4 ms·

Ask HN: How did antidepressants affect your life?

4 points by ushakov 4y ago

wruza 4y ago
Also want to find out, because my CBT therapist is (softly) resistant to prescribe them. He said that it is a crutch to a real issue which must be found and eliminated. I partially agree because when my health goes up it leaves little to no motivation to investigate further. Also keep in mind that some ADs make you feel much worse for a first week or so, which may be dangerous. A lot of reviews out there like “I stopped taking it because it only got worse”. (This is just my own experience and fragmented knowledge, don’t take it too seriously if you need help.)
- brudgers 4y ago
  My understanding as a lay person without clinical depression is that there is strong biochemical evidence that clinical depression entails variation in the soup of brain chemicals. That seems to flesh out in several ways. First is that every medication doesn't help every person because brain chemistry varies among individuals, metabolism also varies, and so finding an effective dose of the right pharmaceutical can be a matter of trial and error. Also, all the pharmaceuticals have different side effects in general and varying side effects on any specific individual because individual variation plays a role here too. Even more so because the effects of side effects will also vary based on circumstance...a simple example would be a change to sex drive will have an impact that depends on a person's actual sex life and hence will tend to effect any other people involved in it. Which is to say that side effects of medication -- like the direct effects of clinical depression -- can have a significant social dimension. Your therapist is resistant because of all those things I mention. And possibly because your diagnosis is not clinical depression which is a specific medical diagnosis which your comment does not mention so I won't assume. And actually I assume against it because calling pharmaceuticals a crutch would be gross incompetence in the context of a person with a clinical depression diagnosis -- if diagnosis included clinical depression, it might be reasonable to explore other options for therapists. It is worth noting that few therapists can write a prescription and so treatment with anti-depressants starts when your therapist writes a referal to a medical doctor such as a psychiatrist (not a psychologist). These typically have long lead times and short consultations (in the US due to a low number of psychiatrists). It is also possible to talk to your general practitioner about a clinical depression diagnosis and have the GP prescribe anti-depressants (though I don't think this is terribly common because few people are aware of it and many GP's might be reluctant due to unfamiliarity with the state of practice and/or the bounds of their own experiences and research. Good luck.
hresvelgr 4y ago
I took SSRIs many years ago and found they did nothing at all and when I came off them I ended up getting brain zaps and mood swings. They eventually subsided. It's better to find the right shrink than the right medication.
- ushakov 4y ago
  seems like a common withdrawal symptoms

4 points by ushakov 4y ago

Also want to find out, because my CBT therapist is (softly) resistant to prescribe them. He said that it is a crutch to a real issue which must be found and eliminated. I partially agree because when my health goes up it leaves little to no motivation to investigate further. Also keep in mind that some ADs make you feel much worse for a first week or so, which may be dangerous. A lot of reviews out there like “I stopped taking it because it only got worse”. (This is just my own experience and fragmented knowledge, don’t take it too seriously if you need help.)

brudgers 4y ago
My understanding as a lay person without clinical depression is that there is strong biochemical evidence that clinical depression entails variation in the soup of brain chemicals. That seems to flesh out in several ways. First is that every medication doesn't help every person because brain chemistry varies among individuals, metabolism also varies, and so finding an effective dose of the right pharmaceutical can be a matter of trial and error. Also, all the pharmaceuticals have different side effects in general and varying side effects on any specific individual because individual variation plays a role here too. Even more so because the effects of side effects will also vary based on circumstance...a simple example would be a change to sex drive will have an impact that depends on a person's actual sex life and hence will tend to effect any other people involved in it. Which is to say that side effects of medication -- like the direct effects of clinical depression -- can have a significant social dimension. Your therapist is resistant because of all those things I mention. And possibly because your diagnosis is not clinical depression which is a specific medical diagnosis which your comment does not mention so I won't assume. And actually I assume against it because calling pharmaceuticals a crutch would be gross incompetence in the context of a person with a clinical depression diagnosis -- if diagnosis included clinical depression, it might be reasonable to explore other options for therapists. It is worth noting that few therapists can write a prescription and so treatment with anti-depressants starts when your therapist writes a referal to a medical doctor such as a psychiatrist (not a psychologist). These typically have long lead times and short consultations (in the US due to a low number of psychiatrists). It is also possible to talk to your general practitioner about a clinical depression diagnosis and have the GP prescribe anti-depressants (though I don't think this is terribly common because few people are aware of it and many GP's might be reluctant due to unfamiliarity with the state of practice and/or the bounds of their own experiences and research. Good luck.

hresvelgr 4y ago

I took SSRIs many years ago and found they did nothing at all and when I came off them I ended up getting brain zaps and mood swings. They eventually subsided. It's better to find the right shrink than the right medication.

ushakov 4y ago
seems like a common withdrawal symptoms