Depression...

[Tazz]

given the alcohol culture in nz id say thats exactly correct. Except it isnt a drug.
When you take a drug,
It alters your chemistry. The result is what you feel as a high. Consider cannabanoid and opiate receptors. (consider also sugar, coffee, msg etc. yes. They do drug your food.)
When alcohol is consumed, what you feel is your body's immune/ defence system reacting to the toxin, as pointed out, some pathogens also cause a similar reaction.


perhaps i should have been clearer in my definition of self medicating.
The use of substances, typically non-pharmaceutical, as and where the individual deems it apropriate without any "professional" doctors advice.
Asprin wasnt exactly where i was going with this...

I thought alcomahol tickled some brain receptors and the like, releasing endorphins and some other jazz, as in it is doing more than just reducing the oxygen levels in your blood or having your body go on a rampage trying to shun it away. I really need to read up on what I'm waffling about again so I'll throw up a link later on, wipe it off then post it up =D

I don't know how it can make you happy and be a depressant at the same time though, or maybe it is just the after effects? Meh. To google!

[Akzle]

I don't know how it can make you happy and be a depressant at the same time though, or maybe it is just the after effects? Meh. To google!

nicotine is a depressant. Coffee and cigs is a pretty hefty load for teh brian.
It depends what is being depressed. NRIs 'depress' the uptakey majigs so the dopamine remains on tap.
Also. Depressant is a class of drug. Alcohol is a toxin.
Ask anyone with hypothermia if theyre 'happy' or not.

[Akzle]

well, fart in my mouth and call me your sister.

"Alcohol increases the effects of
the inhibitory
neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. GABA causes the
sluggish movements and
slurred speech that often occur
in alcoholics. At the same time,
alcohol inhibits the excitatory
neurotransmitter glutamate. Suppressing this stimulant
results in a similar type of
physiological slowdown. In
addition to increasing the
GABA and decreasing the
glutamate in the brain, alcohol increases the amount of the
chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which
creates the feeling of pleasure
that occurs when someone
takes a drink."

and

"Alcohol is classified as a
general anesthetic, which
produces a range of central
nervous system (CNS) effects
similar to those of other
sedative/hypnotic drugs."
http://forcon.ca/learning/alcohol.html

[Ocean1]

alcohol increases the amount of the
chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which
creates the feeling of pleasure
that occurs when someone
takes a drink."

Except for depressed people. One of a number of differences between a normal brain and a depressed one, and the reason a doctor will tell depressed people not to drink.

Another depressing fact: Depressed brains aren't just depressed emotionally, pretty much all brain related processes are impaired to some degree.

[nzspokes]

I have to agree with you... while for some people with depression, counseling/analysis can, and obviously does help.

Antidepression meds can be life changing and they "can" work. I went through 4 different SSRI/SNRI/NaSSA/Antidepression meds before I found a cocktail that worked.

Everyone's brain is wired differently, and even though I went for counseling/analysis... it didn't make the slightest difference; and often I would leave those sessions feeling worse than I had before I went.

I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, with constant suicidal ideation, I spent a week in a respite center at one point when I was right on the verge of driving my car at high speed into a concrete bridge substructure (somehow I managed to pull myself together long enough to check myself into hospital. After that, I was assigned a psychiatric nurse who tried to help me adjust my day-to-day patterns, which didn't help. Once I got onto (after 2+ weeks) a cocktail of Venlafaxine and Mirtazapine (nicknamed: California Rocket Fuel), my whole outlook on life changed. Before I got onto CRF, I used to wake up... sad that I hadn't just died in my sleep, days were dreary, I couldn't find a single reason to live for. The only reason I made it through was fear of a failed suicide, and living the rest of my life as a braindead vegetable. Yes, morbid I know.

Back to CRF: I mean, since I got onto my new meds, life is looking fucking great... and it's not due to any of the counseling etc (of which I haven't had since I switched). My psychiatric nurse is amazed with my improvement and this Friday, I'm finally ready to go see WorkWise in regards to getting back into the workforce.

TL;DR - Before the right medical treatment, I couldn't find a reason to live... and now, I can't wait to see what life will bring me next!

Brilliant. Very happy for you.

[Madness]

Brilliant. Very happy for you.

Got me wondering. How would you feel if someone had been through a similar journey to that of ZeroIndex but instead of relying on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals to get through their day, they found that a puff or twelve of Cannabis most evenings made all the difference? That shit happens.

[unstuck]

It,s all about momentum for me. Noticing when those thoughts that lead to a depressing state of mind begin to form, and shut them down. It,s a bit like parking your car at the top of a hill and forgetting to put the handbrake on, when you get out and notice the car is moving, it,s not so hard to stop it. But you try stopping that car a bit further down the hill once it has a bit of momentum going, your in for one good beating. Thoughts are the same, if you let them get away on you, your gonna get beaten up.


Awareness of self, is priceless. Ya crazy bastards.

[Akzle]

It,s all about momentum for me. ...etc...
Awareness of self, is priceless. Ya crazy bastards.

youre a changed man! Home D Must have reformed you!

[unstuck]

youre a changed man! Home D Must have reformed you!

No home D, just the community service. But that finished last week.
And Im always changing, standing water stagnates.

[Ulsterkiwi]

well, fart in my mouth and call me your sister.

humility! I am impressed

see what happens when you follow your own advice and get your facts right. Knowledge is a powerful thing, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

well done that man

[Akzle]

humility! I am impressed

see what happens when you follow your own advice and get your facts right. Knowledge is a powerful thing, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

well done that man

what the fuck? im humil as.

Im just not often wrong, is all.

Still, call it an anaesthetic all you want, it affects the brain im ways science doesn't understand, and is fuken toxic any way you look at it.

[unstuck]

[Ulsterkiwi]

what the fuck? im humil as.

Im just not often wrong, is all.

Still, call it an anaesthetic all you want, it affects the brain im ways science doesn't understand, and is fuken toxic any way you look at it.

still, you called it when you saw the error of your thinking.

You are correct, science does not understand much more than it does. Paracetamol is an acceptable and widely used drug and is considered safe, has been for years. Its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. Go figure.

As far as alcohol being toxic is concerned, yes it is, in sufficiently high quantities or blood plasma concentrations, but then everything is, including paracetamol and for that matter, oxygen. Yet, we would have a tough time metabolising without it, then bacteria would take over and all our problems would be gone. Just saying.

[nzspokes]

Got me wondering. How would you feel if someone had been through a similar journey to that of ZeroIndex but instead of relying on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals to get through their day, they found that a puff or twelve of Cannabis most evenings made all the difference? That shit happens.

If the patient has been diagnosed with a condition that it is the best treatment for then I have no problem with it, obviously a few real medical professionals need to be involved in this process not just mates at the pub.

Otherwise its just an excuse for an addiction.

[Akzle]

Paracetamol is an acceptable and widely used drug and is considered safe, has been for years. Its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. Go figure.

i dont touch that shit either.
Theres some serious pharmajews with interest in it. Its the only aniline analgesic left on the market. Surprisingly, or not, the rest were pulled due to toxicity issues.