I don't mean for this to be a Dr. Phil session and i'm sure i'll get some flames but i could use some insight. Problem is i haven't ever really given a shit about really anything. I mean i'm not a sociopath, i do care about and love my family, friends, and pets. Example: In college i didn't give two shits about my grades i mean i'd never go to class or really apply myself and study because i just didn't care. Still pulled off a 2.75 gpa somehow. If someone asks me how i feel about pretty much anything my reaction is always apathetic. I always thought it was just because i'm extremely lazy because i've never felt "depressed" or sad daily but some recent research and a post by fractal r us in the "nothing makes me happy thread" made me think about tackling this issue with supplementation (DL-Phenylalanine). So my question is, does anyone else feel this way about life, am i secretly depressed, will supplementation help or am i just a lazy ass? "Another herbal remedy for depression is DL-Phenylalanine (DLPA), has been shown in double blind studies to have a superior antidepressant effect than many tricyclic antidepressants. This herbal remedy for depression works by raising phenylethylamine (PEA) levels in the brain increasing the production of Norepinephrine. This herbal remedy for depression also protects and increases the lifetime of Endorphins (chemicals involved in mood and pain regulation). DL-Phenylalanine converts to L-tyrosine in the body. Research has been done to show the effectiveness of this herbal remedy for depression but further research needs to be done to determine the best dose to take as well as the patients that are most likely to have a positive response to DL-Phenylalanine." http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/depression/herbal_remedy.htm
Take it 30 min before you go to bed, it makes you fall asleep more easily and gives vivid dreams. If you take it during the day, it makes you drowsy, and foggy.
Go see your doctor and get some anti-depressants. It made a world of difference for me as I have been depressed forever (my prescription of generics is $10 for 90 day supply at Walmart). My wife says she is glad to have back the man she married.
Try Yohimbe, not only is Yohimbe good to treat depression but can also give you a good hard on when you need it
You sound rather normal. Lucky actually for not caring about anything. If you never felt like putting a gun to your head then you are probably not depressed. And probably shouldn't take drugs including herbal remedies which can be harmful.
Noticed your link came from and ADD site. Your symptoms seem like they could be ADD but there are others. If you were to get diagnosed w/ADD the drugs Ritalin, Adderall, Desoxyn would help w/motivation and mood. Antidepressant's are also used for the treatment of ADD but are not effective in my opinion on a lot of people. I have ADD and LOVE the meds. I don't take them all them time only when I need to focus for longer periods of time but when I take it it is like night and day. Paul
Thanks for the responses so far. I read this from the other doomy thread which is similar to my situation: I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. Anyone else out there that has tried it? Thanks!
the D-Phenylanine is different from the DL-Phenylanine... figure out which one you want to try first. Imo you have to play with the dosages, it's not dangerous in normal doses, it's not addicting either. I can take 500 mg of the D- variety and just be feeling too good to do much so I'm halving the dosage, today I took about 250 mg and I was able to work and feel good. I ordered some of this stuff too, it's extracted from herbs http://www.amoryn.com/howamorynworks.html I took some GABA for awhile and it was like a tranquilizer, had to put it away for awhile because I was too tranquil to work.... psychologists and doctors are never going to work with you on any of this stuff at all, you just have to dig in and find what is good for you... I was searching for something that would "get me going" on some software I need to finish, what really did it was to read a book about Jim Clark, the guy that started Netscape... I realized that I'm surrounded by non-nerds and they are the demotivating factor as much as any brain chemistry...
That pretty much describes me since college and maybe earlier. If the D-Phenylalanine hadn't worked so well, I probably would have sought out subscription drugs from a doctor, but this stuff has worked great for me. I think I've taken it since around June or so, and never felt "depressed" except for one time when I ran out and had a mild spell after a week or so of not taking it, and another time when I tried GABA and had another mild spell for a few days. Then I read that too much GABA causes depression so I stopped taking it, and it went away. I think the important point that helped me to realize that I might be experiencing depression is when I realized that depression isn't like being "sad". Since I was never sad and never had feelings of worthlessness, it never occured to me that what I was going through might be depression. Depression isn't an emotion, it is a chemical imbalance in your brain.