Your English is not a problem. I'm glad you're feeling more balanced, and realizing how important that balance is. If ever you want to read a funny, but informative, book about the reward circuitry and how it influences our lives and choices, I recommend, "Mean Genes," by Burnham and Phelan. I talk about it a bit in this article: http://www.reuniting.info/science/genetic_lag_burnham_phelan_richard_daw...

Let me know if you want to start your own blog, José Manuel.

Holla Hermano in Mexico. I'm Dominican and speak Spanish too. Your English is fine; better than how some teenagers speak here in the United States:).

Anyways, nice story. Sorry about your Bi-polar issue. I'm glad you're taking your meds because even though they have side-effects, you still need them, or as you know, doctors will be on your ass!!! So just take them. Forget that you have a problem, go with the flow, mingle with people, experience life as you normally would, and slowly you'll fake your system into thinking that you really don't have anything wrong with you (You don't by the way). Scientists and researchers say that the mind can't distinguish between what happens in "real life," and what happens in your mind/head. So, imagine that your life is normal, good, positive, healthy; in sum, how you want it to be.

I too have Bi-polar, and use to take your meds. Now i take different ones. I hate them. But, when i take them i forget about how the Med companies are not helping people just out to make money! I forget that there's stigma out there for people diagnosed with mental illness. I forget how i've been tortured in hospitals and treated less than human; I just take the meds, and go on with my life. So, really i take them to stay away from doctors, hospitals, and trouble.

An equilibrium is ideal. But whenever you can't or just plain fail to find a balance, don't get down about it, because it will make you feel guilty, worthless, and failure and then angry at yourself. Then to fill in your emotional wound, you'll indulge again. A good thing to do is to find good friends to hang out with, find something you really enjoy doing and do that, read but don't spend all your time indoors. If you want, go to the park and read to get sun, or just pretend to be reading:) and get sun and be around people anyways. Exercise is good. I try walking outside everyday, and when i don't, i make sure to walk in my house, which is big! Try relaxation, breathing exercises, yoga, stretching, anything, but don't make your routine overly complicated and try adding stuff slowly to your day. Walk a little each day and increase slowly. Do a little stretching, then, stretch for like 10-15 minutes. Make it part of your day to do some deep breathing; 5 mintues to start, 10-15 breaths. Another thing is that if you see a therapist, forget psychoanalysis; it won't help too much. Try cognitive therapy individually and for greater benefit add group therapy to that.

The sacred sex thing is good. Try it with someone you can actually spend time with almost everyday or everyday. It has great benefits as Marnia has pointed out! The exchanges and cuddling are the best part. It's the fuel that keeps the sex sacred going! I'd encourage you to find a cooperative woman, someone who's into this, or at least open and into YOU! There are good women in Mexico:) They're Latinas and their warm, and affectionate. I'm 26 by the way, so we're a lot the same.

I pray that your life be well, just the way you want it to be. I pray that you will be happy NOW, and not wait until this or that event happens, until you have this or that product. It's much easier to live in a third world country and be happy; since there's so little choice as far as where to live, what to wear, etc etc. You can feel comfortable with the little you have, and ENJOY LIFE! I try doing the same over here, i really do. I'd like you to know that People here in the United States are good people, we just have a hard time taking action, making things better for ourselves and others. We're born and raised into an already greedy and messed up system. We're raised to think it's a dog eat dog world, just like you were raised not to ask for much, and to be satisfied to be alive and have a family. From the very start we're born into a competitive culture; who has the best so and so. Who's the best this or that. Lot's of pressure put on us "to be somebody." So, whatever you think of Americans go ahead and think it, but not all of us are KKK or George Bushes (No offense to people who like him). We're just as good people as Mexicans or anyone else, but just like anywhere else, there are greedy messed up in the head people:).

Anyways, i didn't mean to offend any republicans or KKK people on this forum. Be what you want, live how you want to live. Just be ready for consequences; in this life or your next one. Karma is the law of life. For every action there are consequences, either immediate or later on in life. With Much love from New Jersey. Signing out.

ZenDel

P.S.- Marnia if you think anything here is offensive then i'll take it off. I just wanted to give examples and maybe gave those two extreme ones out of anger. We're humans right?

No better than placebos...based on hidden information the big drug companies weren't publicly releasing:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-02-26-depression-study_N.htm

SSRIs are not better than placebos for people with mild to moderate depression. For severe depression, they can be helpful for treating the symptoms caused by depleted levels of serotonin. A better way to restore your serotonin levels to 'normal' is to take 5-HTP. I've been taking this and it works. SSRIs have worked for me but come with side effects - and only solve PART of severe depression - the serotonin side of it. The other factors involved in depression are dopamine, norepinephrine, and opioid receptors. Morphine was used to treat depression (successfully) before MAOIs were released onto the market in the 1950s.