Sleeping & Dreaming

I started taking a new antidepressant, venlafaxine, toward the beginning of the semester. (Its American brand name is Effexor, if that rings any bells for anyone.) I wasn’t too keen on it at first because I thought it was causing mood swings, but I now think that was just my mood at the time lmao.

At any right, it actually seems to be working now. My old psychiatrist prescribed it and, when I switched to a new guy, that one increased the dosage because he didn’t think I was taking enough to have any effect.

I dream more than ever before… and the dreams are more vivid now, too.

According to the doctor I have now, that’s a very good sign.

Apparently it means areas of my brain that had been quieted or almost shut down by the depression are starting to wake up. I don’t know much about either psychology or psychiatry but yeah, that seems to make a lot of sense.

I just wanted to share that with you. I shared it with my therapy group, too, because this is not just good news but great news: I’ve tried five antidepressants in total and repeatedly switching them has been exhausting, frustrated, and disheartened. This is a huge step for me.

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How are you on this fine Christmas Eve Eve?