If TBP is depressing you, just eat some cow, run a marathon, have some sex, or take a vitamin. But don’t blame me.
Treat Depression … Naturally
Submitted by George Washingtonon 01/21/2013 01:47 -0500
If you’re depressed, you might consider asking your doctor to prescribe anti-depressants.
But as best-selling author Christiane Northrup, MD, notes:
In 2008, we learned that the benefits of antidepressants had been greatly overstated. Former FDA psychiatrist Erick H. Turner, M.D. uncovered some startling information about Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. In reviewing all the medical literature, he learned that 94 percent of the reports showing the therapeutic benefits of SSRIs were published compared to only 14 percent of the reports showing either no benefits or inconclusive results (of taking SSRIs were published). When he weighed all the literature, Dr. Turner determined that SSRIs were no more effective than a placebo for treating most depressive patients. Those with severe depression were helped, sometimes greatly, but those with mild to moderate depression, the majority of cases, received little relief. British researchers using the Freedom of Information Act uncovered identical findings.
In January 2010, another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) confirms these findings. The newest study also evaluated another class of antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants. Again, researchers determined that the typical patient, one with mild to moderate depression, gets the same amount of relief from a placebo as from an antidepressant. The first author of the study, Jay C. Fournier, MA, told Medscape, “I think the most surprising part of the findings was how severe depression has to be in order to see this clinically meaningful difference emerge between medication and placebo, and that the majority of depressed patients presenting for treatment do not fall into that very severe category.”
The New York Times reported that the co-author of the study, Robert J. DeRubeis, shared this important insight: “The message for patients with mild to moderate depression is ‘Look, medications are always an option, but there’s little evidence that they add to other efforts to shake depression–whether it’s exercise, seeing the doctor, reading about the disorder or going for psychotherapy.’”
(In addition, modern SSRI anti-depressants have been shown to increase violent and suicidal behavior in a certain percent of the population.)
So what can those with depressive tendencies do?
Secret of Human Evolution
Getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet is also crucial in preventing depression. As Science Daily notes:
Researchers from Inserm and INRA and their collaborators in Spain collaboration, have studied mice fed on a diet low in omega-3 fatty acid. They discovered that reduced levels of omega-3 had deleterious consequences on synaptic functions and emotional behaviours.
Details of this work are available in the online version of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
***
The researchers studied mice fed a life-long diet imbalanced in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They found that omega-3 deficiency disturbed neuronal communication specifically ….This neuronal dysfunction was accompanied by depressive behaviours among the malnourished mice.
***
Consequently, the researchers discovered that among mice subjected to an omega-3 deficient dietary regime, synaptic plasticity … is disturbed in at least two structures involved with reward, motivation and emotional regulation: the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens.
***
“Our results can now corroborate clinical and epidemiological studies which have revealed associations between an omega-3/omega-6 imbalance and mood disorders,” explain Olivier Manzoni and Sophie Layé. “To determine if the omega-3 deficiency is responsible for these neuropsychiatric disorders additional studies are, of course, required.”
In conclusion, the authors estimate that their results provide the first biological components of an explanation for the observed correlation between omega-3 poor diets, which are very widespread in the industrialized world, and mood disorders such as depression.
Dr. Northrup writes:
One of the best ways to support health brain chemistry is by taking fish oil. Fish oil has been shown time an again to relieve mild to moderate depression. The omega-3 fatty acids are essential to brain health and, according to Capt. Joe Hibbeln, M.D., these important fats support the serotonin system, may help reduce stress and lower your risk of all kinds of mental illness. Dr. Hibbeln, Chief of Outpatient Services for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), is one of the world’s leading researchers on omega-3 fats. His findings have been compelling and encouraging.
***
Also encouraging is the largest ever clinical trial presenting in 2009 showing that fish oil may benefit half of all people with moderate to severe depression.
How could something as obscure as Omega 3s be so critical in preventing depression?
We’ve previously explained that humans evolved to eat a lot of Omega 3s:
Wild game animals have much higher levels of essential Omega 3 fatty acids than domesticated animals. Indeed, leading nutritionists say that humans evolved to consume a lot of Omega 3 fatty acids in the wild game and fish which they ate (more), and that a low Omega 3 diet is a very new trend within the last 100 years or so.
In other words, while omega 3s have just now been discovered by modern science, we evolved to get a lot of omega 3s … and if we just eat a modern, fast food diet without getting enough omega 3s, it can cause all sorts of health problems.
So something just discovered by science can be a central fuel which our bodies evolved to use.
Here’s further detail focusing on beef:
For all of human history – until the last couple of decades – people ate beef from cows (or buffalo or bison) which grazed on grass. The cows were usually strong and healthy. Their meat was lean, with very little saturated fat, as the critters ate well and got outdoor exercise. Their meat was high in good Omega 3 fats. See this and this, and humans evolved to consume a lot of Omega 3 fatty acids in the wild game and fish which they ate (more).
Today, on the other hand, beef is laden with saturated fat and almost entirely lacking healthy fats like Omega 3s, because the cows are force-fed food which makes them sick. Specifically, instead of their natural menu – grass – they are force-fed corn, which makes them sick. Because their diet makes them ill, they are given massive amounts of antibiotics. Even with the antibiotics, the diet and living conditions would kill them pretty quickly if they aren’t slaughtered.
Science Daily explains:
In industrialized nations, diets have been impoverished in essential fatty acids since the beginning of the 20th century. The dietary ratio between omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid omega-3 increased continuously over the course of the 20th century. These fatty acids are “essential” lipids because the body cannot synthesize them from new. They must therefore be provided through food and their dietary balance is essential to maintain optimal brain functions.
So insufficient Omega 3s is a major source of depression in modern industrialized countries.
The flip side of getting enough healthy Omega 3s is to stay away from the kind of fats which cause depression: trans fats.
(Contrary to what you’ve heard, getting enough of the right kind of healthy cholesterol also decreases depression.)
Vitamins, Minerals and Antioxidants …
Antioxidants also help to prevent depression. Specifically, oxidative stress has been correlated with depression (and see here).
On the other hand, antioxidants reduce depression. See this, this and this. Here are the tricks for finding the least expensive, most powerful antioxidants.
Moreover, a multivitamin might be smart. Specifically, Hugh D. Riordan, M.D., argues:
It is possible to become depressed because of the lack of a sufficient amount of a single trace element.
And as we’ve previously noted, modern foods can be nutritionally depleted:
We evolved eating foods which were high in vitamins and minerals ….
But as the Journal Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology notes:
With soil depletion, overfarming and transportation of foods over hundreds of miles with loss of nutrients en route, together with the increased use of convenience and fast foods, women can be over-fed, but under-nourished in our modern society.
The Nutrition Journal points out:
In 1927 a study at King’s College, University of London, of the chemical composition of foods was initiated … to assist with diabetic dietary guidance. The study evolved and was then broadened to determine all the important organic and mineral constituents of foods, it was financed by the Medical Research Council and eventually published in 1940. Over the next 51 years subsequent editions reflected changing national dietary habits and food laws as well as advances in analytical procedures. The most recent (5th Edition) published in 1991 has comprehensively analysed 14 different categories of foods and beverages. In order to provide some insight into any variation in the quality of the foods available to us as a nation between 1940 and 1991 it was possible to compare and contrast the mineral content of 27 varieties of vegetable, 17 varieties of fruit, 10 cuts of meat and some milk and cheese products. The results demonstrate that there has been a significant loss of minerals and trace elements in these foods over that period of time.
Scripps Howard News Service noted in 2006:
The nutritional content of America’s vegetables and fruits has declined during the past 50 years — in some cases dramatically.
Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas, said that of 13 major nutrients in fruits and vegetables tracked by the Agriculture Department from 1950 to 1999, six showed noticeable declines — protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C. The declines ranged from 6 percent for protein, 15 percent for iron, 20 percent for vitamin C, and 38 percent for riboflavin.
“It’s an amazing thing,” said Davis, adding that the decline in nutrient content has not been widely noticed.
Many other studies have reported ongoing soil depletion around the world.
***
And many people eat highly processed foods in which most antioxidants have been destroyed.
So – just as with the low levels of omega 3s – there might be less antioxidants like vitamin C in the modern diet than the levels we evolved to run on.
Good Bugs
Live Science reports:
Researchers have increasingly begun to suspect the gut was somehow linked with the brain. For instance, bowel disorders seem linked with stress-related psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression in people.
To learn more, scientists experimented with mice by feeding them a broth containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus JB-1. This species naturally lives in our gut, and scientists are exploring whether strains of it can be used as “probiotics” to improve our health. They discovered these rodents displayed significantly less behavior linked with stress, anxiety and depression than mice fed plain broth. Bacteria-fed mice also had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone corticosterone in response to stressful situations such as mazes.
“By affecting gut bacteria, you can have very robust and quite broad-spectrum effects on brain chemistry and behavior,” researcher John Cryan, a neuroscientist at University College Cork in Ireland, told LiveScience.
“Without overstating things, this does open up the concept that we could develop therapies that can treat psychiatric disorders by targeting the gut,” Cryan added. “You could take a yogurt with a probiotic in it instead of an antidepressant.”
***
The investigators found that one GABA receptor component was present in higher levels in bacteria-fed mice in parts of the brain where it is normally lowered during depression. In addition, several GABA receptor components were reduced in parts of the brain where they are normally increased in stressed or anxious animals.
Next, the researchers severed the vagus nerve, which helps alert the central nervous system to changes in the gastrointestinal tract. They found the bacteria-induced effects on behavior and GABA receptors were diminished, suggesting this nerve is the pathway by which changes in the gut can influence the brain.
Vagal nerve stimulations have been used at times to treat depression resistant to other therapies, but “that’s a surgical technique,” Cryan said. “By targeting the gut with probiotics, we could indirectly target the vagus nerve without surgery.”
And see this.
As with Omega 3s, this sounds strange until you realize how humans evolved.
As NPR notes, our bodies are largely made up of – and supported by – bacteria:
Jeffrey Gordon, a professor at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, who studies the microbes that live on and in us, offers this factoid: “We think that there are 10 times more microbial cells on and in our bodies than there are human cells. That means that we’re 90 percent microbial and 10 percent human. There’s also an estimated 100 times more microbial genes than the genes in our human genome. So we’re really a compendium [and] an amalgamation of human and microbial parts.”
***
Gordon’s research shows that these microbes living in our bodies aren’t just there for the ride — they’re actively contributing to the normal physiology of the human body. He points to the trillions of microbes that live in our gut, doing everything from encoding enzymes to serving as pathways for vitamin production to digesting the parts of food we can’t digest on our own.
Many native cultures ate a lot of fermented foods containing healthy bacteria. Think yogurt, miso and Inuit fermented seal blubber (gross, we know …)
In addition, antibiotics kill a lot of the healthy bacteria in our gut. (The over-use of antibiotics has also been linked to obesity and other health problems. See this and this. Indeed, the prestigious journal Nature suggests that antiobiotics may permanently kill off healthy gut bacteria.).
Given that the modern diet contains less fermented foods, and that antibiotics have killed off some of our intestinal flora, probiotics – sold in health food stores – are an important preventative measure against depression.
Sunshine …
The New York Times points out:
A new, carefully designed randomized controlled trial— of the kind considered the gold standard in medicine — suggests bright light therapy deserves a closer look.
The study was small, involving only 89 patients ages 60 and older, but the results were remarkable. Compared with a placebo, light therapy improved mood just as well as conventional antidepressant medications, said Dr. Ritsaert Lieverse, the paper’s lead author and a psychiatrist at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.
“The effect sizes we found in this study are comparable to those reported for antidepressants, so I think efficacy is of comparable magnitude,” Dr. Lieverse said in an e-mail.
***
Since depression is often accompanied by poor sleep and other symptoms suggestive of circadian rhythm disruption, the scientists also examined markers of circadian function. The theory is that bright light therapy may act to elevate mood by activating the brain’s so-called circadian pacemaker, a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. As part of the study, researchers assessed sleep quality and measured patients’ melatonin, a hormone critical for sleep-wake cycles, and urinary cortisol and salivary cortisol levels, measures of stress.
Dr. Lieverse said bright light therapy may also work by targeting depression-associated neurotransmitter systems that regulate serotonin and dopamine.
Sunshine has many if not all of these properties. So getting some sun will help with depression.
Exercise and Sex
Many studies show that exercise reduces depression. For example, see these reports by the Mayo Clinic, New York Times and WebMD.
Sex also helps to prevent depression.
Testosterone
And naturally boosting your testosterone level also wards off depression.
Mindfulness Meditation
Last – but not least – meditation can prevent depression. Psychology Today reports:
Imagine if you could cure depression with a therapy that was more effective and long-lasting than expensive drugs, and which did not have any side effects. These are the claims being made for a form of Mindfulness meditation.
Psychologists from the University of Exeter recently published a study into “mindfulness-based cognitive therapy” (MBCT), finding it to be better than drugs or counseling for depression. Four months after starting, three quarters of the patients felt well enough to stop taking antidepressants.
***
MBCT was developed in the mid-Nineties by psychologists at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Toronto to help stabilize patients’ moods during and after use of antidepressants. About half of patients relapse into depression – even if they continue taking the medication. One common reason for a relapse is when a normal period of sadness turns into obsessive brooding.
***
The MBCT technique is simple, and revolves around “mindfulness meditation”. In this, you sit with your eyes closed and focus on your breathing. (See box for details). Concentrating on the rhythm of the breath helps produce a feeling of detachment. The idea is that you come to realize that thoughts come and go of their own accord, and that your conscious self is distinct from your thoughts. This realization is encouraged by gentle question-and-answer sessions modeled on those in cognitive therapy.
In the University of Exeter study, funded by the UK’s Medical Research Council, 47 per cent of patients with long-term depression suffered a relapse; the figure was 60 per cent among those taking medication alone. Other studies, including two published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, had comparable outcomes. As a result, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended MBCT since 2004. Availability is still patchy though, with many sufferers seeking courses at Buddhist centers.
“One of the key features of depression is that it hijacks your attention,” says Professor Williams. “We all tend to bring to the forefront of our minds the thoughts and feelings that reflect our current mood. If you are sad, depressed or anxious, then you tend to remember the bad things that have happened to you and not the good. This drives you into a downward spiral that leads from sadness into a deeper depression. MBCT prevents and breaks that spiral.”
Psychology Today provides an example of a typical MBCT meditation:
1. Sit upright in a straight-backed chair, with your spine about an inch from the back of the chair, and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Close your eyes. Use your mind to watch your breath as it flows in and out. Observe your sensations without judgment. Do not try to alter your breathing.
3. After a while your mind will wander. Gently bring your attention back to your breath. The act of realizing that your mind has wandered – and bringing your attention back – is the key thing.
4. Your mind will eventually become calm.
5. Repeat every day for 20-30 minutes.
Postscript: If you are severely depressed and suicidal, contact a mental health professional.
We are not health professionals, and this does not constitute mental health or medical advice.
ThePessimisticChemist says:
When I was 19 years old I was busting my ass in a lumber yard. Up under those tin roofs it routinely hit 120˚F and even higher.
I made minimum wage, but couldn’t find another job despite the fact that this was 2006 and supposedly we hadn’t gone into a Recession yet. The low pay coupled with rising gas costs meant I was looking at dropping out of college.
It was a depressing thought. The more I thought about it, the more I got depressed.
I got home from work one day, and my girlfriend was sporting some new lingerie, with an ice cold lemonade in one hand, and a giant sandwich in the other.
She fucked my brains out, I ate the sandwich, and then fell asleep while watching football.
Best day ever.
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21st January 2013 at 9:24 am
Eddie says:
The little Mrs. cracked her pelvis on the slopes…no sex for two weeks now. No wonder TBP is bummin’ me out. They don’t have vitaminsgood enough to help with that.
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21st January 2013 at 9:46 am
ThePessimisticChemist says:
PS: I then went on to marry that wonderful woman.
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21st January 2013 at 9:48 am
Administrator says:
Looks like Eddie’s only choice is to spank the monkey.
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21st January 2013 at 10:16 am
Eddie says:
Life is brutally short, and often cruel.
Whatever happened to Goddess worship and sacred prostitutes? Who says the world is evolving? What a backward culture we live in.
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21st January 2013 at 10:28 am
DaveL says:
I’m depressed because I know that I’m supposed to be doing something very important today but I just can’t remember what it is. Maybe if I just stay here at TBP all day it will come to me. Or maybe a good nights sleep tonight will refresh my memory. Can anybody on here help me out? Is there something important going on today that I’m not aware of?
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21st January 2013 at 11:07 am
TeresaE says:
In 2001 I had a horrible, terrible, miserable year. Dale Earnhardt died, my son was kicked out of his senior year, a company I helped build was being decimated by 75% (and my job was hiring people, so I became redundant), I was told my mom would die within five years – then she died in two months, I moved – TWICE – and my marriage ended thanks to a cute young secretary and my ongoing black cloud (I was contaminating my then hub, according to him).
So, after fighting it and bawling through out most job interviews, I went to my doctor for “help.”
The first couple days on Zoloft were great. I was able to think, I jumped back into work, life looked better.
By the end of the first week I was miserable. The drug – after the first couple days – made me exhausted, caused night sweats to the point of changing my clothes/sheets three and four times, and enveloped me in a cloud of fog and “fuck it,” worse than my depression was.
My doctor told me to stick with it. I made it another week, then went online. There I learned about two doctors in Chicago that discovered a 15 minute walk daily worked better than any pills.
So, that is what I did. I won’t say I was “cured,” of course my depression was brought on by my life and only time could/did fix that.
I have friends that have been on these drugs for 20 years. If you are “depressed” for TWENTY FUCKING YEARS, maybe you should consider the fact that you are just a natural-born pessimistic, depressive. It isn’t a DISEASE, it is just a facet of your personality.
Pills from pharma for lifestyle “fixes” (coverups) are killing us.
Yet another facet of the modern world that we absolutely refuse to acknowledge. So we can’t fix it.
That freaking depresses me.
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21st January 2013 at 11:42 am
Administrator says:
You know what has me down?
Colma’s disappearance.
I sent him an email three days ago to see if he was OK and I haven’t gotten a response.
I hate it when regulars just disappear for weeks and sometimes months without me knowing why.
I always fear the worst.
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21st January 2013 at 11:49 am
Maddie's Mom says:
Trouble sleeping?
Short story….
No drugs, pharma or otc. Instead:
1. Magnesium (research it – many different kinds and forms)
2. Valerian
3. About 10 days ago I also added California Poppy Seed Extract. I have had the best sleep I’ve had in YEARS. Deep, rejuvenating, wonderful sleep. And dh says he never hears me snore anymore.
ymmv
Great article!!!
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21st January 2013 at 12:01 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
I miss Colma & newsjunkie too.
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21st January 2013 at 12:04 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
(And I was missing TeresaE too, but I see she’s back!!!)
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21st January 2013 at 12:05 pm
anotherjuan says:
DaveL – today we are inaugurating el presidente, a totally new version of the old deporter in chief. things is definitely looking up. yep, marketing 101: continuous renewal. a veritable phoenix rising up from the ashes of the last glorious revolution. if clinton was america’s first black president, this one is the first latino president.
ever notice how congressionals brag about being able to reach across the aisle? it isn’t about representing your own constituency anymore, it’s about reaching across the divide.
TBP does that well, reaches across all the strata, from financial rapists on wall street to genex lovers in arizona. TBP is my daily supplement against depression.
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21st January 2013 at 12:21 pm
Eddie says:
Colma lives on the college undergrad schedule, no? He’s probably been on holiday between semesters. Either that or someone shot him for doppeling them. But he’s probably fine. Hope so. If he doesn’t turn up, I volunteer to go to San Francisco to look for him.
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21st January 2013 at 12:23 pm
Pirate Jo says:
A good dog will do wonders. Especially a jolly, comical one like a pug. My little old pug lady dog is sweet, quiet, gentle, and very loving. But boy if you are not speedy enough with the treats, she will give you some sass! The commotion she raises every morning about getting her breakfast makes me start each day with a laugh.
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21st January 2013 at 2:12 pm
SSS says:
Another chance to get on my soap box and preach the evils of anti-depressants such as Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Luvox, and Wellbutrin. These fucking drugs are killers, and I am 100% convinced that they are the CAUSE of the ever-increasing cases of mass shootings over the past 30 years, which have numbered 62 in just the U.S. alone. And 24 of these incidences in the U.S. have occurred in the past 7 years.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, they have turned people, especially young people, who might be suffering some sort of depression and started taking this shit into maniacal killers. Maybe it will become clearer to you if you see it on a list. Here. One more thing. Add that kid in New Mexico who just killed his parents and three siblings.
http://www.ssristories.com/index.php?p=school
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21st January 2013 at 2:30 pm
Eddie says:
I agree with SSS, and on a drug topic, too.
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21st January 2013 at 2:42 pm
SSS says:
Damnit. I forgot to add that the link I provided just lists the SCHOOL incidences. It doesn’t get around to stuff like the strip mall shooting in Tucson and the Aurora movie theater shooting. You can take it to the bank that we will NEVER know whether or not the shooters were on medication(s) due to stupid, fucking privacy laws. Big pharma will see to that.
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21st January 2013 at 2:42 pm
DaveL says:
“anotherjuan says:
DaveL – today we are inaugurating el presidente.”
FUCK, I MISSED IT! Will they have reruns on MSNBC?
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21st January 2013 at 2:43 pm
Administrator says:
Too much agreement around here. We need Smokey and Colma back.
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21st January 2013 at 2:53 pm
Pirate Jo says:
DaveL, I didn’t watch it either, but caught a couple of headlines. Seems we missed some classic Obama mindbenders, such as first saying we need to return to our founding ideals and then saying hands off entitlements.
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21st January 2013 at 2:54 pm
Pirate Jo says:
SSS, young people suffering from some sort of depression aren’t the only ones being drugged to the gills. They put them on prescription crack just for being normal kids. Apparently you have some kind of disorder if you find school boring and have trouble concentrating. I’m glad I was born after penicillin, but before Ritalin.
Also consider that if you are already a career welfare recipient, you get more money if your kid has a disability. Suddenly a whole bunch of kids have diagnosable “mood disorders,” qualifying their parents for bigger checks.
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21st January 2013 at 3:00 pm
Hope@ZeroKelvin says:
An accurate assessment of Reality and appropriate change in one’s behaviour to maximize: 1 ) survival, 2) prosperity, and 3) sanity, is NOT BEING DEPRESSED.
And I say that as the most depressing person on this board, as per Stucky.
Wimping out on SSRIs is the girly-man way out. You cannot medicate yourself out of Reality but you sure as shit can further fuck up your thinking with those meds.
You have to Embrace The Doom, cowboy up and DRIVE ON!!
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21st January 2013 at 3:11 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
Pirate Jo,
Couldn’t agree more!!! Having a dog is the best!
Maddie is much the same as your pug. She keeps me on my toes with her sassy little attitude. (bosses me around from morning to night actually… lol) She makes me laugh first thing in the mornings, and the rest of the day too. And she loves unconditionally.
Who could possibly be depressed with a dog in their life???
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21st January 2013 at 3:15 pm
ThePessimisticChemist says:
I think I’m still in shock that someone thumbs-downed my post.
They must have noticed the plot hole.
First I drank the lemonade, and THEN commenced with the rest of the activities mentioned.
If a guy being appreciative of his significant other’s sexual prowess and great sandwiches makes you uncomfortable, eat shit.
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21st January 2013 at 3:18 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
Another one…
New Mexico teen suspected of gunning down family described as a loner
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/21/albuquerque-teen-suspected-gunning-down-family-described-as-loner/?test=latestnews
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21st January 2013 at 3:20 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
Pirate Jo@2:54,
Sounds like a Bizarro World inauguration to me.
Glad I missed it.
I thought it was yesterday! lol
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21st January 2013 at 3:24 pm
Eddie says:
A thumbs down is a just a sneaky little way for the intellectually challenged to make a comment without having to use their words.
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21st January 2013 at 3:26 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
Sorry SSS, I see you already mentioned the NM shooting.
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21st January 2013 at 3:27 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
ThePC,
I didn’t “thumbs down” your post (but I thought about it
)
You’re even younger than my daughter and your generation looks at things differently. That’s ok.
But I’ll tell you this, if I ever knew my dh discussed my “prowess” with anyone, I would not be happy. And he’d be gettin’ a whole lot more than just a thumbs down.
Some things should be private, imo.
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21st January 2013 at 3:39 pm
ThePessimisticChemist says:
@MM –
Truth be told, she’s far more open about things like that than I am. Its not like I went into graphic detail. Hell, the post was even on topic.
As for degrees of privacy, I’ve heard gaggles of boomer/silent/Xer women sit around and talk about their menfolk in explicit detail so I’m going to call bullshit on the moral superiority card. Perhaps YOU don’t like such talk, but to act like your generation is above such a thing is idiocy.
“But I’ll tell you this, if I ever knew my dh discussed my “prowess” with anyone, I would not be happy.”
Spoiler Alert: At some point your man has been asked how you are in bed. At bare minimum he described your prowess in as many words as I described my wife’s.
Hope I didn’t just cause your marriage problems.
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21st January 2013 at 4:01 pm
Administrator says:
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21st January 2013 at 4:12 pm
Administrator says:
TPC wears this shirt to class.
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21st January 2013 at 4:14 pm
anotherjuan says:
William F. Buckley, Jr said sex is boring. I think people’s inhibitions make it seem so much more enjoyable. Otherwise, i like a good story and yours was a treat. I’d like to see MM meet her man wearing a thong and a tray full of sandwiches.
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21st January 2013 at 4:16 pm
underfire says:
It’s begun to depress me that tbp posters are all pretty much up on the real world, kind of like preaching to the choir here. So I’ve made some forays into some MSM blogs. What a bunch of idiots out there……. it’s reaffirmed my belief that the decline of America is inevitable.
So many make no sense, because we all talk our own book, and distort logic to do it in whatever way necessary.
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21st January 2013 at 4:23 pm
ThePessimisticChemist says:
@Admin – HER prowess.
Your reading comprehension is slipping in your old age.
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21st January 2013 at 4:37 pm
ThePessimisticChemist says:
“TPC where’s this shirt to class.”
where->wear
I think this irishman slipped out to the bar on the way home.
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21st January 2013 at 4:39 pm
Eddie says:
She sounds like a keeper to me.
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21st January 2013 at 4:40 pm
anotherjuan says:
DaveL – granny was glued to the set watching Univision’s coverage of the inauguration, the title said, “Toma de Possesion” if it had said “Toma de Riendas” it would have meant take up of the reins. as it was, i understood it to say take up of possession. I think TBP was right when it showed Univision’s Jorge Ramos along with a few other MSM reporters as backup for the prez.
PJ – “I’m glad I was born after penicillin, but before Ritalin.” I’m glad i was born before mandatory bilingual education. Univision is keeping immigrants programmed to vote for whoever Jorge Ramos supports. BTW, get ready for Carlos Slim moving into the USA.
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21st January 2013 at 4:45 pm
SSS says:
“Wimping out on SSRIs is the girly-man way out. You cannot medicate yourself out of Reality but you sure as shit can further fuck up your thinking with those meds.”
Atta girl, Hope. You said it much better than I ever could.
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21st January 2013 at 4:52 pm
AWD says:
SSRI’s cause ED in about 50% of the users. We use SSRI’s to treat premature ejaculators.
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21st January 2013 at 5:02 pm
SSS says:
“It’s begun to depress me that tbp posters are all pretty much up on the real world, kind of like preaching to the choir here. So I’ve made some forays into some MSM blogs. What a bunch of idiots out there…..”
—-underfire
You should see most of the Letters to the Editor that are published in the Tucson daily newspaper. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry. And I’ll bet about 20% of these clueless fuckstick missives are signed by professors at the University of Arizona. And many of those proudly use the term “Professor Emeritus” just to try and convince the reader that he knows what he’s talking about. Dumbass Emeritus would be more appropriate.
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21st January 2013 at 5:02 pm
AWD says:
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21st January 2013 at 5:04 pm
AWD says:
People are angry, as right they should be.
Anger turned inwards turns into depression.
Exercise gets rid of depression. Shopping, gambling, drinking, taking drugs, over-working, over-eating, buying new cars, masturbation, whore-mongering, signing up for disability, welfare, or unemployment, staring at the T.V., staring at your iphone, staring at facebook, blogging, and any and all other forms of escape you can think of DO NOT get rid of depression, but only make it worse.
So, get off your lazy ass and exercise. And, it’s like free plastic surgery, increases your testosterone, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, increases stamina, reduces strokes and heart attacks, combats obesity, can end diabetes, and you feel a helluva lot better (and you’re not depressed).
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21st January 2013 at 5:20 pm
Administrator says:
Can’t I just read about exercise on the internet?
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21st January 2013 at 5:29 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
anotherjuan,
You been peekin’?
lol
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21st January 2013 at 5:48 pm
Maddie's Mom says:
“As for degrees of privacy, I’ve heard gaggles of boomer/silent/Xer women sit around and talk about their menfolk in explicit detail”
They’re probably making it up or wishful thinking. lol
” Hope I didn’t just cause your marriage problems”
You’re joking, right?
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21st January 2013 at 5:56 pm
underfire says:
I was a car driver for my two daughters basketball team. Listening to those teenage girls talk was the biggest shock of my life, right behind was the shock of my wife joining right in.
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21st January 2013 at 6:04 pm
AWD says:
Some idiots think their exercising because they’re fingering their iphone.
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21st January 2013 at 6:30 pm
SSS says:
“SSRI’s cause ED in about 50% of the users. We use SSRI’s to treat premature ejaculators.”
—-AWD
I thought you might have been joking, AWD, but you weren’t. Don’t you think it a bit extreme to treat an otherwise healthy human being suffering from rim shots with a drug that will fuck with his central nervous system to the point that it could induce mania and/or psychosis?
More importantly, as a medical doctor, what’s your take on SSRI’s? I asked that question to one of my golf partners last week, a retired orthopedic surgeon. He hemmed and hawed around, started out with “Well, it’s complicated,” and never did give me a straight answer. Hope gave a pretty straight answer, maybe you can, too.
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21st January 2013 at 6:34 pm
John Angelo says:
I never posted all that much when I was “active”, but I’m still here and reading most every post every day. I’ve been busy with several things (new director of a faith-based non-profit), but I just wanted to say I believe Stucky is the one giving everyone on this post the thumbs down.
By the way Jim, I used to go to Drudge for my daily news, having left the mainstream sources years ago. TBP is now my daily news source. “All the sh*t that’s fit to fling” I say!
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21st January 2013 at 6:38 pm
Administrator says:
John Angelo
Good luck with your faith based non-profit. That sounds like a job that makes a difference.
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21st January 2013 at 6:55 pm
LLPOH says:
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21st January 2013 at 7:07 pm
AWD says:
SSS
He hemmed and hawed because orthopedic surgeons don’t know shit about medicine.
As far as SSRI’s and SNRI’s, I think they are miracle drugs. Depression and suicide are ugly. Being depressed all the time is worse than death; it robs life from people. At least with meds, they can function, work and raise their kids. Otherwise, they’re basket cases and lay in bed all day.
That said, they are way overused. Only 10-15% of the population has clinical depression. The rest are depressed because they don’t want to deal with life (and aren’t really depressed). They are too lazy to work, to lazy to deal with adversity, too lazy to think and act for themselves. They want a pill to fix everything. Of course a pill doesn’t fix anything, so they want more pills. Before long, they’re on 3 or 4 psych meds, including benzos (xanax, valium etc.). Doctors over-prescribe meds for sure, but most don’t force people to take them, they come in wanting them.
Let’s face it: out society is broken, our country is broken. If people were responsible for themselves, they wouldn’t want or need to be on meds. Greed, consumption, pride, envy, sloth, gluttony, and all the other things our society values SO much and people believe are important cause psychological pathology not psychological health. The meds and people wanting the meds are but a symptom of the disease our society has become. Our leaders prefer stupid, lazy, non-thinking zombies that believe what they see and hear on T.V. On some level, it’s all about people control. The meds have a place in people control. The sheep seem to enjoy being medicated and controlled.
As far as the psychos are concerned, it’s not the meds, in my opinion, our society is breeding these people.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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21st January 2013 at 7:35 pm
Administrator says:
AWD
Is Seven your favorite movie?
What’s in the Box!!!!!
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21st January 2013 at 7:49 pm
AWD says:
You know it is
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21st January 2013 at 7:57 pm
SSS says:
AWD
Thanks for that thoughtful answer. More later.
In the meantime, an update on the New Mexico slaughter. Per the update, here we go again with “suicidal and homicidal thoughts,” which appears EVERY time when one of these youths is the perpetrator. You can bet your bottom dollar that this kid was on psychotropic drugs. “Suicidal and homicidal thoughts” are on the fucking FDA label for SSRI’s prescribed for people under 25. Book it, Dano.
The teen suspected of gunning down his parents and three siblings in their New Mexico home told police he reloaded his assault rifle and was planning to go to a “populated area to murder more people,” police said.
Nehemiah Griego, 15, who local residents described as a loner who always wore camouflage military fatigues, told police he had been plagued by “suicidal and homicidal thoughts,” according to a sworn affidavit provided to prosecutors by the arresting officer and obtained by FoxNews.com.
“Nehemiah said after killing five of his family members, he reloaded the weapons so that he could drive to a populated area to murder more people,” the report states. “Nehemiah stated he wanted to shoot people at random and eventually be killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.”
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21st January 2013 at 7:57 pm
AWD says:
The two great paths to psychological and spiritual health: Gratitude and Humility
And, of course, prayer and meditation
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21st January 2013 at 8:02 pm
AWD says:
I do believe SSRI’s can amplify some types of emotions and thoughts.
But there are psychos everywhere, it’s not the meds.We’re breeding loners, losers, unemployable savages. Our society is more and more isolated as “social media” has taken off and everyone is entitled to everything now. More loners equals more psychos.
Social Security disability judges are threatened more, officials say
WASHINGTON — Judges who hear Social Security disability cases are facing a growing number of violent threats from claimants angry over being denied benefits or frustrated at lengthy delays in processing claims.
There were at least 80 threats to kill or harm administrative law judges or staff over the past year — an 18 percent increase over the previous reporting period, according to data collected by the Social Security Administration.
The data was released to the Association of Administrative Law Judges and made available to The Associated Press.
One claimant in Albuquerque, N.M., called his congressman’s office to say he was going to “take his guns and shoot employees” in the Social Security hearing office. In Eugene, Ore., a man who was denied benefits said he is “ready to join the Taliban and hurt some people.” Another claimant denied benefits told a judge in Greenville, S.C., that he was a sniper in the military and “would go take care of the problem.”
“I’m not sure the number is as significant as the kind of threats being made,” said Randall Frye, a judge based in Charlotte, N.C., and the president of the judges’ union. “There seem to be more threats of serious bodily harm, not only to the judge but to the judge’s family.”
Fifty of the incidents came between March and August, including that of a Pittsburgh claimant who threatened to kill herself outside the hearing office or fly a plane into the building, as a tax protester did earlier this year at the Internal Revenue Service building in Austin, Texas.
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21st January 2013 at 8:08 pm
AWD says:
We’re breeding loners
Even when kids are together, they’re alone (with their phone)
feeling lonely makes you depressed. Get ‘em on some meds quick
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21st January 2013 at 8:18 pm
TPC says:
“” Hope I didn’t just cause your marriage problems”
You’re joking, right?”
I am indeed
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21st January 2013 at 8:20 pm
Eddie says:
Joseph Stack, they guy who flew his plane into the IRS offices in Austin, was not crazy. He was very sane, and very, very pissed off. Chalk him up as ” self-immolation with extreme prejudice”.
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21st January 2013 at 8:23 pm
anotherjuan says:
AWD: before advertisers began to inject humor into commercials that promote the 7 deadly sins, their slant was usually that they made you look younger, slimmer, richer, better looking but rarely smarter.
Let’s face it, Plato’s allegory of the cave still describes the state of our society. TBP is a good start in educating the masses and giving them the discernment that college has failed to provide because somewhere along the way, college stopped being a place to learn to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad, smart and dumb, truth and fiction, hot and not hot women and became a place to postpone for as long as possible, becoming self-reliant.
MM – thumbs up, you know why.
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21st January 2013 at 8:27 pm
Chronic Agitator says:
eff that shit–whiskey works!
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21st January 2013 at 9:07 pm
Novista says:
Depression — I used to get it. One winter day walking around Hobart, I really felt depressed. And then … wait! same time last year. Once I knew it was Seasonal Affective Disorder, a little light of the right kind and away. Which makes me wonder if there is a little correlation with CFLs?
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21st January 2013 at 9:17 pm
SSS says:
“I do believe SSRI’s can amplify some types of emotions and thoughts. But there are psychos everywhere, it’s not the meds.”
—-AWD
Ok, now I’m calling you out, Doc. What the fuck does your verb “amplify” mean? SSRI’s can make you irritable or turn you into a mass murderer? Which is it? You fucking have no clue, and neither do I. Answer: both. And everything in between. The list of adverse reactions is almost endless.
Then you state “there are psychos everywhere” and turn around and say “it’s not the meds.” Are you fucking serious? These goddamn psychotropic drugs have been handed out by the bucketload for 30 YEARS like fucking candy to MILLIONS of Americans, and you have the balls to say “it’s not the meds” while the incidences of mass murders has skyrocketed with people on these drugs.
Jesus Christ, just because you’re a doctor, it’s beyond me how you can make such a ridiculous statement. Do you suffer from GOD SYNDROME? Maybe you need a pill.
Here’s the FDA warning label on SSRI’s, Doc. Read the fucking label!!!! Read the fucking label!!!!
Suicidality and Antidepressant Drugs
Antidepressants increased the risk compared to placebo of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in children, adolescents, and young adults in short-term studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of [Insert established name] or any other antidepressant in a child, adolescent, or young adult must balance this risk with the clinical need. Short-term studies did not show an increase in the risk of suicidality with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults beyond age 24; there was a reduction in risk with antidepressants compared to placebo in adults aged 65 and older. Depression and certain other psychiatric disorders are themselves associated with increases in the risk of suicide. Patients of all ages who are started on antidepressant therapy should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior. Families and caregivers should be advised of the need for close observation and communication with the prescriber. [Insert Drug Name] is not approved for use in pediatric patients. [The previous sentence would be replaced with the sentence, below, for the following drugs: Prozac: Prozac is approved for use in pediatric patients with MDD and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Zoloft: Zoloft is not approved for use in pediatric patients except for patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Fluvoxamine: Fluvoxamine is not approved for use in pediatric patients except for patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).]
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21st January 2013 at 12:53 am
IndenturedServant says:
“Nehemiah stated he wanted to shoot people at random and eventually be killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.”
So, all we need to do is outlaw cops killing people and the problem will be solved.
They should be killed by civilians with concealed carry weapons anyway. It will fuck up their fantasy and the MSM will never report it so the problem will just go away “organically”!
I’m a fucking genius! ME for President!
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21st January 2013 at 3:06 am
Maddie's Mom says:
anotherjuan wrote:
” TBP is a good start in educating the masses and giving them the discernment that college has failed to provide because somewhere along the way, college stopped being a place to learn to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad, smart and dumb, truth and fiction, hot and not hot women and became a place to postpone for as long as possible, becoming self-reliant.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Oh sure, they may have a job, maybe a very good job and they make their mortgage payment or rent every month ’cause they’re “grownups” now.
But beyond that, they’re still stuck in high school. Nothing but silliness.
I base my opinion on some young people I know of personally, or stories my 28-yo daughter tells me of her friends and acquaintences.
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21st January 2013 at 10:16 am
TPC says:
SSRI’s fucked my wife up, as well as a number of other friends and family. I constantly have pushed these individuals to walk off from their meds.
Many have.
All of those who quit their legal drugs suffered from severe withdrawal symptoms for months, but have no gone on to have full happy lives.
In my wife’s case it almost completely destroyed who she was. She slept when she wasn’t working, except for meals. Her emotions were relegated to “meh” and “I don’t care”, except for about once every few months, when she would inexplicably lose it and would turn into one of the largest bitches I’ve ever known.
It got to the point where I was afraid she would do something to hurt one of us physically.
More than all of our other hardships, those damned pills about ruined our relationship. Fuck SSRIs, those who make them, and those who prescribe them.
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21st January 2013 at 6:01 pm
Eddie says:
Benzodiazapines are worse, imho
Withdrawal from Xanax can cause people to have seizures. For a few unlucky souls this can go on for months or years.
I routinely prescribe this drug as a one time anxiolytic agent for nervous patients. A 2mg dose often causes complete amnesia for the day of the appointment, when supplemented with a little nitrous oxide. I really don’t think this drug should ever be handed out for daily use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome
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21st January 2013 at 6:25 pm
SSS says:
TPC and Eddie
Would you two kindly join me over on the “Kill Pills” thread? For some godawful reason, I can’t get anyone on this site to suggest a SOLUTION to giving SSRI’s to children, respond to my suggestions, or say anything to solve this issue.
It’s friggin’ frustrating, particularly when you’ve dealing with a crowd that is notoriously outspoken and sometimes, repeat sometimes, loves to take a giant shit on me at every available opportunity.
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21st January 2013 at 6:50 pm
nonner says:
the crew chief came by and because he is an oldtimer who used to work at our company, he sat down to shoot the shit. he mentioned his triple bypass surgery and i asked him about that. he said he was lucky to have the best surgeon, the best cardiologist and the best anethesiologist all available. after the surgery he said the surgeon offered to show him the video of his operation. the surgeon advised him to follow the cardiologist’s instructions to the letter. we all produce plaque and cholesterol, there’s no avoiding it. you know how soil cracks when it is dry? as you age, your arteries crack like that and the ends curl so that plaque collects there, i would recommentd you take CoQ10, vitamin C and all the fish oil you can handle, there’s no overdoing fish oil.
it reminds me of a comment an undertaker made, oriental corpses are easy to flush out taking only minutes, americanos tend to take a few hours to flush out their veins and arteries of blood.
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21st January 2013 at 9:05 pm
Food is better than antidepressants | Breathe and Smile says:
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21st January 2013 at 1:41 pm
My Website » Just another WordPress site » Food is better than antidepressants says:
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21st January 2013 at 5:47 pm