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Original poster

To think that most women are taking anti depressants?

652 replies

Jambalaya76 · 16/02/2019 10:56

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?

OP posts:
FeedMeBooks · 16/02/2019 21:10

I only know of one friend who takes antidepressants. I know of more who have sought counselling/meditation. I haven't had need to so far.

Aenn · 16/02/2019 21:11

Op lots of people have poor mental health.

Our society is not good for mental health. Stress and worry plague most people I know, regardless of whether they take ADs.

Those who think nobody they know is on ADs - you’re wrong, you just don’t know who’s taking them and the people taking them have probably sussed the judgemental attitude you have. I have friends and family on them.

Keepit · 16/02/2019 21:12

I have to laugh at some of the comments saying they would never take lantidepressants. I was first prescribed them aged 14 and frequently refused them for various reasons. Over the years I’ve tried therapy, CBT, diet and exercise, vitamins all sorts, my brain is broken! At one point I was lying shaking with palpitations on the sofa for every waking hour or sobbing my heart out and punching myself, it felt like my head was full of broken glass, like I was a soul trapped inside my body and I couldn’t escape. I’m now on antidepressants and yes there is side effects, no I’m not ‘better’ but I can function so much better than I ever have. I take the side effects and just be thankful, I rarely cry anymore, I don’t run away anymore I don’t start fights for no reason anymore or scream at my children, I don’t feel scared all the time, I don’t think I’ll ever come off them and I’m so thankful they exist.

Froggyface · 16/02/2019 21:18

Keepit well said Flowers

Vulpine · 16/02/2019 21:20

But there are alternatives for some, so no need to laugh at those who don't need them

londonrach · 16/02/2019 21:23

I dont. I only know one person who has ever. Not sure you can generalise.

Cheesycheesytwist · 16/02/2019 21:28

Blimey there are some judgemental idiots on this thread. "I'd never take them", how on earth can you know that?!

And as for "no one I know takes them", I've taken them for several years and no one knows apart from my DH as it's a personal thing and I don't want to have to share the reason I take them. So you wouldn't know who takes them so it's a stupid comment

PrickWhittington · 16/02/2019 21:53

I have to laugh at some of the comments saying they would never take lantidepressants.

Same here, but it's certainly not the first time I've heard it. It's pretty tiring.

What some people don't get is that depression is not a mood, a state of mind, it is an illness. And an illness that kills, frequently. I have a responsibility to be here for my children. So I take antidepressants. If I had adopted their attitude, I would not be here. It is as simple as that.

My Mum also had depression/ bipolar disorder and point blank refused to get medical help or take any medication. It caused me huge difficulties as her DD, and I have always felt (and used to tell her) it was bloody selfish of her. The end result was that myself and my DC's had to lose her way before her time and in very distressing circumstances, just like I always said would happen. Is that a better result than refusing to take a medication that could help you?

I've not heard people say - if I had high blood pressure I'd never take tablets, or diabetes, I would never take insulin. And therein the misunderstanding and general stigma surrounding depression and mental illness is portrayed quite clearly.

I think 'most' women is a generalisation, but I don't doubt the figure is higher than people may think. That I take them is not something I volunteer as information to many, and I think the same could be true for a lot of people.

littlebillie · 16/02/2019 21:57

No, I got offered them after receiving bad news, I would take them if I needed them though.

I think our modern life and our roles are stressful

madeyemoodysmum · 16/02/2019 21:58

No I only know one my age that did.

My mil does but she has cancer and was widowed 5 years ago so it’s understandable

DaisyDreaming · 16/02/2019 22:00

I’ve not been on them. I would say about 25% of my friends are on medication for depression or anxiety

Ilnome · 16/02/2019 22:07

I think that my personality tends to attract people like me and that happens to include people with obsessive anxious traits that require anti depressants to manage - you get the energy you put out

SD1978 · 16/02/2019 22:09

No one I know does, and I never have. Whilst they definitely have a place, and a need, I also believe they are handed out far too freely and with no follow up. I'm not a huge fan of anti D's in the same way that I believe antibiotics are over prescribed for the wrong reasons.

Vulpine · 16/02/2019 22:15

Why is it so laughable or unbelievable that some posters think they would never need to take them? Surely they know the strengths and weaknesses of their own mental health?

dramaqueen · 16/02/2019 22:18

I started taking ADs after being diagnosed with cancer last year, as I ended up severely depressed (many people with cancer end up depressed not surprisingly).

Perhaps all those people saying they would never take them are the same ones who think they're never going to get cancer? Good luck with that.

Keepit · 16/02/2019 22:20

Why is it so laughable or unbelievable that some posters think they would never need to take them? Surely they know the strengths and weaknesses of their own mental health?

It’s not about strength or weakness! It’s about the brain becoming unwell, the same way any part of the body can.

I’m certainly not weak, you can’t fight illness sometimes medication is necessary.

Lizzie48 · 16/02/2019 22:25

@Vulpine

It's unkind to say it's laughable, but it is a tad naive, because you never know what your mental health will be like in the future. I never had anti-depressants at all before I was in my late 30s.

It's the same as claiming you're never going to suffer from cancer or any other serious illness. You just never know what battles you're going to face in your life.

SemperIdem · 16/02/2019 22:25

Vulpine

That’s like saying “why is it so laughable that people don’t vaccinate their children, surely they know if they have a good immune system”.

Or indeed

“why is it so laughable that a poster has said if they break their leg, they’ll never have it in plaster, surely they know how they will recover”.

The point is, we don’t know. I have never taken medication but am certain I suffered through periods when I should have had it. Perhaps then I, and those closest to me, would have suffered less.

Vulpine · 16/02/2019 22:28

I know several people who've had cancer and not taken them. I'm not saying I'll never have a mental health problem but I know that antidepressants are not the only way to deal with mh issues.

PrickWhittington · 16/02/2019 22:29

Why is it so laughable or unbelievable that some posters think they would never need to take them? Surely they know the strengths and weaknesses of their own mental health?

At the current time and in the past? Yes- quite possibly people can know the strengths and weaknesses of their own mental health (though I don't like that terminology - true depression has fuck all to do with any strength or weakness, and it would be really quite insulting, as well as ignorant to suggest that).

But in the future - no, you have no idea what will happen with your mental health, just the same as physical health. Life events, genetics, disease - you have no idea whether any of these factors will affect your mental health in the future, just the same as anyone else. And therefore whether you may need to take antidepressants or similar one day.

So to say - I don't think I need antidepressants at the moment - perfectly reasonable. Or even 'I managed to get through ... whatever... without them in the past. Fine. Fair enough. But to say or think you would never need or never take them - yes, that is unreasonable, as you can't predict your future health. None of us can. Future mental health (again same as physical) is something you may have some degree of control over, yes, but not full control. If that was the case, no one would suffer from it, would they?

It;'s not so much laughable, it's ignorant, such a belief shows complete ignorance of the nature of clinical depression (not feeling down) and mental health in general. It's akin to saying I'll never have heart problems because I eat a good diet/ exercise/ whatever. It make no sense.

JustDanceAddict · 16/02/2019 22:34

I’ve never taken them but I know quite a few friends who have.
I’ve never had depression even though I have had a fair amount of shit happen in my life. Usually I feel bad due to circumstances and not an imbalance of hormones, which is why I’ve never felt that anti-d’s would’ve been the right thing. Also would hate that ‘dull’ feeling that people report.

PrickWhittington · 16/02/2019 22:36

I know that antidepressants are not the only way to deal with mh issues

Of course they are not. No one has said that they are. But sometimes actually, yes, they ARE the only thing that will work. So how do you know that one day you won't become depressed, try everything else only for nothing to work and the only option left to be antidepressant or similar medication? You don't, it's as simple as that.

Vulpine · 16/02/2019 22:41

But surely it shouldn't touch such a nerve for people to say they believe they would never take them. That belief should not be mocked.

PrickWhittington · 16/02/2019 22:42

Also would hate that ‘dull’ feeling that people report.

Yes, I don't like that either. But it's preferable to running around locking my windows at night then chucking the keys down a drain in case I wake up and get the urge to throw myself out of the window during the night.

Some people on here patently do not get just how bad depression can get, and how tortured people's minds can actually get. I never used to either. Antidepressants are not always a sodding lifestyle choice, and they are certainly no measure of how 'strong' or 'weak' a person is - many times they are quite simply a lifesaver.

ShortandSweet96 · 16/02/2019 22:43

Yeah you can find them in the wilko pick'a'mix, right next to the foam bananas.

What a silly thing to say most women take them.. however i do think doctors hand them out a lot more leniently now.

I visited my GP regarding severe anxiety and slight depression and before the words even came out of my mouth he was writing the prescription.
I never ended up taking them, I went back to the GP and asked to be referred to a therapist as a first point of call. Failing that then I would consider medication.

Therapy is wonderful and not at all what I expected. It really does help to just talk and get the right information about what you mind and body physically do..

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