Depression (Adventures at a Catholic College Part 2)
Date Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 12:32 PM PST
Topic Rant


No, it's not about sex. It's not about religion. It's not even about ghosts. Today's episode of Adventures at a Catholic College involves something much more personal- depression and medication!

Sure, anymore "depression" is a term, and medical condition, that is over-diagnosed, over-medicated, and latched onto way too quickly. However, this does not diminish the fact that there are those that are truly clinically depressed, that truly need help, and that can still be functioning individuals.
I've been depressed since about 7th grade. My family history lends itself all too well to major mental illness (as well as physical illness that I have already been diagnosed as inhereting)- my great-grandmother, grandfather, grandmother, and mother all share some truly wonderful (a term used VERY loosely) disorders.

So after 8 years of "working through it" and "surviving", a very stressful summer, and a darkness decending upon myself that I couldn't lift no matter what I tried, I decided / was convinced to go see a professional.

Being the poor college student that I am, I try the on-campus counciling center first. I set an appointment and visit with the psychiatrist. I go into his office with total openness and honesty (well, I did omit certain all-night orgy facts- had to save SOMETHING for my second visit! ;-) ) and within 10 minutes, he was asking me if I would be willing to take drugs to "help with my problems." He also set up a time for me to get my bloodwork done and the nurse to double-check my other medications. I did agree that, after a while, I may consider drugs as a PART of treatment. But never did I commit to a daily pill.

So the next day I go into the Wellness center with a friend to hold my hand (I really HATE having blood drawn). After filling out all the paperwork and waiting the usual amount of time, my vitals and blood are taken. I am then handed by someone I have never seen before a month-supply of Paxil CR, with very little discussion of side effects or dosage; just a mandate to start taking them the next morning (before my bloodwork had even been seen)

There are many inherent problems here. First of all, this school is handing out psychotropic drugs like they are fucking candy. To college students. After talking to them for 10 minutes. Forgoing the possibility that some pseudo-educated second semester freshman fresh out of Basic Psycology 101 could fake every symptom I presented, and more to get these drugs, they totally ignored the fact that I know Paxil will/would screw with my body chemistry in ways that would make the situation worse.

How do I know this? My mother was put on Paxil. A good friend was as well. This drug causes one to gain quite a bit of weight (when body image issues are probably one of the things that at least 3 hours should be devoted to.) It also causes many morning ups and evening downs. I'm a night person. That means when I'm truly awake and most functioning, the "happy pills" would be wearing off. Had they spent a few more minutes just talking, these things could have been explained.

I also have an aversion to random pills. Yes, I have medication I take. Yes, I will take Advil when my cramps are debilitating. This does not mean, however, that I want to "pop a pill" for everything- if nothing else, because taking a pill doesn't make everything better- it hides the problem. Hide something long enough, and when it eventually sees the light it will be exponentally worse.

Perhaps it's a brainwashing technique-- and the fact that I told the school psychiatrist flat-out that I wasn't religious and that I am slightly bisexual-- scared him into thinking I needed to be brought back "in line" with brainwashing and medicating me into a passive, noncreative, zombie of a follower.

Because of this extreme discomfort, and several suggestions to go outside campus, I have made appointments with an outside person who is much better qualified than the school doctors. Hopefully it will go better.

I swear, it's all a conspiricy to keep free thinkers off campus.

 



This article comes from Shmeng
http://www.shmeng.com/

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