After avoiding counseling for many years, I finally went and talked with a psychologist who says that I'll most likely need to be prescribed anti-depressants. Apparently, I might have to take these medications in some form or another for the rest of my life due to a family history of mental illness. I have a vague understanding that these drugs have powerful side effects, and since I might be taking them for an extended period of time, I was curious if anyone had any experience or knowledge to share. Having never taken psychotropics before it leaves me somewhat concerned.
The side effects can be mild to severe; there's no way to know how you'll react. You might be more tired. You might gain some weight, but it can be kept off with excercise. If you have a penis the pills might prevent you from getting an erection. If you don't like the side effects you can ask for different meds. If you have trouble affording the kind your doctor prescribes, ask for 'generics'.
I would recommend against accepting an Rx for anti-psychotics from a doctor, unless you are actually psychotic or at least bipolar. It's a likely possibility your doctor might try this, but it might do you more harm than good.
To clarify, when I say anti-depressants, I'm pretty sure that SSRI's are what I'm going to end up with. I have a general idea about side-effects like weight gain and the like. What I'm not sure about is how these drugs might affect my personality or psyche. I have never taken mind-altering substances of this sort, and info about their effect on mood seems to be limited to just restating that they aid in coping with anxiety and depression. It gives me pause that I might be prescribed something that could alter the way I think but in ways I can't predict.
I'm still not sure if this makes any sense at all. >_<
>I'm still not sure if this makes any sense at all.
It makes sense, but unfortunately you will have to experiment in order to know how you react to the anti-depressants. Why don't you ash for info in a forum dedicated to depression and anti-depressant meds? You will probably get more varied and grounded returns of experience...
Some bad scenarios could be your mood becomes overly stable (you feel like a zombie) or you become worse and/or [more] suicidal.
They wont change who you are, though.
I used to take Prozac and know damn well what that feeling of being like a zombie feels like. You might not notice it until after you've stopped taking it for a while though.
I used to take Wellbutrin, and it helped for a bit but wore off pretty quickly. Medicines have different effects on different people, you can't predict what's going to happen.
While they can always recommend medication, the decision is ultimately yours. I had been avoiding counseling for many years as well and even after I began I had periods where I would stop going. I was very reluctant to start on Prozac but felt I was willing to try anything at that point to save myself. During the first few weeks I was more depressed then I was super excited and extremely happy. I had another down period hen I more or less stabilized. After about three months, not wanting to depend on just my medication, I stopped taking them and stopped seeing my psychologist as well. I slowly worsened over the next two or three months before I started my treatment again. This time I have tried much harder to stick with my treatment. When I reached the three month mark again, I began to feel as if the medication wasn't helping as much as I'd hoped. This time instead of quitting I asked for my dosage to be adjusted and my condition improved a lot more after I got it increased. I'm still taking it every day and it doesn't control or take up my life I was afraid it would. It helps me live a life I like and I am much happier. I'm probably going to be taking these pills for a long time but I'm glad they let be more happy. I know some people say they just feel numb or like zombie but for me it has helped me feel more like the person I really am and wanted to be. Aside from the mood swings in the first few weeks and dry mouth for about a week or so, I haven't experienced any noticeably bad side effects. A lot of people are saying that different medication works differently for each person etc etc and they are right. This was my experience with prozac and I hope it was at least a little helpful. I hope you at least try medicine. At first it may feel worse but it may help you get better. Please don't be discouraged because you don't think it is working. You have already started talking to someone and that is already a difficult step I can understand taking. No matter how long it takes, I hope you'll be happier.