To think that most women are taking anti depressants?

[Jambalaya76]

Hi

I have been on and off these for most of my adult life. Life is easier with them and I find I am more able to cope with life stresses. I feel normal and tend to let upsets go over my head. Life is better with them. However, I have had a lot to deal with in my little life so feel like a need a little help.

Over the years, I have met so many people who say they also take them. Not that I ever bring it up. It made me wonder if I was to ask people, I wonder how many are taking anti depressants? This seems the perfect forum to ask.

So, how many of us woman here take, or have taken, antidepressants?

I took a couple of different ADs (couldn't find one without hideous side effects) for a couple of years in my early twenties. I'm late thirties now. Honestly I wish I had never taken them. I lost a couple of years of my life to them, as my mental health nosedived further and I only started recovering when I weaned myself off. I would frankly rather die than take ADs again. I have reacted strangely to other medications too though, so my experience is probably not the norm.

On a very rough estimate of friends I know, I would say about a quarter are on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication, so not ‘most women’ but quite a few.

I was prescribed anti-depressants once in college but never took them because I was scared they would become addictive. Sometimes I wish I had just taken them because they would have made it easier to cope with what I was dealing with at the time. I didn’t want to admit ‘weakness’ but on reflection should have done whatever I needed to do to cope.

Life is just tough sometimes and ADs are no worse than other coping mechanisms, certainly better than alcohol, illegal drugs or self-destruction.

I’ve never taken them. I think, with the benefit of hindsight, there have been periods where I probably should have sought that sort of help.

I know quite a few women who do take them.

If I know any men who do, then they’re very private about it and haven’t shared that information with me.

I would be very hesitant taking anti-depressants - but not because of mental illness stigma.

I feel that people can be pressured to take anti-depressants rather than taking the time and resource to get to the bottom of why they’re unhappy. Popping the anti-depressant and face the world with a smile is much more socially acceptable than an angry woman - even if her rage is well founded.

FWIW - I avoid painkillers for the same reason. I see pain as my body communicating danger - and I want to be fully alert to that communication.

@Dreamsofnr2 Like a previous poster, I have felt this way since I was a child. The only thing I have ever found that minimised it was exercising hard 14 hours a week. Not walking or swimming, running as fast as I could for a couple of hours, deadlifting more than my bodyweight, etc. I am aware that that is not a normal level of exercise but it stabilised my moods. That leads me to thinking that it's a chemical imbalance in my brain which no amount of counselling will ever change. Even in situations where everything is going my way I still have these feelings.

Stressful situations cause situational depression which counselling and coping skills work for. Not all depression is situational. There seems to be a lot of people on this thread who equate depression with stressful situations which is not true and not especially helpful reducing the stigma. It does come across as saying that they cope better and if people toughened up they wouldn't be depressed.

I know a few people who are. 3 to be exact. One of those hasn't disclosed it to me, but I've seen her medication (wasn't snooping, it was out on display but I haven't mentioned it to her, it's not important)

I assume there are other friends and family members who take medication I don't know about? AD included.

I have PND, birth related trauma and PTSD. Oh plus anxiety. I have never taken anti depressants, simply because I don’t feel I need to.
Within my (admittedly small) circle of friends there’s only 2 who are taking them. They are the only 2 who have ever felt they needed them, although we have all been offered them at one time or another. We are close enough friends that this is the type of topic we discuss regularly, and we check up on each other mentally every so often too. This is in a mums group of about 10/12 women. So overall in my experience, no, most women are not on anti depressants.

The thing is depression can take so many forms. It’s not just about being “sad”. My emotional pain was so bad that it was a physical pain. It also manifested itself in many physical ways over the years. I had investigations on my heart because of recurring chest pain. Nothing wrong. I had migraines. Stomach problems. A mystery skin condition! You name it I had it! It isn’t just about feeling low and “pulling yourself together” it doesn’t work that way.

I don't really think medication is only needed because people can't cope. I have a very comfortable life really, no trauma, good health, lovely friends and family, a job I love. I am very lucky, I know that. I have had CBT and use those skills regularly. Other people describe me as capable, positive, good at solving problems and pushing on when stuff gets hard. I talk about my feelings, I exercise, I keep my brain busy, but even with all of that, I'm still anxious. I really think it's just the way I'm wired. I worry about everything, and if there's nothing to worry about, I convince myself I've done something terrible that I've repressed.

It's like having a faulty alarm system, and my medication just turns the volume down. If it's just that I lack coping skills, I'd love someone to tell me what the secret is.

Yep, I get a physical feeling in my stomach when I'm depressed. It's such a difficult thing to get out of. Sometimes in the morning I can barely get up and it takes ages to force myself.

I am. I took tricyclic ADs when I was at uni but phased them out shortly after I graduated. I still felt somewhat prone to low moods on and off but I found it wasn't so severe that I couldn't cope. I upped my social life, basically, and took up some craft type hobbies so that I would have something to distract my mind with when I needed to.

But earlier this year, I had a run of shitty luck that just seemed to be one thing after another. I was barely coping as it was, when I had to have a much-loved pet put to sleep, and suddenly I fell over the edge again. I couldn't sleep or eat, and when I did it was just to binge on vast quantities of crap. I was in tears all day - my eyes were permanently red and swollen and I had to tell people at work I'd had a bad allergic reaction just to stop them asking me if I was OK. In the end, it was a choice between ADs or driving my car into a tree, and I chose the former. I will probably not be on them long term, but I am immensely grateful that the option is there.

And no, I haven't told anyone I'm taking them. It's between me and my doctor and I imagine most people who know me wouldn't guess.

I can't think of any other circumstances where people would virtue-signal over the fact that they wouldn't medicate a condition even if it was causing them to suffer, which suggests to me that the stigma around MH is still very much alive and kicking

Oh, dunno about that- I know a few medication martyrs who won't take a couple of paracetamol ("drugs") for a bad headache, instead preferring to sit it out (for several days)

I take them - they are life giving and I will need to be on them long term. I need to supplement them with many other things as well - exercise, decent sleep, keep stress levels low, counselling, healthy diet etc. But without the ADs I'm fairly quickly unable to function.

Kind of weird when people say they wouldn't take them - would they also refuse to take e.g. medication for diabetes if they needed it?

Many people who are prescribed ADs could probably function using a combination of other strategies, but for some they are literally life savers. Including me.

I probably should be on them the crap life I’ve had at times, but I’d never take them.
I’d rather cry into my pillow, go into the bathroom and splash water over my face and carry on with a smile.

I take them for pnd and ptsd and I know loads of other people who do or have done as well.

For me depression isn't about 'feeling sad'. I would have described myself as a pretty happy and optimistic person, yet at the same time completely unable to go on. It was very, very odd. I just ceased to function - I remember lying, desperately thirsty but completely lacking the wherewithal to reach out for the glass of water next to my bed. Climbing the stairs was impossible on some days. Some days I would be writhing in pain - not physical pain, but a sort of extreme discomfort in being alive.

I've given birth without pain relief and torn and I've had kidney stones; neither experience came remotely close to being as horrific as my worst major depressive episode.

I know a lot of women (10+) and only one man who takes them.

I probably should be on them the crap life I’ve had at times, but I’d never take them.
I’d rather cry into my pillow, go into the bathroom and splash water over my face and carry on with a smile.

Then you’re not at the stage where you actually NEED them. Because when I recognised that I needed them I was suicidal and no amount of cold water was going to have me smiling.

At least 90% of the women I know in real life take them including myself

I ve never taken them and none of my close friends or family have as far as I know. I d like to think if there are a lot of women taking them it is positive as we are more open about mental health issues now compared to in the past?

I have heard bad things about the side effects though so I think I d prefer to try CBT or another talking therapy first but I appreciate anti depressants are essential for lots of people.

I was very very low last year but it was because of circumstances and various things that happened to me through the year, I think I was low rather than having clinical depression as things have improved for us now and so has my mood. had it continued I would have sought help and I wouldn't have ruled out antidepressants.

EmpressAdultHumanFemale

Trust me, I’ve gone to bed hoping I didn’t wake up again.
Now I know that isn’t the same as being suicidal, but I’ve been very very very low.
I still would not take anti depressants.
& I’m not trying to make out I’m stronger than you, I’m sure I’m weaker, but I just don’t want to take tablets for mental health issues. I think they just numb the pain rather than curing it. In my opinion of course and in my personal situation.

I am 46. I have never taken them. I know 2 people one male one female who have definately taken them. Neither do currently.

Yabu.

I haven't, but I probably should be.

Never taken them although have come close and have struggled through periods of my life, however did have CBT for quite a while on 2 separate occasions.

I am on them for anxiety. Think I will always be on them tbh. I don’t generally tell people I’m on them though only my close friends know.