Should I Continue Antidepressants?

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For the past few days, coupled with my extreme insomnia, I've broken down on the couch because nothing of my situation makes sense. Like the fact that I've managed to escape just doesn't make sense to some part of my brain so I've been feeling like nothing is real and that I must be dreaming everything.

At this point Antidepressants make sense, but I'm worried that taking antidepressants will stop me from emotionally processing what I've gone through, and that I may have to stay on them for life.

I've gone through a lot of shit as a child and as an adult, and of course it would fuck up anyone.

So should I just continue doing therapy and doing my best to cope with what happened to me, in the hopes that one day I'll get over the worst of what I'm experiencing now, and be able to cope with the rest?

Or get on antidepressants just for now until the worst of this blows over? Can I use antidepressants just for a short period of time without any long term dependence?

Thanks!

Let me tell you something.

I've had over a decade of severe depression including phases of cutting, drugs, asphyxiation, suicidal thoughts and other things I deemed a 'vent' or numbing mechanism at the time. I still have contact to relatively close friends who suffer from life long depression etc.

One thing is clear: Anti depressants and any other psycho medication WILL ruin you in 99% of all cases. They are basically drugs that temporarily give you relief by re-adjusting the chemical imbalance in your brain, but make you fall ten times harder afterwards + they ARE addictive. STOP TAKING THEM! I could elaborate why exactly but that would lead to far and I'm tired.

This is my advice: Stop taking meds. Start living as healthy as you can. (Learn about healthy diets with good protein intake, fresh produce etc.) and most important, literally the single most important thing that can save you: EXERCISE! It's a scientifically proven fact that exercise can 'flush' all the bad shit from your brain that is clogging your synapses and serotonin receptors. I know you feel like no one understands you and the world is against you or some shit like that, but trust me, nothing will help you to cope like regular excessive exercise. Join a 24h gym near you. You must sweat. You must feel the pain in your muscles. You must be so tired in the evening that you just fall asleep in your bed. It will transform you if done right.

Coming from an ex-manic depressive man in his mid-30s who was saved by himself and himself only. Good luck.

>>17436697
Thank you. I've been thinking the same...

>>17436697
You are a fucking idiot. If used CORRECTLY, they are very helpful. If used incorrectly, that's when you start running into issues.

Besides, antidepressants alone aren't going to be enough, to recover you need therapy - I went from severely depressed and suicidal with panic attacks and anxiety to completely normal and happy in the space of a year with antidepressants and therapy. Do pay attention to the meds though, not all meds work for everyone, I had to swap meds after about 3 months because I was showing no change whatsoever, and the new meds I got were a huge improvement. And naturally I was weaned off correctly so I was in no danger of side effects from stopping.

>>17437708
That sounds promising.

Another reason for wanting to get back on them is that I did my withdrawal by just chucking my pill bottle in the trash because I was so upset... Obviously that's a terrible way to go about things and it's stuck me with several less than pleasant symptoms.

Been on 30mg on citalopram too. When my depression was over I stopped.

What I wish my psych told me is that stopping makes you feel a lot worse. I read up on it by then, and appareantly this is the reason people with depression and anxiety have trouble kicking off their meds; you start feeling as awful as you did before. And then some.

It took me over 4 months to feel better again. And I didn't stop cold turkey either (degrading my dose for 4 months as well before stopping entirely). It took me everything to convince myself and the people around me that what I felt wasn't a setback, but a symptom from withdrawel.

As for the meds themselves; after I stopped I realized how the meds made me feel unlike myself. Flattened out, if you will. I'd rather never take them again, even if a doctor would prescribe them to me. They helped me battle my depression and my anxiety, but I don't think they're good for you in the long run.

That being said, quitting is no easy task, as I described. If you feel you have too much shit going on, consider taking them a little longer. If you feel you stopped your meds without a prober build-off, consider starting again and lowering your dosage over a course of several months. If you feel you're well ahead and you can keep your shit together, ride it out right now.

Talk to your psychiatrist, tell them you don't like the neutral feeling you get on the medicine, and they will work out a new one you can take. The first medication you get is rarely the one you end up on. Everybody is different, everybody's bodies react differently. And there's new medications coming out all the time. Try more medications until you find the one that works. There is going to be one that works.

Psychiatry is an imprecise art, because we're still only recently really starting to figure out how things work in the brain. But stuff is improving as we learn more.

Talk to your doctor and find something that works for you. The only way they know if something isn't working or is unpleasant is if you tell them.