confused

[ShinaJazelle]

please give me your thoughts on Anti depressants. I’m feeling like I’m really needing them but part of me doesn’t know if I trust it

[MomORusty]

Hi there, I came off of anti-depressants in September after almost 8 years. I had a huge withdrawal from them and I’m still struggling every day with worse anxiety and depression (and depression wasn’t previously my issue). The more the read, the more you see just how bad withdrawal can be for some people, and how much longer than routinely thought.

Do what you need to do if it’s your only hope to feel better, but my own experience is that they never really helped my anxiety that well to begin with, and the withdrawal doesn’t seem worth any benefit I got from them.

Just my two cents.🙂

[Sunrisetabby in reply to MomORusty]

After being on antidepressants for two years, I recently tapered off and am feeling the best I have ever felt. I needed to come off due to need for other medical testing but I'm not sure if I will go back on. I think antidepressants help, and I know that if you think they will help they are even more likely to be effective. For me, I think sleep and ability to relax are the most important things for my mental health. Diet, exercise and social connections are a close second. My sense is that medications for me are probably third, but are helpful if they can improve my ability to sleep and relax. Also, finding the most effective medication and the most effective dose can take quite a bit of trial and error. As such, it is especially important to have a psychiatrist you trust and can regularly communicate with to help guide you as to whether antidepresseants would make sense for you, how to evaluate their efficacy, and when to adjust dose or medication. Good luck and best wishes. Antidepressants will most likely not be a magical pill that solve all your problems, but with the guidance of a skilled psychiatrist they can be helpful.

[Ellamaye]

Only from my own experience I know its abit of a long road I'm on one that agrees with me now but had to try a few before that and had side effects that weren't bad or anything but abit unsettling. There are natural antidepressants that you could try if you don't trust pharmaceutical

[Guzzi63]

hi ,I was same for a year ,didn’t want to take anything I thought I could beat anxieties but I have been on floxatine for 5 days now,Prozac,I’m praying they kick in and give me a more level head space ,I must admit they have made me a bit more wobbly ,everyone is different ,what ever you do I hope it’s all ok ,

[punkster]

Let me start out by saying that we are all different and that we will all have different experiences on antidepressants. In my case they didn't work for me. I felt like I was walking around in a fog the whole time, and they altered my reality so much I couldn't continue taking them. I also gained 15 pounds, which I haven't been able to lose. Withdrawl was a beast. I have developed a "tool box" which I use to help reduce my anxiety. The tool box is rather large and consists of exercise, meditation, diet, playing the piano, reading, learning new things (as a method of distraction), walking the dog, taking a bath, etc. My therapist helped me develop this tool box over three years of therapy. The tools don't always work for me and I have both good days and bad days. Sometimes on the bad days I'll use CBD gummies (no THC). I have Ativan to use as a last resort, but I don't like to use it because of the way it makes me feel. Anyway, that being said, if using antidepressants is your last resort, you can try them and see if they work for you. As I said before, withdrawl is a beast, but always doable.

[katherinep20]

I took them for a couple of weeks but I stopped. I just kept therapy and started excercising and eating healthier. It has helped tremendously. But if you feel that is not enough, then you should try taking them. They are not a bad thing either.

[bethelbee]

I was on them for decades and for a long time they really helped. I may not be here today if not for meds. A few years ago I became treatment resistant to them(the last few I tried either didn't work or gave me intolerable side effects). Fortunately my therapist recommended TMS(transcranial magnetic stimulation, a noninvasive treatment) which has worked great for me. But usually you won't be approved for it unless there have been trials of meds.Everyone responds differently to every treatment, but meds can play a pivotal role in getting better and they are not necessarilyfor lifetime. Talk to your doctor about them.

[Dcgj]

use anti depressants if you need to. They can bridge the gap between feeling better and getting better. I highly recommend them I’m not sure about long-term use but temporarily they can bring you out of a hole.