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> Depressed people move more slowly, in a characteristic pattern called “psychomotor retardation”. They display perceptual abnormalities. They’re more likely to

> Depressed people move more slowly, in a characteristic pattern called “psychomotor retardation”. They display perceptual abnormalities. They’re more likely to get sick. There are lots of results like this. > Depression has to be about something more than just beliefs; it has to be something fundamental to the nervous system. Depression is frequently related to metabolic problems: people are exhausted because their mitochondria aren't putting out enough ATP to run their nervous system. There are various interventions that can help. B-vitamins are important cofactors for burning sugar to make energy. T4 thyroid is activated by the liver to make T3, which is one factor that boosts the metabolism. If the liver is overworked (alcohol, drugs, hormonal imbalance, too much pufa, etc), it can have trouble activating adequate thyroid. Emotional resiliency is a big factor here too. My friend was really just lonely before she met me. She's doing better now because she now has a 'vision' for her future (she originally 'lost her future' when she was expelled from high school, essentially for being depressed and self-medicating with drugs that are now being investigated for treating depression).

tsomctl 9y ago
I find that creatine helps, which weight lifters take to make it easier for your muscles to use ATP.
- jadbox 9y ago
  I wouldn't recommend taking creatine if you don't work out or get cardio. Without that, creatine can cause weight gain due to water retention. If you do exercise, creatine should an essential be part of your stack.
  - misev 9y ago
    Why is water weight gain an issue?
    - pault 9y ago
      You don't want to take a group of people with notoriously low self esteem and make them fat.
      - WalterSear 9y ago
        Creatine weight gain doesn't make you fat: it plumps up muscles, making you look more muscular, which, in turn, makes you look like you've lost weight.
  - tomp 9y ago
    Why would you be worried about weight gain if you know it's just water?
  - 3131s 9y ago
    I strongly disagree. You can be an extremely good athlete without any supplement "stack" whatsoever. Maybe creatine helps eke out slightly better performance in certain activities, but like with most supplements it's really not worth the risk to your kidneys and other internal organs. If you exercise, eating well and sleeping enough is sufficient.
    - tsomctl 9y ago
      Dunno. I take significantly less than the recommended amount, and still find that I have significantly more mental and physical energy for everything. I recently tested this when I stopped taking it while on a certain medicine.
    - eternauta3k 9y ago
      Got any links to the "risk to your kidneys"?
- asddddd 9y ago
  Note that creatine should be avoided if you're bipolar, according to a study or two and a lot of anecdotes. Kidneys: https://examine.com/nutrition/does-creatine-cause-kidney-problems/ https://examine.com/nutrition/does-creatine-cause-kidney-pro... Overall, it's a very safe and moderately effective supplement, particularly if you don't eat a lot of red meat. Just make sure to drink enough water. I wouldn't say I've been depressed (a psychiatrist might disagree, I've been dx'ed with it in the past), but daily 5mg creatine and 2k IU vitamin D have made a remarkable difference in mood/energy for me this year.
bluntfang 9y ago
there's a difference between doing a bunch of molly every weekend for fun and self medicating.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- sixo 9y ago
  There is, it's usually pretty easy to tell the difference. Doubt anyone would mistake them, and I doubt the OP is.
  - tcj_phx 9y ago
    > There is, it's usually pretty easy to tell the difference. Doubt anyone would mistake them, and I doubt the OP is. A few months ago a young man (early 20's) came into a shop I sometimes hang out at. "What brought you to town?" "Recovery." He'd been in town for 3 weeks, and sober for 3 weeks and 1 day. I asked him, "People usually know when their problems when substances started, when did it start for you?" When he was in 3rd grade his teacher thought he was disruptive. They put him on some kind of medication for "ADHD". He told his parents in 9th grade that he was going to kill himself if they didn't take him off the pills. Soon after discontinuing his "ADHD" medications was when he started experimenting with self-medicating... Tobacco, alcohol, etc. His latest bender was on alcohol & laughing gas (nitrous oxide [0], for the euphoria). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Recreational_use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Recreational_use After a bit I told him, "I bet you're exhausted." "YEAH!" "Recovery" is good for getting people to feel like failures, so I thought it'd be helpful for putting a different 'frame' on his last 15 years. I told him that he doesn't actually have a substance abuse problem, he's just been exhausted this whole time, and didn't know what to do to help improve his energy levels. I gave a few suggestions for keeping his energy levels up. Saw him three or four more times over the next 2-3 months, and he was doing much better. I saw him last 2 days before he returned to where he came from. I think he's got a chance this time.
    - HerrFolgreich 9y ago

tsomctl 9y ago

I find that creatine helps, which weight lifters take to make it easier for your muscles to use ATP.

jadbox 9y ago
I wouldn't recommend taking creatine if you don't work out or get cardio. Without that, creatine can cause weight gain due to water retention. If you do exercise, creatine should an essential be part of your stack.
- misev 9y ago
  Why is water weight gain an issue?
  - pault 9y ago
    You don't want to take a group of people with notoriously low self esteem and make them fat.
    - WalterSear 9y ago
      Creatine weight gain doesn't make you fat: it plumps up muscles, making you look more muscular, which, in turn, makes you look like you've lost weight.
- tomp 9y ago
  Why would you be worried about weight gain if you know it's just water?
- 3131s 9y ago
  I strongly disagree. You can be an extremely good athlete without any supplement "stack" whatsoever. Maybe creatine helps eke out slightly better performance in certain activities, but like with most supplements it's really not worth the risk to your kidneys and other internal organs. If you exercise, eating well and sleeping enough is sufficient.
  - tsomctl 9y ago
    Dunno. I take significantly less than the recommended amount, and still find that I have significantly more mental and physical energy for everything. I recently tested this when I stopped taking it while on a certain medicine.
  - eternauta3k 9y ago
    Got any links to the "risk to your kidneys"?
asddddd 9y ago
Note that creatine should be avoided if you're bipolar, according to a study or two and a lot of anecdotes. Kidneys: https://examine.com/nutrition/does-creatine-cause-kidney-problems/ https://examine.com/nutrition/does-creatine-cause-kidney-pro... Overall, it's a very safe and moderately effective supplement, particularly if you don't eat a lot of red meat. Just make sure to drink enough water. I wouldn't say I've been depressed (a psychiatrist might disagree, I've been dx'ed with it in the past), but daily 5mg creatine and 2k IU vitamin D have made a remarkable difference in mood/energy for me this year.

bluntfang 9y ago

there's a difference between doing a bunch of molly every weekend for fun and self medicating.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
sixo 9y ago
There is, it's usually pretty easy to tell the difference. Doubt anyone would mistake them, and I doubt the OP is.
- tcj_phx 9y ago
  > There is, it's usually pretty easy to tell the difference. Doubt anyone would mistake them, and I doubt the OP is. A few months ago a young man (early 20's) came into a shop I sometimes hang out at. "What brought you to town?" "Recovery." He'd been in town for 3 weeks, and sober for 3 weeks and 1 day. I asked him, "People usually know when their problems when substances started, when did it start for you?" When he was in 3rd grade his teacher thought he was disruptive. They put him on some kind of medication for "ADHD". He told his parents in 9th grade that he was going to kill himself if they didn't take him off the pills. Soon after discontinuing his "ADHD" medications was when he started experimenting with self-medicating... Tobacco, alcohol, etc. His latest bender was on alcohol & laughing gas (nitrous oxide [0], for the euphoria). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Recreational_use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Recreational_use After a bit I told him, "I bet you're exhausted." "YEAH!" "Recovery" is good for getting people to feel like failures, so I thought it'd be helpful for putting a different 'frame' on his last 15 years. I told him that he doesn't actually have a substance abuse problem, he's just been exhausted this whole time, and didn't know what to do to help improve his energy levels. I gave a few suggestions for keeping his energy levels up. Saw him three or four more times over the next 2-3 months, and he was doing much better. I saw him last 2 days before he returned to where he came from. I think he's got a chance this time.
  - HerrFolgreich 9y ago