Help!

[michael heany]

I have a friend who's always suffered off and on from depression, but lately he feels a lot of pressure and has even talked of killing himself. He won't check himself into a hospital because he says he can't afford it (he's got a wife and kid to take care of). He's done all the different legal medicines in different doses. He doesn't think the psychedelics he knows will help him. He did ecstasy a long time ago, and he might be up for that, just to try something else in an attempt to bring him out of where he is.

Does anybody have any experience with depression and this drug?

[sire_012]

in my opinion you should be *really* careful playing armchair psychologist, no matter how warm your intentions are. as you probably know mdma can cause incredibly steep serotonin drops and make even the most even keeled person quite depressed about day 2 after ingestion. to throw that onto a head that is already inclined towards depression could get quite dangerous.

feed him some potatoes, rub his back, spend time letting him talk and watching what the focus of his language patterns are and how his body responds, and then feed him some more potatoes and rub his back again.

also keep in mind that if you bring someone to the hospital for suicidal depression they will be admitted to a state hospital and, its my understanding that they will not be allowed out until the doctors are quite convinced they are no longer a danger to themself or others. and the doctors are in no hurry and rarely compassionate. imagine 'one flew over the cuckoos nest' meshed with 'brazil'.

take my advice for what it is, i'm not a health care professional, a chemist, a behavioral scientist, or anything remotely close... just another being stumbling through here trying to help. good luck, you have all the warm wishes i can send you and your friend, walk firm and keep clear headed.

[Magnus_Grey]

What is your obsession with potatoes?

[sire_012]

What is your obsession with potatoes? google....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22potatoes%22%22serotonin+booster%22&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22potatoes%22%22seratonin%22&btnG=Google+Search

[ September 22, 2003, 04:32 AM: Message edited by: sire_012 ]

[crown]

I surely can't comment on the potato's efficacy in this situation, but I'm going to guess this has something to do with the ability of carbohydrates to raise tryptophan levels (a 5HT precursor). Not a bad idea seeing that every little bit helps.

I think there are quite a few entheogens that could possibly aide one in climbing out of their depression (there's a certain jungle liana that's always kept my smile in action), but considering the delicate mindset of this individual, and without the presence of a professional suited for this type of therapy, the results could be disasterous (or wonderful...) That's a bold descision. Re: MDMA, sire's comments on the post-trip depression must be taken into consideration...it could be just the thing that puts him over the edge, or not, but there's no point in rolling the dice.

It would take a serious disease for me to check someone into a puzzle factory, but suicide can never be taken lightly (not that you have), and it might be in your friend's best interest to keep pursuing a suitable therapist if prescription regiments have failed him.

In any case, I wish your friend and his family the best of luck.

[crown]

Sorry to post on top of you S, I did'nt intend to echo the potato thing!

[daniel]

I have been told that when anyone talks of suicide they should be taken very seriously. There is not enough info in your post to suggest any kind of action or response - and this is not really a forum for this kind of advice and help. Perhaps you should seek out some sympathetic professionals?

[Danila]

I would like to echo the warning about playing armchair shrink. That is just way too much responsibility. I only tried that kind of stuff on my father. smile.gif
With regard to depression... I have had it for many years. And I have taken plenty of those legal pills. Here is a simple rule of thumb -- if the pills don't help, then the problem is not in your serotonin level. That was the case with me, and it seems that that is the case with your friend. Sometimes the problem is more complicated than re-uptake of some molecule.
Maybe your friend just has not found his life's calling yet. That was my problem, anyways.

[michael heany]

Actually, he tried some new drug, some tranquilizer his doctor gave him, and that seemed to help. Then that night we went out, he had some weed (and a beer) and then the next morning he was down again.

But today he says he feels much better. He says he's going to give up the pot, he figures that might be something that is scrambling things. Also his doctor suggested giving up the pot, because it makes his job harder (just another variable to deal with, neurochemically speaking.) Also he's working on refurbishing a house and holding down a job which he doesn't like. A lot of pressure.

I was also thinking about the after-effects that some people report from MDMA. I knew that before it was illegal there was interest in what kind of disorders it could have an impact on. In any case, it would have been a last option.

Anyways, he seems better. It's really a terrible thing to see your friend say he's going to kill himself and you know he sees it as one if not the last of his options.

Thanks for the advice.