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Plus, doctors, psychologists can't clear you're mind from anxiety, depression and negative thoughts. The only thing they clear is your bank account
What do you think?[/quot
I have had luck with Cymbalta. this is the only AD I took, so I can't make comparisions. I was having almost regular episodes of depression, I would wake up in my sleep crying, or would be sitting at my desk, thinking sad thoughts, then burst out in uncontrolable tears. Although she gave me cymbalta, I was reluctant to try it. I had some samples. Finally one night I couldn't take it anymore, found the cymbalta, and tried it. It says it can take 2-4 weeks to see any effect, but I started feeling better in a few days.
]I guess it depends on what you expect. If you expect it to take all your problems away, and make life happy, well, no drug will do that. But it helsp keep your moods more stable. I still feel sad, depressed, etc, but not as bad. I no longer wake up in the middle of the night crying. If a bad mood hits me, it passes. Before cymbalta, it just got worse and worse.
I compare it to pain pills for physical pain. If you take a pain pill, it doesn't make the painful part all better, and you might still feel some pain, but the pain lessens until you can cope with it and it doesn't overwhelm you.
And you're quite right, counseling, etc can't make the bad feelings go away, and they are quite good at emptying your pocket.
If Lexapro doesn't work, ask for something else, perhaps cymbalta? whatever, keep trying, depression is something that deserves treatment, just like any other disorder. Good luck!
I was put on Zoloft for obsessive religious thoughts (scrupulosity) in April of 2003. The pill worked wonders.
However, the doctor did not want to take me off, and my weight shot up and then went down, then shot up even more, then went down, then shot up even more, and so on. He switched me to Prozac in 2006. I forgot my Prozac on my trip to Spain and Morocco in 2008 and lost about 30 pounds in less than a month. Since then, I've been taking Prozac only to ward off the withdrawal effects, and have pretty much stopped taking it by now. I've had a lot of issues in my life and sometimes desire for my depression to be treated again, but I worry that the weight gain on Prozac will cancel out any anti-depressant effects it might have.
However, anti-depressant medications are helpful in many cases and even can save lives.
I have no doubt that there are some people for whom a/d are both helpful and necessary. However, I think they're currently way, way overprescribed, based on what I read and hear around me. Even on this forum, or any others, people seem to be suggesting a/d left and right, for anyone who admits to a mood that's not 100% happy and rainbowy all the time. Anxiety about something specific (not generalized unfounded anxiety), worry, sadness, grief, homesickness, tiredness, stress, heck, even laziness or lack of motivation, or not being a morning person! - anything like that gets mentioned on a thread and the general response is 'you sound depressed, talk to your doctor about medication". And I don't doubt that most doctors will only be too happy to prescribe those. I mean, really, are these 'negative' emotions ones we're not supposed to ever experience anymore? Is the only definition of a mentally healthy state is being cheerful and energetic 100% of the time? Does that really warrant getting drugged up on extremely strong medication with serious side effects? Again, I'm not talking about clinically disordered emotions that are disabling, but just the normal range of feelings we all go through. Not everyone needs to be jumping around in joy all the time, how about the fact that there are different personality types and some tend to lean more towards melancholy or passive or introverted, and that's normal! I'm by no means denying that there is clinical depression - where there IS an actual chemical imbalance that requires medication. But I firmly believe that these cases are only a small percentage, whereas in many many other cases a/d are taken as nothing more than a quick fix or 'happy pill' where people believe it'll make them happy 24/7 and make all their problems go away. Even in some true clinical cases, intensive therapy and internal 'work' on oneself would probably be much more effective than a drug - but people would much rather pop a pill because it's way easier and requires much less time and effort. I know many will disagree with me, but this is my opinion of what I'm seeing now in Western society.
I compare it to pain pills for physical pain. If you take a pain pill, it doesn't make the painful part all better, and you might still feel some pain, but the pain lessens until you can cope with it and it doesn't overwhelm you.
I actually agree with this comparison, from a bit of a different perspective. Like pain pills, they are too often prescribed to get rid of the pain - without fixing the problem that's causing the pain in the first place. If you break your arm and the doctor gives you a painkiller instead of fixing it up and putting on a cast - how much will that help? If your appendix bursts and you get painkillers instead of surgery? Too often, people think medication will take care of any problems they have in their lives, instead of really looking at the source. I mean there's a big difference between a clinically depressed person who has everything going for them in their lives, and just a chemical imbalance making them depressed - or a person who, say, just lost a parent, gotten divorced, lost their job and doesn't know how they'll feed their three kids. A/Ds might be the answer in the first case - but in the second, no amount of drugging up is going to help the person deal and resolve their problems, because their depression stems from very real issues that need to be dealt with first.
I actually agree with this comparison, from a bit of a different perspective. Like pain pills, they are too often prescribed to get rid of the pain - without fixing the problem that's causing the pain in the first place. If you break your arm and the doctor gives you a painkiller instead of fixing it up and putting on a cast - how much will that help? If your appendix bursts and you get painkillers instead of surgery? Too often, people think medication will take care of any problems they have in their lives, instead of really looking at the source. I mean there's a big difference between a clinically depressed person who has everything going for them in their lives, and just a chemical imbalance making them depressed - or a person who, say, just lost a parent, gotten divorced, lost their job and doesn't know how they'll feed their three kids. A/Ds might be the answer in the first case - but in the second, no amount of drugging up is going to help the person deal and resolve their problems, because their depression stems from very real issues that need to be dealt with first.
I agree with you so much, I actually resisted anti depressants for several years. I thought it was all just part of living, the ups and downs, etc, and I still do think so. Like you said, the guy who just experienced a depressing event, such as job loss, losst of loved one, well.....what do we expect him to feel, happy? Emotions are part of being human, the good and the bad emotions!
However, I came to realize that my depression was NOT related to the situation. Waking up every morning at 4 am crying is NOT normal, especially when there's nothing to cry about. Being so overwhelmed you simply can't function is NOT normal. LIke I said, my doctor has prescribed cymbalta, and I had some samples, but was reluctant to try it. As I sat there in the bathroom at 4 am unable to stop crying, I saw the bottle, and thought, well....no harm in giving it a try.
Like I said, I still have my ups and down, good days and bad. I still feel sad at times. But the level of sadness is much less. It helps me cope. I haven't noticed any weight gain, either.
No, its not a "happy pill". It doesn't make me feel "happy". It just keeps the depression from overwhelming me, that's what such drugs are for. Some people try many different pills and dosages until they find the right one, guess I was just lucky with the first one.
However, I came to realize that my depression was NOT related to the situation. Waking up every morning at 4 am crying is NOT normal, especially when there's nothing to cry about. Being so overwhelmed you simply can't function is NOT normal.
Oh, absolutely! I'm not arguing with that at all, though I was lucky enough never to have experienced it myself. As I said, there are definitely cases when it's simply a chemical matter and medication is necessary. I just think that way too often, it seems, that very important distinction is not made - between crying at 4 am when there IS nothing to cry about - and crying when you've just went through something traumatic. It seems that the overall attitude among both doctors and patients lately has become that if you are sad (or worried or tired or stressed), no matter if it's for a valid reason or not, you should be medicated. It's like any type of negative emotion is considered unhealthy and must be masked by medication, regardless of whether there is a good reason for it. That's the attitude I have a problem with.
And in those cases where there is a diagnosed clinical problem, or a person is overwhelmed with the extent of their reaction to an event - it's my belief that other methods like therapy should be exhausted first before resorting to medications. It just seems to me like the healthier way to go about it - when it comes from a place within the person's own mind, as opposed to chemically induced. Again, JMHO.
Oh, absolutely! I'm not arguing with that at all, though I was lucky enough never to have experienced it myself. As I said, there are definitely cases when it's simply a chemical matter and medication is necessary. I just think that way too often, it seems, that very important distinction is not made - between crying at 4 am when there IS nothing to cry about - and crying when you've just went through something traumatic. It seems that the overall attitude among both doctors and patients lately has become that if you are sad (or worried or tired or stressed), no matter if it's for a valid reason or not, you should be medicated. It's like any type of negative emotion is considered unhealthy and must be masked by medication, regardless of whether there is a good reason for it. That's the attitude I have a problem with.
And in those cases where there is a diagnosed clinical problem, or a person is overwhelmed with the extent of their reaction to an event - it's my belief that other methods like therapy should be exhausted first before resorting to medications. It just seems to me like the healthier way to go about it - when it comes from a place within the person's own mind, as opposed to chemically induced. Again, JMHO.
The reason doctors are so quick to prescribe anti depressants is fear of a lawsuit if they don't. Some people have appealed to their doctors for AD meds, been denied them, then, either committed suicide or killed someone else, the type of thing you read about every day!
Then, either they or their family goes back on the doctor, and claims the doctor didnt' prescribe appropriate meds, etc. That's what one runs into.
Like I said, I used to be totally against AD meds, because, I mostly agree with you---depression happens, it will right itself if allowed. We've all been there. But, I had to re-examine my stance when I suffered severe, clinical depression. its a different situation. Like I said, I was crying in the bathroom, almost every night. I looked through my medicine cabinet to see if there was something.......then I spied the cymbalta bottle. Well, I gave it a chance. You have to know for yourself when whatever alternative is best for yourself, and know when to question your own opinions. Like I said, i figured no harm in just taking the cymbalta for awhile, I could always quit if it didn't help.
However, you do have the best idea, try to handle life as it comes, not with pills! good luck!
Doctors make the assumption that people have a chemical imbalance, when they really have no idea if they are lacking in one chemical or another. They over prescribe much like a script writing machine. I find the studies touting superiority to a placebo laughable. From people I've known, most that are helped by the AD still are having problems, but it allows them to function better than they were. The cost of that is often a constant lack of energy and sexual side effects. I've read that only 40 percent are helped by AD's, I think that figure might be high. I hate them all, and none worked for me. The best any of them did was make me less emotional on the surface, though they didn't touch the depression on the inside. I think the article makes some valid points, but again some people are better with them than without them. Would a sugar pill help them to the same degree? Maybe some, but certainly not all. What works and what doesn't is a very individual thing and depends on many factors.
CBT is just a current trendy form of therapy, its really not anything new to try to get people to focus on positive thoughts and stop the negative flow as soon as it begins. A therapist that has never experienced severe depression has no idea how hard it can be to actually stop bad thoughts and replace them with something positive. A therapist is very expensive long term, good ones are extremely hard to find. Whether or not therapy will help depends on the source of the problems. ECT is still scary in my opinion, and I've seen research indicating a correlation between people that had ECT and later developed blood clots in the exact spot of the electrical jolt. Subsequent ECT treatments don't last as long as the initial treatment and there are long term effects on the memory. I'm desperate for something to help my severe depression but I wouldn't ever try ECT.
I think a good therapist that your can trust and want to work with is they key. My best friend was severely depressed and very suspicious about therapy, she interviewed four therapists before she found one she felt good about. She worked really hard and still does, but that therapist gave her valuable guidance that she still uses.
That was smart of your friend. They are not always a good fit for each individual. I'd gone to a couple of them over the years and always quit after a few sessions, but only really clicked with the last one--a strange little gay guy with a bizarre sense of humor in NYC's Greenwich Village who sat in a rocking chair and wore slippers during our sessions. He probably wouldn't have worked out for someone else.
I actually agree with this comparison, from a bit of a different perspective. Like pain pills, they are too often prescribed to get rid of the pain - without fixing the problem that's causing the pain in the first place. If you break your arm and the doctor gives you a painkiller instead of fixing it up and putting on a cast - how much will that help? If your appendix bursts and you get painkillers instead of surgery? Too often, people think medication will take care of any problems they have in their lives, instead of really looking at the source. I mean there's a big difference between a clinically depressed person who has everything going for them in their lives, and just a chemical imbalance making them depressed - or a person who, say, just lost a parent, gotten divorced, lost their job and doesn't know how they'll feed their three kids. A/Ds might be the answer in the first case - but in the second, no amount of drugging up is going to help the person deal and resolve their problems, because their depression stems from very real issues that need to be dealt with first.
Exactly. My therapist likened the medication to learning to ride a bike. The medication is like a push from someone to help you get going on the bicycle, but the therapy is when you learn to keep pedaling and balancing on your own.
I eventually weaned myself off the meds. Sometimes I miss that clarity of thinking that they provided and they way they pushed the obsessive thoughts way into the background and the way I didn't wake up in a state of anxiety and doom every morning. But, I've learned to manage those things without the meds, and that was the plan.
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