Pages





Friday, November 21, 2008

Hope For Depression

Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem

Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem has been a part of London since 1247, first as a priory for the sisters and brothers of the Order of the Star of Bethlehem. In 1330 it is mentioned as a hospital, and it admitted the mentally ill from 1377 though by1403 there were only nine inmates.

Early sixteenth century maps show Bethlehem as a courtyard with a few stone buildings, a church and a garden. Conditions were consistently dreadful, and the care amounted to little more than restraint. There were 31 patients and the noise was "so hideous, so great; that they are more able to drive a man that hath his wits rather out of them"'. Violent or dangerous patients were manacled and chained to the floor or wall. Some were allowed to leave, and licensed to beg. In 1598 an inspection showed neglect; the cesspool badly needed emptying, and the kitchen drains needed replacing. There were 20 patients there, one of whom had been there in excess of 25 years.

Between 1728 and 1852, Bethlehem's physicians all came from the Monro family -- James, John, Thomas and Edward Thomas They brought in a few therapeutic innovations -- cold and hot baths for instance -- but Bethlehem’s mainstays were the familiar purgatives (induced diarrhea) and emetics (induced vomiting), with a routine spring bloodletting using leeches, and manacles for the troublesome.
When Bethlehem was visited in 1814 by Edward Wakefield, he was shocked on encountering one patient.

James Norris:
A stout iron ring was riveted round his neck, from which a short chain passed through a ring made to slide upwards and downwards on an upright massive iron bar, more than six feet high, inserted into the wall. Round his body a strong iron bar about 12 inches wide was riveted; on each side of the bar was a ring; which was fashioned to and enclosed each of his arms, pinioned them close to his sides.
James Norris had been thus immobilized for twelve years.

Bethlehem Hospital became famous and infamous for the brutal ill-treatment meted out to the insane. In the 18th century people used to go there to see the lunatics. For a penny one could peer into their cells, view the freaks of the "show of Bethlehem" and laugh at their antics, generally of a sexual nature or violent fights. Entry was free on the first Tuesday of the month. Visitors were permitted to bring long sticks with which to poke and enrage the inmates. In 1814, there were 96,000 such visits, approximately 260 per day.
Let me tell a story that very well may have taken place in the 19th century
A man has a beloved son who often throws himself to the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth. The man takes his son to the local priest hoping against hope that something could be done. Didn’t Jesus Himself cast demons from a boy in a similar situation?

The priest prayers for days and performs exorcisms to no available.
The man, sadly, turns to Bethlehem as the only place to shelter his son.
The young man, perhaps named James Norris, spends the next twelve years as described above; sitting in his own feces with nothing to look forward to but the weekly visits of the town-folk with the their sticks and their jeers.
Today we have medications that allow epileptics to lead relativity normal lives. We know so much more about brain chemicals that James Norris would never have had to suffer as he did.

In a few years the average person will realize that depression is not “the blues” or just plain old “laziness” but a chemical imbalance that can be corrected
The name of the hospital was later shortened to “Bedlam”. Bedlam now means a place, scene, or state of uproar and confusion.

http://instruct.uwo.ca/english/234e/site/bckgrnds/maps/lndnmpbedlam.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=3EEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=st+mary+bethlehem+hospital&source=web&ots=gTc9iMfXh1&sig=G-HZBAFCOewAOa0ewtphOWLkRj4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result

Thursday, November 13, 2008

What to Say to a Depressed Person

REMEMBER – YOU CAN”T FIX DEPRESSION!!

1. "I love you!"
2. "I care"
3. "You're not alone in this"
4. "I'm not going to leave/abandon you"
5. "Do you want a hug?"
6. "I love you (if you mean it)."
7. "It will pass, we can ride it out together."
8. "When all this is over, I'll still be here (if you mean it) and so will you."
9. "Let me hold your hand and listen while you cry."
10. "All I want to do do is give you a hug and a shoulder to cry on.."
11. "Hey, you're not crazy!"
12. "God does not play dice with the universe." --A. Einstein
13. "We are not on earth to see through one another, but to see one
another through" –
14. "If the human brain were simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple
to understand it." --a co-developer of Prozac, quoted from "Listening
to Prozac"
15. "You have so many extraordinary gifts; how can you expect to live
an ordinary life?"
16. "I understand your pain and I empathize."
17. "I'm sorry you're in so much pain. I am not going to leave you.
I am going to take care of myself so you don't need to worry that your
pain might
hurt me."
18. "I listen to you talk about it, and I can't imagine what it's like for you.
I just can't imagine how hard it must be."
19. "I can't really fully understand what you are feeling, but I can offer
my compassion."
20. "You are important to me."
21. "If you need a friend..... (and mean it)"

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What Not To Say


What NOT to say to a person suffering from depression

It is most tempting, when you find out someone is depressed, to attempt to immediately fix the problem. However, until the depressed person has given you permission to be their therapist (as a friend or professional), the following responses are more likely to hurt the depressed.

1. "Will you stop that constant whining? What makes you think that anyone cares?"
2. "Have you gotten tired yet of all this me-me-me stuff?"
3. "You just need to give yourself a kick in the rear."
4. "But it's all in your mind."
5. "I thought you were stronger than that."
6. "No one ever said life was fair."
7. "As you get stronger you won't have to wallow in it as much."
8. "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
9. "Do you feel better now?" (Usually said following a five minute conversation in which the speaker has asked me "what's wrong?" and "would you like to talk about it?" with the best of intentions, but absolutely no understanding of depression as anything but an irrational sadness.)
10. "Why don't you just grow up?"
11. . "Stop feeling sorry for yourself."
12. "There are a lot of people worse off than you."
13. "You have it so good, why aren't you happy?"
14. "It's a beautiful day!"
15. "You have so many things to be thankful for, why are you depressed?"
16. "What do you have to be depressed about?."
17. "Happiness is a choice." (two prominent physicians)
18. "You think you've got problems..."
19. "Well at least it's not that bad."
20. "Maybe you should take vitamins for your stress."
21. "There is always somebody worse off than you are."
22. "Lighten up!"
23. "You should get off all those pills."
24. "You are what you think."
25. "Cheer up!"
26. "You're always feeling sorry for yourself."
27. "Why can't you just be normal?"
28. "Things aren't that bad, are they?"
29. "Have you been praying/reading the Bible?"
30. "You need to get out more."
31. "We have to get together some time." [Yeah, right!]
32. "Get a grip!"
33. "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." (Lincoln himself)
34. "Well, everyone gets depressed sometimes!"
35. "Smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone."
36. "You don't look depressed!"
37. "You're so selfish!"
38. "You never think of anyone but yourself."
39. "You're just looking for attention."
40. "You'll be a better person because of it!"
41. "Everybody has a bad day now and then."
42. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
43. "Why don't you smile more?"
44. "A person your age should be having the time of your life."
45. "The only one you're hurting is yourself."
46. "You can do anything you want if you just set your mind to it."
47. "This is a place of business, not a hospital." (after confiding to my supervisor about my depression)
48. "Depression is a symptom of your sin against God."
49. "You brought it on yourself"
50. "You can make the choice for depression and its effects, or against depression, it's all in your hands."
51. "Get off your rear and do something." -or- "Just do it!"
52. "Why should I care?"
53. "Snap out of it, will you?"
54. "You just want to feel this way."
55. "You have no reason to feel this way."
56. "Its your own fault."
57. "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
58. "You're always worried about your problems."
59. "Your problems aren't that big."
60. "What are you worried about? You should be fine."
61. "Just don't think about it."
62. "Go Away."
63. "Just wait a few weeks, it'll be over soon."
64. "Go out and have some fun!"
65. "You're making me depressed as well..."
66. "I just want to help you."
67. "The world out there is not that bad..."
68. "Just try a little harder!"
69. "Believe me, I know how you feel. I was depressed once for several days."
70. "You need a hobby."
71. "Just pull yourself together"
72. "You'd feel better if you went to church"
73. "I think your depression is a way of punishing us." (friends or relatives)
74. "Sh** or get off the pot."
75. "So, you're depressed. Aren't you always?"
76. "What you need is some real tragedy in your life to give you perspective."
77. This one is best executed with an evangelical-style handshake, i.e., one of my hand imprisoned by two belonging to a beefy person who thinks he has a lot more charisma than I do: "Our thoughts and prayers are with you”."
78. "You will be ok, just hang in there, it will pass." "This too shall pass." --Ann Landers
79. "Oh, perk up!"
80. "Try not being so depressed."
81. "Quit whining. Go out and help someone else and you won't have time to brood..."
82. "Go out and get some fresh air... that always makes me feel better."
83. "You have to take up your bed and carry on."
84. "Well, we all have our cross to bear."
85. "Just change your mind."
86. "You're useless."
87. "Nobody is responsible for your depression but you."
88. "You don't like feeling that way? So, change it."
89. What's your problem?"
90. "Why don't you give up going to these quacks (i.e., doctors) and throw out those pills, then you'll feel better."

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Medications For Depression


Over the course of 33 years I was seen by 28 physicians and prescribed some 20 different medications. Each one seemed to work for a few months to a year. Then back I would go. It seemed as though my body would acclimate itself as quickly as possible to the new drugs and there I would be; back in hell.
1. Anafranil(clomipramine)
2. Buspar(buspirone)
3. Celexa(citalopram)
4. Desyrel(trazodone)
5. Effexor(venlafaxine)
6. Elavil(amitriptyline)
7. Equetro(carbamazepine)
8. Ludiomil(maprotiline)
9. Luvox(fluvoxamine)
10. Norpramin(desipramine)
11. Paxil(paroxetine)
12. Prozac(fluoxetine)
13. Remeron(mirtazapine)
14. Serzone(nefazodone)
15. Surmontil(trimipramine)
16. Tofranil(imipramine)
17. Vivactil(protriptyline)
18. Wellbutrin(bupropion)
19. Zoloft(sertraline)
20. Electro-convulsive therapy
This is only a partial list because my memory fades in and out with regards to what I’ve ingested.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Hope For Depression


Personal Quote
"It is impossible to explain the pain, anger, and exhaustion a mixed episode causes. It is to be filled with rage, at yourself and others and at the world. It is to have so much angry energy inside that you are sure you will explode. The mind can focus on nothing but death and hate. There is no reason. And there is no escape.
At least during a depressive episode you can escape in sleep, but when mixed there is no way out. There is no outlet for the fire, no way to ignore the pain of being."
Unknown