Alcohol is a pretty safe drug, I endorse this drug for those who can stay in control of themselves while on it.

Here's my advice for your friend, take the same money she would spend on psych drugs and spend it on a week at some warm sunny place. Alcohol is to some extent like other antidepressants, taken in excess at first you feel great and by the time it stops working you are addicting and can't stop using it. Alcohol is only problematic in excessive doses, I wonder if there's a non lethal pleasant dose of other anti'd's. Doesn't look like it.

I've found out the hard way it's not easy to advise friends and acquaintances about antidepressants especially once they're on them, but even beforehand, they've usually made up their minds. All you can do is urge them to understand that dosage is something to think about and to read up on adverse effects, short and long term, and to be aware there is a withdrawal issue. I don't ever push the placebo effect because nearly everyone attests to that little high the pills give you at least initially -- I call it the "bipolar" effect. I also urge finding a really good counselor, preferably one that doesn't like meds (hard to do). But a lot of people really don't want to do talk therapy -- it's sad, but I guess it's kind of understandable. Some therapists stink and it's bloody expensive.

this is a great post, being in the area i was out and about yesterday and all in one day, sun, rain, hail, thunder and snow. i was standing soaked from a downpour of rain last october at the grocery store, and a man and i were discussing the annual hibernation about to take place: seattle's hibernation and as he said, "dvd time". i think this is a time of year when ppl. DO need to drop alcohol and hell, try and get thru it w/out starting anti depressants, I say that because i think this stuff is seasonal mood changes for some ppl. I started the winter with booze and dvd's and when i stopped the booze and switched to herb tea and dvd's i have been less affected by seattle's notorious moody weather.

There is one thing they say about Seattle; we have 2 seasons, winter and summer.

I also had no idea it was baseball season until driving in my car and heard the announcement on the radio. doesn't feel like baseball season.

Hey, I have to join in this little whine fest. We all deserve it.

We have had more godd*mned snow here in NH this year than you can shake a stick at. We've broken the 100-year record quite handily and are going for all time. Mr. Duck and I try to do fun things like ski and snowshoe to keep ahead of the curve. It never works, but it does help some. At some point I simply become frozen inside, a mirror of the land around me. To paraphrase Jefferson Airplane (yep, I'm *that* old) "Winter had inhaled and held its breath too long".

This year we've been so friggin' overwhelmed by the shovelling of paths, driveways and roofs required just to survive we're too exhausted to even think about fun. At one point we were having a building a day collapsing in our area--one day three fell down from the weight of snow on the roof.

Our four-foot fence disappeared entirely. Thank god our current dogs don't want to break out, although one of them walked over the fence without knowing it and was confused to find himself in the road. We can see about a foot of it now--on the sunny *south* side of the yard. It's April 1.

Believe it or not, the city in the US that has the greatest number of cloudy days is... Burlington, VT! Burlington is one of the nicest cities I know (right up there with Seattle, except Seattle beats Burlington because it has Pike St. Market and all those flying fish), but it's right on the edge of Lake Champlain and they don't get to see much sun even in summer. I had a friend who used to live (or try to) in Burlington and he moved out because he had SAD all year round.

Do you Seattleites (is that correct?) use light boxes? I have one and it does help. The problem I have is that it's close enough to some of my abuse to trigger my PTSD symptoms. How very jolly. Not. So I muddle along, try to get outside as much as my agoraphobia allows (yes, I know I sound like an SNL skit or an advertisement for my local mental "health" center).

Let's stick together, gang. Raise our fists in the air and yell "Feck YOU, WINTER!!!" Nice and loud, now, it'll get our endorphins moving. I hope.
Sherry
PS: Stephany, I didn't know you live in Seattle! Congratulations. I think.

As soon as it became obvious that the melting of the icecaps means SNOW in the Midwest in the winter, I knew I had to commit to a winter sport. I think people have to get outside, even though it's cold, rather than drug up and stay in.

Bundle up, we say. Walking is a sport.

I bought cross-country skis, and even though I'll regret it for the next few months (don't say I didn't warn you, you'll fall) think it was worth it.

hah! Sherry, you made me laugh! I needed that! PS- one of my kids caught one of those flying fish! not me, yuck.

"So we called the nurse and they think she's bipolar. What do you think?"

Oh how I love comptent healthcare (insert sarcasm!) 4 days on an anti-depressant and talking to a nurse = a BP dx? I think you need to tell your friend to make sure that doesn't end up in her medical records. Shameful......

As for the weather, I am tired of the weather too. Having lived in Seattle my whole life and now living in Jersey, though it is sunny, it is just too damn cold to go outside, so I am stuck either way. I feel you Philip!!!!

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hey philip! i totally agree with this post one year later look! it's freaking snowing!!!

GRRR damn weather!