Mental health..when your freinds want to kill you. . .

[dirtyfacedan]

I have some mental health issues, we all do. I used to use a lot of street speed (meth), and was a messed up kid to begin with. i'm paying for it now. My freinds try, and do help me out. it does help. I don't like to take the drugs the doc's give me, they dope me down...make me stupid, i have enough problems with that on my own. Shit...i know the voices are lies..but damn...it gets tought. I like to ride...drink...help keep the voices down low. I know i'm not the only one.
self madicating only goes so far...and the rest comes down to me. I need to stay healthy...my head is a fuckt space...my freinds know it, and help me out...give me the right space. self discipline is important but only goes so far. i can hold my own...for several years...as i have done....but it gets rough. Any toughts?

 

[wokofshame]

i usually give the monkey that sits on my right shoulder a gin and tonic, he promptly keels over and starts snoring in that way only Monkeys Stolen From The Queen of England by my godfather snore, and the sound calms me down.

 

[dirtyfacedan]

i usually give the monkey that sits on my right shoulder a gin and tonic, he promptly keels over and starts snoring in that way only Monkeys Stolen From The Queen of England by my godfather snore, and the sound calms me down.

Yeh...so the method works....why screw with a working machine. so be it...if it aint
broke. . . . it keeps the voices down low....love the booze, and the frieght noize keeps it on the low.

 

[EaznaZ]

multivitamins! And b vitamins! B vitamins help us to make seritonin! Something our bodies desperately need, and really affects our happiness and stress levels. A lot of drugs use up the vitamins in our bodies, and they do so so rapidly that its hard to replenish that deficiency with just the vitamins in our food.

I had really horrible depression, on and off for the majority of my life (I still kind of fear winter, because winter's always less fun). Aside from becoming a hobo/traveller and having the time of my life, I started taking B vitamins, originally in pill form, and now I just monitor it in my diet and occasionally take a B complex (you need other B vitamins to absorb the B6 that is directly related to seritonin production) and wheee I'm happy, not crazy and stressed and spinning in my head! (B complexes are being bottled as 'stress formulas' now too)

Note that different companies have different standards, and some are owned by pharmaceutical companies (mixed agendas) so while it may seem that a certain vitamin doesn't help you, it may just be the brand. Usually a good health food store/vitamin shop salesperson can tell you good brands. Sometimes cheaper isn't worth it in the value, but Jameson is pharmaceutically owned, cheap vitamins, not the best, but not bad and usually available just about anywhere.

Lots of other options too, but that's a quick, easy one that will help, even if it does not absolutely cure you.

For true cures of drug leftovers in the body, cleanses are very important, but should be supervised by a natural health practitioner. Many people try to cleanse by fasting and the like, but their bodies were in rough shape before the fast, thus they're just dumping toxins into their organs and overloading everything, not actually helping. Anyways, that's a whole topic unto itself, just know that there are ways to get rid of drug deposits and crap leftover from drugs too and many herbalists, naturopaths, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic doctors know many different ways to do it.

 

[compass]

You could try meditation. When I meditate regularly, I have much more awareness and control of my cognitive "issues".

Check out www.dhamma.org There's different techniques and philosophies out there, but this technique really works for me. They have centers and courses all over the world. The courses are free, the whole organization is run by volunteers and donations. I have some reservations about the organization, and a couple little things about the center in North Fork, CA, but all in all, the foundation is good, and they are providing something I find to be invaluable, to anyone who seeks. And no, it isn't a cult, there are a few "cultish" things about it, but not a big deal and nothing to worry about.

You have to sit a full 10 day course for your first course. It's pretty damned intense: first nine days silent (no talking, gestures, eye contact, etc.) (except for daily brief Q/A times with the teachers), only two meals a day (fruit/tea in the evenings for new students, or unless you have health issues), and if you follow the timetable closely, 10-11 hours of meditating a day.

It isn't something to jump into lightly, without a serious determination to stick it out, but if you can find that point of balance within, and learn how to strengthen/maintain it through some of the craziest shit your mind starts puking out when you start to get it quiet/still, then you will no doubt come out of the course a much stronger person with a greater and more profound understanding of your mind.

PEACE

 

[beat_tramp]

I like ladles.

 

[beat_tramp]

I have some mental health issues, we all do. I used to use a lot of street speed (meth), and was a messed up kid to begin with. i'm paying for it now. My freinds try, and do help me out. it does help. I don't like to take the drugs the doc's give me, they dope me down...make me stupid, i have enough problems with that on my own. Shit...i know the voices are lies..but damn...it gets tought. I like to ride...drink...help keep the voices down low. I know i'm not the only one.
self madicating only goes so far...and the rest comes down to me. I need to stay healthy...my head is a fuckt space...my freinds know it, and help me out...give me the right space. self discipline is important but only goes so far. i can hold my own...for several years...as i have done....but it gets rough. Any toughts?

It takes at least a year more or less for your mind and body to get back to normal after a lifetime of drug abuse or even just a breif habit - that is if you stay completely clean for a year.If theres any way you could just lay off the booze for a year it'd do you quite well and any relapses greatly interfere with the healing process (and the booze are almost just as bad for your mind as the meth).Usually such a thing is damn near impossible for a true addict/alcy on your(that is our) own non-existent will power wich is where the whole depending on an higher power thing comes in.

 

[katiehabits]

look into herbal things. i get bad depression & just want to drown it with booze but for me it makes it way worse so i started looking into things that would pick me up. mint, basil, lavender, rosemary, dark chocolate(not really herbal/medicine but it make me feel better some times)....... just to name a few. it's a never ending process learning about what your body needs & wants & what you should & shouldn't give it. also learning about herbal medicine is a life long hobbie once you get into it. give it a try there's not alot you can lose from the sounds of it.

 

[IBRRHOBO]

diet, sun and exercise (i.e.; massive amounts of rail riding, etc.). if ur real bored, u can read up on the science and shit (reprogramming 'engrams' and repairing of the mylan sheath (conduit of the neurosyanptic pulses). me, i shot a lot of dope in the war (Op Just Cause) did the tx shit and VA to no avail. i found that when i came to be comfortable w/myself and didn't give a shit about others' (mainly their baggage they wanted me to help them carry) i was a hell of a lot better off. blah, blah. keep ur head high and the wind @ ur back bro and Good Hunting!

 

[jokey_bogus]

i always just spend to much time alone, and drinking constantly doesnt help really, in the end atleast.

my advice is just kick it with some good people.

 

[Adonis]

You could try meditation. When I meditate regularly, I have much more awareness and control of my cognitive "issues".

Check out www.dhamma.org There's different techniques and philosophies out there, but this technique really works for me. They have centers and courses all over the world. The courses are free, the whole organization is run by volunteers and donations. I have some reservations about the organization, and a couple little things about the center in North Fork, CA, but all in all, the foundation is good, and they are providing something I find to be invaluable, to anyone who seeks. And no, it isn't a cult, there are a few "cultish" things about it, but not a big deal and nothing to worry about.

You have to sit a full 10 day course for your first course. It's pretty damned intense: first nine days silent (no talking, gestures, eye contact, etc.) (except for daily brief Q/A times with the teachers), only two meals a day (fruit/tea in the evenings for new students, or unless you have health issues), and if you follow the timetable closely, 10-11 hours of meditating a day.

It isn't something to jump into lightly, without a serious determination to stick it out, but if you can find that point of balance within, and learn how to strengthen/maintain it through some of the craziest shit your mind starts puking out when you start to get it quiet/still, then you will no doubt come out of the course a much stronger person with a greater and more profound understanding of your mind.

PEACE

Thanks for the info, I signed up for one here in Ontario and will be doing my 10 days come early April!

 

[Shoestring]

Like "IBRRHOBO" said above, "Massive amounts of rail riding"!
For years doctors tried placing me on medications that supposedly would simmer down my rapid thoughts, but you know what?......I finally came to the conclusion that I actually would rather be the way that I am now, than to simmer down because no telling who I'd become if I'd simmer down! I love being "Shoestring" and would rather be me than anybody else in the entire world, so never fret about how you may think the world sees you, because my friend, you are one in a trillion! You are what makes you so special! You are the one who makes you, "YOU"!
So, ride hard and be what "YOU" want to be and not what others try to tell you to be "LIKE"!
Again, you are one in a trillion! You are so unique in your very own way and never let some doctor try to tell you the way "HE" thinks that you should act.

I tried the medication thingy for a while until I realized that nothing in the world can change who you truely are.

So, sit back and relax in being "YOU"!
Good post "DirtyFaceDan"!!
"Shoestring"

 

[compass]

Thanks for the info, I signed up for one here in Ontario and will be doing my 10 days come early April!

Right on! Have a good sit. Don't worry about "saaaaaadoooooooo". Let me know how it went.

PEACE

 

[Rash L]

ok, so I am sure I am going to get a lot of negative responses to this...

After years of changing my medication and mental health care around, I have finally found the medications and regiment that works for me. I have also found that pharmaceutical drugs are much better for me (and more stable) than self-medicating with street drugs and alcohol. Sure its still drugs... and you have to go through a LOT of medications sometimes to find the right ones, and people are probably going to tell you that you are lame for using prescribed pills instead of heroin, but personally i think its a better way to go if you can deal with it, and it can be cheaper than a lot of stuff you could be self medicating with.

Herbal stuff is AWESOME, and I am completely down for trying holistic approaches before/along-side western medicine! But they aren't always enough to remedy your problems.

OK, bash away now.