To be staggered at how many people are prescribed Anti-depressants.

[TheoriginalLEM]

People who seem to be pretty much on the ball with ok lives.

At my place of work there are four of us, that i know of, on the same medication (There are only about 20 employees in total)

Another mother at Dd's school, my friend who i met at dd's playgroup.

My friend from a previous job and both of her children.

So these are people who i know are on meds. People who have been happy to disclose this information to me. I don't have a large circle of friends or aquaintances so the sample group, if you like, is small.

Both my mother and my eldest Dd have both been offered Ad's.

I suffer from long term anxiety and depression and feel like the ADs help me. My Dr has expressed the view that this is something I will need for life.

Thats a lot of people who i KNOW are medicated. Why is this ? is it because life and expectations are such that people are suffering from mental illness or are people being given drugs when they are dealing with life events and should be offered strategies to cope. My personal experience is long waiting lists for counselling that wasn't that effective and given drugs to help in the absence of therapy.

I can't help but wonder why this is, what the statistics are.

True depression makes your thought processes confused and fuzzy + you're often a tad irrational too. So how on Earth are you meant to effectively 'think yourself better' when your 'thinking organ' is damaged???

When people break their back, we don't insist they can cure it by 'lots of exercise'.

Fruit Surprisingly enough, yes I do know that. Is there any need to patronise me? So are you suggesting that there are no cancer treatments which have a lower than 60-70% cure rate?

It very much depends on the type/stage/aims of treatment. Remission does not = cure. Some chemos are intended to extend life when the cancer is very far spread and there is no hope of cure. Sadly I only know this from my dad being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer mets to liver and lungs. Cure was not an option for him. Best hope was extending his life by an additional 3 months. If he had took the treatment (he didn't), would the additional 3 months have been included in the "success" statistics? Probably. Would it have cured him? Absolutely not.

Why are you contradicticting yourself?? are you now relling me that 20% efficacy is acceptable for cancer treatment is good but 70% efficacy in the treatment of anxiety is bad?

And yes i am fully aware of how hard cancer mets are to treat.

The thing I miss about not being on ADs is having proper emotions. My emotions are very stilted. Some apathy, agitation, anger but no euphoric happiness when something amazing happiness or rush of joy at seeing baby kittens playing etc.
Mine aren't working so well at the moment though as very anxious and low. I'm also still not very brave.

OP I haven't studied pharmacology, or at least pharmacology of SSRIs for a very long time so someone else may be better placed to answer your question. However if you ever have any questions about opiates/Benzos, you know where I am!

OP you are just chopping parts of my sentences and using them out of context now. I'm all up for debate, but not like this. Sorry. I'm out.

Thank you sarcasm I have to agree with your Mum.

You might be interested in Prof John Studd's website - he is a world authority on hormonal depression. Reading his website, and then becoming his patient answered so many hitherto mysteries about my behaviour.

There's a very high chance you are severely progesterone intolerant (like me).

I think it is sad that people are turning on each other on this thread.

My thoughts were along the lines of Dowagers actually. You think people are coping with their lives but they aren't always.. Cory raised an interesting and valid historical viewpoint too.

The question was asked about over prescription but it was never my intention to suggesr5this.

I don't think it is patronising to suggest exercise to someone suffering from anxiety. It works for me to keep anxiety at bay but when i am going through an anxious period i can't function enough to exercise. Yes i can go to work and look after my family but exercise?? i can't.

Talking therapy doesn't work for me. Medication and exercise does. Medication doesn't work for everyone. etc.

Ma I'm going to look him up - sounds very interesting - thank you.

You're welcome sarcasm. When I first stumbled across his website it was a real light bulb moment. I recognised myself so much in what he talks about.

When I met him, he told me I was a 'poster child' for hormonal depression

LEM, if during an anxious period you can go to work and look after your family, aren't you the sort of person that people on this thread are criticising for not really needing meds?

I'm really confused as to what the issue is. I don't see why it matters if loads of people are on anti depressants.

I've been on ADs on and off for 20 years. Citalopram made a bit of a difference but in general my lows are equally low whether I'm on or off them. I am very jealous of people who say they felt numbed or happy on ADs. If only! so certainly in my case I don't think they have worked better than a placebo.

I also have eating disorders and insomnia which both feed into anxiety and depression and it's all a bit chicken and egg. I actually think a decent sleeping pill would change my life much more than an anti depressant. It's impossible to feel well on no sleep.

I don't think anyone has criticised people for mot needing meds.

I am actually reducing my meds with a view to stopping but right now my dose works for me. So i am staying on 10mg for a good long while

It doesn't matter as such but i am genuinely surprised by how many people need them. In some way it makes me feel a bit better about needing them.

hmm. the diabetes analogy. Actually exercise and dietry changes can have a profound effect on type 2 diabetes and can "cure" in some milder cases in as much as folk don't need to inject insulin.

Some people need them to function. Why is it OK for someone to be on medication long term for things such as epilepsy and heart problems but not mental health problems?

I'm on Sertraline now. I was on Prozac but that's stuff isn't nice to come off. Still remember withdrawal symptoms!

I think the diabetes comparison is made is because it is a disease people have heard of, which requires life-long medication, and therefore equates well to to depression like mine (I have come to accept that I have a life long illness and will always need ADs).

But there are others, and I, for one, will try to use them in the future.

sj no one has said its not ok. one would hope that people are given adequate therapy so that they mo longer need to take them. No medication is without side effect so no one wants anyone on meds for anything that they don't need to be on.

You could give someone with a joint injury tramadol to help with the pain. But long term the sim is for recovery. That may be achieved with physio etc.

Some people will need to be on ads permanently, just the same as someone may need permanent pain meds. The ideal is no meds but there is nothing wrong with medication long term. i don't think anyone thinks that.

Therapy isn't for everyone.

I agree, it didn't work for me.

Why is therapy preferable to meds?

Therapy isn't without side effects either.

I hold my hands up and say I've never had any therapy, well bar an introductory session. The thought of it makes me more anxious than ever. If it ain't broke don't fix it, imo.

In reference to coping mechanisms there, I'm already aware I'm broken 😉