Can your own mind stop ADs from working?

[Psion]

Just pondering a bit. For the last 2 months I have woken every morning feeling so crap, anxious and with feelings of dread and gloom. I know it is a classic symptom of depression for it to be at its worst in the mornings.

I have reached the point where I dread going to bed because I know how crap I'm going to feel when I wake

So, have I somehow managed to train my mind to automatically feel like this every morning, to such an extent that my mind is managing to over power the Trazadone and Quetiapine I am on? Can the power of the mind be that strong?

Probably a stupid question I know, but I feel like my brain's default setting is now to feel totally shitty when I wake, and that this default setting is maybe too strong for ADs to 'cure'.

I also have an incredibly hard head for alcohol, and I'm talking hard liquor not just wine. It's very hard for me to get properly drunk, it's like my brain won't give up that final bit of control. Not sure if this might be playing a part for my Trazadone and Quetiapine taking such a long time to work?

I do know I was warned that I would most likely feel very sedated and sleepy on these meds. Noticed zero sedation on Trazadone, but did feel very drowsy the first day I took Quetiapine, but that only lasted one day.

Since then, I have been aware of a very slight sleepiness during the day, but that's all. Yet have read loads of reviews from people saying they were sleeping 18 hours a day, on smaller doses than I'm on!

Hi Psion. I doubt your mind could over power the AD etc. Are you drinking alcohol now?

Hello dangermouse, thanks for replying.

I don't really drink to be honest, and haven't had a drink probably since about Valentine's Day.

I wonder exactly the same as you, I have also never tried therapy because I know my mind is too strong stubborn to allow the therapy to work.

BUT surely if are minds are that 'strong' why can't it be strong enough to zap depression away? If my mind is stronger than therapy and AD's surely it would be powerful enough to keep happy

Of course your mind can over power drugs!

It's called the nocebo effect.

Placebo is where your mind thinks something will help - so it does. And nocebo is the opposite - your mind thinks something won't help, so it doesn't.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo

I think ADS work best with a positive and open attitude and in combination with other things that help lift mood (exercise, CBT or whatever)

chalkhearts ah I was only talking from my own experience. When I had PND with DS2 I was convinced that AD's would have no effect on me at all, they were not what I needed- I kept this argument up for nearly 6 months. Despite this…when I finally had my arm completely twisted by services and took the darn things they worked so well my husband said he'd divorce me if I stopped taking them. So…mindset CAN prevent them working as you said….or sometimes it can't and they work despite negative attitude. Psychiatric drugs are a bit of an enigma as to how they work anyway…

Well done for not drinking, mind, Psion. I agree that some people react differently to things that are meant to sedate (thinking about lorazepam doing v little). Maybe you're just not on the right dose yet? Also, I think if you dread a certain time of day then it is difficult to get out of that particular rut. Mine is evenings. It was only the other day I realised, after I'd been asked about worse times of day, that actually evenings weren't that bad any longer (still probably the worst time). But that has taken about 4/5 months and was a gradual process.

I agree with duchess about AD's working best with exercise etc though…but then you have to be ok enough to actually do that.

Thanks dangermouseisace.

ADs worked fine for me years ago when I had PND too. They didn't make me happy, but they made the anxiety and irrational thoughts go away.

But this time they just don't seem to be doing anything at all, even with adding in Quetiapine. I'm getting really anxious that even upping the dose isn't going to make any difference, and so I get on that downward spiral of panic and anxiety. I am starting to believe that ADs just aren't going to work this time, and I'm going to be forced to live in misery like this until I finally crack and do something stupid.

Already dreading tomorrow morning, waking up feeling so low that it's like I'm dying

I had horrific mornings on antidepressants. I was desperate for them to work.
Lots of people don't respond well to certain medications. It's not you, it's very likely the meds combined with morning anxiety which is awful. I hope you find relief soon.

Have you tried other types of antidepressants? Any SSRIs?

I don't believe you need a particular approach for ADs to work. Obviously, depression makes people think very negatively and of course they'd "think positive" if they could! The right ADs can lift someone out of the dreadful negative thoughts and feelings.