antidepressants?

Question

im realy thinking about it.just to see what it does to me.i realy want to control my life with out drugs but i just want to see what it feels like to be happy again.has any body taken antidepressants?server depression to being happy with a pill is it possible.idd never though id be asking

Answer 1

First of all, antidepressants are not "happy pills".

You don't take one and WOW! you're happy. To find out if you are truly depressed, go to the website below. If your score indicates that you are depressed, go to your doctor and tell them that you are.

They will prescribe what they think will help you.

Answer 2

I recently had to start taking an antidepressant due to depression and work related stress and believe me they did not make me happy! I suffered insomnia which i've never had before and just became really argumentative and tearful. It made me feel worse. I cut them out with help from my doc and don't feel great because of the original problem but am getting there.
The biggest bit of advice i could give is sort the reason why u feel down and why u think you need a pill to make you happy. They didn't make my stress go away.
The thing i have found that has helped alot is working out. I'm overweight and have been a member of a gym for 5 months but barely used it and have started going again at least 3 times a week. This has made me feel so much better and i'm sleeping again. Make sure youre diet is balanced and you are drinking alot of water, cut out any alcohol as this is a depressant and will make you feel unhappy.
Lastly make sure you're getting out in the fresh air every day and getting plenty of sunlight on your skin. maybe sit at the park or beach for half hour. Hope you feel better soon!

Answer 3

Well anti depressants have changed my life. I would never go off of them now. I cannot believe how much life I lost not wanting to be "controlled" by drugs....A doctor explained it a couple different ways to me and I will try to duplicate what he said...
For one he said
"The world has evolved much faster then the human body has been able to evolve that depression is one thing we are seeing and adding a pill to make coping is a much better way to live then doing nothing...Also would you deny a diabetic insulin....NO........THEN WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE"
Also our bodies are not getting what it needs due to the great depletion in our soils and the intake of toxins...It has far reaching affects on us physically and mentally...so if we can be happier with a supplement (meds) why not!. Just do it. Also when you start feeling better don't think oh I can stop them I'm cured as that is a mistake to many people make(including myself)...it can be a lifelong thing and that's okay SO is food , breathing and rinking water...things we need to survive and be happy...Now go and find a good Doctor and be happy. MAY Happiness be with you always....25years happy here!!!!

Remember sometimes people don't have results because they don't stay on them long enough or don't get high enough doses or the right ones. Ask the pharmaists in your area for recommendations of doctors who are prescribing the modern mood elevatiors...Keep asking...Thats how I find the best DRs when I move to a new area.

Answer 4

Don't do it, the side effects are often worse than the benefit. And, even when the do work, the rate of relapse is greater than that of therapy.

Antidepressants mostly work by just making you NUMB, not HAPPY. You might be less depressed, but you'll probably also be less happy, just have less feelings in general.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a better option:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

Other things that help you lead a happy life (these are all connected, btw): health, excercise, proper sleep/rest, avoiding stress by means OTHER THAN: procrastination/denial, eating properly/balanced diet, not overeating, friends.

And here is the simplest thing you can do: SMILE

That's right, just try smiling and you'll BE happier, smile at other people and they'll be happier too (most of them anyway) and if they're happier, maybe they'll be nicer to you bringing you even more hapiness.

Do things that make you feel better about yourself, like helping others and being courteous. Hold the door for somebody, don't cut people off when you drive, use your turn signal.

If you have to eat snacks/junk food don't do it late at night. If you're hungry at night have a cup of water or some herbal tea, a stick of celery or a couple baby carrots wouldn't hurt much, just think of what you'll eat for lunch tomorrow, or think how going to sleep instead of staying up to eat snacks could mean that you might wake up early enough to eat breakfast.

Go for a walk, outside in the sunlight is best.

Sing in the shower.

Give somebody a hug.

If you absolutely just HAVE to have a vice (drugs) then try these: green tea, hot spicey food (causes your body to release it's own natural endorphins which is a healthy way to get high), burn some sage, have a couple beers or a glass of wine, or just one or two drinks - that's enough to get a pleasant little bit of a buzz and relax, don't ruin it by getting wasted which wastes a LOT of money if you do it at the bar, isn't healthy, and leaves you feeling worse the next day.

If you don't overdo it, chocolate is another natural drug which can be good for you, if you have just a little dark chocolate each day.

There's only one illegal drug which I could say had a "net positive" affect on my life: magic mushrooms. But, you got to be careful with those, NEVER use drugs like that when you are depressed, you could become suicidal, or suffer a terrible anxiety attack.

Drugs have got to be one of the worst ways to "treat" depression, they'll just leave you wanting more and more, in the end, you'll be worse off and possibly out of a lot of money, maybe along the way you could loose friends, loose your job, loose your spouse, maybe even loose your mind, or your life.

Answer 5

Did you talk to you Doctor about taking antidepressants first? If your doctor feels that you may benefit from them, I think that you should try. Usually, you don't feel the complete results until 2 weeks from starting them. If you don't like how you feel after 2 weeks, let your doctor know. There are many different kinds of antidepressants. It is possible to be VERY happy with antidepressants. I never wanted to take pills either. Finally, I had enough of being sad. I've been on antidepressants for 14 years. They don't change you, they help you to be a BETTER you. Think of how wonderful life can be if you're happy. I am also a nurse and have seen the benefits of antidepressants on many of my patients. I'll pray for you. Give it a try.

Answer 6

MM Dave,

Yes I have been on antidepressants for years...... I've tired to go with out and have found this will be a life thing for me.

It all depends on your depression. Why, How long, How sever....etc.

If it is a acute depression (just started < 1 year) and is from losses, trauma, neg changes in your life, etc. Medication could be a short-term do. If this depression is Chroinic ( long term > 1year. Then it could be from a chemical imbalance (this is my kind), and Meds will be a long time do.

People, most people, do not like to be on medication.....but getting your medication from a MD beats getting it off the street..Pot, crank, blow, whatever is there OR ending up in jail for drinking and driving....possibly killing some one....

MD Rx's are best....remember it takes 3-4 weeks before they start working so getting talk therapy will help also.

BB,
Candace

Answer 7

Speaking from experience, I would try to do everything you can short of drug therapy to deal with depression. Be it therapy, finding ways to avoid stress and anxiety (writing in a journal, exercising, etc) or talking with your doctor/parents/ a good friend. If you decide to try and get a prescription for antidepressants, I would avoid Zoloft and Prozac (if you are a minor) because those drugs have been proven to increase suicidal thoughts/actions when taken as a minor. Your brain isn't developed enough to respond beneficially to those prescriptions. I was 16 when I went on Zoloft and 2 months after taking it I attempted suicide, so I am speaking from experience. The only thing that has helped with my depression/bipolar is removing negative influences from my life (drugs, alcohol, toxic friends and as much stress/anxiety as possible) and good old fashioned counseling. I feel so much better knowing my body doesn't have any chemicals in it altering the way I think and feel.

Answer 8

Well Dave, I can't say what is the way to go for you, so I will just pass along my situation and then my experience and let you decide for yourself.

I was first diagnosed as being clinically depressed in February 1991 and started to take anti-depressants. At the time, I was unaware that I also qualified as an addict. I used drugs and alcohol and wasn't honest about it to anyone, but I now realized that I was being dishonest with myself.

Anyway, along the way, I got into a 12 step program to help me stay clean. I have not used drugs or alcohol for 3 years and 4 months. But I still take anti-depressants as prescribed.

My experience has been that to this day, I still want to know if I can live without the aid of anti-depressants - which is understandable. But there have been 4 occasions where I decided on my own to stop taking them. The reasons have varied:

1) The stigma of having to rely on pills to be "normal", whatever that is.

2) Carelessness.

3) Addicts will try to control things and in my case, thought that I knew myself well enough to supercede the opinions of the professionals and took myself off them because I wanted to be a pure addict. That is one without ANY drugs of ANY kind - good or bad, prescribed or not.

Nonetheless, it was foolish of me to do this. I did it again back in August and I'm still dealing with the negative mindset that I am in. It hasn't been disastrous, but it is more troublesome than I care to deal with - but I am dealing with it and I'm taking my medication as prescribed.

Each time that I stopped, I have found that there is more to my depression than I realized. It is more complex than I had known. But the good thing is, is that once I have had enough of the depression and make the decision to resume my medication, I have a greater understanding and appreciation for how much better the medication has made me and my life.

My counselor always has to remind me that the drug doesn't do all the work - that I deserve credit for the improvement in my attitude. My life is better for it. It took some changes in the types of anti-depressants, a change in my expectations, and a change in my personal values. Taking anti-depressants for 16 years also includes the changes in me as well. But that's me. I can only speak for me, but I hope I helped you in some way.

The best help is to deal with a primary care physician and his recommendation for counseling. In my case, my doctor would not write a script until he listened to a counselor that assessed my condition.

Answer 9

I've taken most everything and except for Prozac they all work but usually not for a very long time (no more than a year.) The best combo for me has been Wellbutrin and Lexapro, but everyone is different and has different symptoms. I have depression (welbutrin for that) and terrible anxiety attacks (lexapro for that problem.) Go to a good psychiatrist get diagnosed, it's terrible being depressed, and life is too short not to be happy.

Answer 10

If you feel depressed, counseling in combination with medication can help dramatically. Antidepressants are like any other prescription drug. If you were diabetic, would you go without insulin? Probably not. The same goes for depression. Just something to think about.