[Anonymous]

I am very depressed these days. In fact, I have been depressed all my life. It has worsened to a severe degree in the past 2 years since my 'only' friend left work and now I am lonely, even though I would never let on to anyone else that I am.

I know I need some antidepressants to kickstart my life, but I am worried about the stigma of using prozac or whatever. What if I can never ween myself off them and I become reliant on them forever? It's a scary thought.

I don't get any enjoyment in life, I have no friends, and I really just want to die painlessly to end it all.

I have DECADES to go yet before I die of natural causes and it really pisses me off.

Is there actually a difference in people's life once they take antidepressants oris it allhype?

[Sabertooth]

Taking antidepressants really isn't some massive deal anymore, they're extremely common drugs nowadays. Anyone that judges you for being on them is a complete moron. If you feel you are depressed and feel like life isn't worth living then the drugs might be able to help you. They're not a quick fix, it takes time and side effects to find a drug that suits you and even then it takes 6-8 weeks for the antidepressant effect to be felt.

You're right that coming off antidepressants can be difficult, but if you decrease the dose slowly rather than stop cold turkey generally withdrawal effects will be limited and it is perfectly possible to stop taking them.

It sounds like you're in quite a deep rut so I'd say you should go talk to your GP and see what he says. Depression feels horrible and you don't need to feel this way when there are ways out. Perhaps the GP won't even think you need antidepressants, he might recommend talk therapy instead which has also been shown to help with depression.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Anonymous)

I know I need some antidepressants to kickstart my life, but I am worried about the stigma of using prozac or whatever. What if I can never ween myself off them and I become reliant on them forever? It's a scary thought.

Is there actually a difference in people's life once they take antidepressants oris it allhype?

If you had a physical health problem, would you decide not to take the medication because of what other people think?

Who gives a **** about 'stigma'? It's your life. You're the one suffering, why should you suffer because of 'stigma'? You don't have to tell anyone if you're taking any medications, only your doctor will know. It's confidential.

I know anti depressants sound 'bad' or 'scary' and that's because they're misunderstood by the general public and because of general negative perceptions of mental health. Yes, there are some drugs that have unpleasant side effects or are addictive, but not all anti depressants are the same.

Taking an anti depressant is not some huge deal, it doesn't mean you're crazy, it doesn't mean you're a weak person, it doesn't mean you'll be taking them for the rest of your life. Even if you were taking them for the rest of your life, so what? If it has minimal side effects and improves your quality of life, why not? Better than living miserably.

Also anti depressants are not 'happy pills'. They don't make you feel 'happy'. I was very reluctant to take prozac because I had similar worries to you. It sounded like a bad idea, I had the perception that it would make me a zombie, wouldn't be able to think clearly, would affect my creativity, affect my mental processes, was scared of being addicted, scared of being dependent on it etc. I discussed this with my psychiatrist and he reassured me that prozac was a pretty safe drug. I did my own research too.

In the end I took the prozac and you know what? It didn't make me some weird drugged up zombie, I felt less depressed and my mood was less awful. I had no negative side effects and had no problems coming off prozac. I stopped taking it for a few years but have started again because of bulimia/depression.

Not all anti depressants are the same and it's not some big thing. Talk to your doctor about it. He/she will not judge you. You would be surprised how many patients take anti depressants.

Obviously it depends on your medical history but for a fairly health person, prozac is a pretty safe drug. Don't listen to the hype (both positive and negative)

A drug is not going to magically change your life, but it could help you feel less ****ty.


ps. A friend of mine said to me: "I don't think depression exists. Patient who take anti depressants are CRAZY and psychotic. Those drugs are serious and make people crazy" etc etc. I felt angry and wanted to scream at her that I had taken prozac and her misconceptions were a load of tosh. Anyway, I just disagreed with her. The sad part? We're both medical students. You would think that someone training to be a doctor would have a better understanding of mental health or at least be less judgmental, but hey. So if that's the opinion of a med student, imagine how warped the perceptions of the average person are?

n.b. if you are offered benzodiazepines for anxiety or similar, I would be careful about taking these as these are very addictive and are not a good idea to take long term.

[Sabertooth]

(Original post by Anonymous)
ps. A friend of mine said to me: "I don't think depression exists. Patient who take anti depressants are CRAZY and psychotic. Those drugs are serious and make people crazy" etc etc. I felt angry and wanted to scream at her that I had taken prozac and her misconceptions were a load of tosh. Anyway, I just disagreed with her. The sad part? We're both medical students. You would think that someone training to be a doctor would have a better understanding of mental health or at least be less judgmental, but hey. So if that's the opinion of a med student, imagine how warped the perceptions of the average person are?

Wow. Well done on not punching her in the face.

I feel sorry for her future patients.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Sabertooth)
Wow. Well done on not punching her in the face.

I feel sorry for her future patients.

I know, I was raging.

It's pretty sad that those were the views of a future doctor and sad that people in general have such misconceptions about mental health.

[Geoism]

I was diagnosed with depression about 5 months ago. Had the tablets give to me and I never took them. Too scared - thought I could cope on my own, but things got worse and I has dropped to rock bottom. Best thing I ever did was start taking those tablets. Seriously. Start taking them, you'll never look back!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[winten]

There is a herb called Ashwagandha, that seemed to help a lot of people that feel depressed.

[concubine]

(Original post by Anonymous)
I am very depressed these days. In fact, I have been depressed all my life. It has worsened to a severe degree in the past 2 years since my 'only' friend left work and now I am lonely, even though I would never let on to anyone else that I am.

I know I need some antidepressants to kickstart my life, but I am worried about the stigma of using prozac or whatever. What if I can never ween myself off them and I become reliant on them forever? It's a scary thought.

I don't get any enjoyment in life, I have no friends, and I really just want to die painlessly to end it all.

I have DECADES to go yet before I die of natural causes and it really pisses me off.

Is there actually a difference in people's life once they take antidepressants oris it allhype?

No one knows which, if any, will be of use to you.

The doctors won't even know unless you try them.

I've never encountered this supposed 'stigma' against them, and it's not like you have to tell people you're taking them anyway. Some doctors may doubt their efficacy in general, but they're an accepted medicinal treatment and doctors tend (****ing surprise, surprise) not to hold massive stigmas against treating the sick.

If they help, do you really care if you have to take them for the rest of your life? You eat, drink, breathe and excrete daily, right?

What the **** are you worrying about? You may as well try them.





And I find it funny that people that want to take them but are worried about things like the 'stigma', or supposed negative effects which are the result of the public's ill-informed perception are themselves incapable of checking the readily available information ALL OVER THE INTERNET, or in their nearest GP or hospital.

It's not the ****ing 50s any more. They're not gonna pump you full of Valium and turn you into a zombie. Most people when starting will be put on an SSRI at a low dosage which, if it proves ineffective, will be gradually increased until it is established that the drug is having none of the desired effects.

[Anonymous]

Fluoxetine made a huge difference to my life.

I'm more scared of losing them then anything else.

I felt the same as you did before I took any drugs after seeing the effect that stronger ones has had on other people, but I'm glad I've done this.

[~ Purple Rose ~]

They will start you on a low dose and monitor you regularly - if you have people close to you who you can tell it is a good idea, because they can also watch for any worrying changes in your behaviour. Severe side-effects are rare, and the most common ones are the same as with many medications, such as dry mouth etc.

They will also start you on something like Prozac, which is one of the safer anti-depressants, so try not to let thoughts of them put you off. I've been on many, and have been taking Seroxat for two/three years, with absolutely no side effects. I nearly refused to go on it, but am so glad I didn't, because it has made a difference that most anti-depressants didn't.

[Daniel_R]

Withdrawal effects are minimal/none on Fluoxetine cause of its long elimination life.