Thoughts on taking meds for anxiety and depression

[Alamo657]

Hello,

 

I'v been in a depression that flare up, disappear, reappear depending on the circumstances of my life (success/failure at work, love life...).

 

I did therapy, but in the end it didn't really help me, because i didn't need answers about myself or what made me (i already had them all trough introversion), but a way to grow out of it.

 

I've avoided meds all my life for 2 reasons :

- i don't want to be dependant on a drug to be happy, i believe you can fix yourself trough your actions

- a drug without a plan on how to be really happy is useless

 

Lately i've been thinking that i could use something to boost me out of my growing apathy, because i feel like my inner sadness is stopping me from being adventurous and bold.

 

So, what's your opinion, not necessarily on my case, but about meds in general ?

Should they be taken to get you out of a negative mindframe, so that you can start living again ? Or not ? Isn't it dangerous to be dependant on an artificial product to monitor your melancholy and sadness ?

 

Thanks

Edited May 22, 2016 by Alamo657

[Buddhist]

I've had depression for well over a decade. I resisted taking meds for most of those years then finally did take meds and came off them again. My personal take is they are a waste of time and my thoughts on medication were fairly similar to yours. I saw zero positive benefit from taking them so I stopped taking them. Some of the medication I was on has serious side effects like renal failure! Hmmm......suffer depression or lose a kidney? Tough choice....

 

In the end I did find a therapy that's working for me. Talk therapy wasn't it. The source of my depression was existential crisis, that can't be fixed by talking to some person who tells you to get a new hobby or join a social group. When life loses it's meaning just doing stuff doesn't fix it.

 

I found a therapy that deals with existential crisis and the questions it raises. Depression is not a singular illness. It's not just feeling down or lack of feeling happy. It's a loss of faith in some aspect of life and that's why therapy is often ineffective if it doesn't address that loss of faith directly. The key to getting out of depression is to understand the root cause of what it is for you. And it's different for everyone.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Buddhist

[d0nnivain]

You need to get medical advice from licensed professionals, not strangers on the internet.

 

 

That said, IMO -- based on me alone -- YMMV,

 

 

Meds for anxiety are extremely helpful on an as needed basis. I took one when I had to send my dog to rainbow bridge & another before a stressful medical procedure that I had to be awake for. To take them daily would be very scary to me because on the lowest Xanax I was a zombie, couldn't drive, was floating around in la la land, aware of what was going on but removed & not in the best control.

 

 

Depression meds depends on why you are depressed. If you know what caused you to be upset -- you mentioned certain failures -- for me it was the deaths of my parents -- the pills don't help. popping a pill wasn't suddenly going to end my grief or bring my parents back to life. The pills are suppose to level out the amount of serotonin in your body but if you don't have a biologic reason for being depressed, they are less effective, IMO.

[RedPurpleOrange]

I used to work in the mental health field and it's one of my prime interests in life. People, psychology, sociology. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world right now.

 

 

SSRIs *WILL* change your perspective on life. They are a magic bullet. In all reality, despite what the 'professionals' tell you, they really have no clue how they work as a whole. Only that they artificially elevate serotonin levels. The human brain is a complex, arcane system, full of mystery. Antidepressants act as a sledgehammer to certain neurotransmitters, whereas the brain is a subtle, elegant, balanced system that can suffer untold (and unresearched) damage due to the administration of such drugs.

 

 

It's a lottery. You might get a good result...or a bad one. But whatever the case, you're messing about with a very very valuable part of you.

 

 

Research the sides and make your own mind up. I can tell you that 'professionals' really don't know the half. They just act like they do. Long term SSRI damage is rapidly becoming an epidemic, let me say that, mark my words, all of that.

 

 

Maybe seek a more 'as and when' type of med if you're truly down. Beta blockers or a benzo. Not a regular thing. Depression is a natural state. It is human to be depressed. I would only seek any kind of sledgehammer help if I was unnaturally depressed, ALL the time, for no reason.

 

 

But anyway, I'm just some randomer on a forum, so shoot me down.

 

 

(But I DO know lots about the subject).

[Hopeful714]

I am on a very low dose of wellbutrin. I've always suffered with dysthemia (low mood) but after a horrible relationship and breakup I went into a major depression I could not shake . It was awful. I reluctantly accepted the med because I knew I needed something and talk therapy just wasn't doing it. I was stuck in a black hole and couldn't get out. Just sinking further.

 

The med didn't make me happy but it did allow me to think more clearly and focus. It helped me to be able to slowly pick up the pieces and see the light again to function normally.

 

I stayed on it because I felt it helps even out my moods. But to be honest, it really does nothing to make me happy. That is up to me, and I understand that. Do what you feel you need to do. Meds can be a big help. And if you don't like it...just get off it...by tapering of course.

 

.

[Buddhist]

Here's an interesting article on how these drugs can actually worsen the condition they are prescribed to treat.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mad-in-america/201106/now-antidepressant-induced-chronic-depression-has-name-tardive-dysphoria