Oxytocin

zerocantaloupezerocantaloupe
in General

I have pretty severe depression, and I find that cuddling makes me feel a lot better. However, it is a very fleeting feeling -- only lasts for maybe a day tops. I don't have the budget to hire pros that often, and I doubt I could juggle my schedule around with enthusiasts even if they responded to my messages.

I'm looking for potential stop-gap alternatives between sessions. Has anyone tried using nasally-administered oxytocin? Does it compare with what you get from a cuddle session?

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Comments

  • sunnysideupsunnysideup

    I have no knowledge on that but I’ve been recommended to try daily affirmations or yoga/meditating.

  • [Deleted User]SoulParaTodos (deleted user)

    Well hmmm Pros here generally mean they get paid for cuddling. There is no training per se provided by CC. Some folks actually have taken courses and perhaps even certified, but not from CC.

    I would suggest, based on your situation, to seek guidance from a therapist, ppl that are fully trained in depression. I have taken such help from Medical folks. They do help really.

    Make friends and share away, but keep in mind that real help comes from those that are experts and trained medical Staff

  • zerocantaloupezerocantaloupe

    My current therapist doesn't seem to help, and I've taken multiple types of antidepressants, all of which don't really work.

  • peacefulcuddlerpeacefulcuddler

    Cuddling probably does a lot more than just oxytocin, and I bet that's what you're feeling. I doubt nasally administered oxytocin would give you the same effect. Human touch is something that is hard to replicate. Maybe a weighted blanket and body pillow might give you some similar feeling.

  • SleepyFellaSleepyFella

    I would second meditation, try to improve your diet, exercise and take walks in the park. It'll take some time but your mood could improve after a while.

    Try social dancing, it's not the same as cuddling but there's physical touch and connection to another person. Maybe even martial arts or a sport to get your body moving.

    I used to be on antidepressants but they weren't giving me what I wanted.

  • MxSmithMxSmith

    I'm so sorry you are struggling with depression. What a beast to wrestle with. When I first moved to Bristol and I had just started grad school I was feeling so isolated and touch deprived. I went into a coffee shop and I found this dog that was so soft and friendly. I hugged him and I felt all this kindness and empathy. The owner said I could come hug his dog whenever I wanted and I really needed that. Not sure if this is something that is possible for you, but a lot of people on here also love to connect with animals. I personally get so high off of kitten oxytocin. If you don't live in a situation where you can own a pet, you might be able to borrow someone's pet for a few hours.

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    Regarding walking: I rarely do this (I'm usually doing yardwork), but if you walk outside for an hour and look at the horizon it has helped me. I read that somewhere and it did work a little.

  • MCcuddles2MCcuddles2

    Honestly, assuming that you are physically able, diet, exercise and meditation can make a huge difference in yoir life. I'm not saying it's a panacea, but it will help.

  • TNNativeTNNative

    I too have struggled with depression. I have not tried or read about the oxytocin nasal spray.

    The things I have found to be the most helpful have been: 1) talk therapy - if your current therapist is not helping, perhaps you need a different therapist. I've had a few over the years and some are better than others. 2) medication - I realize there is a percentage of those who do not respond to the western prescriptions. 3) acupuncture - believe it or not, but I benefited so much I went back to school to study and become an acupuncturist - https://www.nccaom.org/find-a-practitioner-directory/ - affords a caring presence and some physical touch. 4) craniosacral therapy -https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17677-craniosacral-therapy - this provided me supportive presence and touch. Also important is exercise and light exposure. ... I managed to budget in a way that allowed me to do these things.

    I send you well wishes.

  • [Deleted User]Wanderlust74 (deleted user)

    I couldn’t care less if I didn’t wake up at this point. I doubt I have any oxytocin to spare

  • [Deleted User]DeadGirlWalking (deleted user)

    I second the animal snuggles! If you have the time/energy/local availability, joining a site like walkmydoggy could be great for meeting new people and their pets. Also consider volunteering at a no-kill dog or cat shelter- the volunteers all do their best but the animals always need more snuggles ❤️

  • RadiantHugsRadiantHugs Mod

    @zerocantaloupe I shared your experience and have been there. I'm still in that place sometimes, though therapy (both talk and cuddle) has greatly helped. I invite you to reach out if you want to discuss and share experiences.

  • BabichevBabichev

    I’m looking at some of the research and it does not appear conclusive. A large part of it seems to be its use with autistic children and lactating mothers. Personally, I would only take it under a doctor’s supervision.

  • Minestrone101Minestrone101

    Some massage places are cheaper than cuddling. If you're really on a budget, some of the strip mall and shopping malls have massage places that offer a $10 massage for 10 minutes.

  • BabichevBabichev
    edited August 2022

    One thing I do know regarding the research on exercise and depression is that high intensity exercise has been shown to be helpful for some folks while milder exercise doesn’t seem to do much. Of course, it’s hard to get yourself to do it when you’re in the middle of a depressive episode.

    @zerocantaloupe - don’t know if you would be interested but if you’re near a research hospital/med school they may have studies available that you would qualify for that would give you access to treatment you might not ordinarily have access to. I’ve been involved in a number of studies over the last 10+ years, some more involved than others. I started out with an asthma study. It was before Obamacare and, being self-employed, I paid a lot of money for crappy insurance. My asthma was poorly controlled at the time, inhalers were insanely expensive, and I got enrolled in a study where I got a lot of testing done for free that was helpful for me to understand what exactly I was dealing with. There is an excellent research hospital/med school here in St. Louis and so I enrolled in their database. I filled out a lengthy questionnaire about my health history and would periodically get an email about a study I might qualify for. You don’t have to participate. I found that their disclosure process was excellent. You can withdraw at any time.

    I did a brief search and found this. Not sure what these folks are all about.
    http://research.oaklandmedicalcenter.com/

    Anyway, just thought I would offer that information in case you found it interesting.

  • [Deleted User]Wanderlust74 (deleted user)

    @Babichev I work out quite a bit, still play hockey 2 nights a week with the guys but several concussions in the past seem to have taken its toll. The last one landed me in the hospital for 4 days.

  • ViancaVianca

    Please don't medicate yourself. Especially during an episode. It may take a couple psychiatrists to find one you can work well with, but they will be better suited to medicate you if that's what you're looking for. There are many studies on depression you can participate in like babichev said it's an affordable outlet.

    If you must medicate yourself please look into the medical benefits of cbd. It's not getting the attention it deserves because pharma doesn't want you to know there's a healthier option other than their addictive pills that come with a long list of side effects. You'll learn there are many varieties that help manage energy/mood. No, don't get it from the guy down the street, please.

    Otherwise only thing that helps me is intermittent running on the treadmill, meditation whenever irritated, and spending time with my godsons.

  • TNNativeTNNative

    @zerocantaloupe

    I've heard and read more about the use of ketamine for depression than oxytocin. I don't know if it is available to you where you live.

    Here is something I found: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketamine-for-major-depression-new-tool-new-questions-2019052216673

  • BabichevBabichev
    edited August 2022

    @Vianca , I’ve read the research on CBD. The results have been tepid.

    In research trials, they are using samples of a know potency and known doses. That is not what you get over the counter. In the few trials where there was some efficacy, it was combined with THC.

    If you have more recent research that contradicts this then please provide it BUT first make sure you have read the actual research, not an article in the lay press or the abstract, and make sure you have actually understood it before presenting it as evidence. Also, please make sure these are controlled clinical trials in human, not animals. Please provide a link to the full text of the study. I’m willing to look at credible recent evidence, anything from 2020 onward.

    There is some evidence that it can interfere with the metabolization of some medications, most notably antidepressants, antibiotics, and blood thinners. This is always something to keep in mind.

  • GreatHornedOwlGreatHornedOwl
    edited August 2022

    For those who want to look up any type of biomedical research, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ is an index to virtually every peer reviewed medical journal, world wide. Some citations, only include the reference and an abstract. In those cases, the entire article can be ordered for a fee. In other cases, the full article can be downloaded. In many cases, even the abstract will be useful since it will usual include the premise, the methodology, and conclusions.

    It's operated by NIH, and "PubMed® comprises more than 34 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites."

    It can get somewhat tedious, because each citation contains a list of all older citations that it cites, as well as all newer citations that cite it. I can recall spending days tracking down one obscure piece of information.

  • BabichevBabichev

    @GreatHornedOwl - I find GoogleScholar much easier to use than PubMed. Google Scholar casts a wider net and gives links to full texts when available. Fees for ordering studies are ridiculously high, like $35/article. PubMed is a database and inclusion of a study or an article in its database is not an indication of the quality of the study.

    When I can’t get a copy of full text through GoogleScholar I’ve resorted to SciHub which is a pirate site. I also have written to the authors for a copy of full text and they have responded about 80% of the time, most often within 24 hours. Anyone with a .edu email can get an account on ResearchGate. Sometimes full text is available there and if not, if the author is on ResearchGate, one can message them through there.

    My last resort - only because it can take days - is to ask a friend who works at a research institution and they can usually access full text through their institution.

    I would say that between GoogleScholar and SciHub, I can find full text 75% - 80% of the time within a matter of minutes. The internet is pretty amazing.

  • DaringSprinterDaringSprinter
    edited August 2022

    https://12ft.io/ does what you used to be able to do when searching stuff through Google.

    Have you ever seen exactly the information you wanted in the preview under a Google search result, but when you clicked on the link the page had changed from the preview you saw on Google?

    Used to be Google would let you view the cached version of the page it was using for the preview. These days you need a 12ft ladder (.io).

    It bypasses a lot of paywalls.

  • panda619panda619

    I OD on dopamine with video games, food and Instagram in between cuddles

  • [Deleted User]WinterSoldierzz (deleted user)

    If you want to read an article from a news source that has a pay wall and you’re on a desktop or laptop, you can also try going into advanced options or developer options on your browser and disabling Java scripts. Whether that’s worth doing depends on the article and source and probably shouldn’t be discussed here.

  • ubergigglefritzubergigglefritz

    I second maybe trying to find a new therapist if your current one isn't helping. 😔 A good therapist and coach (and self driven inner child work) for one summer did wonders for me. 😇

  • ShaneSchruteShaneSchrute

    Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that two doses of the psychedelic substance psilocybin, given with supportive psychotherapy, produced rapid and large reductions in depressive symptoms.

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research.html

    Oregon is right on the edge of legalizing psilocybin. Be safe and know the legal status.

    Anyway, the use of psychedelics for depression and anxiety show real promise.

  • littleBlackbirdlittleBlackbird

    @zerocantaloupe
    It's great that cuddling with your chosen pro has been so successful.
    Maybe see if she (or he) is open to texts and phone calls in between sessions.
    I have a regular who becomes very drained a day or two after our sessions and texting helps pick him back up again.

  • zerocantaloupezerocantaloupe

    @littleBlackbird I don't really want to impose on pros outside of the expected transaction, and I'm not really sure how to pay them for something like that.

    I would never encounter pros in real life outside of paying them, since we live in different worlds.

  • littleBlackbirdlittleBlackbird

    Did anyone ever reach out to @Wanderlust74 before he deleted his/her account?
    I'm worried about the original comment that was posted:

    I couldn’t care less if I didn’t wake up at this point.>

  • achetocuddleachetocuddle

    I PMed Wanderlust74 and told him he could vent to me. He did not respond.

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