amateur cartography

Hey, Let's Not Get Carried Away: Anti-Depressants Really Do Help People

completeillusion:

Bashing mental health drugs has become a popular trend of late. But just because some people are taking SSRIs that don’t need them doesn’t mean the drugs don’t work. via the atlantic

Yes yes YES. Overprescribing happens, yes. Abuse happens, yes. But writing off all psychiatric medications because of that abuse is not only rude, arrogant, and cavalier — it hurts those of us who generally have experienced profound mental health improvements from the use of such drugs.

(via theatlantic)

The Perils of Social Media: How Insurance Companies Use Twitter, Facebook, and the Rest of the Internet to Deny Benefits

“Many people are aware that private insurance companies as well as government agencies which provide social services conduct investigations on people enrolled in their plans, looking for evidence to deny benefits, and that these organizations will go to great lengths to find information to support their investigations. This is something which many people with disabilities must be aware of, or risk having disability insurance, health insurance, and social services denied on the grounds of the results of such investigations.

The Internet, in particular, has proved to be quite the goldmine for insurance industry snooping, as Nathalie Blanchard learned recently. This Canadian woman lost her health insurance benefits because the insurance company found photographs of her looking happy. On Facebook. And decided that these images were evidence that she was not actually depressed, and therefore was not entitled to benefits.”

: Alright I'm drunk but

po-tato-chip:

It’s really disheartening to see how many people have an ill understanding of clinical depression. I want to sort of talk about what it is for me.

The easiest way for me to explain it is this: Say each of your “emotions” is controlled by a button. and maybe these buttons have little operators who watch a screen of your day to day life. They press on their button whenever you experience stimuli that corresponds with the correct emotion. So if you fall down in front of a group of people, the little guy who operates the “embarrassed” button presses down on it as soon as he sees it on the screen.

Say the guy who operates the “sad” button comes in one day and decides he just wants to fuck with you. He sits down at his desk and he just leans on it. Like he doesn’t let up. And nothing is going on that should logically upset you. There may be little moments, normal things where he’d usually be forced to tap down on it, but there’s nothing that warrants the type of pressure he’s putting on it.

Let’s say he stays on it for days, maybe even weeks.

And then maybe he convinces the guy who operates the “shame” button to do the same, and then the guy who’s in charge of “anxiety” and then the little guy stationed in front of “fear.”

The others, the ones who operate things like happiness and excitement, they see what’s going on and they try tapping down, but can’t get through. 

That’s what it’s like.

It’s not, “god, my boyfriend broke up with me and I’m really sad.”

It’s, “god I can’t feel anything but this profound, painful, gut wrenching, horrifying nothingness.”

And you know, you want to just start clawing at your own brain, because everyone keeps telling you that you should be able to control it, that it’s not that bad. But it is that bad, by definition. That’s what it fucking is. It’s nothing but bad.

And sure there are people who had some bad experiences and are depressed because of it. But that’s not always the case. 

Anyway, I hope a few people read this and maybe get a better understanding of it. Probably not, but what can you do~

(via thatgirlpatty)

Are Allergies and Depression Related? (New York Times)

psychotherapy:

Spring always brings a rash of sneezing, sniffling and stuffy noses. But can seasonal allergies be psychologically harmful?

A wave of emerging research suggests that may be the case. While there’s no firm evidence that allergies cause depression, large studies show that allergy sufferers do seem to be at higher risk of depression.

Severe allergies can bring sleeplessness, headaches, fatigue and a general feeling of physical depletion, all of which can worsen mood. Studies have found that allergic reactions release compounds in the body called cytokines, which play a role in inflammation and may reduce levels of the hormone serotonin, which helps maintain feelings of well-being. And it’s well known that some common allergy medications, like corticosteroids, can cause anxiety and mood swings.

Several large studies have found that the risk of depression in people with severe allergies is about twice that of those without allergies. In 2008, researchers at the University of Maryland reported that this link may help explain a widely established — but poorly understood — increase in suicides during the spring every year. Analyzing medical records, the authors found that in some patients, changes in allergy symptoms during low- and high-pollen seasons corresponded to changes in their depression and anxiety scores.

A Finnish population study in 2003 found a link between allergies and depression; however, women were much more likely to be affected. In 2000, a study of twins in Finland also showed a shared risk for depression and allergies, a result of genetic influences, the authors wrote.

"Why a breakup feels like a punch in the stomach"

lostgrrrls:

Scientists now know why we feel as if we’ve been physically wounded when the hurt is emotional. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the same brain areas spark, whether we’re experiencing physical pain or deep emotional distress. (emphasis mine)

My best friend directed me to a study sometime late last year that showed a breakup is similar, in our brains, to detoxing from cocaine. Love is actually addictive, which is why people seek rebounds, or call and check in on their old lovers, even when they know they shouldn’t. I found it rather fascinating.

Once again: psychic suffering is REAL, damnit.

(via sharkyteeth)