Poll of the Day > Have you ever taken antidepressants?

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Blitzoff1987 posted...

Deuce600 posted...

Blitzoff1987 posted...

Serious question, are anti-depressants easily available in the US or is it just a coincidence that so many people on this board were on them?

Very easy to access, I almost think doctors just throw them at people who come in about a majority of mental issues so they can avoid fixing the underlying issue's at hand. It would make more sense to limit antidepressants so that only mental doctors can prescribe them, to avoid the over prescription that we have seen.

Okay, makes sense.

The reason I asked is because I've never known anybody who took anti-depressants. I know people who went to a psychiatrist but that's about it.

I have known dozens of people who went into the doctors office for mild issues and ended up convinced they needed the anti depressant. My mother is one of them.
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Over-prescribing of antidepressants is definitely a major issue. The people that suggest under-prescribing them as a fix to this are also wrong, but over-prescription is an issue nonetheless.
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Pretty sad that the SJW mods modded me for an opinion. Apparently calling out the shitty mentality of sedating oneself with drugs to avoid problems is "trolling."
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Yes, and they basically ruined my relationship. Girlfriend convinced me to see a shrink. Shrink talks to me for all of 30 minutes and is convinced I need Zoloft. Said Zoloft turns me into an unlikable asshole who goes from blind rage one minute to crying in a corner the next. Girlfriend breaks up with me because of this. I decide to ditch this shrink a couple months later and stop taking the Zoloft. A few weeks later I am back to normal.

Never doing that again.
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wwinterj25 posted...

adjl posted...

That varies on a case-by-case basis. There are plenty of cases that do respond better to medication than to any other treatment option, and those people should not be criticized or judged for going with the most (or in some cases, only) effective treatment.

All I know is when I said to the doc "medication wouldn't fix the problems I'm having they will possibly only help with the symptoms" she agreed. I'm aware some folk do take medication, have CBT or even both. Getting to the route of the problem is the most important thing though. That isn't done though medication. That's why some folk take them for so long too and I do wonder if the medication is actually making their issues worse with the side effects associated with them.

Stating this isn't attacking those who take medication. I mean I only wish I could pop a pill and all my anxiety issues would go away forever but realistically that's not how any of this works.

Exactly this.

Life can have many, many bad things to happen to a person. But this isn't always the only option. There are millions of people suffering out there and most don't have the luxury of prescription medication. They simply keep living; keep trying to survive, keep on trying...

Resilience is indeed a wondrous concept.
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Nope.
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Nope. Though there was about 2 years of my life that I most likely should have been on them. My therapist sure as hell thought so, but I just told him no.

I did make some pretty drastic lifestyle changes to try and make myself feel better - most notably I gave up alcohol, and it seems to have worked out well. I'm happier now than I've ever been.

Though I will note that the strangest feeling I've ever experience was when I was out and about running errands and I realized I was actually happy for basically the first time ever... because I honestly didn't recognize the emotion at first.
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