u/CaramelButterscotchh

A couple years ago when I used to eat a lot of prosciutto daily, I randomly developed what I can only describe as a “meat intolerance,” and I’m curious if anyone has experienced something similar. I would eat meat and get this really weird sensation that wasn’t exactly nausea, but almost like a hangover. I would feel like I needed to eat something sweet or have ginger to make it go away, except neither really worked. I don’t even remember how long it took me to realize that meat might be the common denominator.

Eventually I stopped eating all meat for about two months. I was basically only eating chicken breast and fish, and the weird feeling completely stopped.
But here’s the weird part: I went to Winnipeg for a weekend during this period and ate meat there, and I was completely fine. Then I came back to Vancouver and suddenly couldn’t eat meat again without getting that weird feeling.

Eventually I went to Mexico, ate meat there, and was completely fine again. When I came back to Vancouver, I was also able to eat meat normally and the problem never really came back.
So what the hell was that? 😂 Was it actually some kind of temporary intolerance, or could it have been something about the meat/food preparation/environment in Vancouver? I especially wonder if it was related to cured/processed meat because I used to eat a LOT of prosciutto.

I’m 29 and recently started sertraline. I first saw an EAP counselor, who gave me a PHQ-9 score of 16. After that I saw a doctor, started medication, and recently saw a psychiatrist who increased my dosage.

What I’m struggling with is that some family members keep asking things like:
“What’s so bad about your job?”
“Why would a job make you depressed?”
“What have you done to help yourself?”

The truth is that my job is a big part of it. It’s not that I hate working. It’s that I’ve been under constant stress for a long time while working hard and not being compensated enough to build the life I want. I have had Better jobs with more pay and less stress and the financial pressure doesn’t disappear when I clock out. It follows me home.

I’ve been dealing with anxiety, poor sleep, difficulty concentrating, and feeling overwhelmed all the time. From the outside I probably look functional, but internally I’ve been struggling for a while.
I am trying to help myself. I’ve gone to counseling, seen a doctor, seen a psychiatrist, and started medication.

Has anyone else had work and financial stress play a major role in their depression or burnout? And if you’ve started antidepressants, what were the first few weeks like for you?