Depression. I was misdiagnosed for decades as depression. The issue was that anti-depressants would work WONDERFULLY ... or so it seemed. It would, as the dosage increased over time, kick me into a very effective hypo-mania ... which then crashed me harder into depression than ever before. So, I stopped seeing psychiatrists completely for a long time.

My drug of choice, that worked until I was too old and out of shape to overcome its downsides was SUGAR. Massive amounts of SUGAR. I ate Twinkies with "orange sugar poison" as a GF called my drink of choice. The sweeter the faux-orange-aid the better.

My new doctor wants to try Cymbalta since it thinks it will also help my knees but is, on the other hand, a bit hesitant since I'm fairly stable.




My "normal" is that I APPEAR to be a conservative guy. When I'm not sick, locking myself away for months, etc., I look like your average overweight accountant in "dress casual".

My online persona IS me. I'm not putting on airs or embellishing or acting a part. I'm basically a guy who is entertained by people and, more often, by himself.

What doesn't come through on this board, because I post so much, is that I'm a good listener. I love other people's stories. I used to love daBurglar's stuff. I just imbibed his tome posts. What does come through is that I have something to say on everything. I can't let it go. Even if what I have to say is that your story trumps mine!

Which I WILL happily concede. I don't mind being bested. Never has, never will impact me to acknowledge the fact that another is the better one that day.

My dress shirt and khakis appearance, when stable, doesn't match the unstable persona underneath.