Healing News

February          1997

FROM THE EDITOR

Thanks to each of you who have contributed to make this newsletter
what it is. It is a special place filled with helpful information 
contributed by you. February is the month of love. Let us each set
aside some time to love ourselves this month. We all need to take 
a moment now and then to enjoy that sunrise, take delight in watching
children play or just feel a gentle breeze.  

Let us all take care of loving ourselves at least a little this
month. 

Thank you, 

Gayle (Healerguide)

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DRUGS USED FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION part 2: antidepressants While these drugs are most commonly prescribed for depression, some of them have also been used for several other things: chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, urinary incontinence and the prevention of migraine headaches. There are several categories of antidepressant, but they all have a few things in common. Antidepressants are meant to eliminate the deepest lows of depression, the really bad times. They can help a person feel more motivated to do things, and can help concentration and memory. They can help a person feel more interested in social contact, and can make it easier to maintain in social and work situations. All of them begin working slowly. It takes about three weeks for the antidepressant effects to kick in. Side effects, if any, generally begin as soon as a person starts taking the drug, and may or may not get less troublesome with time. All of the antidepressants can interact with other drugs. There is an older category of antidepressant currently used only for people who don't respond well to all the alternatives.

This category called MAOI's, or monoamine oxidase inhibitors. MAOI's have lifethreatening interactions with the other antidepressants, as well as with a number of common foods and other drugs. Because these drugs are rarely used, I'm not going to say any more about them. The current theory about depression is that it is caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that allow electrical impulses to flow between nerves. No one knows whether this imbalance is initially caused by traumatic or sorrowful events, or whether it is a genetic problem like high blood pressure, or both. There are clinicians who believe that antidepressants are best used as a temporary treatment along with psychotherapy, and others who think long-term treatment is the right approach. What matters, of course, is what works for you. It's just important to be aware that this is an area of medical disagreement, and your particular prescriber(s) may be in one or the other camp. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) This is a new category of drug, generally both safer and more effective than older antidepressants. Drugs in this category are considered the first choices for mild to moderate depression, and include Prozak, Paxil and Zoloft. All of them tend to suppress appetite and sex drive. Prozak tends to be stimulating, like a cup of coffee.

This can either be a bad thing or a good thing; the main side effects of Prozak are agitation and insomnia, but a fair number of people feel more focused and alert even before the antidepressant effects can begin. Paxil is mildly sedating, while Zoloft is sedating enough to be helpful for insomnia. A note on sex drive: loss of interest in sex is a very very common side effect, in my experience more the rule than the exception. Loss of interest in sex is also an extremely common reaction both to depression and to sexual assault. Common side effects: anxiety, especially with Prozak; stomach and intestine problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation; headache, especially with Paxil; sleepiness, especially with Zoloft. Paxil seems to be the least likely to suppress sex drive. Other newer antidepressants Three other newer antidepressants on the market are Serzone, Wellbutrin and Effexor. I have very little experience with these. Serzone is quite sedating, and is marketed for use when people are anxious and having trouble sleeping along with being depressed. I've used it twice: one person found it worked great, and the other person became very confused and forgetful.

Other listed common side effects are nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, sleepiness and changes in vision. Both Wellbutrin and Effexor can cause seizures, and are not recommended for people who are epileptic. Wellbutrin is also not recommended for people with eating disorders, although I'm not sure why, and can cause agitation, tremor, headache, and psychosis. Older but still used antidepressants Probably the most used drugs in this category are the tricyclic antidepressants: Elavil, Pamelor, Tofranil, Sinequan and others. These drugs are also often used for control of chronic pain, for insomnia, for preventing migraine headaches, and sometimes for urinary incontinence. Doses for these other problems are usually lower than the dose needed for depression. The tricyclics can cause seizures and are extremely dangerous in overdose. Main side effects are sedation, dry mouth, constipation and urinary retention. Elavil tends to have the most side effects, and Sinequan among the least. Desyrel (trazodone) is a drug in a different category; actually, Serzone is its distant drug cousin. It doesn't work very well for depression, but it's excellent for insomnia. Unlike benzodiazepines like Valium or Restoril (see part one,) trazodone is safe to take nightly for a long time.

This is a pretty general overview of a big topic. I hope it's useful. If you have a specific question about one of these drugs, it's fine to e-mail me privately at byerwood@ix.netcom.com. 

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Just a few thoughts to encourage us. Courage is resistance to fear - mastery of fear -- not ABSENCE of fear. Mark Twain Behold the mighty oak - a nut who stood its ground. Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity. K. Williams 5/5/95 "We gain strength, courage and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." Eleanor Roosevelt "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can." by George Bernard Shaw

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Katherine Clark 

Blessed are the Days I have no fear;
Blessed are the Days I shed no tear.
Blessed are the Days I feel no pain;
Blessed are the Days when I am sain.
Blessed are the Days when I can accept a loving touch;
Blessed are the Days Blessed are the Days when I cry no more;
Blessed are the Days that my hopes can soar.
Blessed are the Days that my friends are near;
Blessed are the Days when my mind is clear.
Blessed are the Days I can accept a loving touch;

Clara Neilson
scniel@pdq.net

My body consumed by fire
Completely turned to ash
Death has come
Existing no more
From the flame and ash
Rises a new creature
Different from the last
Beautiful, stong, and free
The destruction had to be complete
For the rebirth to occur
The process is drastic
But well worth the fight
I rise anew from the ash
Taking to the air on powerful wings
Victory I claim
From the ashes of death
by Emily

Other helpful pages are:
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2203 The Rape Survivors\ Hope and Home Page with links to other sites and uplifting information.

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2891 The Road to Healing a page with many other links to help you find information.

http://raperecovery.terrashare.com You are here. (I had to get it in somehow lol.) It offers this newsletter and a listing of crisis centers from all 50 states, tips for healing, poems etc.

1. What is you favorite quiet form of relaxation?
a. Music
1. Kitaro 2. Yanni 3. Jars of Clay 4. Classical 5. Enya 6. Country

b. Massage

C. Jacuzzi/ relaxing bath
1. with scented oils/special soaps/gels 2. with scented candles

D. Quiet weekend with partner.

E. Soothing beverage, coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate

F. Working on my computer

G. Needlework/ knitting/ crochet

H. Holding a stuffed animal

I. Reading

J. writing/journaling

K. daydreaming

L. Drawing

M. Muscle relaxation techniques

N. Deep breathing/ meditation

O. Painting

P. self-hypnosis

2. What is your favorite active form of relaxation?

a. Kickboxing
b. Yoga
c. Tai chi
d. Jogging
e. Dog walking/playing
f. Working out
g. Backpacking/ hiking
h. drumming
I. Surfing-on the web.
j. Dancing
k. Cross-country skiing,
L. Rock-climbing
m. Karate

3. What helps you the most to begin/continue healing?

4. What do you feel people need to know about rape survivors the most?

5. Any other suggestions?

Mediation and Rape

I am in total agreement with Lorraine Fuller. Here is my .02 worth, with no attempt at feigning objectivity. (Please feel free to circulate this.) There is a generalized movement affort, driven by the Male Lobby and by counsellors looking for markets but essentially run by governments wanting to cut justice costs and keep women down, to disentitle females from legal recourse against men on issues of sexism. This plays out mostly in the field of family law but it has started expanding to wife-beating, sexual harassment and rape (including incest).

The most vicious aspect of this drive is that it pretends to satisfy women's demands to be allowed agency and to obtain closure for what they have suffered. The government and judicial system actually cite their own ineptness (based on an obvious reluctance) at prosecuting sexist assaulters and thieves (e.g. re: child support) to justify this "humane" form of dejudiciarization and the search for what they call "win-win" solutions,which essentially means that the perpetrator is to be satisfied with any outcome reached.

The wide-eyed liberal brigade fuels this with their notion that perps don't really know they hurt women and that mediation can therefore get them to listen to their victim's concerns and make amends. (groan) For institutions such as universities, corporations, the Armed Forces, etc., mediation is a stratagem for bypassing legal rights for female survivors living/working/studying on their premises, e,.g. talking complainants out of it, keeping the whole thing under wraps, helping assaulters and the institution save face, etc.

Some mediators (e.g. Linda Girdner) are honest enough to state publicly that mediation cannot occur and should not even be tried accross power differentials as blatant as that between an assaulter and his victim. But the protocols are already clicking into place everywhere and legal aid/prosecutorial support is increasingly being denied to those survivors who "resist" the mediation route and therefore become the uncooperative guilty party. As in enforced joint custody and visitation for child rapists, we are essentially seeing arm-twisting, disentitlement, reversal and immense risks of re-victimization, since mediation processes generally have precious few due process and safety safeguards.

The focus is on learning to "get along" again, leaving the past behind, seeing it from his perspective, etc. (bleah, ptui) A word of advice: ALWAYS consult a feminist lawyer before buying in to any form of mediation. In the U.S., NOW's Legal Defense Fund is now hosting the excellent collection of inexpensive and informative materials critical of mediation assembled by the now-closed National Center on Women and the Law.
Check it out.
Phone: (212) 925-6635.
Martin Dufresne Montreal Men Against Sexism

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As always,opinions in this newsletter may not be the same as mine, this is not intended to be a substitute for counseling or legal advice we have no expertise in those areas. This is written by and for survivors, their families and partners. Anyone wishing to submit may do so by emailing me at Healing News@journalist.com  with “submission” in the subject line.

Next Month: What is PTSD anyway? How do you live with a person who has it?