curios about depression?

Question

i have been on anti depressants for 3months now. they are helping me in someways. i feel happier now but i now feel like a fake. its like the pills are just masking the problems and unhappiness i had before. i smile more genuinley now but still feel empty and lonley. im having three types of counselling but nothing seems to work. any veiw or experiences are welcome

Answer 1

i've been on anti depressents for 12 and a half year and although they and my bipolar drugs make me live a somewhat normal life.i can still feel empty and shallow i put this down to the anti depressents i think one of the side effects of anti depressents is they stop you feeling some emotions they make you feel almost numb sort of detached from anything that could hurt you.
it made me smile reading where you say you smile more genuinly now.that's something you say yuor having counselling that's good tell your counsellors how you feel.
and if you think your medication isnt right for you ask for something else.
it took severeal different types of antidepressents over 2years before i found one that worked for me
you may have to find one that suits you
good luck

Answer 2

You mentioned that you are having three forms of counseling. I guess I'd have to know more about the counseling that you are doing to analyze what might be the problem.

On the medication issue.... Well, remember it takes about 6 weeks for medication levels to work in the body. Some people it may take longer. Depends on the metabolism of your body and how fast your body metabolizes the medication. (how long it stays in your system.) Also, you might have grown a tolerance to the medication much quickly than before and about 3 months in you might need an adjustment on the dosage.

But you are correct. You can't just take a pill and cure depression. The medication should only alleviate some of the weight of depression so you can function in therapy to learn coping skills and how to recognize red flags in your personal behavior, so you can make plans and goals for yourself.

Have you spoken with your therapist or psychiatrist about goals? What you want to achieve as a team in the long term and in the short term. You have to take control of your treatment and have a plan with a time-line- I find that helps. It's pro-active fighting against the depression and sometimes can give you hope more than pills or anything. Talk to your psychiatrist- if you are getting the antidepressants from your general family doctor, stop and get a referral for a psychiatrist now.

Answer 3

It is my personal belief that most of the time pharmaceutical companies are interested in the bottom line and don't give a hoot about your health.

My own brother is not happily married, but instead of dealing with the problem that cause his mental health issues, he takes pills. My personal wish is that he move on to a new life without her, but that is not my call. I think he is afraid of all the ramifications
of divorce and he would rather take his little pills than make his life better.

If the cause of your depression is situational and not somatic, may I suggest you might have a situation in your life that you are hesitant to change but, in actuality is the root problem to your depression? This is just an idea.

I have been in deep depression for a few years and I finally got the courage to make major changes in my life without the support of my family. I am no hero, but I am beginning to see glimmers of hope and I am less depressed.

Maybe my experience will help you make decisions. I hope so. Good luck.

Answer 4

It's nice to hear that anti-depressants do actually work, most people I see say they don't. Don't drop the tablets until your Doctor says so, it will make life worse than ever, and you need to be taken off them slowly. Have you tried changing aspects of your life that you can change, a new social circle, a new/different job. Get involved in the local community, do some gardening, go to evening classes - especially ones that have nothing to do with your current life - something daft/crazy. Go out and try to have fun, but don't push it or stress if nothing happens, just enjoy the moment.

Answer 5

Perhaps you need more time with the medicine or perhaps this particular one is not the right one for you. Maybe the doctor can recommend a different anti depressant. Counselling may not also be suited to you. Remember too, that counselling and change take time. Hang in there and you'll get there.

Answer 6

I have had a few times in my life where I was depressed, but these were before drugs were used when medicine came out of a bottle. So an introduction to one of my books about my life

Institutionalised.
That level of obedience required by the institutions of our society if one is to survive within them. Perhaps creating a perceived willingness to submit to a controlled environment?
Call it what you will but the reality of escaping from it means just one thing. Returning to one's lifestyle.
Sitting in the tea room of Waterloo station after being processed through a demobilisation centre was one attempt to sever the links of a mentally binding institution.
Conjuring up that 'reason' for doing so was another.
The condition caused by institutionalisation is a common state of mind for anyone leaving a period of disciplined service, where the perceived problem is considered to be something corrected by time.
Life's problems and me were related by now, and not just second cousins. I had faced real problems repeatedly from a child and learned to conquer them the hard way.

Mental problems need a mental cure. Will power.
I couldn't help thinking about my immediate past as I began my journey to work after the short conversation that preceded it.

And so this book begins.

I have found this so in later life too.

Good luck.

Answer 7

Some anti depressants take three months to get into your system properly, they are designed to be a lenghty course and you should stick to it as you would only have to star over again. I don't know what type of counselling you are having, ask your doctor if there is a college of holistic medicine near you, they may provide psychotherapy. Hope you feel better soon

Answer 8

Sometimes you have to try a few medicines before you find one that really feels right to you, they all achieve the same effect but go about it differently in the body. Major depression also takes a while to recover from, try not to be impatient with the therapy either. And therapists are the same way: sometimes you have to try one or two before you find one that you like. You're doing the right things, hang in there. Good luck.

Answer 9

Never give up hope! Without it we are all lost.I was on anti depressants for years but have not needed them in the past two.There are so many choices available.Please tell your doctor and therapist(s) what you are feeling.No one can help you if you don't give them all the information,OK? I ended up doing individual counseling.That is what worked for me. I have recovered from my mental illnesses. At times I feel twinges from bad memories, but they don't paralyze me anymore. Good luck to you!

Answer 10

keep on taking the pill you may think it fake now but you fell beater in life in the years to come