3 ms·

I too suffer with depression and have been now for the better part of a decade. I, for similar reasons, have also chosen to live instead of die. My depression b

by Vysero 6y ago

I too suffer with depression and have been now for the better part of a decade. I, for similar reasons, have also chosen to live instead of die. My depression began to get worse a few years ago and I decided to do something about it this year. So far I have tried therapy and I quit for.. yet again.. similar reasons. I have not tried medications because I have an addictive personality and will no doubt become dependent on them. What has helped me the most so far believe it or not is quitting smoking. Not so much because smoking was a trigger, but because it's shown me that I am capable of going toe to toe with myself. Exercise also seems to be helping me. Although, I will admit I have begun to drink quite often, every night in fact, and I am working on that. I will give some of your suggestions a try.

throwaway_3499 6y ago
antidepressants do cause physical dependency in basically everyone who takes them -- you have to taper off slowly. but they are not addictive in a psychological sense. they don't get you high or make you feel good in the moment. i took them for a while and never felt any urge or desire for them -- it was something i had to constantly remind myself to do. indeed, i would frequently forget to take them -- this is not something that usually happens with addictive substances! my point is, there are many reasons to take or not to take antidepressants, but there is almost no risk of addictive behavior like might happen with anti-anxiety drugs like xanax or stimulants like adderall.
- slaymaker1907 6y ago
  If anything, I find that I am more often tempted to try and go off of them when I shouldn't or at too quick of a pace without tapering since the side effects of most anti-depressants are not pleasant.
  - helldritch 6y ago
    Most people need to try a few antidepressants to find one which really works for them and which they can take with relatively few side effects. I had Sertraline 150mg previously and found that rather than helping me it caused a significant increase in my suicidal ideation. I now take Mirtazapine 45mg instead and the suicidal ideation has gone away entirely, of course I have other side effects (the Mirtazapine makes me drowsy and has caused me start snoring!) If you're reading this and your not getting a good response from your current medication, talk to your GP about changing to something else. Sertraline didn't work for me, but very well could for you, etc.
vishnumohandas 6y ago
> it's shown me that I am capable of going toe to toe with myself. I can relate a lot to this. Of all the things I did, documenting thoughts (along with solutions to problems as and when they popped up) helped the most. Updating this document during every bad trip made the future ones shorter.

by Vysero 6y ago

throwaway_3499 6y ago

antidepressants do cause physical dependency in basically everyone who takes them -- you have to taper off slowly. but they are not addictive in a psychological sense. they don't get you high or make you feel good in the moment. i took them for a while and never felt any urge or desire for them -- it was something i had to constantly remind myself to do. indeed, i would frequently forget to take them -- this is not something that usually happens with addictive substances! my point is, there are many reasons to take or not to take antidepressants, but there is almost no risk of addictive behavior like might happen with anti-anxiety drugs like xanax or stimulants like adderall.

slaymaker1907 6y ago
If anything, I find that I am more often tempted to try and go off of them when I shouldn't or at too quick of a pace without tapering since the side effects of most anti-depressants are not pleasant.
- helldritch 6y ago
  Most people need to try a few antidepressants to find one which really works for them and which they can take with relatively few side effects. I had Sertraline 150mg previously and found that rather than helping me it caused a significant increase in my suicidal ideation. I now take Mirtazapine 45mg instead and the suicidal ideation has gone away entirely, of course I have other side effects (the Mirtazapine makes me drowsy and has caused me start snoring!) If you're reading this and your not getting a good response from your current medication, talk to your GP about changing to something else. Sertraline didn't work for me, but very well could for you, etc.

vishnumohandas 6y ago

> it's shown me that I am capable of going toe to toe with myself. I can relate a lot to this. Of all the things I did, documenting thoughts (along with solutions to problems as and when they popped up) helped the most. Updating this document during every bad trip made the future ones shorter.