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Anyone take drugs for depression, anxiety or other psychiatric reason? I take Lexapro and Abilify for depression. It works well for me most of the time. Please feel free to vote and not comment if you want the keep it anonymous, but if you want to comment and share that's great too!
| Yes, I do currently | 18 | |
| Yes, I did in the past, but not now | 6 | |
| No, never | 12 | |
| No, but I think maybe I should | 4 |
Other than St Johns Wort, which isn't prescribed but bought over the counter, I've never found any anti-depressants at all helpful. They've all made me lethargic or more depressed and/or ruined my libido (fortunately not permanently) and some increased anxiety and insomnia.
I can't take St Johns Wort any more because it blocks the effectiveness of other medication I need to take for a heart condition, so I get by now with mindfulness meditation, daily exercise and special cookies.
I'm glad you've found drugs that work for you.
Hi, Ellenna. It's nice to see that you're still on here. Saint John's Wort is very nice. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. You may want to take a look into didgeridoo sound healing or finding a didge and learning to play it yourself. It has many health benefits, including the strengthening of the upper respiratory system and bones. It also helpful in inducing altered states of consciousness, like meditation. I've been learning how to play too. It makes me happy and relaxed. I hope it can do the same for you. :)
NEVER AGAIN. I went through way too much trial and error from age 13-17. Over the years I've reflected upon those times and realized the meds did more harm than good, especially on such a young mind. Bad bad bad.
I don't know if this counts, but I was once prescribed medication for anger and alleged Defiance Disorder. It worked well at first. However, I ended up developing voices in my head who repeatedly tried to make me rip my sight organs out. My mom took me off of it soon after. My psychiatrist, despite her stance, refused to listen and kept trying to pressure her to let me be prescribed something else. I thankfully wasn't. Those symptoms persisted for a few years, gradually lessening in intensity and frequency, until they one day stopped entirely.
How scary. My mom heard voices from a combination of drugs that were mistakenly prescribed together when they should have been (one was a muscle relaxant but not sure what the other one was). The voices told her to kill herself. She tried, but luckily didn't succeed. I'm so sorry you went through that and I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself. I'm glad your mom refused to listen and even more glad the symptoms stopped entirely. Thanks for sharing!
I took cipramil for about 18 months, many years ago. It was a bitch to acclimatise to, but other than that, I had no problems. I was lucky to start on one that works for me. Many, if not most, people have problems like others have mentioned. It can be fixed by changing to different meds or dosages for some.
I was also lucky not to have any ill effects as I went off it cold turkey, which is not a smart move.
Yeah, going off cold turkey can cause horrible withdrawal symptoms. I hope they weren't too severe! I'm glad you also started on something that worked for you. Feel good and thanks for sharing!!
All good. Was years ago, and a short term solution as a complement to therapy. I had zero withdrawal symptoms. I guess it balanced out with the three or four days sick as a dog each time I eased myself into them. Hah.
Do you have any therapy in addition to your meds?
No, I personally haven't, but I have heard that anti-depressants can actually make some people suicidal.
I think I had some pretty bad anxiety growing up. I remember getting anxiety attacks a lot, and even going to the hospital a couple times. Nothing was wrong with me though. They just said I was having a 'panic attack' and I need to calm down. I was never recommended to take any drugs, and I'm kind of thankful for that because drugs never seem like a very good solution. I still have anxiety about things, but I don't really have anxiety attacks, so you can find other ways to cope.
Yeah, I have also read they can cause suicidality especially in people 24 and under. I'm glad you found other solutions that work for you and you're not having anxiety attacks anymore. I am sorry to hear about you still having anxiety but glad you're able to cope :). I have some anxiety too along with the depression. I've found the drugs to be helpful in me being able to cope personally. Sometimes, I wonder if I could have done it another way, but I've weened off before and always wound up back on. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I take psychiatric drugs for psychosomatic disorders and other gut disorders for which they are effective too. Currently taking levosulpride ,semisodium valproate, clonazepam and lorazepam. The antidepressants do not agree with me at all.
I'm on antidepressants, and I absolutley hate them. Make me feel so emotionless and like I got no empathy. It basically makes anyone dumb. I'm currently trying to minimize it and eventually stop it.
Eating healthy, going outside, exercising and appreciate the good things in life is my medication.
Sorry it did that to you and glad you're trying to treat your depression in other ways. I wish you the best. Somehow, even though some people say it makes them feel emotionless, I still feel all emotions including sadness and empathy when the situation causes me to feel that way. I guess I got lucky!
Anti depressants freaked me out because I felt totally devoid of any emotion. Heck, I'd prefer to feel sad than feel nothingness
Sorry to hear they made you feel like that. I hope you're no longer depressed too. It's weird. A few people have said the same thing as you did to me about feeling devoid of emotions. I feel every emotion still even sadness when something sad happens. I'm just not depressed daily. I guess I'm lucky.