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Hi everyone I am the only one there that had put on me 40 pounds since taking effexor?!??!! I took 75mg of effexor during 4 months and now I am 40 pounds heavier, despite eating properly and doing sports. I talked to a pharmacist and he said that it can happen to some people, because it do reducing metabolism rate. Also, he told me that trintellix would have less weight gain than effexor. Did someone tried trintellix here? How it was and if you tried both, which you found was the best for avoiding weight gain? Do the metabolism will adapt to antidepressant and rise up at the end? 😮‍💨

From recently published research on JAMA Network Open, "...having a sense of purpose in life is associated with both physical and mental health and overall quality of life. Purposeful living has been defined in various ways. In general, purpose in life can be defined as “a self-organizing life aim that stimulates goals, ”promotes healthy behaviors, and gives meaning to life." Per the research on a cohort of nearly 7000 people over the age of 50, lack of life purpose is a modifiable risk factor associated with a higher level of mortality. [This research, like all, has limitations.] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2734064?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=052419 On the eve of a bright new year - my 2nd in WD - I am trying to develop goals that give meaning to my life. Since 2015, when I stopped working full-time, involuntarily, my purpose disintegrated. Not working is just one of the ways a person loses his or her sense life purpose. There are other ways to create purpose. Is anyone else attempting to formulate or consider new or existing goals while in WD? Or are they trying to get through day by day? The article cites interventions to improve life purpose, quality of life and various health outcomes with the goal of improving life purpose are volunteering, well-being therapy, and meditations. Mindfulness is also cited as one component of life purpose. Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years Aliya Alimujiang, MPH1; Ashley Wiensch, MPH1; Jonathan Boss, MS2; et al Nancy L. Fleischer, PhD, MPH1; Alison M. Mondul, PhD, MPH1; Karen McLean, MD, PhD3; Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD1,2; Celeste Leigh Pearce, PhD, MPH1 Author Affiliations Article Information JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194270. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270

I remember reading somewhere on SA that it's important to have either meat or at least fish-oil in one's diet when in withdrawal, as a sort of building block. And I think I recall reading years ago that GiaK from BeyondMeds reintroduced meat into her diet to try to improve things during her w/d. (Correct me if I've got that wrong Gia). Is there anyone else who has found that a shift from vegetarianism to a diet which includes some meat has been helpful? And in what ways? (I'm not vegetarian, just curious as I want to be able to answer members more accurately when this comes up). Thanks in advance...

Jeff Foster talks about seeing depression from an 'awakened' perspective. "We can view depression not as a mental illness, but on a deeper level, as a profound, and very misunderstood, state of deep rest, entered into when we are completely exhausted by the weight of our own false story of ourselves..." While watching this video I could see how it might relate to many of us, desperately trying to uphold a life, reputation, roles and ideals which no longer seem possible.... "when we are completely exhausted by the weight of our currently unworkable story of ourselves" The original cause may be different, drug withdrawal rather than a natural evolutionary/spiritual process, but the effect is the same, that of being forced to slow down and rest in order for transformation and healing to occur.