Getting antidepressants

Hi there,

Can I get antidepressants from a pharmacy? Will they allow that? ( I live in london btw)

And does antidepressants have any permanent or temporary changes to the brain?

I have been feeling very stressed and down. I have been stressed before but not anything like this. Ive started to get anxiety and panic attacks. I have talked to someone and as you would imagine, you'd think youd be alright after talking to someone but It didnt work and im going back to that same dwelling sensation

You can only get them on prescription. They definitely cause temporary causes to brain chemistry as they affect the serotonin and dopamine system among other things which heavily affect your mood - this is the whole point in them. They may or may not have long term or permanent positive or negative effects, depending on the type of antidepressant you take and how it affects you individually. For this reason, I'd always suggest therapy such as CBT as a first port of call, and only resort to meds when therapies have failed. No point in potentially making the problem even worse in the long term if it can be dealt with by other means.

Nobody really knows that.
Why do you want antidepressants for 'stress' anyway? That's not what they are for. If anything, you should be considering benzodiazepines.

You'll generally need a prescription for antidepressants, which means you need to book an appointment with your GP.

The side effects will vary with each type, but these are mostly minor and short term, such as fatigue, sickness, etc. The exact effects will also vary per person and some types may even worsen your mental state - this is normal, and you'll simply be switched to another. Some long term psychological or other effects can occur but these are rare.

It's also nothing to be ashamed of to want medication: talking isn't for everyone. Book to see your GP and they'll tell you what to do from there.

Visit your GP. They'll see if you need them and prescribe them in moderation. Antidepressants can be addictive and have side effects so they'll be able to offer you guidance on dosage and length of course.

You could get St. John's wort which is a herbal remedy without a prescription and studies have shown that it can help with mild to moderate depression. I don't know all that much about it but try googling it. It does interact with a lot of actual medications so if you're taking anything (including the contraceptive pill) talk to a pharmacist or doctor first, but you could give it a go if you don't feel ready or able to talk to your GP yet.

You can only get antidepressants on prescription.
Most antidepressants work by altering certain chemical levels in your brain. It's not a perfected process yet and is not a sure thing, but any changes should only last for as long as you are taking them (plus some time for it all to get out of your system). If successful though the positive effects should last far longer.

Antidepressants may not be the best option for anxiety and stress though. There are some medications that are designed to help with anxiety like beta blockers which calm the physical effects, but one of the best things you can do is work out why you are getting anxious and work on that. The best way to do that is through therapy. Therapists are trained to know the thought patterns and triggers that lead to anxiety and can help you work out what it is for you and how you can prevent it.

All of this is stuff you access through your GP. Go see them, explain what's up (it may help to have it written down in case you get nervous and forget to mention anything) and ask what the best action to take is.

You can also check out some sites like mind.org and sane.org for advice and info.

In the meantime, you might like to try some relaxation and meditation-like exercises. Things like making sure you are well rested, giving yourself some "me time" every day, listening to music if you're getting stressed, doing breathing exercises and counting exercised when you're getting stressed etc. You could also try some natural remedies that are mean t be calming. Things like camomile tea etc. It's not the solution to the problem (that's where therapy comes in), but should hopefully make things a bit more manageable while you work on the solution and help prevent it becoming an issue again in the future.

Some simple breathing, counting and distraction exercises are:
A deep, slow breath in through your nose (try counting to 3). Hold for 1. Deep, slow breath out your mouth for 3.
Count in random sequence. (3,7,2,5,6,3,10) etc. It distracts your brain from the stress because thinking of random numbers takes a lot of work.
Count backward from 10. This is to make you take a step back away from the stress.
Recite a song or poem in your head. Again, you brain can't stress out if you're making it do this. Bonus points if it's a song or poem that you find comforting or calming.
Listen to music and pay attention to the beat and words. More distraction. I also find that my body gets a bit worked up when I'm stressed so tapping along to the beat is a great way to calm it down.
Hold your breath. Just enough for you to stop hyperventilating. Once you've done that you can move onto slow, deep breathing.
Stroke something soft. Nice gentle motions to match your calm breathing. This can be a cat, a cushion, your hair or anything else. It helps you focus on gentle breathing and comforts your body.

I hope that helps. Feel free to ask me any more questions or anything.