Hangover Induced Depressive State

Doc, How do I deal with the crippling depression that comes with a hangover?  I seek your counsel.

Let me first ask you a question.  Were you at a music festival over the weekend?  Did you do a lot of molly?  Is it Tuesday?

If the answer to all those questions is yes, then welcome to Suicide Tuesday my friend.  I am glad you made it through the day to write me the email.  Unfortunately this is just how it goes, your brain is pretty much depleted of serotonin and it's going to take a day or two to get back to normal levels.  Resist the urge to do more molly if you can because that will only make the depression worse.  You should definitely take some vitamins though, and if you want, try 5-HTP.

If this is just your standard, run of the mill weekend that involved a lot of drinking, maybe a little illicit drug use, but nothing too crazy then the best way to deal with this depression is to focus on the good times you had the night before.  I understand focusing on anything may be difficult with a crippling hangover, so take 600-800mg of ibuprofen with an Emergen-C (mixed with Gatorade instead of water) and try to take a nap.

Update:

A reader emailed me with an additional remedy.  The reader recommends vigorous sexual activity and mid-90s comedies (Happy Gilmore, Tommy Boy, etc) to purge the mind of suicidal thoughts.  I fully support this as a complementary therapy, but my legal counsel has advised me to disclaim that the authors of the blog cannot be held liable for any wrist or finger joint damage caused by aforementioned sexual activity.

Thank you for your question.  You can always reach us at patientquack@gmail.com.

Remember, you get what you pay for...which in this case is bad advice for free.