People's thoughts on anti-depressants.

[Pirate]

Okay, basically, I go through these depressive phases. They last maybe a month or two at a time and are usually a month or so apart. The one I'm in at the moment though, feels worse than normal. I'm like a yoyo, I have terrible mood swings, the slightest thing and I'm down and I mean very down. I've also been self harming again. The problem is, even when I'm down I'm trying to tell myself not to be silly, to concentrate on good things, to pick myself up, etc. But there's like this feeling my chest, a bad feeling, that I can't get to go away and I feel like when I'm happy it's just because I've become better at ignoring it.

I find it VERY hard to speak to doctors about things. Very hard. But I know a friend who gave me the number of a woman who prescribed prozac and other anti-depressants for her. I'm wary of trying drugs, but I like the thought of having something to make me feel calm and not so crazy :(

[nick]

I went to my doctor 3 or 4 weeks ago because I'd been very depressed for some time. I have to say I was very sceptical that any tablets could help, the things that depress me are still there. Anyway, he prescribed some pills and they've made a huge difference to me, they just seem to allow me to cope better and not dwell on things so much. I would definitely recommend talking to your GP, there's really nothing to lose from it.

[closed]

DO NOT use drugs that aren't prescribed by the right doctor. Drugs really can help, but only under medical supervision. Do not use it without a certified doctor's permission.

I recommend you to try brake the barrier and talk to a qualified therapist(even if you meet him\her just for one session, this could be realyl significant).
-The therapist might help without any use of drugs.
-The therapist can show you multiple coping ways, not only drugs.
-And if you truly need it the therapist wil prescribe to you the drugs.

i hope it helped.

Best Wishes :hug:

[Pirate]

Don't worry, I wasn't going to take anything that wasn't prescribed. Just, I've heard from some people that it made things worse. But the idea of having something to keep me calm.. I don't know how to describe it. I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm stressed and wound up all the time, and I can barely relax. Anything goes wrong and this feeling gets worse immediately. I can't seem to cope with anything. Also, I do art at college, which I've tried getting into to distract myself but besides being a lot of work and quite stressful in itself, I've been finding it hard to concentrate or have any real inspiration. I sit at my desk, getting more and more frustrated. :(

[closed]

Well, so as i said, try to get professional help. If you do that doesn't mean that you are nutz, just that you want to help yourself, and it's good.
Contact me if you ever need someone to talk to, or just someone that will hear you out :)

[Pirate]

Thank you :)

[Art_dude]

I understand how you feel.

As Nick said, there's nothing for you to lose. If you end up not benefiting from antidepressants, then it's time to look for an alternative, but you'll never know if you don't try them. I recently started taking a low dosage of the antidepressant zoloft for my anxiety and it's been working beautifully. I'm a strong believer in therapy and alternative medicine and I was hugely skeptical, but it's turned out to be an incredibly helpful compliment to my therapy sessions and spiritual practice.

The thing about antidepressants, is that they don't make you feel happy. The simply prevent you from getting too sad. If you imagine a really sporadic wave of mood swings with steep cliffs, the medicated analogy would be to 'level out' those fluctuations so if you hit a low, you're not falling hard, and when you hit a high you can stay there for longer. The best word too describe it I suppose would be that it's a stabilizer. Medications are tools to bring us into the frame of mind to work on ourselves. Antidepressants aren't going to solve your problems. It's very difficult to tread water when you feel you're up to your neck and about to drown: having therapy and tools like medication help us to feel like we have a life jacket to make traversing the waters more helpful. I hope this helped in some way. I wish the best for you. Feel free to PM or VM me if you ever need anything :)

[griffince]

anti-depresstants arent as bad as what they seem im on celepram and its working good for me

[BeautifulDisaster]

I've been on multiple ones, and right now, I'm on Mirtazipine & it did help at first, but now it's not doing anything. If you do need them, it's all about trial & error.

[Syvelocin]

^ Yep. Getting on medication is very much trial and error. What meds work, what meds don't, what dosage needs to be increased, or decreased. What medication we have to add to the mix to help the other one, or to help the negative side-effect of that drug. It can take years to be settled as far as medication.

I'm not medicated though, and haven't been for the last year or so. Personally, I don't believe in drugs like antidepressants. Yep, I'm a great role model... O.o I don't know, I was never comfortable with it. I hated how the medications made me feel, every single one of them, and I've been on a truck load of them. I hated how the antidepressants made me feel when they actually worked. I hated not experiencing my mania in its full state while on mood stabalizers. I hated that passive, dissociative feeling that the antipsychotics would induce. So, no, I'm not on meds and I hate them. Antidepressants are great for some people, and sometimes even necessary. But you can have say in what the doctors are shoving down your throat, which I felt like I didn't have any regulation of. Personally, I want to learn to cope and deal with my mental problems without medication.

[Mikehasabro]

Personnally I lost both of my parents in a car accident in february this year, and my brother and I were left, im 21 so was able to become his legal guardian, but In my mind i wasnt ready to become a role model, I wastn even able to become responsible..
my shrink put me under anti depresants and all it did was put me in a haze.. Im not sure i had time to grieve.. but I had to take responsibity and grow up...now I'm a full time student, financially we are verry okay (thanks to my family especially my folks) but its still difficult... im 21 and taking care of a 10 year old... but thank god my uncle helps out whenever he can, and family friends.. anyways thats my opinion...
hope that helps
have a great evening

[Antebellum]

Meds are used to help people. Even though some would rather not take them.