Dear Alessa and Tee:

It is news to me as well that certain (not all) antidepressants are used for pain management. So, I read that if you think of your nervous system like a volume knob-

Pain signals travel from your body → up your spinal cord → into your brain.

Some antidepressants turn down the “volume” of those pain signals.

How they do this-

Antidepressants increase certain brain chemicals — mainly serotonin and norepinephrine — that help the nervous system Block some pain messages, Calm overactive nerves, and Reduce sensitivity to pain over time

Mayo Clinic explains that these medications may increase neurotransmitters in the spinal cord that reduce pain signals.

Research shows they can help with many chronic pain conditions, especially nerve‑related pain: Nerve pain (neuropathy), Fibromyalgia, Back pain, Arthritis pain, Migraine or tension headaches, and more.

They don’t work instantly — usually 1–6 weeks to feel the full effect.

Which antidepressants are used for pain?

Two main groups: 1. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and 2. SNRIs which boost both serotonin and norepinephrine:

Harvard Health notes that SNRIs — especially duloxetine — are among the most effective for many pain conditions.

I further read that antidepressants, especially SNRIs like duloxetine, work best fir “back pain, knee osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, nerve pain, and postoperative pain” and they avoid the long‑term risks of opioids.

Wow, I didn’t know… Thank you both.

🩵🩵 Anita

How kind of you. Thomas, to google things for me! I am truly touched that you did, thank you!

So drink lots of liquid and stay warm. I just sat by the fireplace after returning from the cold outside.

Mollie: I used to think that if I eat all the chocolate I wanted (in the form of German chocolate cakez), I will satisfy my craving and stay away from chocolate and cake and all forms of carbs.

It never worked for long.

It’s about relaxing extremes and going with Moderation. Not extremes.

I am okay now with having a bite or two. A small ootion of chocolate (100-150 calories portion) once a week, let’s sat, and savor the taste and feel of it.

Once I was so extreme about no fats and no carbs that I made myself sick.

Moderatio is key, control through reason and moderation, not through desperation and extremes.

About sitting, there was a saying. Z,z”sitting is the new smoking’- get up and walk around every chance you get, walk or stretch.

Thank you. Mollie for your kind words. May your new year be that of zzModeration and Patience and Calm.

🩵 Anita

Hey Confused:

Better find a routine that serves you better, one that replaces her in your mind, at least for part of the time. What might it be? A different exercise at the gym (Yoga? Tai Chi?) Maybe a social activity (joining an acting class perhaps)?

Anita

Oh, and a Happy New Year to you, Peter 🍃🌙🧘‍♂️🌾🍵 🌊 ✨🌬️

Dear Peter:

Inspired by your words: “the source is never reached through what comes from it. It is already here, before the doing and the thinking, the quiet canvas… The Way is not something you follow. It is something that finds you when you stop trying to follow anything and being afraid.”-

My letter to myself for the new year: May I relax enough, let go enough so to- not reach or earn calm- but to let the calm that’s been there all along (before me and after me, nothing at all that’s dependent on my thoughts or efforts), reach me. Amen.

Anita

Dear Going Through Life (GTL):

You are welcome, friend, and thank you for caring! Glad to report that I am feeling much better this morning (actually, since last evening) 🙂.

At 25, you are just a pup (it’s a saying, just-a-pup), GTL!

Taking it very slow emotionally, is a good idea 👍

As far as New Year Resolutions- when I was just a pup, I used to make NYRs. Now, I make them every day 🌟🚀 😊.

Anita

Dear me:

“I just wanted to leave this girl so I can work on myself and start traveling not worrying about someone all the time… I had to make up a lame reason to end things, instead of the truth that I liked her”-

What you wrote here and shared previously many times (beginning in regard to the first coworker years ago) fits a certain Attachment Style, and I wonder if talking about it may help?

So, what you shared over time, fits the Fearful‑Avoidant Attachment Style (also called disorganized attachment), which I personally experienced for most of my life.

It combines two opposite forces:

(1) an Anxious side who longs for connection and closeness

(2) an Avoidant side who becomes overwhelmed by closeness

When there is a connection, a person with this attachment becomes hyper‑vigilant to signs of rejection, monitors texting frequency, tone, social media activity, feels easily threatened by small changes, and interprets neutral behavior as loss of interest, then shuts down when emotions get too intense, withdrawing suddenly, blocking, disappearing, or cutting off contact to regulate the fear.

This creates a cycle of: “Come close.. but not too close.”

A fearful‑avoidant person craves intimacy, reaches out, then feels unsafe in intimacy, panics and withdraws or blocks. Then feels lonely again, longs for connection, and repeat.

It’s a nervous system stuck between fear of abandonment and fear of closeness.

So, even small changes—like fewer texts, slower replies, or a missed Instagram story—can feel like danger.

I experienced this because I desired closeness with my mother but then it was unsafe, she turned against me too many times. That became the blueprint for my connections with people: wanting it but feeling unsafe in it.

Does this resonate with you?

Thank you for your good wishes for me, me. Maybe they helped because seems like my cold is gone or almost all gone since yesterday!

Happy New Year Me 🎉🥂✨🎊🍾🌟🎉🥳✨🍾🎊🌟🎉 Anita

Anita