (sexual or any other type!) and various other things.

I'm pretty sure you aren't, but don't dismiss the hormone aspect - it doesn't show in the same way for everyone. For me it hasn't shown as depression specifically (I've had that since I was a kid), but my brain ceased to function for a while - to the point I was terrified of early onset dementia. I still have days where I don't understand things or can't form the sentences I want to. A serious challenge in a foreign language as well!!

Yeah it’s a bit like ladies have said with menopause, like intense brain fog but in addition for me it’s accompanied with a feeling of dread.

Pretty sure it's a short term stress crash.
Like I said, there is no thought of self harm or anything.

Andropause or male menopause is a real thing. Don't discount it...

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/male-menopause/

Partly why I posted, hadn't got the link to hand and couldn't remember andropause, but there is more and more research into hormones with relation to men and women. I really think that the results of the research are likely to show connections with a lot more than anyone thinks right now.

[Skub]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

[Taipan]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

Good call on the b12!

[Felix]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

How you getting on with that B12 jabs? I start feeling i need a fix at 9 or 10 weeks. I started to take B12 supplements but if i could get some syringes i would just inject the buggers myself.

[Skub]

@Potter I had one such episode a few years ago,surreal and detached. Like most blokes I'm not a doc chaser,but it concerned me enough to get a few blood tests and they revealed my B12 was borkened,so that was me on the jabs every 3 months.

It might be a good idea to get a few bloods done to keep you right.

How you getting on with that B12 jabs? I start feeling i need a fix at 9 or 10 weeks. I started to take B12 supplements but if i could get some syringes i would just inject the buggers myself.

Honestly,I feel no difference at all,before or after. I wasn't tired or falling asleep all the time,the deficiency didn't seem to affect me in that way.

[Felix]

Honestly,I feel no difference at all,before or after. I wasn't tired or falling asleep all the time,the deficiency didn't seem to affect me in that way.

I am Mr Sleepy after two month or so but having said that they discovered Pernicious Anaemia at the same time so on Iron tabs and Folic Acid. I got nothing that Iccy mentions i was just tired and needed a nap before tea time.

[MrLongbeard]

Noticed I've started to slip, so ordered myself a therapy light

By buggery it's ruddy bright.
Comes with 3 modes, 'relax' (very warm yellow light) for first and last thing, 'active' (cold white light) for morning working and 'therapy' (white blue light that rivals the output of 1000 suns) to imitate normal daylight.

Been using it a week, and yeah, but nah, but maybe it's doing something, oh sure it may be no more than the placebo effect, but if a placebo fools the body into working is it really a placebo.....

The effect it's having on me is interesting, to me at least, physically I can feel the side of my face getting warm as if I'm outside on a summer day, which is an odd sensation when sat next to an open window in winter, will keep using it and see what happens, if owt, long term.