My GP recommends that I start taking medication to help with my anxiety/depression. I recently quit my job and I am stuck at home often not knowing what to do with myself. I have been struggling with anxiety for months and perhaps longer and I have tried everything to keep me on track and stay active, to stay healthy, but I don’t know what to do anymore.
I have no motivation to see other people outside my home, I can’t think of a sport to try out (again, after trying several), I have too much anxiety to take up a new job, journalling barely helps anymore, I try to maintain exercise but at this point I just need to see a counselor to start feeling better.
My GP remarked that taking medication might help me to loosen up and engage with a potential new counselor. I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case, but I do feel like I am running around and encountering the same barriers all the time and trying everything and not getting anywhere.
I am somewhat reluctant to take medication because I don’t feel like my circumstances are bad enough. I am very demotivated and withdrawn from society at the moment, and I’m sure medication would help with that, but I feel like I would be letting myself down and I could keep trying. Maybe if I’m just patient enough to wait for a new counsellor, and keep trying to take up sports/exercise. I don’t know. Would appreciate any advice/insight.
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In my experience, Zoloft did not help me with anxiety in any way. I'm assuming your GP is going to prescribe an SSRI?
I got a lot of help with my anxiety from an injection that goes in the neck called "Stellate Ganglion Block." The idea is you get a local anesthetic in the bundle of nerves where your brain communicates with the parasympathetic nervous system, thus numbing your "fight or flight" response. The injection isn't covered by insurance, and can be expensive. Still, I used to have regular anxiety attacks and I haven't had one in forty days and counting since getting this shot. If I can go a full three months, six months, or whatever, I plan to make a post here about it.
unfortunately it is a very individual decision. You can help yourself with exercise, diet, meditation and other natural ways. Some people need chemical help to get the motivation. If you decide to go with medication I recommend looking up each med for side effects. I like doctors that won’t just tell you one option. Most of them do just that. Just know there are many out there so do try to be an advocate for yourself.
Hi Blueruth, thanks, yes I’m sure there is a lot to consider. If I decide to go for it I would probably take whatever my GP recommends. I have no idea what the best option is for me, if one type would be better than another. I’d like to think that taking an antidepressant will suit me first time round. Unless I need to do some research?
I am really lucky in that my doctor gave me a couple options and would tell me which tends to be more activating and which is less but may cause weight gain etc. A GP may not have that level of detail. I would still go on webmd and look up side effects because you know if you can tolerate them. Weight gain would not be okay for me because I have weight issues for example. There is always a trade off.
The thing about medication is that you can always quit taking it if it doesn't help you but make sure to give it enough time to work (2 - 3 weeks) to see if it does. If you try it and then quit you should do a slow taper to give your mind and body time to readjust. Also in view of the circumstances in your life it would be normal to have some fear and even some anxiety so try to allow yourself to feel it and be ok with it.
Thanks designguy, very helpful advice. I suppose there is always that option, yes.
As for the anxiety, I am in a place that feels kind of like limbo. I have tried so many times and in so many ways to get ‘back on my feet’ if you get me, like trying different jobs and working on coping strategies, but I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. I don’t know if I’m ‘giving up’, or if I need to get creative or something, or be more open-minded, or just more patient and strong headed, but the temptation for medication is very strong. I just don’t want to give into that if I don’t have to.
You're welcome. I personally found that meds helped reduce my anxiety but not eliminate it and I tried lots of different therapies, etc... over the years. I had started to have some realization and then came across the idea that anxiety is a paradox and the more you resist it the more it persists and the answer is to quit fighting it and surrender to the anxious thoughts and feelings. I found this really worked with panic and eventually also with anxiety. Reading about how anxiety is actually a part of us and is our built in system to warn us and protect us but since we are adults we don't need protecting and now it is malfunctioning helped me understand it and take the fear out of it. The books that helped me were: At last a life and beyond by Paul David and the DARE Anxiety book and their youtube videos, and I used their phone app for a while. It's also helpful to figure out why and how you developed anxiety. For instance, a lot of mine was social anxiety so I did a online program for it specifically. I couldn't find a therapist that specialized in it at the time near me.
I did and thought it was really good and so cogent in validating the value of befriending our anxiety and listening to what it is trying to tell us. I think this can also apply to depression and being curious about what it is trying to tell us.
Thanks for posting it. I hope more people watched it.
thanks designguy, that makes a lot of sense. Dealing with it is a matter of perspective.
I suppose it’s all about finding the right way that works for you, even if it takes a long time and trying different things. Medication might just be another thing for me to try, though sometimes I see it as something that could be a grave mistake. But like you said, there’s always the option to go off it.
Fluoxetine 20mg is what my GP put me on for Depression. It has helped my anxiety enormously. That medication combined with psychotherapy has really helped my anxiety and depression
Hi Heck_S7, thanks for the reply. Can I ask, what were you experiencing before you started taking it and how did it help you exactly? I would probably be on the same thing.
I was feeling suicidal, low energy, avoiding any social situations and on sick leave at work. I couldn’t concentrate on anything at all. It took about 2 months for Fluoxetine to kick in
After 2 months I’ve been feeling confident and much less anxious and depressed. It’s still there but easier. This has been combined with psychotherapy - both treatments have been effective for me
Hi Agora1, thanks very much, this is very helpful and uplifting advice. You’re right about the mind/body connection. I have been doing yoga for a good while now which I feel helps with that. I will probably do some today.
Sorry to learn that you are struggling. You appear to have tried lots of things to make you feel better but with little success. Have you ever tried not doing anything to change how you are thinking and feeling and accepting it all? Recovery lies in acceptance and continuing to do routine things as if you didnt feel anxious all the time. Feel the fear and do it anyway ❤
Hi Beevee, thank you for the support. I have been trying lots of things you’re right.
As for acceptance, I feel this is just one other tool I could use along with things like journalling, exercise etc. I wrote up a schedule for my week so that I maintain a routine and stay active. However, I have done this many times before, like setting goals for myself, but I always seem to fall back into the same problems. This isn’t to say that the scheduling is pointless - it’s very important, and everything helps, including acceptance. But I might be at a point where an intervention is necessary, where I need to break the cycle. I’m not sure.
To me, it feels like I am nearly making it harder for myself by trying to push through it with coping methods alone.
To break that cycle, learn to stop giving those thoughts and feelings the respect and attention they crave. Learn to let them go. They are just a by product of anxiety and will gradually fade away. They won't be there when you recover.
i forgot to clarify that acceptance isnt something you do, nor us it a coping tool. Acceptance is an attitude that you develop over a period of time. It's about being ok about not feeling ok and giving up the fight to try and feel better whilst carrying on with your daily life, regardless of how you may be feeling.
All good here and thanks for those kind words. Flattery gets you everywhere but must add that guru might be a bit much! Ive been out of the game for a while but hopefully will be able to spend a bit more time here helping people using the knowledge and experience gained from my journey to recovery.
A good time for a shameless plug and let anxiety sufferers (with no overwhelming problem other than trying to cope with the symptoms of anxiety and depression) to read through some of my posts on this forum. The principle message is always the same. Stop fighting and learn to accept. You dont need to be a guru to recover. You just need to understand that trying to do things to stop feeling anxious or depressed has the opposite effect to the thing that you desire. Peace of mind and body.
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xx
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