The omnipresent screens that we are attached to reduce the face to face interaction that helps children to learn how to socially connect with others. Excellent article.
W ~ O ~ W ... thank you! Looking forward to delving into this. Just read "The Electricity of Every Living Thing" by a *very* verbal autistic author in England. It may have been Tesla (or not! can't recall at this moment) who famously said, "Everything is frequency."
I have a 23 yo son with Asperger’s and DEBILITATING OCD. He was put on sn SSRI as a child, maybe 10? We hated doing it, but he was out of his mind (wouldn’t go outside, afraid of contracting rabies) and talk therapy doesn’t work with a rigid thinker. He’s been off and on them for years. He’s tried self medicating with weed and psychedelics. He was in an IOP program as a 16 yo and just finished 7 weeks of a PHP. He’s as miserable as ever and now they are trying Anafranil. I hate that he takes them but 1) I can’t convince him they’re dangerous, 2) conventional therapy has proved worthless. It’s sad, real sad. He’s bright, handsome, charming and extremely mentally ill.
Sad to learn of this. You don't mention how accepting or non- he is of his diagnoses. That's so key. So very hard for adolescents to process the unavoidable "something *WRONG!* with me" aspect of diagnosis; on top of dealing with the symptoms! Major kudos to him to the extent that he is at any point able to sortakinda integrate them. Have you read "The Un-Prescription for Autism," I wonder? (As an aside, "conventional" therapy IS worthless, though I fully understand and generally applaud your conservative approach to stating this.) My 26-year-old niece with severe OCD, medicated since a very young age (single-digit, I'm sure, can't remember which digit), believed in middle school that being in the presence of a boy would cause her to become pregnant (you can imagine the effect of this on "school life"); now has a healthy, beautiful four-month-old baby whose parents, grandparents, great-grandmother (and this great-aunt!) couldn't be more thrilled. HANG IN THERE with the "un"conventional ~ diet couldn't be more important; the problem (among many others) with brain meds is that they are overkill, but, indeed, in so many ways INGESTION is the magician. (And 'diet,' of course, is what one takes into one's self (in-gest) in the day (and night): water, food, sights, sounds, atmosphere, FREQUENCIES, all of it.) Virtual hugs to your family ~ xoxoxo
Thank you, Alice. He accepts his Asperger’s diagnosis but he 100% believes his obsessive thoughts. Will not admit they are just that, thoughts. He’s GF, very healthy eater. He’s rock solid as a body builder, the only thing that he enjoys to do. Otherwise he sleeps the day away, up all night. Home for 7 months with no job. The previous year was hell when he was on his self medicating adventure. We’re taking it slow with him, no expectations while he works through things. We hope with time and maturity he will improve.
Depression can be a catalyst for human growth and promotes the deep soul-searching that results in profound shifts, if we allow it. I believe they've always known that anti-depressants aren't cures for depression. Instead of promoting seeking out the human connections that helps us heal, antidepressants cut us off from our ability to fully access those important connections. And antidepressants also dull our senses so that we ignore red- flags in our lives that need immediate attention or change.
Great piece you have written , i ponder this all the time that so many people i know are taking & have been taking these SSRI meds & i have a difficult time relating to them .
“I feel like I lost twenty years of my life” - I can say the same thing. I was put on SSRI’s for postpartum depression in 1999. Finally forced myself to stop them in 2021. Feels like I missed so much of my two sons’ childhoods, the memories are like shadows with just bright spots here and there. Still struggling with sexual dysfunction now at 61. Maybe there’s hope for me though. I have been mourning a beloved cat we had to put to sleep on New Year’s Eve after a shocking diagnosis of aggressive lymphoma. Our poor boy Calvin (almost 14) went downhill so quickly. I question myself for crying this much over a cat but then start to think, maybe this is how I’m supposed to feel?
The omnipresent screens that we are attached to reduce the face to face interaction that helps children to learn how to socially connect with others. Excellent article.
W ~ O ~ W ... thank you! Looking forward to delving into this. Just read "The Electricity of Every Living Thing" by a *very* verbal autistic author in England. It may have been Tesla (or not! can't recall at this moment) who famously said, "Everything is frequency."
I have a 23 yo son with Asperger’s and DEBILITATING OCD. He was put on sn SSRI as a child, maybe 10? We hated doing it, but he was out of his mind (wouldn’t go outside, afraid of contracting rabies) and talk therapy doesn’t work with a rigid thinker. He’s been off and on them for years. He’s tried self medicating with weed and psychedelics. He was in an IOP program as a 16 yo and just finished 7 weeks of a PHP. He’s as miserable as ever and now they are trying Anafranil. I hate that he takes them but 1) I can’t convince him they’re dangerous, 2) conventional therapy has proved worthless. It’s sad, real sad. He’s bright, handsome, charming and extremely mentally ill.
Sad to learn of this. You don't mention how accepting or non- he is of his diagnoses. That's so key. So very hard for adolescents to process the unavoidable "something *WRONG!* with me" aspect of diagnosis; on top of dealing with the symptoms! Major kudos to him to the extent that he is at any point able to sortakinda integrate them. Have you read "The Un-Prescription for Autism," I wonder? (As an aside, "conventional" therapy IS worthless, though I fully understand and generally applaud your conservative approach to stating this.) My 26-year-old niece with severe OCD, medicated since a very young age (single-digit, I'm sure, can't remember which digit), believed in middle school that being in the presence of a boy would cause her to become pregnant (you can imagine the effect of this on "school life"); now has a healthy, beautiful four-month-old baby whose parents, grandparents, great-grandmother (and this great-aunt!) couldn't be more thrilled. HANG IN THERE with the "un"conventional ~ diet couldn't be more important; the problem (among many others) with brain meds is that they are overkill, but, indeed, in so many ways INGESTION is the magician. (And 'diet,' of course, is what one takes into one's self (in-gest) in the day (and night): water, food, sights, sounds, atmosphere, FREQUENCIES, all of it.) Virtual hugs to your family ~ xoxoxo
Thank you, Alice. He accepts his Asperger’s diagnosis but he 100% believes his obsessive thoughts. Will not admit they are just that, thoughts. He’s GF, very healthy eater. He’s rock solid as a body builder, the only thing that he enjoys to do. Otherwise he sleeps the day away, up all night. Home for 7 months with no job. The previous year was hell when he was on his self medicating adventure. We’re taking it slow with him, no expectations while he works through things. We hope with time and maturity he will improve.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Depression can be a catalyst for human growth and promotes the deep soul-searching that results in profound shifts, if we allow it. I believe they've always known that anti-depressants aren't cures for depression. Instead of promoting seeking out the human connections that helps us heal, antidepressants cut us off from our ability to fully access those important connections. And antidepressants also dull our senses so that we ignore red- flags in our lives that need immediate attention or change.
A sobering read. Good work!
Great piece you have written , i ponder this all the time that so many people i know are taking & have been taking these SSRI meds & i have a difficult time relating to them .
“I feel like I lost twenty years of my life” - I can say the same thing. I was put on SSRI’s for postpartum depression in 1999. Finally forced myself to stop them in 2021. Feels like I missed so much of my two sons’ childhoods, the memories are like shadows with just bright spots here and there. Still struggling with sexual dysfunction now at 61. Maybe there’s hope for me though. I have been mourning a beloved cat we had to put to sleep on New Year’s Eve after a shocking diagnosis of aggressive lymphoma. Our poor boy Calvin (almost 14) went downhill so quickly. I question myself for crying this much over a cat but then start to think, maybe this is how I’m supposed to feel?