To wonder if people are too reliant upon anti-depressants??

[imaynotbeperfectbutimokmummy]

Bit of an inflammatory title, but someone said something to me on another thread (unrelated) and it has made me think. I am on ADs, i genuinely think i do need them, i take them for anxiety. However i have been on them for too long, want to come off but still struggling with anxiety and starting to think that they might not have been such a good idea.

Thing is: I got the ADs really easily, didn't really have to do much more than ask, doctor offered, at first i said no, then i decided to take them.

Really the thread title should be "are ADs over presribed" because i found it very easy to get a prescription for the drugs, but boy did i have to stamp my feet and pretty much beg for counselling.

Ads can be life savers but in then long term you need to sort out:

your diet
your sleep
your relationships
Your exercise
Do something with your days worthwhile
having something to look forward to
get rid of people from your life who are making you depressed
talk to your friends/family
get decent counselling
don't do things that reduce your respect for your self
have less drugs or alcohol
relax in a healthy way
don't spent to long on the internet
find things to look forward to
dwell on the good things in life and not the bad
remember the past is finished and cant be changed

and remember that all of the above are up to you to sort out and that you can, and that ADs may help you do that.

ADs are completely over relied upon by people and the medical profession.

But you can do all of that Cloud and I ave done if not all, most but still need anti depressants. I suspect I will be on medication for the rest of my life.

oh I agree flatcap that some will most definately need medication, I have on a few occasions but GPs do often turn straight to drugs.

But I have definately managed to avert yet another period of depression by doing all of the above. And if one of the things is missing then i tend to get worse.

But like all illnesses medication is sometimes the only way.

But so many GPs go straight to the meds.

As do consultants.

I once was perscribed lithium because I said I was feeling low, I even stated that I wasnt sure I was depressed as at that point I never had been but because of a one off manic episode 8 years previously (in which I was sectionned) the consultant said I should go on long term drugs

Instead I looked up different ways to make myself well (as after a year on anti-pychotics all those years ago I was petrified of meds).

I did need ADs to stop PND and once following a bad period but otherwise I have managed to avert.

are doctors best placed to diagnose 'depression'?

my ex has been on them for years and years......got away with all the usual crap behaviour,and each time his dose was upped,and i was told 'he's got depression,thats why he's being such a bully to live with'.....

5 years after our split and he tries for access. after 10 suicide attempts,being sectioned 3 times and having numerous anti d's,he has a psychiatric assessment,made available to the courts so i could also read it. psychiatrist says 'no depression,never has had any depressive traits'???

so all these years,doctors just saying its depression,and this must be 5 or 6 different doctors as he moved around and also had armed forces doctors. and they were wrong?

IMO sometimes people can be too quick to say depression is all chemical and thats that and a pill will fix it all. This is not true all the time.

I have a history of self harm and have had to really battle not to go on ADs - despite the people treating me not seeing any need for them for me. My GP and people that treated myself harm were desperate for me to go on ADs.

Also not all long term sad feelings are depression. This is personal to me though and obviously for some people with mental health problems medication is the best way for them to live a good happy life.

I told my GP I was having problems with my marriage and was thinking of leaving (was advised to keep GP in the loop by my counsellor). She immediately reached for her prescription pad and asked if I wanted anti-ds. I was quite shocked, and had a vison of all these Stepford Wives, staying in their marriages because they were medicated into passivity instead of feeling the sadness/anger and taking action.

I'm sure that's unfair, and maybe some people would benefit from anti-d's in that situation to get the strength to leave. But I still wasn't very comfortable with it.

I think the GP was just in problem-solving mode. Writing a prescription was something she could do. But I needed to feel the anger and sadness, which are not the same things as depression.

I found ADs allowed me to get into a condition where I could begin to address the other things that CloudDragon mentioned. They didn't solve my problems, but helped me to do it myself.

I've had depression & anxiety problems for more years than I care to remember (and actually can't remember some of those years because I was that ill) but have learned some strategies that work for me to overcome it. During my last breakdown I managed without any meds at all (and neither the GP nor the psychs suggested them) but was an inpatient at a clinic. This gave me the space I needed to get well. IMHO people need treatment that's tailored to their needs & medical history, but I can understand that on the NHS that doesn't always happen.

I'm a mental health social worker and have also been on antidepressants twice in the past.

I think they are very useful for many people with clinical depression for short(ish) periods of time.I personally think that people become depressed for good reason and that therapy or counselling should be offered instead of, or in conjunction with, anti depressants

I often sit in clinical team meetings at work trying to argue that we shouldn't be treating people experiencing normal human reactions to stress, bereavement, loss etc with anti depressants. Its normal to feel sad, distressed, angry etc and I think its damaging to subdue these emotions with medication. I'd rather try and support people to manage such emotions and draw on their own resources.

My own experience of anti depressants was very varied. The first time I felt bizarrely detached from my emotions but the second time they were incredibly helpful.

Well DW went to the GP with bloating and general feeling of unwellness in her bowels. The GP said oh I think you may have IBS, would you like Prozac? She was really shocked and said no. The GP then looked shocked and said 'oh most people like the idea and don't react like that'.

It was almost as if it was being given out as a sort of 'cure all'. I had Prozac prescribed once for a bladder condition that had nothing to do with my mind or depression. As I later found, it was a physical conditon. Made me feel totally weird - like I was stood beside my own body watching myself talk.

Not sure if that means it is prescribed too easily but seems to be prescribed for physical as well as mental health issues, which I find worrying.

My mother was given ADs when I was 9, I am now 38 and she is still on them.

I have been offered them myself by my GP once when I was having noes bleeds he said were stress, turns out IO was allergic to the MDF board I was working with at the time over prescribed big time to people who really don't need them till they are addicted to them.

Maybe they are being over-prescribed, it is the easiest option for the doctor to do rather than consider therapy or anything else that could help.

I know that mine stopped me from tipping over into that dark hole that was swallowing up my life.

Cloud dragon, posted "don't spend too much time on the internet"

Does anybody think this contributes to depression? Just wondered.

I have chronic fatigue syndrome so I often spend a lot of time on the net. I just wondered if this was making it worse.

I think someone like me Dittany will be on medication for the rest of my life. I spent a few years trying to kid myself that I could cope without them but each time has ended in a huge meltdown. I have had the counselling and hospital admissions which has probably enabled me to stay off a heavier medication or a higher dose.

I don't know about the Internet as such but I need to keep active. I don't rely on just my medication to keep me well I have to look after myself. That for me means having support at home, doing some form of exercise everyday, ensuring I leave the house every day and eating well. Often when I am sinking I can give myself a boost by going walking.