4 ms·

> stems from living a life that is not true to myself and due to countless failed attempts to be someone I cannot never be. If this is their mindset, they migh

by cj 11mo ago

> stems from living a life that is not true to myself and due to countless failed attempts to be someone I cannot never be. If this is their mindset, they might benefit from CBT more than medication. I'm not against SSRI at all. But after taking them for a few months in my 20's, and experiencing how terrible the withdrawal symptoms are when stopping, I'd be very hesitant to ever start up on them again. I remember having to open up the lowest dose pill capsule and splitting the dose into very tiny increments to be able to wean off completely.

hirvi74 11mo ago
I'm the GP of this comment chain. I actually did a 16 week long trial of CBT with a professional where my symptoms were tracked during each week. I actually ended the 16 weeks worse than before I started. I later learned that CBT can have that effect on people with ADHD, so I attribute that to being a possible explanation. I still do therapy, but honestly, I think it's a waste of time and money. I predominantly do it for cathartic purposes and so other people/professionals will stop recommending it. > terrible the withdrawal symptoms are when stopping I tried one when I was in my early 20s too. I swore I would never take one again. Withdrawals weren't my issue really. It was the clarity I gained after getting off. I realized how awful I was to people around me. I had such blunted emotions, that I basically became devoid of empathy. I also learned that I needed high levels of anxiety to function, which the medication took away from me.
- anuramat 11mo ago
  Are you taking something for ADHD? I think I had a somewhat similar experience: before antidepressants, I was practically non-verbal; later, I had the typical brain fog/emotional blunting -- still unable to communicate with the therapist; after adjusting to meds, by the time that I can put the problem into a coherent sentence, I can usually fix it anyway, so what is the therapist for? Is it really just rubber duck debugging, where the duck has a medical degree? One thing I wasn't able to figure out was ADHD -- I didn't really believe I had it, as my psychiatrist was sure it's not the problem -- everything was explained with depression/anxiety/geniune lack of motivation. Now that I finally have a prescription for stims, seems like it was the other way around: most of the time I would have a feedback loop where my typical fuckups would trigger a downward spiral, and it's almost not a thing anymore; being able to get shit done is just generally such a pleasant experience! TLDR My depression also wasn't a "true depression" in a sense, but you still need to fix some underlying issue, which is much easier when your thoughts are not all "I'm a failure" shaped
anuramat 11mo ago
for me, medication was closer to therapy than what I imagined (magic chemical that makes depression disappear) -- a drug changing my thought process (long term and on a deep level, unlike recreational drugs) helped me see myself as something malleable, instead of the idea of somewhat rigid "true self" I had before; from there it was much easier to start doing the DIY equivalent of CBT, as I stopped considering some of the feelings/ideas to be somehow inherent to my personality

by cj 11mo ago

hirvi74 11mo ago

I'm the GP of this comment chain. I actually did a 16 week long trial of CBT with a professional where my symptoms were tracked during each week. I actually ended the 16 weeks worse than before I started. I later learned that CBT can have that effect on people with ADHD, so I attribute that to being a possible explanation. I still do therapy, but honestly, I think it's a waste of time and money. I predominantly do it for cathartic purposes and so other people/professionals will stop recommending it. > terrible the withdrawal symptoms are when stopping I tried one when I was in my early 20s too. I swore I would never take one again. Withdrawals weren't my issue really. It was the clarity I gained after getting off. I realized how awful I was to people around me. I had such blunted emotions, that I basically became devoid of empathy. I also learned that I needed high levels of anxiety to function, which the medication took away from me.

anuramat 11mo ago
Are you taking something for ADHD? I think I had a somewhat similar experience: before antidepressants, I was practically non-verbal; later, I had the typical brain fog/emotional blunting -- still unable to communicate with the therapist; after adjusting to meds, by the time that I can put the problem into a coherent sentence, I can usually fix it anyway, so what is the therapist for? Is it really just rubber duck debugging, where the duck has a medical degree? One thing I wasn't able to figure out was ADHD -- I didn't really believe I had it, as my psychiatrist was sure it's not the problem -- everything was explained with depression/anxiety/geniune lack of motivation. Now that I finally have a prescription for stims, seems like it was the other way around: most of the time I would have a feedback loop where my typical fuckups would trigger a downward spiral, and it's almost not a thing anymore; being able to get shit done is just generally such a pleasant experience! TLDR My depression also wasn't a "true depression" in a sense, but you still need to fix some underlying issue, which is much easier when your thoughts are not all "I'm a failure" shaped

anuramat 11mo ago

for me, medication was closer to therapy than what I imagined (magic chemical that makes depression disappear) -- a drug changing my thought process (long term and on a deep level, unlike recreational drugs) helped me see myself as something malleable, instead of the idea of somewhat rigid "true self" I had before; from there it was much easier to start doing the DIY equivalent of CBT, as I stopped considering some of the feelings/ideas to be somehow inherent to my personality