How Do Antidepressants Really Affect You?

Before I started meds I could barely get out of bed. I had serious thoughts of just getting in my car and leaving my family because I thought they would be better off without me. I cried all the time and had massive panic attacks. It took a while but eventually the meds helped me level out, which allowed me to better concentrate on my therapy and work at getting to the heart of my depression. It did not give me special motivation, it just helped me to level out so I could function. Once I was feeling more in control I weened off of them, which should always be done slowly and under doctor supervision. They are not a quick fix because you don't like doing housework or going to the gym. Not wanting to do those things is just normal.

They help you not stress things if you have a chemical imbalance but no pill can give you self discipline. It kind of saddens me how many people think that is the case.

As someone who is currently on anti-depressants...let me tell you how I felt BEFORE I started taking them.
I am a mother of three. I have worked throughout my marriage, I was going to the gym and lost a great deal of weight before I got pregnant with my last child, I was involved as a volunteer at the local food bank, I went out with friends when I could find the time.
And then I didn't.
I was angry, quick to lose my temper with my children and husband, and even myself. I would get up in the morning and have to fight with myself to just get out of bed. I didn't want to, it was better to stay in bed. And then when I DID finally get out of bed I didn't do anything. The dishes, the laundry. I just couldn't. It was overwhelming to me. I would only get to the store when we were out of ALL the food in the house. I cried all the time. I had the "voices" in my head that told me I was worthless, unloveable, miserable.
And I was SCARED. I knew that something was wrong. I had never had this kind of "break" before. I knew I was capable, I had been doing it for years. But I just couldn't. There was no "forcing" myself as someone else mentioned. I couldn't just "do it."
ONe day I was facebook chatting with a friend of mine and she was sharing with me that her husband had to be hospitalized with severe depression. She described his symptoms....he was me. I turned off the computer, turned to my husband in tears and said, "I think something is wrong. I think I am depressed." It took me a couple of weeks to get to the doctor, but I finally did.
After sobbing in her office and answering a bunch of questions it turned out that I was severely depressed and had some anxiety as well. That was a hard pill for me to swallow. It made me feel like I had failed somehow, like I wasn't able to control myself or my life. And I WASN'T!!
I went on a low dose of wellbutrin and within a month or so I thought that it wasn't doing anything. It took my husband showing me that dinners were being cooked again, I wasn't losing my temper every day, I was up and out of bed when he got home.
It saved my life.
I have been on it for almost 9 months now and I wish that I had just ignored my little "voices". The wellbutrin has shut them up. I am happy. I am a better mother by a thousand percent. My house isn't falling down around me. I have a hold on my temper. I am a better spouse. There have been NO side effects for me.
I highly recommend going to your doctor and discussing how you have been feeling.
Good luck to you,
L.

I suggest that you make an appointment for a physical and figure out what's up. There could be any number of reasons for how you're feeling, and without a good history and physical, I am not willing to guess at whether you would benefit from antidepressants.

Every day we do things we don't like to do. As I tell my boys, not everything is going to be your favorite. You do the crappy stuff, and it makes the really great stuff all that much more enjoyable.

It varies quite a bit from person to person - and different drugs will have different effects.
That's why it sometimes takes awhile to find the right drug/dosage for any given person.

I was on Zoloft for 6 months when our son was 1 1/2 yrs old.
I was too tied up in trying to be Super Mom - was trying to do too much, getting less than 6 hrs of sleep at night - what ever I did it was never enough - there was always something more I should be doing.
It seemed like everything was work Work WORK and I wasn't enjoying anything anymore.

I was seeing my doctor for a checkup and saying how tired I was and she joked with me about getting more organized.
And I practically bit her head off saying I'd organized every waking minute of every day, gave her a run down of a typical day in 15 minute increments from 4am to 10pm and said "How the heck can I get MORE organized?".

Well, after 2 weeks on the Zoloft it felt like the hair on the back of my neck could finally stop standing on end all the time.
I learned to prioritize - get the important things done and throw the rest of the to do list OUT.
It helped me not to care so much if I didn't vacuum as often as I thought I should.
If it's that bad - my husband knows where the vacuum is just as much as I do and he can use it any time he wants to!

I'm not sure feeling blah, not wanting to socialize/clean falls into depression per se.
You might want to have your thyroid levels checked.
Hypothyroidism can make you feel pretty listless.
I was diagnosed hypothyroid at 32 and have been managing it for over 20 years.

If all else fails - hire a maid to come in once every 2 weeks!

I took an anti-depressant while I was going into and coming out of my divorce. I was having a hard time coping and was very depressed. Everything was a struggle. I was on low dose and the first drug worked well for me. I could physically feel my emotions straightening out and my mind clearing. Once I could start living and doing, I gained the momentum to keep going on my own after a few months without any drugs. It was a very liberating and empowering feeling to regain control of my life.

My mother struggled with depression over being housebound and in very poor health. I encouraged her to try an antidepressant because she was losing her will in all matters. She finally gave in and brought her issues up with her doctor. She and her doctor agreed trying an anti-depressant was an appropriate choice. It took my mother a few medications and dosage adjustments to select a helpful anti-depressant. After a few weeks I remember her calling me and thanking me. The medication allowed her to re-engage with her life again. She was very startled by the results and so reluctant to even try any anti-depressants. She was so much happier afterwards and you could see her re-empowered and lifted up in general.

At the very least I think how you are feeling is well worth a conversation with your regular doctor. He or she can listen and offer you options. Medication is one of many choices. When used correctly, drugs can do wonders. Good luck.

P.S. Both my mother and I had a serious case of not wanting to do anything but the root cause was chemical issues which were correctable with anti-depressants. I think people tend to blame themselves (laziness, lack of willpower, lack of motivation, etc.) when in reality the root cause can be deeper than those glib labels. Again a conversation with your doctor would be wise in my opinion.

The antidepressant won't give you motivation that you don't have, but it will correct (or at least improve) the chenical imbalnce in your brain that is blocking you from being able to motivate yourself IF depression is the cause of your apathy.
Depression is a PHYSICAL illness, an imbalance in the chemical soup that bathes your brain and affects your emotions, among other things. Anti-depressants are a means of correcting that imbalance. They won't make you want to do something you hate. There is no pill in the world that could make me WANT to clean the litter boxes or scrub the toilets.

sweetie, i think it's a great idea to give 'em a whirl.
no one knows for sure how any medication will work with YOUR system, but your symptoms are pretty classic depression, and it's very very possible that when you find the right med and the right dosage, your life will stop being so drab and overwhelming.
i know how you feel. i went through a couple of years of feeling exactly like that. didn't want to talk to people, conversations seemed so utterly inane and empty. a sink full of dirty dishes could send me to bed with the covers over my head. through a series of trials i ended up on phen-pro, which changed my life. all of a sudden the 'little things' actually became little. i didn't fall in love with housework, or chatting casually at the little league field, but it all became so very do-able. and after a year of resetting my brain, i went off all the meds with no problems whatsoever.
i hope it works that way for you. try it.
khairete
S.

I suggest going to your doctor and talking with them. First they should rule out any medical conditions. Your thyroid, for example, when out of balance, can cause these same symptoms. You may want to have your labs drawn to rule out any medical issues. Your doc can also put you on an anti-depressant for the time being. It's worth it. Your emotional and mental health is as important as your physical health. There is absolutely nothing wrong with needing that support.

All drugs work differently.on all people. It might take you a while to find the right one,

But in addition, you should force yourself to exercise. You can't leave it all to drugs. I never look forward to exercising, I have to force myself to do it. But it's always worth it afterward. Start with small goals. 15 minutes. Run or jump rope or even walk, if you don't have a gym. Just do it.

Antidepressants will not get rid of the i-don't-wanna's. They help with the I-can't-seem-to-get-out-of-bed and the emotional reactions that are not in tune with what is happening around you. Do you not like social interaction or does the thought of getting together with people throw you into a panic? Do you see what needs to be done and decide "maybe tomorrow" or do you look at the the chores and feel like it is overwhelming you to the point you have to hide. Talk to your doctor, you may just need make a few life style changes (How clean is your diet? Do you exercise regularly?)

I think there are different levels of depression - my husband took some meds while going through a rough patch where he was just experiencing too much frustration and things felt overwhelming. Just to settle his feelings down so he could function. Then he went off them. He was also encouraged to talk to someone and come up with better ways to manage stress. So I think lifestyle changes or getting things off your chest can help alongside medication (or maybe try first). But if you can't take the steps to make the changes (as you say) meds can help get you there.

As everyone mentioned, talk to your doctor. It could be the right thing for you. They gave my husband a quiz and asked a lot of questions. I don't think they just put people on them lightly.

Good luck :)

You have to find the right one, as there are many different antidepressants that work indifferent ways. Overall though, yes, they could help you to feel more like making small talk and doing your homework. In general, they will give you the energy to feel more motivated to do the mundane, instead of feeling blah all the time.

I think it is definitely worth discussing with a doctor. Keep in mind that it may take a few weeks to see the effects AND that it might take a few tries to find the right pill and dosage, so do not give up too quickly if you're not seeing a change.

Good luck to you.

Antidepressants are a neurological medicine. Neuro meds work with your brain chemistry by stimulating, suppressing, or supplementing. They give you the thing you need but are not regulating naturally.

The most used antidepressants typically inhibit neurotransmitter uptake of norepinephrine, serotonin and/or dopamine. This keeps the thing you need in your system longer. There are other less used types as well.

Sometimes you find the right medication right away, sometimes you need to try more than one. Best of luck to you for your health and happiness. :-)

I was unable to get out of bed or go out of my house without them....been on them for 30 plus years...without them I don't know where I would be now...I have lived a productive life while taking them. But what you are describing may not warrant it...talk to a psychiatrist or counselor to determine whether anti-depressants may be an answer for your issues. Have you had your Vit. D3 checked....you may want to start with a good physical check up and blood work.

Most antidepressants don't have a light bulb moment when they start working and you instantly start feeling better. They build up gradually in your system then you find yourself doing more and other things.

If you can't find any interest in doing housework you might just not like it. I hate it and assign others in my house the chores I don't like. SO I don't have to do those things.

My first thought is about your physical health. Have you had a basic blood test for vitamin levels (B and D, for example), for electrolytes, for iron, etc?

And what do you eat regularly? Do you eat lots of processed foods, lots of sweets and snacks? Lots of bottled salad dressings, bottled sauces, convenience foods, soda, for example?

You might consider a trial elimination of foods that are not natural. Try eating only fresh fruits, raw or steamed or roasted vegetables, chicken, beef, eggs,, tuna, olive oil or avocado oil, red wine vinegar, ghee from grass-fed cows or at least real butter in moderation, and foods in their recognizable form (not blended into smoothies, or combined into muffins and pancakes). Have fresh berries for dessert. Enjoy whole grain or sprouted grain bread (with the lowest amount of sugar possible). Eat plain, organic Greek yogurt with berries. If something needs sweetening, use only a small amount of raw local honey or pure maple syrup.

Give that a try for a couple of weeks, and see if reducing sugar, processed foods, and artificial colors, flavors and additives might help your mood.

Then you and your doctor can make a more informed decision about the possibility of adding in medication. Because just adding medication on top of a poor diet, or a vitamin-deficient diet, or anemia won't be very much help.

I don't mean this in a flippant way either...but the television ads say "may cause depression" and "may cause suicidal thoughts." Unless you have an incredible medical need (which in my opinion is rarer than not) I'd stay away from them. MHO.

Regards,

M.

I have been on anti-depressants before, and they do work well, but I'd try other options first if at all possible. I think I'd try the "fake it till you make it" method first. Set up some obligations with friends and family. Make yourself invite someone over for dinner. You will be surprised how motivating a deadline can be. Also try a little organizing each day. Put it on your to-do list and make sure you check it off each night. Add 20 min of exercise on the list too and make sure you stick to it. Be accountable for your health and don't let yourself down. Change your diet to lose the processed foods. Take more time for yourself and the things that make you happy. If those things don't seem to be working, by all means get medical help. My best to you.