Antidepressants - Thoughts

Not personally on them, but have a number of friends on them. They are entirely dependent on the SSRIs and have never figured out or fixed whatever the underlying cause is. They became unmotivated to do so once they got the drugs. From everything I’ve read and heard is once you go on these things you become dependent.

Would highly suggest trying to address the underlying cause without chemical intervention if at all possible.

Also your dick will stop working.

My psychiatrist once told me that I was the most medicated patient I he had ever seen. No joke. I feel pretty qualified to speak on this topic, so let me tell you that YES they are a good idea ONLY if you have exhausted all other avenues of treatment. I would 100% encourage you to hunker down and really put in effort in your therapy sessions, introspect on your own time, really try to get to the bottom of why you feel the way you feel. I would also encourage you to get good sleep, exercise consistently, and maintain a reasonable diet. I mostly agree with the other posters other than the getting laid thing, not sure that would really help anything. Good luck. You can do anything you want as long as you want it bad enough. 

don’t pop any pills you’re fine

Not going to give a “should” or “shouldn’t” recommendation, but as someone who went on them and came off of them by choice, I will share how they affected me. Only ever tried SSRIs to note.

These pills did not make me “happier”. How I felt, and how a psychiatrist will likely describe them to you is a mood stabilizer. In real terms this translated (for me) to a lack of extreme emotions. While on them, I never felt extremely sad and, at the same time, never experienced extreme happiness. It’s like it removes the extreme elements of emotion.

To some that may sound like a good deal, but in addition to this I also felt a general sense of apathy most of the time. After taking them, I realize now why they were in part blamed for school shootings. I just didn’t care about things as much. I felt detached and desensitized.

So, in summary — I didn’t really care about things as much and I found it harder to cry but also harder to laugh with friends and enjoy myself. To the drugs credit it did mute pretty much all of my suicidal thoughts. I ultimately decided to come off of them because I was so apathetic all the time and was worried it would begin impacting my work and hobbies.

Idk man I used to be a big "Nah bro SSRIs will make me chemical dependent and unmotivated to solve the root cause!" guy. But then I got on SSRIs and they really helped me not panic. I've full-on panicked in college classes before while public speaking and have a ton of anxiety generally, the SSRIs significantly help the physical elements of my anxiety that genuinely interfere with my day-to-day life (on occasion - I'm not a total fucking basket case).

But I do agree that they should only be taken if you're truly at that point to where you're getting physical symptoms or such severe mental symptoms that it's really effecting you. If you don't have any clear goal taking them other than hoping it makes you generally happier then I just wouldn't start.

Do not, under any circumstances, take that poison unless you genuinely have a chemical imbalance in your brain caused by some condition that cannot otherwise be treated. Work out. Eat better, change your diet up if you already to. Those things are an absolute last resort that will otherwise poison other aspects of your cognitive functions and that is something that cannot be understated. 

I went on Remeron for 2 years and it totally changed my life for the better.

All of the people in this thread saying "just workout/get laid/talk therapy" are morons, you can't treat clinical depression that way.

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Would not recommend unless you are clinically depressed to the point of being unable to function. Psychiatrist can be very quick to pull the trigger on prescriptions without considering longer term implications. Coming off SSRIs was absolutely brutal particularly if not done over extended period of time. 

Getting on anti-depressants was probably the best decision I've ever made. Honestly might not be here without them. 

A lot of people on this thread have no idea what they are talking about. I was 21, healthy, d1 athlete, and had a buyside seat locked up post-grad. Still depressed. "Eat healthy and lift weights" is good advice but sometimes shit just doesnt work. I've been on a low dose of wellbutrin for a while now and it has really turned my life around. I would look into it/talk with your therapist & doctor. wellbutrin isn't a SSRI (it's a NDRI) so doesn't come with the typical side effects you often hear about. And the "won't solve the underlying issues" trope is bullshit too. ADs can activate neuroplasticity and physically change your brain and teach you how to be a happier person. thats fucking cool

feel free to PM if you got questions

I've taken SSRIs for some years and I can agree to some of the statements made, but some are obvious bullshit. Of course, diet, sleep & exercise play into your psychological state, but they are not a cure in itself.

Due to my ADs, I was finally able to live life again and not be sad and anxious all the time. Of course I had some typical side-effects (less libido, less energy), but I was at a point in my life where I would gladly accept just to have my life back. Of course taking them does not absolve you of working on your problems, but it can be a great starting point.

My therapist phrased it quite well: "Imagine you are sitting in the shadows under a tree. ADs can help you to stand up, but you need to walk into the sun yourself".

Feel free to pm me. Have much experience in this space, went through a rough period and made it through to the other side.

My advice, take the SSRI. They are very well tolerated and it will likely be the answer.

Tip of advice, you may actually make things worse the longer you go without taking what is necessary. Aid at the advice of your doctor and those (like myself) that have been there.

Best of luck, feel free to hmu.

Check out "Feeling Great" my friend. That book and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will help you more than anti-depressants as it did me. Dr. Burns has an older book called “Feeling Good” that this is an update to.

Dude, half this community is still in college and the most upvoted advice here is "just lift bro". FFS, please talk to a diff medical professional or get a second opinion. We don't know our head from our ass when it comes to these things.

My psychiatrist prescribed full spectrum cbd magic brand and I only took anything that looked like cannabis https://cbdmagic.ca/. There are, of course, side effects. But they were few and the effect was obvious. But it helped me forget myself for a while. But the problems were not solved.

Began taking in my early 30's and would recommend them to those with have *chronically* struggled with depression or anxiety.  Began taking after a notably stressful period in my life between work (promotion to Director), life (relationship), and health (immune system issues).  It's totally normal to feel down or stressed when things are tough in your life; however, if you're constantly feeling down and stressed even when things are going well objectively, and this has been the case for years, you may be a good candidate for medical treatment.  

Please note, that for all of the reasons they work, they also have can have a catch 22 side effects.  While not feeling so consumed by the world or feeling everything so intensely will greatly reduce the lows in your low, you may feel the 'highs' less than before.  It may mellow you out which is good at times but not good at other times.  You're certainly taking a group of good and bad as you medically treat yourself and you need to decide whether or not that's right for you.  

Personally, I've really found them beneficial.  I mentally spiral and obsess over things much less than before, I care far less about what others may think of me, and I'm far more care free than before - all things that have lifted a weight of sorts off my shoulder.  That said, I do have slightly less intra-day motivation and eustress than before which served as some kind of productivity agent.  

Before starting SSRIs, I fully cut out alcohol, caffeine, worked out 5-6 days a week minimum and was in therapy. I still felt like I was gonna throw up daily from anxiety, had pretty frequent suicidal ideation and wasn’t making any progress in therapy.

Honestly, I didn’t want to be on them but I tried everything else and finally started taking them. The first month was rough adjusting but after that I began to actually live my life again. I was making progress in therapy and because my anxiety no longer debilitating I was able to address the underlying issues and figure out how to operate without them.

They weren’t without side effects. They helped immensely, but I also realized I was physically unable to cry while on them unless I was drunk as well as at one point I upped my dose and started feeling like I could do anything and not feel bad about it, which tbh was scary. After I began to make a lot of progress, I worked with my psychiatrist and explained that I felt like I wanted to get off them. I tapered off completely and a little of my anxiety and depression came back but no where near where they were before. Now I’m fully unmedicated and some days are still hard but I also have a full range of emotions and am glad to be here. This year was really fucking hard for a ton of reasons for me and I’m so glad I was on those meds, but at the same time they served their purpose and I don’t feel like I need them anymore

i am on anti depressants for anxiety. first and foremost i don’t care about anyone opinion of them other than my own and my doctors, especially not any one who has never been on them and/or is not a medical professional. it’s my life and my mental health. full stop. 

they have been great for me so far, nothing but minor side effects to speak of. i’ll also note you hear a lot of negative stories about SSRIs because if you have no negative or troubling experience it’s not very interesting to say “i got this medicine and it worked fine.”

as for the people who are saying you need to fix the root cause, yes, you should be doing self work in whatever form that looks like. i go to therapy and am on a personal self improvement journey. HOWEVER, the main point of having a mood or anxiety disorder (or any mental illness) is that your thinking is distorted. yes there are things i need to work on in my life and yes some of those things make me anxious. and yes i have learned to handle them better than i did in the past, but the issue and reason i am on medicine is that my response to and perception of things can distorted, disproportionate and irrational. that is the point of having an anxiety disorder. when something mundane happens and i nearly give myself a panic attack over or it misspeak in a meeting and cannot stop thinking about it for the next two days that is distorted and disproportionate. no amount of self work or going to the gym or getting sunshine will fix that, and that is why i made the personal choice to work with my doctor to find a medicine that works for me instead of letting people tell me i need to meditate more or go lift more or eat more kale. 

SSRIs make it almost impossible to cum and the fact that they come with "black box" warnings scared the shit out of me. 

Was going through some shit back in the day, but these days I'm doing much, much better. All without pills. For me, it was switching jobs that did the trick. Obviously pills wouldn't have helped much, I don't believe. 

Life could be better, but I think I know the root cause of what's holding be back a little. Again, not sure pills would help. 

Was surprised how quickly doctors are to prescribe, prescribe, prescribe. No wonder people are addicted to benzos (prescribed in conjunction with SSRI) and other narcotics. Was a real eye opener. 

Good luck, I'm sure you'll figure it out.