Would anti depressants help?

[Flowers2020bloom]

I'll try to keep this brief! I've previously always had good mental health - am generally positive and optimistic but over the last year or so, I've been unhappy with a few aspects of myself - my relationship with dh, my weight / fitness and a sense of just being a mum and nothing else. Lockdown has exacerbated this and my few outlets (work, gym, social life) are dwindling further plus my pmt is worse than ever, maybe my age! I'm struggling and for the first time ever I'm having days when I don't want to get out of bed! I know there are things I can do, like go for a run but I just can't seem to motivate myself and with each day I can feel myself sinking a little bit more.
So my question is, would anti depressants help? I've seen friends use them for periods of extreme upset like relationship breakdowns and they've helped them but I'm not in floods of tears every day - I'm sure my nearest and dearest would be surprised to hear the above so I'm wondering if they're the answer temporarily? Or alternatively can someone just come and give me a big kick up the backside??

[user13745865422563]

CBT sounds like it would be more helpful to you in changing and coping with your situation. Google "cci resources". There are various modules.

It's natural to react like you are to adversity. It's usually temporary and there are things you can do. I'm surprised you know people who were given antidepressants for temporary natural reactions.

You might be burnt out after trying to push through for a long time and find that you gradually feel able to get back out of bed but that your body just needed you to stop for a little while. Have you actually allowed yourself to stop and rest or are you still trying to ignore your feelings and plough on?

Once you have rested and reset a little... In depression, motivation comes after you make yourself do the first activity. So once you've listened to what your mind/body needs and allowed yourself a break start gradually building up your activity level.

Once you manage a few things (and have a sense of achievement from doing them) you'll be motivated to do more and so on. But rushing off and overloading yourself with too much too soon will just end up with you back in bed. (So I don't think a kick up the backside is so helpful as I suspect that's what you mean).

[Flowers2020bloom]

Thank you, that is really an interesting amd thought provoking response! Yes I have been ploughing on amd trying to ignore but I guess I'm at the stage where I know I can't anymore!

I will look up cci resources! Anything that will shift my current mindset.

Thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

[NotBabiesForLong]

HRT?

A life saver.

[Flowers2020bloom]

@notbabiesforlong I'm wondering if it's partly the menopause - I'm 40 so it would be early but my mood swings are certainly unusual for me.

[SharpLily]

I was very similar to you in that I'd never had issues with depression until I got PND. I ignored it for ages, trying to ascribe the feelings to various situational problems because I didn't want to take anti-depressants. The point came where something had to be done and the doctor put me on ADs - I hated them but they did what I needed them to do. I only used them for a few months but they just gave me that break that I needed, the leg up out of the rut. Almost like a srt of soft reboot. Since then the depression has still been hovering around me but I've been just about able to keep it under control but if necessary I wouldn't hesitate to go on ADs again.

[Flowers2020bloom]

@SharpLily thanks for your response. How did the ADs make you feel? I'm worried that I'll be numbed to everything and care less about things than I do now!

[SharpLily]

Well I wasn’t worried about numbness - one of the symptoms of the depression for me was emotional numbness anyway. I knew what my feelings were, I just couldn’t engage with them and I really couldn’t get much number than that. The ADs actually sharpened up my thought processes quite a lot.

The thing I remember most is the night sweats - we’re not in the UK, nights were pretty hot and sweaty anyway so adding extra sweat on top of that was a definite problem. It was brutal, not just a bit of damp.

While I rejected the idea of ADs for a long time that was partly because I worried about well known side effects such as weight gain and dry mouth but there was very little of that and actually I will say that I think there was a kind of placebo effect going on. I was so pleased with myself for finally taking steps to help myself, for dealing with a situation that had been going on for far too long. That was a definite help to me.

[Aquamarine1029]

I would definitely be considering peri-menopause, and if that is the issue, ad's are not recommended.

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/menopause-antidepressants-symptoms-worse-hrt-shortage-a9148951.html

[Aquamarine1029]

Here's another good article about peri...

www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/113666670/perimenopause-lead-up-to-menopause-very-uncomfortable-and-poorly-understood

[Flowers2020bloom]

Thank you, they are interesting reads. And thankful to all for your responses - they have shone a little light for me!