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Question about depression and medications

pete6032

pete6032

Diamond Member
I'm not familiar with taking antidepressants but I know people in my life who are struggling with anxiety/depression that take perscription medications on a daily basis. I am also not familiar with the theory of treatment of depression or anxiety.

My question is, are antidepressents/antianxiety medications viewed as as a long-term solution to depression/anxiety, or do most doctors/therapists take the viewpoint that antidepressants/antianxiety medications are a tool to be used to help someone afflicted with anxiety/depression feel better in the short term while they seek talk-therapy to address the issues that he/she is struggling with?

So, 1) short term means to achieve an end goal, or 2) long-term solution to depression/anxiety?

Also I'm curious what you think of someone who struggles with depression and then starts taking prescription medications for depression over a long period of time and then says that he/she no longer feels depressed. Has this person beaten their depression? Is depression something that is caused by a chemical imbalance or is the chemical imbalance caused by negative feelings/thoughts about ones self?
 
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Way too many variables to answer those questions - some depression is situational, some chemical, some temporary, some long term - some meds given short term, some w/ no end date- some people get over the depression, some people don't - some people are horribly depressed even if everything in their life is going great. Really depends on the individual situations.

And I'm sure soon there will be posts saying meds are never the answer. FWIW, I've never taken them or really dealt with depression, so I won't pretend to know what it's really like.

I've seen some people not react well to medications, I've seen some where it literally changed their life in ways *nothing* else did - including the often recommended cure-all of exercise (hint- just cause that may help your depression doesn't mean it will that for everyone). One of the people I knew who really struggled w/ it exercised religiously.
 
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Don't do it. Jog first it cures many people who think they have depression. If you go the pill route, you feel good at first. But you're always going on the up and down cycle depending on when you take the pill. Eventually your body needs higher dosage and before you know it your on such a high and low one day these pill pushers puts you on bipolar medication.
 
I've been on a serotonin uptake inhibitor for roughly 12 years now because my emotional highs and lows are too extreme otherwise. The few periods of time when I went off my meds were some of the toughest of my life.

Meds don't magically fix all the problems in my life, but they do even my emotions out so I can make better life choices. Without them every single day is a fight to keep my anger and depression under control. The idea that I could just exercise my way out of it is ridiculous.
 
For myself, I used to feel that there were two kinds of depression; circumstantial and systemic. Twice in my life I felt the second kind, and it just seemed like this upwelling darkness that was absolutely pervasive no matter where I was or what I was doing.

The second time it happened I sought help. I had just started a new job in a new city, and I had hoped the medication (forget the name now) would help me cope. It didn't, but it may just have been the wrong drug for me.

But looking back at both deep depressions, it was circumstance that brought me back from the darkness, and I later realized it was circumstance that had also gotten me there. The first time I had been denying my sexuality to myself and others (in the '70s), the second time I was isolating in the new city.

I did end up back where I came from, and increased socialization helped big time. It's hard not to smile when someone is smiling at you.

I don't know how the imbalances and chemicals work exactly, so I know it may have causes beyond circumstance for many.

My practice in Vipassana meditation is a big part of what keeps trying circumstances from trying my mind too much nowadays.
 
What kind do they have? Seasonal? e.g. winter depression? The causes are less sunlight, the weather temperature (coldness), etc.

Things like Vitamin D3, and SAMe, are helpful for Seasonal type depression.
 
Unless a doctor asks you about your diet and exercise routine and pushes that you improve those.......they are simply drug pushers. I doubt ANY drug is a better happiness booster than proper nutrition and work out, I'm sorry.

And yes, those drugs are extremely dangerous and will cause havoc on your health.....

I've heard doctor state that handful of peanuts can have the same effects as depression pills, without all the side effects/health risks.

Depression = HUGE business, and diet change/activity makes NO ONE money.

Proceed carefully

These pills are def needed for some extreme cases (don't get me wrong) but no where NEAR as much as it is being superscribed to random people.

Also, people often forget that depression is part of everyone's life. And although SOME do have severe cases and need medication.....most people don't need it but simply don't want to deal with REALITY or put in effort to eat right/physical activity.

When I feel down or have a bad day, simple work out (no equipment needed) does WONDERS. Get that blood flowing!!!

Life is a rollercoaster, depression is part of low points.
 
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Paladin3 said:
I've been on a serotonin uptake inhibitor for roughly 12 years now because my emotional highs and lows are too extreme otherwise.
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Can you define your "extremes' for us?

Did the doctor ask you about your diet and physical activity or recommend it? Or just gave you a piece of paper to get pills?

Paladin3 said:
The few periods of time when I went off my meds were some of the toughest of my life.
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Were those periods WORSE than prior to taking medication?

Paladin3 said:
Meds don't magically fix all the problems in my life, but they do even my emotions out so I can make better life choices. Without them every single day is a fight to keep my anger and depression under control. The idea that I could just exercise my way out of it is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Have you actually tried? Do you even understand how important it is for your body to exercise/be active?

What's your diet like?
 
I am plenty happy and I have horrible nutrition and rarely work out.

I don't mind working out. I used to work out a lot.

"Proper nutrition" means eating like 3000 calories instead of 4500ish. That makes me feel like I'm starving to death, makes me irritable and angry and very unpleasant and aggressive.

Proper nutrition my ass.

superscribed ??? Do you by chance mean prescribed?

"Depression" is not normal part of life, low points. That is "Sadness."

Depression is condition that many people never encounter. It's when life is a hellish nightmare that seems to only have exit. Depression is very serious. I don't understand it at all, but I'm not going to trivialize it with some bullshit lie about it being some thing everybody deals with.



So, yes, more physical activity may help a lot of people. But it's not a magic cure all.



Vdubchaos said:
Unless a doctor asks you about your diet and exercise routine and pushes that you improve those.......they are simply drug pushers. I doubt ANY drug is a better happiness booster than proper nutrition and work out, I'm sorry.

And yes, those drugs are extremely dangerous and will cause havoc on your health.....

I've heard doctor state that handful of peanuts can have the same effects as depression pills, without all the side effects/health risks.

Depression = HUGE business, and diet change/activity makes NO ONE money.

Proceed carefully

These pills are def needed for some extreme cases (don't get me wrong) but no where NEAR as much as it is being superscribed to random people.

Also, people often forget that depression is part of everyone's life. And although SOME do have severe cases and need medication.....most people don't need it but simply don't want to deal with REALITY or put in effort to eat right/physical activity.

When I feel down or have a bad day, simple work out (no equipment needed) does WONDERS. Get that blood flowing!!!

Life is a rollercoaster, depression is part of low points.
Click to expand...
 
Broad topic as there are a number of sorts of depressive conditions, types of treatment, and lack of direct correlation, “If x chemical is in the patient, prescribe y.” A lot of people end up trying a number of medications, often combinations (sometimes to address side effects of other medications). Needless to say I don’t think there are cookie cutter answers. So I can only offer my experience.

Yes, I take an anti-depressant. I have been on bupropion SR (generic of Wellbrutrin) for 1 year. Bupropion is a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (not SSRI) and is also used for SADD and to assist smokers to quite smoking.

Why am I on an bupropion? It was actually a solution, a compromise, as my health coverage does not cover modafinil (Provigil) under their formulary. Long story short I likely have MS. I started having issues a number of years back but the most blatant was Trigeminal Neuralgia. I had an MVD to decompress two offending vessels but a year later I have a horrible episode of neurological deficit out of the blue. My MRI came back inconclusive due to my orthodontia but my Neurologist is convinced I am in the early stages of MS and I will have another MRI when I have another acute episode.

Health wise I was at a cross roads. I had become excessively fatigued (especially mentally) and exercise and heat make it worse and I was waking up daily exhausted. After a number of exclusionary tests (sleep study, etc). Years of a healthy diet, regular sleeping habits, and fitness approaches were not working so my physicians thought taking modafinil, often prescribed for MS fatigue, would work well. Unfortunately, my coverage does not include it. After a bit of discussion we decided to give bupropion a try. It is one of the “safer” anti-depressants and its core action tends to perk people up. 1 year later I can say it works ok, but not perfectly for my needs. I have had zero side effects. It doesn’t make me happier (me, my doctor and his survey, my spouse, and friends never thought I was depressed to begin with) or change my mood. But my focus is much better and it takes the edge of my fatigue. In one sense I was very much “depressed” before taking bupropion which is now under better control.

TL;DR in my situation the “depression” I have is likely a chemical issue, probably caused by damage to the myelin in my brain. Bupropion helps take off the chronic fatigue I have.

Ps. I did a lot of reading over the years. I personally find SSRIs scary. I would personally seek every alternative treatment course and therapy before considering such a medication.
 
BurnItDwn said:
Depression is condition that many people never encounter. It's when life is a hellish nightmare that seems to only have exit. Depression is very serious. I don't understand it at all, but I'm not going to trivialize it with some bullshit lie about it being some thing everybody deals with.
Click to expand...

Depression can occur at any stage of life and need not be prompted by harsh conditions. Many people at very happy moments and secure positions in life experience deep depression (e.g. many new mothers). Also, there are people with dysthymia which is a depressive mood with less severe depressive symptoms but this condition can last for years or decades.
 
I have been mildly depressed my entire life with bouts of moderate-(severe?) depression on top of that. I think I have something called Dysthymia but I think that is mostly just a made up term for having a shitty personality. I have never taken any medication nor have I even discussed it with anyone. I just live with it. I have been curious if being on a low dose of something would help but not so much to look into it further.
Oh and I do exercise everyday.. in fact when I am out running is often when I am more depressed.
My point is that for someone like me, I would have be on something long term. Short term solutions wouldn't do much as I would just go back to being depressed at some point.
 
Ban Bot said:
Depression can occur at any stage of life and need not be prompted by harsh conditions. Many people at very happy moments and secure positions in life experience deep depression (e.g. many new mothers). Also, there are people with dysthymia which is a depressive mood with less severe depressive symptoms but this condition can last for years or decades.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I did not intend to talk about conditions. I was more or less attempting to describe the helplessness that depressed people feel.
 
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