Anti - Depressants Good or Bad?

Hi AbiLouu;  For me personally ,I continually told myself and others that 'I was fine and was coping' with my depression which turned in to anxiety depression. I wasn't and I truly believe now looking back that due to me leaving things as they were, I ended up having suicidal thoughts; instead of getting professional help.

Yes, on first taking antidepressants they did make me feel slightly numb as they entered in to my system but I soon adapted.

Anti depressants won't solve the 'issues' that led you to depression but they can ease your frantic mind enabling you to focus in a  clearer mind state and work on them.

A lot  of self help will get you to that better place. There is a place for medication and sadly those that have never suffered on a personal level are the first ones to tell you not to take them as they are addictive etc. They do not have a clue what they are talking about.

Acknowledge, accept and embrace 100% all the help that is available; when you do that then your recovery to that better place/mindset will begin.

Talking is one of the best tools available; the more that you talk about your 'issues' then the less impact they will have on you.

Always here to listen/chat.

Julie

This was exactly the question I've been asking myself. I'm considering going onto antidepressants for a bit. Long story, but I'm going through a tough time. I'm scared I won't be the same after I go off them, though?

I have been taking anti-depressants since 2000, when my 21 year old son took his own life. I have had a lifetime of struggles with Anxiety, and frequent episodes of low mood, but no medical treatment until I found myself also feeling suicidal due to shock and grief. The first medication I was given, Fluoxetine (Prozac) helped me to "cope" (as I thought at the time) by numbing my emotions, so I kept taking them. Eventually, however, the "numbing"  effect wore off- I later discovered, by doing my own research, that being on one anti-depressant for several years frequently leads to tolerance, and the drug ceases to be effective. From then on, in an effort to ease my  constant anxiety and cope with my depressive lows,  I have been the "guinea pig" for multiple anti- depressants (presumably whichever "new" drug was being promoted by the Drug Companies to doctors at the time!)  none of which really "helped" for very long, and many of which made my anxiety even worse.Not to mention all the other side effects, which doctors tend to play down when prescribing- probably because they've never taken the medication themselves and have no idea how it can severely it can adversely affect an individual  patient-there is no "one size fits all" where these drugs are concerned,, despite what it the doctors may try to tell you. The most recent disaster for me has been a prescription for Duloxetine (Cymbalta) six months ago. This is a medication I was reluctant to take, as I'd read online about how horrific the withdrawal symptoms are, but which my ex-psychiatrist persuaded me to take, claiming the scare stories were just that.  How I wish I'd listened to my own gut feelings about this medication. When I had to stop taking this awful drug, after 6 months with no improvement, and side effects which had begun to endanger my heart, and which even he said were "worrying"  he told me to stop cold turkey (which no one should EVER do!!) then went off on a three week holidy, leaving me to cope with this nightmare alone. Since then- a week before Christmas-I have been struggling to cope form minute to minute.  There is nothing that can be done to ease these horrible withdrawal symptoms, which could go on for months, or longer, and although I have now switched to seeing a different psychiatrist, because I need support through this acute withdrawal period, which even my excellent G.P. can't give,  there is no way on earth I will EVER go down the path of taking anti-depressants again. In light of my own experience, obviously, I'd advise you not to take them, but clearly, you must weigh up the evidence and make your own decisions about how to proceed.

@findogask Hello,

Thank you for your comment. I'm so sorry for your loss and for all the challenges you've been going through since. Thank you for sharing your experience which might help other members make an informed decision on whether they want to use antidepressants or not. How are you doing now?

@napoleon‍ Have you made a decision regarding anti-depressants? How are you?

Sincerely,

Michael

@findogask This is exactly what I'm afraid of. I was put on Zispin and it turned me into a zombie. I'm really reluctant to fool with the chemicals in my brain.