Are antidepressants the answer?

nicole1

Well-known member
I have been...depressed lately and it seems to not be lifting and it may not any time soon. I would like to get back to having a regular life and I honestly can't see that happening. I wonder if medicine helps that? I'm embarrassed by my lack of motivation and the excessive lethargy I've been experiencing. Not to mention the isolation.

I'm not looking for "oh, give it time, it'll change." I've been like this for years. I don't want to hear that "you just have to try," because believe me, I'm truly trying here...

Do antidepressants work? I'm asking what's your experience and if you noticed a change in both mood and levels of anxiety?

I've avoided medicine or have gone off it b/c I was scared of how I was beginning to feel. Now, I don't care. I just want some form of a real, normal life again.
 

ImNotMyIllness

Well-known member
Venlafaxine (Effexor) prevents me from having major lows but it really doesn't do much for motivation. A better diet and exercise might help with the lethargy.
 
I have been...depressed lately and it seems to not be lifting and it may not any time soon. I would like to get back to having a regular life and I honestly can't see that happening. I wonder if medicine helps that? I'm embarrassed by my lack of motivation and the excessive lethargy I've been experiencing. Not to mention the isolation.

Very much where I'm at, too. Medicine can be part of a solution, at least temporarily, and there may be newer antidepressants that don't have the side effects; it may be worth asking your doctor about. Also...exercise, even a little every day or so helps; healthy; sunshine; talking it out with a good listener; challenging your thoughts; finding an activity that motivates, as motivation brings it's own energy; decent sleep
 
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Pacific_Loner

Pirate from the North Pole
1- Have you checked with a doctor if you have vitamin/nutrient deficiency?

2- Is the air quality in your house ok?

3- Do you have other health problems (allergies, headache, digestive problems)?

4- Have you tried this method:

Drag yourself out of bed at 7 or 8 even in the week end, even if you feel like you can't (you are not paralyzed: you can get up)

Drag yourself outside for a run, or force yourself to do at least 1h of any exercice (gym, yoga), even if you just feel like crawling under your bed and cry (again, for that one, use the energy of despair)

Force yourself to spend at least 30 mins outside everyday

Take omega 3 and vitamin D supplement everyday

Eat healthy (real food), stop coffee for a while (even if you feel like you really need it), cut sugar, don't smoke, drink or take drugs

Drink a lot of water, not juice

Listen to happy music even if it annoys you (music is a mood regulator)

Limit your computer/TV time

Go to bed early

give yourself at least 2 weeks before giving up, commit to it as if your life depends on it

Personnally I am strongly against these medication to treat depression, I think depression is something that should be cured by restablishing your inner ecosystem with natural ways, not by adding more chemicals to it.

...Just my opinion.
 
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NathanielWingatePeaslee

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Staff member
^I'm with those two.

Drugs are bad, m'kay?

I've tried various medications myself and they all ended up making me feel worse rather than better. I find natural methods much more effective.
 

Sweetyuk

Member
I've been on and off anti depressants since I was 15 , I'm now 22 , IMO they work asking as you stick to them , I take them for a few months , feel better , come off then because I believe I'm 'cured' and for the first few weeks I feel great , then the shadow comes back worse than ever and realise there isn't a cure got it , even on the pills I'd only ever feel normal , I'd never feel amazing! But normal is better than nothing I suppose! X
 

Pacific_Loner

Pirate from the North Pole
^This is exactly why I think anti-depressants are a scam.
Medication: quick effect, debatable efficiency, addictive, unsustainable, expensive
Natural ways: Long term commitment, efficient, sustainable, free
 

bsammy

Well-known member
well i do basically everything pacific loner said and i still suffer from dysthmyia and general malaise, low motivation..

as for anti-depressants, its really a hit or miss situation..ive tried a few that helped anxiety but made me sluggish and lazier...just made me not care which is NOT what you want..others helped depression but made me just want to sleep the day away, again its not what you want..

i have not had any success finding any anti-depressants that help motivation..welbutrin helped at the beginning but it increased anxiety and irritability..
 

bsammy

Well-known member
oh and btw, anti-depressants gave me a hazy sort of contentment feeling, def not a clear-headed joyful feeling like you would expect or want..
 
^This is exactly why I think anti-depressants are a scam.
Medication: quick effect, debatable efficiency, addictive, unsustainable, expensive
Natural ways: Long term commitment, efficient, sustainable, free
Well they are a scam if you're told they are the complete & only solution to the depression. But they aren't a scam when you're told the truth (which doctors seldom do about medications), which is that that they are only a stop-gap, or a band-aid ... just to help you get through a hard time ... after which you should then stop taking them (as the depression meds are typically only designed for relatively short-term usgae, not taken for years & years).

I believe that the "Natural ways" you mention are the way to address the real causes of the depression (& also therapy can do so as well)

Edit: Also it might pay to keep in mind that, as with most physical/mental maladies, a multi-pronged approach, ie usually a somewhat "eclectic" or "holistic" approach may be the best, superior way to resolve such maladies (imho)
 
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outofthisworld

Well-known member
I would never recommend any drugs to cure depression and anxiety because all they do is block and then u will always have to use them and you will get addicted to them. I've been depressed for all my teen and late 20's because I didn't know how to cope with it and I never took any medicines. but from a couple years ago i realized that the busiest I could get my self to, I didn't have the time to be depressed, and that is working until today. And about anxiety, it's always there but not at strong anymore, i just learned to put it to aside and do against my anxiety will.. it's hard but the end result is very pleasing.
 

Kiwong

Well-known member
I think they are the answer for drug companies. Some doctors can't wait to prescribe pills. and provide no other advice towards treatment.
 

dottie

Well-known member
I used to work in a doctor's office and you would not believe the amount of money that is spent on incentives (total frivolous luxuries) for the drug companies to weasel their way in to speak with any staff... ANY. You can be a temp who has worked there a day, with 0 pull, but they will spend $20 to buy you a lunch just so they can talk to you about their drug. The money spent pushing drugs is unreal. And the amazing part is it is legal.
 

Lexus199

Well-known member
Do meticulous research before taking anything. Everything has potential side effects. I personally feel like they treat the symptoms and not the cause.
 
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