Help with depression - Jim/Erika/Keypass - anyone

Waterfall,

I believe you're on Prozac, right? Wean off slowly. Start by breaking up the tablet in small amounts. Take 3/4 or 1/2 for four to five days and then break it down further and further until you are down to barely nothing. If the process take three to four weeks, so be it. You SHOULD NEVER go off these drugs cold turkey. There is a half-life of Prozac that resides in your liver so even though you are taking less, be assured that your liver is still processing some of the drug from the day before. Because of this, you may choose another option which is to take a full dose every other day. Then after a week or so, take a full dose every couple days. Continue until you are only doing one tablet a week and then whittle that down. You see what I'm saying?

While you are doing this, build up your system with LOTS of essential fatty acids (coconut oil, evening primrose oil, fish oils, flax seed oil, rice bran oil). Your brain and body needs EFA's to combat the stress and support the process. Bitter teas that address the liver will help detox the liver and expediate the detox process. The best is dandelion root (plain not roasted.)

Once you off the Prozac, consider a good natural transitional remedy such as lithium orotate or Seroctin (check out the thread on panic attacks.) There are tons of good herbs out there that address stress and depression. Also, look to chemical sensetivities, aspartame, MSG, food colorings and other chemicals in food that trigger the depressed state.

And understand that ANYONE who breaks up a relationship that means anything to them is going to go through extreme sadness and crying. It's normal. If you did NOT do this, I'd be more worried about you.

I would like others homeopaths to post on this thread. I'm going to be gone on and off for the next four weeks.

You must be off Prozac in order for Seroctin to work. It cannot fight the drug. You've taken enough Ignatia. Let the remedy work for you. Wean off the Prozac bit by bit and keep busy. I can feel your pain from your writing. Sometimes, after a dose such as what you've taken of Ignatia, one must just let go and let God through. There is no escaping sadness or grief for what is felt deeply in one's heart. To feel deeply is both a gift and a curse. But to not feel or to not allow yourself to feel, is robbing yourself of what it means to be alive. We are taught, for some odd reason, that life is supposed to be one happy, non-stop party with no highs and lows and if we have those highs and lows, we must take some drug to keep us level. What nonsense! We have created a population who don't want to feel pain...even the slightest bit. The key is to learn to embrace love when you have it and to find love in the smallest of things (a pet, a beautiful sunset, a thunderstorm, a rainbow, a beautiful flower arrangement, a goldfish....whatever). Find the beauty in this world. If a prisoner in a cell by himself can find peace, love and affection for an ant crawling across his filthy cell, certainly we can all find numerous things in this world to love and appreciate. Make a list of 50 things you love, no matter how big or small and then keep that list with you to remind you that there are 50 things to be on the lookout for that will make you happy and peaceful. It might sound like some dumb, New Age idea, but it will open your eyes to the fact that there are at least 50 things out there that you love. And if there are more, by all means, keep on writing.

those are wonderful thoughts and ideas Jim - it is all so true! There is no escaping the sadness but the love is there if we remember it. Thank you.
Waterfall - you do not need to worry about anything you did not tell - it is up to you what you wish to share and what you are ready to share.
None of the remedies you have taken will take away the necessary pain and grief but they will ALL help you process it well and come through it.
I agree that you have had enough of the nat mur and ignatia.
Phos-Ac may be useful once again here for you as it is a great remedy to help through grief - especially if you feel you want to just curl up and ignore the world. Yo could try 3 doses of ph-ac 30c for one day only (1 in the morning, 1 around noon and 1 evening) and report back if it has helped. take care

I'm so sorry that you are feeling so sad and hope that each new day will bring you a reminder of the good things that will come - in fact good things really will come in good time - I know this sounds 'trite' and everyone says this but it is true. take care and let me know how it goes with the phos-ac.

Re: Prozac, try it every four days and buffer up on those EFAs as I mentioned earlier. Then if you come to day four on Prozac and feel like you might have been able to go to day 5, the NEXT time go five days and so on. Once you get to day 11 in the cycle, you can make up your mind if you wish to stop it at that time. Meanwhile, get some positive reinforcement going. Order the lithium orotate and/or the Seroctin. Both work well together. And yes, the Phos-ac is worth a good go but stick to the dose schedule that Erika mentioned. Let the remedy work, okay? Homeopathy is not a crutch.

Change your surroundings. If you are stuck in your house and worrying about him, get out where there are other people. Go to a mall, a supermarket, go to an uplifting movie...be around people, even if it's just walking down a street where other people are. You might still be thnking about him but you won't be able to be all-consumed in the thoughts because you'll be in public and you'll have to navigate around the world. You are also coming down off Prozac. This is playing a role in the obsessive thoughts as well. Ride out this storm and KNOW that it will end eventually. You will get off Prozac and get onto something more natural and the pain you feel will be a distant memory. Trust me on this. When the "girl of my dreams" and I broke up 20 years ago, I was devasated. I/we had planned a lifetime together and then she left me for another guy. I went into such a funk that I thought I'd never recover. Then I met another woman quite by accident.....the woman I'd eventully marry and the woman I was truly meant to be with. I thank God that the "girl of my dreams" left me so I could find my true soul mate. I know it's hard for you now. But feel the pain and move onto your next adventure.

So, you're thinking about stuff that is not even a reality right now. You're way ahead of yourself. I'm not one to say "Take this for this feeling" unless you are really having a bad time of it. However, a 30x dose of Belladonna may be of help right now to stop that rotating mind (take one dose this afternoon and one dose this evening and then stop). However, Erika mentioned the Phos-Ac to you. Have you started that? If so, do not do the Belladonna. Let the Phos-Ac do its job.

If you're into gemstone therapy, get a piece of rose quartz and hold it on your heart chakra (between your breasts). If you have to, tape it there. This will ease your heartache. If you can find a rose quartz pendant (heart shaped would be great) place it on a chain so that the pendant falls at your heart chakra point. Wear it all day long for as long as you need to.

Hi Waterfall - how are you today? the quartz advice is spot-on - I used this in an awful break-up. Like Jim I had lost the 'love of my life' and was devastated, yet a few months after he left me I met the guy I married in a very unexpected place!!! I am so glad I was dumped by the 'love of my life' too - life and love are very strange!!
I was also helped by bach flower rescue remedy and Gentian (these are fine alongside homeopathic and can be taken frequently which could be helpful for you). These days I think the australian bush flower remedies have special mixtures for the emotional states that are very effective.
In addition to the gems mentioned I also carried a tourquoise gem stone around - this helps protect from negative energies.
I am going away for a month or two from the 24 June, so keep well and happy. :) erika

Waterfall,

Thanks for the update. Glad to know you are more even with your emotions. Re: the Bach flower remedies. You can take up to 5 of them at a time. Either take them directly out of the stock bottle or place four drops of each remedy (up to 5) in a one ounce dropper bottle. Fill the bottle 3/4 with spring water (not tap water) and the remaining 1/4 with brandy to preserve the remedy bottle. This bottle will last for up to one month unrefrigerated as long as it is kept cool, out of the heat and away from electrical appliances and/or computers. By using the remedy bottle approach, you save on your stock bottles and can customize the perfect remedy from Bach's vast array of healing flowers.

Do let me know how the Seroctin works for you if and when you start on it. I am compiling a sheet on people using it for my own use. So far, the success ratio is nearly 95% with the remaining 5% saying they are still benefitting on a more minor level.
One gentleman who started on it nearly one month ago says that he is feeling it even more strongly now than ever and has made some amazing conclusions about his life and his emotional structure. So, at least for this man, there seems to be a profound abilty to step back, see where you are getting in your own way and make constructive changes.

All the best,

Jim

Waterfall,

First off, I do think you are reacting to the Ignatia. (The Thiaspi is too low a dose to create that kind of reaction.) As painful as it is right now, realize that this is actually an excellent sign. The layers of sadness are working themselves out. All I can tell you is not to react so much if you can to what is happening emotionally but to feel it and allow it to happen so that you can break away the walls that have been confining your spirit for so long. Don't look at this as "going downhill," as you stated. Look at this as unraveling the intricate spiral of emotional debris that has held you back.

Re: the Seroctin, I'd start with 3 in the morning and 3 before bedtime. Do that for three to four days and then let me know how/what you feel.

My wife and I are leaving town August 5 and will be gone for two weeks. Just to let you know this in case you post during that time.

Waterfall,

Everything is happening exactly as it should. The remedies are working. The fact that you acknowledge that you do have periods of feeling quite positive shows me that the layers are peeling away very well. Remember: we have sadly become conditioned in our society to believe that the kind of heavy, hard emotions you are feeling are "bad" and need to be suppressed by drugs. FEELING has become a disease. If you suppress the grief you feel at your loss, it will most certainly rear its ugly head in the future; but then it will manifest as something quite deeper physically and, possibly, more serious. You are doing the right thing now and working toward emotional balance. Keep using the White Chestnut and carry on with the Seroctin. The fact that you fell asleep earlier is a great sign that the Seroctin is also working. I would also add Honeysuckle Bach Flower to your daily routine. This is perfect for your thoughts of nostalgia re: the relationship and living in the past instead of the present. You can take it with the White Chestnut but separately. Allow a few minutes between separate doses.

Re: Seroctin, just got a nice call last night from a patient who came to me three weeks ago with stomach pains due to the stress of taking care of her husband who has dementia. She'd tried Prilosec and other drugs for her stomach pain and, of course, nothing worked. The doctor wanted to put her on Prozac for her "stress" but she refused. She came to me with the announcement that she was "only going to take one thing" because she wasn't sure about natural medicine. I figured, alleviate the stress and the stomach pains will take care of themselves. It worked. She called to say the Seroctin has completely gotten rid of her stomach pains. I tried to explain to her that the Seroctin worked on her stress levels, balancing her serotonin and melatonin and thereby causing a calming down effect which released anxiety and made her stomach stop hurting but she was sure that it worked for stomach pains!!! Now, she's willing to delve further into natural medicine because she has seen "proof" it works.