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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
antidepressants
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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antidepressants
by n333, Mar 29, 2002 12:00AM
I have been quite unhappy for quite a long time. I saw a psychologist for a few years, but was always too afraid to take any medication. Now my life seems even harder to deal with and I don't know what to do. I have two questions:
1) I am very afraid of the side effects and withdrawl problems associated with antidepressants. The things I read about antidepressants sound as bad as depression itself. I have been given both celexa and zoloft (the doctor said I could try either one). Zoloft seems to be less shocking to my system, but I've very afraid of gaining weight. I don't understand how antidepressants work. Do they just increase your appetite (so I'd know I was gaining weight) or do they change your metabolism (so I could all of a sudden be heavier without changing my food intake)? Would you recommend one of these two antidepressants over the other (not just in terms of the weight gain issue, but in general)?
2) In addition to being afraid of the medication, I can't imagine my life ever being good. I don't see the point in getting better because I don't think I can be happy. The world seems both painful and pointless. Is this common for depressed people think? Mainly I just think it would be pointless to take antidepressants as I can't imagine anythiing that would make me happy even if I wasn't depressed.
I guess I'm writing because I can't seem to find any tangible reasons to take medicine or to get better. I really don't know what to do.
1) I am very afraid of the side effects and withdrawl problems associated with antidepressants. The things I read about antidepressants sound as bad as depression itself. I have been given both celexa and zoloft (the doctor said I could try either one). Zoloft seems to be less shocking to my system, but I've very afraid of gaining weight. I don't understand how antidepressants work. Do they just increase your appetite (so I'd know I was gaining weight) or do they change your metabolism (so I could all of a sudden be heavier without changing my food intake)? Would you recommend one of these two antidepressants over the other (not just in terms of the weight gain issue, but in general)?
2) In addition to being afraid of the medication, I can't imagine my life ever being good. I don't see the point in getting better because I don't think I can be happy. The world seems both painful and pointless. Is this common for depressed people think? Mainly I just think it would be pointless to take antidepressants as I can't imagine anythiing that would make me happy even if I wasn't depressed.
I guess I'm writing because I can't seem to find any tangible reasons to take medicine or to get better. I really don't know what to do.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Apr 01, 2002 12:00AM
, Apr 01, 2002 12:00AM
First of all, we all agree that the world is not in good shape..not a lot to be optimistic about on the world scene in terms of headlines...but below the headlines, the world is moving along quite well.
But your depression comes before and is separate from that reality. Taking antidepressants is quite safe, and withdrawals from Zoloft and Celexa can be accomplished quite smoothly. There is an appetite stimulation, but not in everyone, and Celexa is said to be a little better than Zoloft in that regard, although Zoloft seems to be a bit "smoother" in general.
You should take the medications AND see a therapist for counseling. You can start that process on line by going to the masteringstress program (link above) and become in greater control of your life by virtue of some serious conscious thinking about what is going on within you.
But your depression comes before and is separate from that reality. Taking antidepressants is quite safe, and withdrawals from Zoloft and Celexa can be accomplished quite smoothly. There is an appetite stimulation, but not in everyone, and Celexa is said to be a little better than Zoloft in that regard, although Zoloft seems to be a bit "smoother" in general.
You should take the medications AND see a therapist for counseling. You can start that process on line by going to the masteringstress program (link above) and become in greater control of your life by virtue of some serious conscious thinking about what is going on within you.
"Mainly I just think it would be pointless to take antidepressants as I can't imagine anything that would make me happy even if I wasn't depressed."
That really touches me, because I remember feeling exactly the same way when I started with my therapist. I was so discouraged and hopeless, before I even got started! Fortunately, I persisted anyway - with a negative, jaded attitude - and was SO pleasantly surprised.
My doctor put me on Paxil - only about 20 mg a day, which was cut back to 10 mg after about 6 months. I found that not only did psychotherapy help me but medication REALLY helped me. It helped me NOTICEABLY, and with minor side effects. It changed the way I instinctively react to things, which has made me happier, more confident, more relaxed, more tranquil.
Paxil did make me feel a little nauseaous the first couple of weeks, but that wore off. Here's what I experienced:
- It kept me from ruminating about things over & over & over again. I found that instead, I'd think things over, make an assessment, then MOVE ON to something else.
- It kept me calm; I stopped getting that panicky, frantic I-have-to-deal-with-this-right-now compulsion.
- It made me feel SAFE, like I was assured that I am not going to freak out over any little thing, embarress myself or act irrationally.
- It allowed me to 'organize' my issues a little bit, like I put them in little piles and then carted them into my therapist's office and dealt with them there. My issues stopped popping up in the middle of a meeting, or a dinner date or a party.
Paxil changed my life. I took it for about 2 years then I went off. Now 6 years later, I had a major catastrophe hit me this Fall, and I knew right away that it would make things easier for me, so I marched into my therapist's office and got back on it. I have NO worries about becoming dependent on it. NONE.
PLEASE, don't disregard the 'antidepressant' option before you even give it a chance. I swear to you that it changed my life, by changing my reactionary behavior. And it is highly likely to change yours too. You probably won't notice the difference for awhile, because it's very gradual but 6 months down the road you'll wish you had gone on it sooner.
Good luck! Please talk to someone about trying it out...
Don't be afraid to take antidepressants, they will lift the stress right out of your life.
Good luck to you.
Try looking at this Paxil(Seroxat) petition. READ THEM. It will break your heart to read people's experiences and in amongst them are people who have lost their children to these poisons too. Depression is REAL BAD, but adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms such as akathisa are WORSE than can ever imagine until it happens to you. The petition link is just one. There are others. Thousands and thousands of people who thought SSRIS were SAFE. They don't anymore. Many people call paxil paxhell.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?oky71&1