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@Duende, I love the username and the black cat icon!

I'm so glad you're off the antidepressant withdrawal forums. Those forums freak people out, leading to even more stress. They are one of the worst places people can hang out because it's guaranteed that there's going to be a large number of individuals with horror stories. These forums go past the point of trying to help others with beneficial healing strategies, instead turning into a nightmarish hell filled with stories of suffering. I genuinely believe that if those individuals understood how stress and powerful emotions affect their serotonin, logged off the forums, and started living life as normally as possible again, their symptoms would clear up. As the neurologists I've spoken to have stated - the brain bounces back!

I'll reiterate what I said, because I feel like this can't be said enough!:

I was reading about how existing serotonin receptors aren't "burned out" from antidepressants or club drugs, and new receptors are able to be created all the time - existing receptors simply need to be resensitized. Healthy lifestyle choices such as exercise (even walking works) and eating well (you do not have to obsess over achieving the "perfect" diet!) can have a significant impact. This will also help create new receptors.

But what happens when someone has already tried increasing their physical activity, leafy greens, and supplements (including fish oil and all the others), yet their symptoms still aren't going away after a long time? If your body is in a heightened state of stress, then the sympathetic nervous system is activated, and your serotonin receptors are not going to become resensitized or newly created because you're constantly releasing cortisol and other excitatory chemicals. Not only that, but I do believe there's some "central sensitization" (which is essentially TMS) at play here where the body can start mimicking pain and other symptoms even after you've healed from withdrawal - I had a doctor at a very prominent hospital confirm this for me. The central sensitization goes away when you're relaxed and is also not permanent.

Think about it. Something as simple as smiling or thinking about happy memories can prompt your brain to release more serotonin: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/smiling-can-trick-your-brain-happiness-boost-your-health-ncna822591 (Smiling can trick your brain into happiness — and boost your health)

At the same time, stress literally reduces serotonin and dopamine: https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/stress-depression#1 (Stress and Depression)

When I went to the doctor to discuss Cymbalta withdrawal, he simply said I needed to do yoga, go for some walks, fall in love or spend some time with people whom I enjoy (he emphasized that it releases the happiest chemicals), eat some of my favorite foods, and not believe I was permanently damaged. I totally disagreed with him... until I tried every exercise, a completely clean diet, every supplement, etc. and didn't truly improve. I improved when I relaxed!

I remember a dude on a forum who was dealing with symptoms very similar to antidepressant withdrawal after taking molly for a few days at a concert festival. He was a lawyer and likely had a perfectionist attitude, like many of us on TMS Wiki do! He experienced brain zaps, anxiety, head pressure, etc. He spent seven months suffering and researching what could've happened to his brain, only to realize there was nothing terribly wrong. He started doing simple things like going out with his friends and having a beer or two and laughing, and the symptoms began clearing up. The forum didn't want to hear this because it went against their belief that they were permanently damaged.

I've read stories about people with traumatic brain injuries using neuroplasticity techniques to rebuild some of the lost neural connections in their brain over time. You know what those people aren't going? Sitting on online forums and discussing how they're never going to get any better. They come in with a positive attitude and believe in their ability to heal and improve.