Anyone here who's been on anti-depressants and can describe

>>17398859
>Anyone here who's been on anti-depressants and can describe how it feels?
Honestly, if you've got a good match and a proper dose, it doesn't feel like much at all. Your baseline mood is a bit brighter, but that's about it. You have to think pretty carefully about your mood to even notice that something has changed.

>I have ups and downs, and while the downs are terrible I don't want to lose the ups. Is it true anti-depressants sort of cancel everything out and leave you in a limbo of emotional void?
They can, if you've got a bad match or your dose is too high. They are very much NOT supposed to do that, though. If this happens to you, talk to your doc about cutting your dose or trying another medication.

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>>17398887
Thanks for a good reply.
But if you have to think carefully to even notice a change, is it really worth it then? Seeing how side effects are common.

They did me a world of good.

I was afraid they would either make me a zombie or a grinning idiot, but they didn't do either of those things- they just made me feel like myself again.

it has put me in some sort of constant spacey euphoria. (Prozac)

They did absolutely nothing for me. I tried tons of them over a period of 8 years. A couple ofthem made me worse - extremely angry and such.

It might be different for you, don't give up.

>>17398859
I was depressed and lonely once Antidepressants did nothing for me.

All good now tho. Not on antidepressants.

I took Welbutrin as prescribed for the first two months.

Since then, I've improved my quality of life, but it's on a plan I was following a month before I even started the Welbutrin. Now I often forget to take it, or don't worry about taking it, or I realize i haven't taken it for awhile, and I crush it before I swallow it to get vidya gainz.

But, the entire time I've been on, or off of them. I have not noticed a difference.

They helped when I first started taking them. I felt more optimistic and positive. But after about 2 months, I started to feel that void feeling. It was as if I couldn't feel happy or sad, which was worse because its like feeling pulled apart, not being able to have your emotions expressed.

I've stoppedal taking then for a few days and I feel much better.

You don't cure depression by taking medication, you cure it by changing your life in small increments every day. The antidepressant pill basically symbolizes how our society today thinks every problem can be fixed easily and quickly without effort. Improve yourself and you will not be depressed.

Exercise and meditation have improved my life more than antidepressants did, but there are also plenty of people who they work really well for, so it definitely varies from person to person. As someone else said, the best thing you can do (in my opinion) is make small improvements and see where it takes you

>>17398859
You need to see antidepressants for what they are: a tool, or stepping stone, towards feeling better.

When you're depressed, and I mean real depression not "I generally feel sad", you get that feeling of apathy and sluggishness that makes it a bitch to get anything done.

I was prescribed Sertraline. It's a class of antidepressants called SSRI (look it up). I was shit-scared for years that meds would make me a zombie. They didn't.

They take a while to build up enough of the "hormone" to start working, at least 2 weeks to a month.

When I started, it felt like the fog lifted. I still felt sad. I could still laugh at jokes, and feel happy if I had some good interactions that day. The meds didn't impact my capacity to feel, but what they did do is allow me to actually DO stuff when I felt whatever. Ok, fine, I felt sad, but it didn't mean my day was written off. I could wake up, cry, get out of bed, do my chores, eat, cry more, do something else. Before I wouldn't even get out of bed.

What that means, though, is that once you've been given that little boost, that capacity to actually work through your fog, you need to take that into your hands. When people say "you just need exercise and a good diet and a good routine and you'll be fine", they don't take into account the effort required that you just CAN'T do it when you're in depression.

Meds cut that away. It's still hard, but it's not debilitating. It lets you get to that stage where you CAN start thinking about exercise, and meditation, and diet, and all the other "this is what healthy people do".

Happy to answer any of your questions, OP. Just look after yourself.

Been taking Flueoxitine for 5 years. Anti-depressants aren't a miracle cure that make you feel high, they work at levelling out chemicals to make you feel more "normal" (whatever that is).

I've experienced emotional flatness from them and they won't always help with other side effects (feeling tired all the damn time) but they're a step in the right direction.

>>17398859
>Anyone here who's been on anti-depressants and can describe how it feels?
You can get bad news and you feel nothing much.
You can get great news and you feed nothing much.
You can go out and do stuff, you can stay in and do nothing, it doesn't make you really feel any better or worse.

Unfortunately there is no magic pill that stops you feeling unhappy while enjoying things.

If you want to start making changes, talk to someone professional (friends good intentions don't help at all), keep a diary.
More importantly, do something, express yourself, get a hobby or do some self improvement stuff like exercise.

But most importantly:
DON'T LET ANTIDEPRESSANTS OR DEPRESSION BECOME YOUR IDENTITY
Christ I fucking hated people who had to use "I'm on antidepressants ;'(" as a greeting or detail about themselves, rather than a hobby or occupation, people wear it like a badge of honour, you aren't special for needing drugs, you are mentally ill.

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>>17398859
Not sure of having an emotional void, but starting antidepressants is harder than being on them for a long time.

I've been on them for about three years.

>>17398895
>But if you have to think carefully to even notice a change, is it really worth it then?
Just because it's tough to notice doesn't mean things aren't a lot better. The reason you don't notice is that you still spend most of your time at your baseline; the baseline itself is what changes.

>>17400054
I can't tell you how hopeful this makes me. Thank you.

And thank everyone who's responded and been so helpful!

>>17398859

Wellbutrion is a good anti-depressant.

I just got on 200 MG of Lamictal and my Doctor said that for some people it did nothing but for others, it's a miracle drug.

After three weeks of side effects, I felt sooooooo much better.

No ups, no downs, just steady and stable.

I also get four 10MG of Valium a day but ever since the Lamictal, I've needed less and less of it.

I don't worry anymore, I don't stress, I don't feel shitty about the things I've done and I'm hopeful for the future.

You just have to find the right medications and some therapy would help too.

Mood stabilizers such as Lithium and Epi-Val cancel out mania, or highs, and have a bit of a zombifying effect in my experience

>>17400192
>Been taking Flueoxitine for 5 years.
>but they're a step in the right direction.

Seems like it's more of a chair that you've been sitting in, nobody can be depressed for five years.

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>>17401836
>nobody can be depressed for five years.

Man, I don't know much about depression and shit, but some of you are confused about how drugs work. Because antidepressants are drugs.

>>17398859
Been on a few of them for years.
Bit like taking a paracetamol for a stab wound.
When they work they take the edge off a bit so you can get back on your feet and start feeling better.
Once you get into a good place you can stay there for a while, but eventually the meds have less of an effect and you'll need to get on something else.
As far as side effects go, they're not so bad. The worst I experienced was mirtazipine, very disorientating, very tranquilising, and forget alcohol.
Mostly though you just get a bit of a dry mouth and a bit constipated, lasts about a week or so.
But if you're already feeling shit, what's a bit of thirstiness?
You don't tend to lose the ups unless you're prescribed something specifically for bipolar syndrome.

>>17401840
Fuck you.

>>17401840

Unless your entire family died in a car crash I don't see what could keep you depressed for five years. A girl left you? You lost your job? Pretty much the only excuse for depression like this is the death of a very close family member.

If anything else - kill yourself - you are genetic waste.

>>17402325
You realize such a thing as chronic depression exists, right?

>>17402327
No it doesn't

Just because a psychologist gives a medical name to a state doesn't mean it's a "disease".

How long do antidepressants take to kick in?

>>17402396
That's kinda how mental disorders and such are decided.
>>17402411
Couple of days to get the full effects and whatnot

>>17402411
>>17402421
It can take up to 2-3 weeks, though.

>>17402426
That so, I've never actually taken SSRI drugs, just going offar of some apparently wrong info.
>>17402325
Do a shit ton of meth and shit and burn out your dopamine receptors, then you don't get to feel happy for a while.

How do anti-depp function as far as anxiety (angst) goes?
Are they anti-angst too?

>>17402452
Nope, you need a separate prescription for that. Anxiety and depression usually go hand-in-hand, but they're different

>>17402457
But isn't SSRI usually prescribed for social anxiety too?

>>17402464
Well, like I said, anxiety and depression usually go together. It's extremely rare to -only- have anxiety. There's usually something with it or behind it.

>>17402467
But so anti-depressants DO function for anxiety/angst? It isn't a seperate prescription?

>>17402469
There are better drugs available for anxiety. Beta blockers are pretty effective.

>>17402469
It'll help with the depression, which might indirectly help with the anxiety.

I've always had separate prescriptions for both

>>17398859
SSRIs can cause anhedonia.

An NDRI like Bupropion or an MAOI like Nardil doesn't.