Not manic; am I depressed?

[Guest guest]

Ever since I went on a low dose of lithium because my hypomania got

too difficult to bear, I have felt somewhat depressed.

I am wondering if this is my more-or-less normal emotional state,

and I just don't know what normal is. Or could it be that because of

the lithium, in the absence of mania, it is real depression?

My husband says he thinks I just don't know what is normal anymore.

Does this make sense what I'm asking?

Melody

[Guest guest]

Hi Melody,

You said:

<<Ever since I went on a low dose of lithium because my hypomania got

too difficult to bear, I have felt somewhat depressed.

I am wondering if this is my more-or-less normal emotional state,

and I just don't know what normal is. Or could it be that because of

the lithium, in the absence of mania, it is real depression?

My husband says he thinks I just don't know what is normal anymore.

Does this make sense what I'm asking?>>

***It makes perfect sense for you to be asking this. Look

what your body has been through in the past couple of months.

Your organs began malfunctioning, you went cold turkey off

Depakote (and some other things, too, right?), then added

lithium while you were still reeling from Depakote w/d.

It's no wonder you can't figure out what you're feeling. I think

your husband has a good point. It would be hard to know what

normal is for you right now, expecially given all that you

have been through with psych drugs over the years.

Keep in mind that your body has been through a tremendous

amount of stress, and your brain chemistry has been yanked

around more than a few times. It seems perfectly normal

that you would be feeling a bit down under these conditions

(it seems equally normal that you would have been

experiencing hypomania under those conditions).

Try to be patient, be kind to yourself, nourish your body

as well as you possibly can, and keep telling yourself that

this is all from the drugs. Don't drive yourself crazy trying

to figure it all out. It's the drugs.

Warmly,

Kim

[Guest guest]

Dear Melody,

You said:

<<Ever since I went on a low dose of lithium because my hypomania got

too difficult to bear, I have felt somewhat depressed.

I am wondering if this is my more-or-less normal emotional state,

and I just don't know what normal is. Or could it be that because of

the lithium, in the absence of mania, it is real depression?

My husband says he thinks I just don't know what is normal anymore.

Does this make sense what I'm asking?>>

** Your husband is a messenger sent by the Universe. You've been taught

all these years to hyperfocus on all your emotions by physicians who offer

people a drug each time they ask how they are doing and a patient responds,

" I'm feeling a little down. "

This reinforces in people that feeling down is not normal. The fact is

that healthy human beings experience a wide range of emotions, and women can

experience even a wider range based entirely on hormonal fluctuations.

You may be having an entirely normal experience. You also can't rule out

the aftermath of the drug(s) you stopped taking since this is how many

people report feeling after stopping these drugs (even people who were

prescribed them for something other than mood/depression/anxiety).

Regards,

[Guest guest]

> ** Your husband is a messenger sent by the Universe.

I know, and I almost *sent him away from me and lost him* during the

first few weeks of withdrawal.

What you say about having a normal experience makes a lot of sense,

.

Hugs,

Melody