Why is my counsellor so against medication!?

some medications can be addictive but your GP knows you best...i'd say talk to your gp about it . therapy is useful but medications are too. if its that bad id say go with your instinct and ask about meds with your doctor. just tell your counciler how you feel too

Hi again , no medication is not a bad thing , it has helped so many that wish to take it & been a life saver

I am not sure why she is so against it , but they are there to give your counselling , your GP is there to advice & give you meds if they think they will help , I would certainly go & speak to my GP about this

Good luck & let is no how you go on

Love

whywy

xxx

I would go with the above, and certainly see GP about this and what was said to you. Meds I feel is your choice , not that of a councillor. Hope you get on ok. let us no.

Bonnie

xxx

Hi there

I used to be an anxiety sufferer, but I got through it. Don't lose hope because you truly can get through it, you can reach a point in your life where you will no longer suffer with anxiety.

I know it might be quite hard to hear this, as it seems like you feel it is your last hope, but trust your councillor. *DO NOT GO ON MEDICATION* I cannot stress this enough. Medication, especially for anxiety, can have really horrific side effects, and even worse withdrawal symptoms. All that the medication does is mask the condition. It will not improve it in any way, and you cannot stay on anxiety medication long term. As soon as you come off it you would suffer with withdrawal symptoms even worse than what the anxiety is causing.

Side effects when still on the medication (as in not withdrawal symptoms) include hallucinations - I know someone who hallucinated a dragon was flying around their living room - dizziness, racing heart, sweating, shaking, smothering sensations, pain in your arms and legs, chest pains, a 'dreamy' sensation (clinically called depersonalisation or disassociation, where it feels as though your brain or mind are separate from your body) and severe stomach pains, not to mention the mental side effects such as increased risk of suicidal thoughts, and depression.

DO NOT GO ON MEDICATION - IT WILL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE

Most GPs aren't trained in mental illnesses and by putting you on medication it will only make things worse.

However, certain herbal and non-prescription drugs can be very helpful in dealing with anxiety. Some I recommend are Aconite, Bach Flower Remedies/Rescue Remedy and Chamomile Tea.

I highly recommend looking up 'The Linden Method' - It is what cured me of anxiety, and I swear on my life that it works, it is fantastic!! Even if you just look at the website it will help, but this is the way to get anxiety free. If you feel there is nothing left to try, we'll there's this, and it works.

Take care x

Rubbish! In the right circumstances medication can be very helpful and scare stories like this are entirely unhelpful! Think carefully about medication though - it takes a time to kick in and you may feel worse for about 4 weeks while it stabilises and you may also need to try a few different SSRIs before you find one that suits you. Different SSRIs affect different people in different ways so don't expect what works for one person to necessarily work for you. Don't give up on CBT though - it's a therapeutic process that won't work well if you don't get on with the therapist. And I'm not saying avoid the Linden Method but do be careful about some of it's claims which have been slapped by the Advertising Standards Authority (http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2011/11/The-Linden-Centre/SHP_ADJ_153052.aspx)

Why would an anxiety sufferer such as myself try to make someone else's life worse? I am sure many of you would agree that you wouldn't wish anxiety on your worst enemy, because no one understands it and you feel Ill for no reason and it's all emotional.

Anxiety is an emotional (mental) illness. It is not a physical thing, it is not something deformed in your brain, it is just conscious and subconscious thoughts. So trying to treat your thoughts with medication will not work. Anxiety medication can have some horrible side effects, and you cannot deny they do because they actually do, and the thing about anxiety medication, is that the side effects caused by anxiety medication are not thoughts, they are physical things.

The reason that you shouldn't talk to people about your anxiety is because it gives it power. You give this irrational part of your brain control over your life, and the more you talk about it, the more it is constantly in your mind. Distraction is key to getting over anxiety, any anxiety website or anxiety help book will tell you that. Anxiety sufferers generally have high intelligence, and because your brain isn't being stimulated enough, it creates the anxiety. So through keeping your brain busy and distracted with other stuff it leaves no time for the anxiety, which will eventually leave. So talking about it is just preventing your recovery.

I talk about anxiety from the perspective of a recovered sufferer. I had anxiety for 2 years at extreme conditions to where i couldn't leave the house and was having 4 or 5 panic attacks a day and saw 7 different psychologists including CBT, hypnotherapy (very relaxing and I would recommend for individual problems such as a certain place you find it hard to go to, or a holiday etc) and being put on medication, and the linden method was the only thing that helped me, so I greatly apologise for believing in it. I only wish to help others from what I've gone through, and I appreciate that it can be really really hard, to the point you are severely suicidal, and that lashing out at others and crying and getting angry is a very natural part of going through this, because you are so confused and don't understand what is happening, but it does get easier. Try not to hurt the people closest to you, and don't be angry when they don't understand, because in reality the only people who understand are those going through it and those who have gone through it, but you *can* reach a point where the anxiety you feel no longer affects your life. You can and you will get through this, I only hope it happens as quick as possible.

I'm not sure why you would but claiming that using medication will only make things worse is deeply unhelpful and quite possibly distressing. Yes psychiatric drugs do have side effects - all drugs have side effects. The body is a complex set of inter-relating system and it's nigh in impossible to target one without having some unwanted effect on others. However to claim that "DO NOT GO ON MEDICATION - IT WILL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE" is unmitigated rubbish - medication can be a literal life saver for many.

You are obviously anti-drug yourself but you may want to think more carefully about about how you word your posts in the future in order to avoid potentially causing further distress and to keep in line with the posting requirements on this site.

I am shocked that you posted this, how unhelpful!

this above comment that recommends the Linden method looks like it promotional, and herbal remedies are no help either.

My experience with anxiety medications has been entirely different and a neuropsychiatrist prescribes and sees me once a month. I learn how to less of the medication as I learn ways to deal with it. No side effects that I can tell.

Below is a post of which I placed onto another post for a fellow member who asked if anybody had heard of the Linden Method.

first i would like to ask you yourself, how long you had anxiety for and how servere?, mine is bad, also I am ill most days with a lot of body weakness. and a long list of symptoms. From what I have seen it would be difficult for some people to do. Also some people are on benefits and just cant afford this.

I do partly agree with you on the meds side, as my anxiety has been far worse since starting them 7 weeks ago, and I am now tampering off. However these can be and have been a life line to a lot of people. The taking of medication is an individual choice and may help that person.

from what i can see of the linden method and its content, it would be very lonely for a start, to suffer so badly as some of us do , and to not talk to anybody about it, could be suicidal in its self. feelings need to be aired, emotions, but to not talk to anybody about it, i feel this wrong, people with anxiety need support very much,

i have not done it but have looked into it, its about 117 pounds for a year, and you get 9 rules to go by, which they call the 9 pillars, they are like , do not talk about it, do not visit doctor, do need lean on anybody, do not take meds, as he Charles linden does not advocate the use of meds , he says they are not needed, and many more rules. plus there is telephone support Monday -Friday 9-5. to talk, but you must not talk about anxiety to anybody else, and you are to keep busy from the time you get up to the time you go a bed, by doing activities of things that you would enjoy doing and would take your mind off anxiety, they say that this in turn drives the anxiety out for good.

if this is the case, why is it that mental health teams are not doing this or doctors. I am sure that it would be all over this site if this was the case.

Bonnie

My counsellor wants me to stop mine

Then get rid of your counsellor

Ok here is my view:

Anxiety and depression vary from person to person dramatically.

I've always found counsellors largely unqualified to determine a medical outcome for a condition they have never experienced. I'd also include GP's, my last one had to pick up his book and look up depression, and then asked me if I had considered Fluoxetine, to which I responded ''yes I have taken it for 14 years, and am looking to swap to Sertraline from my research''... what a jobs-worth!

SSRI's have very mild side effects in most cases.

I now take Sertraline, and it's very good, less side effects than Fluoxetine, in fact I don't even know if I am experiencing any side effects at the moment.

If Anxiety/Depression is literally making it impossible for you to function/sleep/eat etc, and this has been ongoing for a considerable period of time, then I would consider medication.

@ Fife990 - Linden method is great, I took up painting after reading it, and have won awards within my niche :).

I agree with your Camomile tea suggestion. However your comments regarding SSRI's are incorrect.

I believe you are referring to the class of drugs - 'Benzodiazepines' (excuse my spelling!) which include Zopiclone, Valium etc etc. They certainly have a massive impact on you, as your body builds a tolerance to them.

SSRI's and Beta Blockers build no resistance , and are non addictive.

Contrary to the advice of many counsellors or GP's I would advice researching what causes Anxiety, - Limbic Brain, Amigdala, Neurotransmitters , misplaced fight or flight , etc, it's all there online or in research papers.

The human brain has not evolved to cope with modern society and technology, as far as our reptilian inner brain is concerned we should still be living in caves.

What possible evolutionary benefit is there to a person worrying so much about giving a presentation that they suffer insomnia , shaking , panic attacks etc.

I'll stop now

Good luck and don't necessarily believe the professionals. Most of them are simply people with degrees, who's knowledge comes from an ever changing discipline - the science of psychology.

I really think some of the responses above need to be taken off. We're not here to tell each other what to do, we should be supporting each other. Cath04, please go back to your gp and discuss what's best for you x I hope the above responses haven't caused you too much anxiety in themselves xxx

Hi Cath, meds will help...they take the edge off, maybe changing your councilor would help too xxx

I think your GP is the best one for you to talk too. I think I would struggle without my meds

Ok so we've established that medication is a contentious issue about which people have very strong opinions ...!!!!!

Personally I have reservations about meds and am struggling to avoid taking them. But it is a struggle Cath. I too have problems with suicidal ideation and de-realization and I know how hard it is to live with them. Meds should not be seen as a 'magic fix it' but I'm not sure that many people would really think they were. However when you are very low and mentally exhausted they can provide the essential space you need to get yourself back on an even keel and begin the road to recovery.

As others have said, talk to your GP and hopefully you'll feel much more informed to make a decision. Also perhaps consider your relationship with your counsellor. It is so important to have confidence and trust in them.

Best Wishes,

Lizard.xxx

Hi,

I would underline the talk to your GP bit. Tell them all your fears and worries that you have about medication and I would also have a talk with your councillor to understand why they thi the way they do. Not all meds are suitable for everyone, but chances are there will be one that hels. I'm on two which are actually prescribed more commonly for acute long term pain and epilepsy... Their side effects help alleviate stress and anxiety. They're not perfect but the doc knows I've had issues with side effects of others because I talk to her about them.

I did CBT as well and it helped, but my councillor was much more understanding - sometimes you need the medication as well... Some of it is down to simple chemistry and our bodies need the balance that medication can offer.

Both my doses of meds are mild... One made me a little dizzy for the firs day or so, while the other left me a little sleepy.

I cannot stress enough to talk to your doc. Find one that understands and listens. I did, and she's the only one I will talk to as that helps with half the fears.

The reason your counsellor is against medication is that it works and threatens to put counsellors out of their jobs. They claim to have some sort of skill in psychology, so I wonder why they haven't themselves caught on to the fact that at they are deluding themselves into thinking that medications are so bad. Some anxiety is based on physiological reasons, other times, it just develops from bad experiences - if the latter, then you may not need anti depressants, but then again, if it is the latter, there would be little harm in taking them for a short period only.