To wonder why everyone isn’t on antidepressants

[Immyreeves91]

I really don’t mean to sound flippant at all - I realise of course that most people are not clinically depressed and so do not need to take antidepressants and that there are all sorts of side effects. But I’ve been prescribed some medication (sertraline) and I wonder why doesn’t everyone try it and then stop if the side effects are bad (basically in the same way that many people take recreational drugs - taking MDMA on a night out despite the possible side effects) as surely if they are a mood lifter it’s worth it? What does anyone have to lose?

I bet you wouldn't be telling everyone to take them if you had to pay €60 to visit a GP and €20 or €30 for any medication prescribed!

I'd rather go for a run and get fit at the same time

Some people run and take ADs - the two are not mutually exclusive.

OP, you've sort of contradicted yourself. You say you understand that only people who are clinically depressed should take ADs and then go on to say that everyone should try them.

You sound a bit ignorant rather than flippant.

I didn’t mean to offend anyone but reading your replies I realise how my message seemed. I asked because I feel instinctively like I don’t want to take them but GPs speak about them as if they’re cure all sweets and I wondered why if this is true more people don’t just take them.

I don’t take anti-depressants or MDMA 😂

Weird notion. Why doesn’t everyone take paracetamol just in case they feel physical pain?

I have been severely depressed and come out the other side without antidepressants. I refused to take them because the people I know will likely never come off them. I didn’t want to be chained to medication for the rest of my life. I had therapy instead and also overhauled my diet so in turn lost a fuck load of weight.

You clearly don’t understand what depression is or how these drugs work. And yes. I do find your post offensive.
HTH

Change your GP is they're talking about them as 'cure all sweets'. Most GPs I know are reluctant to prescribe anti-depressants and definitely don't describe them as cure-alls.

There was a thread like this a few months ago. It's odd. It's almost as though a pharmaceutical company has decided to target MN.

I took antidepressants for a few months back in my early twenties. They made me feel nothing at all, just sort of dull and blank. I'd rather live with the anxiety and depression tbh. That and I don't like just popping pills for everything, I only take medication if I absolutely have to.

My family member's Psychiatrist reckons anti-depressants only help in 5% of cases. What does that tell you about the medication if the doctor who prescribes them says that?

You don't have a clue how anti depressants work do you? SSRIs the most common prescribed these days are boosting your brains uptake of serotonin. If your levels of serotonin aren't depleted then they will do nothing for you.

ADs killed my orgasms stone dead. That was enough for me to ditch them, fortunately my depression was manageable in other ways.

I read about codeine offering similar outcomes with fewer side effects but due to its high addictiveness that's not likely to happen any time soon. Shame because a codeine buzz is for me like all the best bits of ADs without the side effects.

I wonder why doesn’t everyone try it and then stop if the side effects are bad

If only it was that easy. The withdrawal symptoms coming off sertraline were absolutely horrendous for me. You can’t just ‘stop if the side effects were bad’

My experience of sertraline was that it dampened all emotions. It was great as I wasn’t able to feel depressed, but over time I also wasn’t able to feel excited or happy about anything. If everyone was on anti depressants we would live in a very numb world.

Well done op. I've finally heard it all

OP, change your GP

I'm sorry but you are being ridiculous. This is like saying why don't we take painkillers, antibiotics , blood pressure tablets etc all the time in case we get pain, an infection, cancer, high blood pressure...

Medicine doesn't work like that!

I've been on antidepressants twice. Both be times, I really needed them. The first time, I lost my ability to orgasm. The second time, I became anxious, couldn't sleep and developed a tremor.

I do everything I can to avoid getting depressed enough to need them again, because it was horrible.

WTF? I'm not in any way depressed, so why on earth would I 'try' antidepressants?

I'm not diabetic either: should I give insulin a go?

Very bizarre post.

Why would you assume everyone needs a 'mood lifter'.
I'm perfectly happy without the need for chemical intervention.

It sounds like you did not made a fully informed decision before you started taking them - not entirely your fault (your GP sounds strange), but I suggest you do some reading.

I had therapy instead and also overhauled my diet so in turn lost a fuck load of weight.

Again (like the poster who said they'd rather go for a run)...you can have therapy AND ADs. It's good that therapy helped you, but some people also need ADs as well.

Sertraline drove me to the point of considering throwing myself off a bridge because my children and husband would be better off without me (yes, actually seriously contemplated it, but I was in an unfamiliar city and couldn't have made my way there).

Another anti-D (I can't remember the name) made me completely numb, to the point where I couldn't even cry at the most heart breaking film. I only realised after an especially trying day and I just sat feeling utterly hopeless but couldn't even release those emotions in tears.

Your post is OP, I can't understand why people who don't have depression (and indeed, some with it) would want to take antidepressants......

And in reply to your update, they're not a cure all, not by a long shot. My GP is fairly reluctant to prescribe them and advocates for a good diet, exercise etc etc. I imagine that some GPs are happy to simply write a prescription, but not all of them, that's my opinion from seeing many GPs over the years, including the ones who have told me that my chronic long-term condition could be resolved by 'weight loss and exercise'

Personally I wouldn't be interested in a fake mood lifter if I didn't need one. I prefer my happiness to come from within.

People taking medication they do not need is silly. It is great if they work for you, but that does not mean everyone should get 'happy pills'.

If I'm down a bag of skittles lift my mood, so everyone should just stop with the anti-depressants and have some skittles instead the colours even make them look happy. If you get side effects from the skittles you can stop taking them.

What? Why would I take anti depressants when I'm not, y'know, depressed?