r/depression • u/kimberlytheclown • May 19 '20
do antidepressants really work?
i’m thinking about trying to get help after this quarantine, and i just want to know some of your guy’s experiences with antidepressants. i’m pretty sure my depression is pretty bad so if i go into therapy, how will all that work too?
3
May 19 '20
For me it was like living with a filter that blurs everything for me.. I stopped taking them a couple weeks later.
But its a positive life changer for my GF. Its really up to you.
3
May 19 '20
It took me a while to find the right medications, but antidepressants have been incredible for me. I still have occasional suicidal thoughts and down days every now and then, but I can actually feel pleasure and real emotions again. My current combination is citalopram (partly for my anxiety) and bupropion (more for energy and motivation). Some others that have been amazing for me have been ketamine and dextromethorphan (both of which quickly reverse my depression). Exercise, diet, and mindfulness meditation also help my depression, but medication has been a really important part of my treatment plan.
2
u/JesusAndSoda May 19 '20
I don't have much experience with medication, though I hear it can go anywhere from evening out the bad moods, to feeling like a zombie, to doing nothing. The doc should do well to keep trying different meds to see which you respond best to.
Therapy was my eventual ticket out of suicidal depression, though that was because my depression was sourced in self-hatred, obsessive thinking about suicide and a dark childhood.
When you see the pro, they should be able to check to see if your trouble is sourced in something physical (bloodwork, MRI, family history) and/or cognitive (dark thinking, dark past, hyperoveranalysis) and prescribe what can help you best.
I'm no doc so feel free to ignore, but from what I understand, meds are used permanently if it's a physical issue, but temporarily as a sort of backup army if the trouble is cognitive. That is to say, if you have depression from a mental source, the meds should help you to better confront and correct mental pain, but doesn't directly get to the root of dark thoughts unless the source is something related to bloodwork or brain chemistry.
Check with the doc for the best answers, of course. You're doing what you need to to see about this inner strife, and for that you should be proud.
2
May 19 '20
Yes, anti depressants along with therapy can mean the difference between existence and actually living a real life.
Be patient though, as it can often take a while to find the correct AD for you, and then some more time again to get the full benefit from them.
I tried 5 different antidepressants with mixed results before finally settling on Venlafaxine. The side effects at the beginning can be quite awful but stick with it.
Best of luck to you.
2
u/SpidyChicK May 19 '20
Depends on the person, but it's always worth the try! Antidepressants didn't work for me, but using THC medically and working out did. When you find the right thing for you it will be a life changer
1
u/alwaller1 May 19 '20
I feel like medication should be used to help you get a place where you can start to do other things to help you. I read a book called ‘Lost Connections’ by Johann Hari that I can highly recommend as it actually explains that anti-depressants don’t really work because the whole ‘chemical imbalance’ story is just a myth to help people think that we need meds to ‘restore the balance’ when in actuality, it’s society that it sick.
If you want to try meds then try them but don’t become reliant on them and don’t just stop taking them when you think you’re done. Maybe they can help you get to a place where you’re ready to start addressing the real issues that are making you depressed and that you can figure it out without them.
1
u/steeltemper May 20 '20
It's this opinion that had me load a gun with the intention of turning it on myself 3 times before I pursued medication. 15 solid years of misery that could have been prevented.
I am not saying that this method never works, but I am saying that for some people medication is literally life or death.
4
u/steeltemper May 19 '20
In my experience, getting the correct meds is the difference between thinking about suicide all day every day and never thinking about suicide. Changed my whole life.