For Tired SG

Some Thoughts posted this in response to Tired SG: "Have you tried any of the new antidepressants? If you are suicidal or in a deep pit consider getting medication to facilitate other treatments. It can get you to the point where you may be able to think rationally and clearly enough to look at your past and work some things out."

I'm a big believer in better living through chemistry and take an antidepressant myself. HOWEVER, people who have experienced serious trauma during childhood while the brain is still growing & developing very often need to try several different medications before finding the right one or combination. The brain chemistry of traumatized children is altered in some fundamental ways that make their depressive symptoms more difficult to treat.

The same thing can be said for soldiers who are traumatized in combat. If they don't receive treatment within a certain period of time following the traumatic injury, their symptoms are much, much more difficult to alleviate.

These comments are not meant to discourgage people in recovery from trauma, just the opposite -- be aware that finding the right medications take time & patience, and even then, it may not be realistic to expect medication to bring complete relief. It's equally important to develop a wholistic wellness regime that includes exercise, proper diet & sleep, avoidance of mood altering substances (street drugs & alcohol, NOT aromatherapy!), stress management activity (massage, music, caring for a pet), and the social support of friends who understand and care.

When you think about TF's lifestyle and how Queenie encourages her followers to maintain it, it's all about staying busy, busy, busy little worker bees. Zerby preaches that people who are closest to Jesus will get supernatural energy to carry on with all their busy-ness, but what really happens is people crash and burn. Before they crash & burn, they get really tired. Then they get "dealt with" and either re-commit to the only thing they know (more busy-ness) or take their first frightening steps toward leaving.

IMO, the unhealthy tendancy toward extreme busy-ness is one of the most self-destructive habits people raised in TF need to unlearn. It's OK to do no more than breathe and notice the color purple in a field of flowers. Take a wiff of lavender oil. Get your feet massaged. Lay out in the warm sunshine for 15 minutes. Watch the birds splash and feed. Go fishing. Play with a cat. Take a long nap. Listen to Ravel's La Mer. Talk with an old friend you haven't heard from in a while.