Is there any point to antidepressants?

[ItsGalindaWithaGah]

I’ve been feeling absolutely awful, crying all the time, panic attacks, etc.
Although there have been other difficulties, the main issue is work and things going on there.
I spoke to the doctor who has signposted me to counselling (although there’s a long waiting list) and wanted to prescribe antidepressants. I said okay but haven’t picked them up from the pharmacy. I feel like while I’m still at work, antidepressants won’t have any impact, because I’ll still be in the situation that’s causing me to feel like this.
Time off work or leaving would be the ideal situation but unfortunately this definitely cannot happen.

Will antidepressants have any impact even though everything is so awful at work? I just don’t want to feel like this anymore.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way you've nothing to lose by trying. They helped me a little, nowhere near as much as leaving my crappy job and toxic colleagues or meeting my counsellor who is legitimately the most stable relationship in my life but they did help a little.

Think of antidepressants as temporary painkillers. If your feelings are 'situational', then you want to address those real-world conditions. And everyone stands to benefit from therapy, to examine yourself for faulty thinking styles and help build coping mechanisms. But if you're in a lot of mental pain, 6-12 months on antidepressants can often help tide you over while you address the root causes (if you can).

I initially resisted ADs, but I’m glad I was persuaded- I feel like me again. There’s absolutely no shame in taking them- you’d have treatment for other illnesses, why not protect your mental health in the same way?

Surely they’re worth a try?
Might really help you, might not. Only one way to find out.
I should add that if they don’t help they just might be the wrong ones for you.

I was in a similar mental state. I was signed off for 2 weeks and then managed to get myself moved to a different department. Depression and anxiety scores went from 14 and 8 to 1 and 3 respectively.

Think of antidepressants as temporary painkillers.
That seems to me like taking codeine so you can keep running with a broken bone in your foot.

They've been a lifesaver for me.

I have complex PTSD which causes both depression and anxiety. I tried without for years but in the end caved in and my life has been immeasurably better with them.
Far less tearful, better able to cope with a very stressful job and much less anxiety. I feel like I'm living now not just getting through the day.
If your job is awful feeling tearful and swings of emotion really don't help.

Think of antidepressants as temporary painkillers.
That seems to me like taking codeine so you can keep running with a broken bone in your foot.

It seems to me like taking codeine while you figure out how to stop running and get your broken foot seen to. It's lovely if you can immediately stop the factors that are causing you pain, but life's not always that simple.

Life saver for me
Kicked myself for not trying them years earlier
.....

I've had a shitter of a year - caring for a very sick parent, toddler undergoing a complex diagnosis, lockdown, stressful work issues etc - I've found that ADs have helped give me the resilience and mechanisms to cope.

@nearlynermal

*Think of antidepressants as temporary painkillers. That seems to me like taking codeine so you can keep running with a broken bone in your foot.*

It seems to me like taking codeine while you figure out how to stop running and get your broken foot seen to. It's lovely if you can immediately stop the factors that are causing you pain, but life's not always that simple.

It seems to me like taking codeine while you figure out how to stop running and get your broken foot seen to. It's lovely if you can immediately stop the factors that are causing you pain, but life's not always that simple. I agree if you can truly do nothing to change the harmful situation. When I was on them previously they just numbed me enough that I didn't realise until later when the damage had been done that I should've changed something much sooner.

They don’t numb me- quite the opposite- depression numbed me.

I was on venlafaxine and it made me feel nothing, no positive emotion either, I quit when I couldn't take it anymore.

Also, my GP told me that taking anti-anxiety medication for about six months can help kick the serotonin back into proper working order on a permanent basis.

Is work the problem or are you using work as an excuse ?
I ask that because my DH gave up a very stressful job that was apparently causing his anxiety, then found out it wasn’t the job. Leaving work helped him tremendously, but his anxieties transferred into other things. The fact is that he has anxiety and it will come out somewhere.
Antidepressants were a lifesaver for him so yes, try them, but you need to commit to taking them for about 6 months before you say whether they work for you or not.

I had a breakdown in the summer and considered the anti depressants (but am in therapy as well). My psychiatrist refused to prescribe them as she said they only mask the symptoms and don't solve the problems. So if you have the specific thing that causes your problems you need either address that thing or learn to deal with the problems. However, anti-depressants may help you to start the therapy.

Best thing I ever did. I waited years and resisted as thought it meant I was a failure. What a waste.

Never been happier since I started them. Literal lifesaver.

Saved my life , helped to lift horrendous depression that had resulted from situational anxiety and stress. I should behave taken them sooner as things became so bad and the effects on my kids and dh were awful. I had no previous history but at time since then it can rear it's head and if I feel I can't get on top of it I head straight to gp and go back on them. I would happily take them for life to stop me ever going back to where I was. My hesitancy was stupid and based on stigma and other people's opinions. It is absolutely no different to taking meds for other medical conditions

In my experience, antidepressants can give you a bit of breathing room to make the changes in your life necessary to be happier. Often when a situation gets you down it can be hard the dig your way out.

Most people I know who go on anti depressants wish they had done it earlier.

Just from reading your post - you must be feeling awful, and life must feel incredibly hard if youre having panic attacks etc all the time. I dont think you have anything to loose by trying medication and seeing if things improve.

As PP said - they may give you the headspace to make bigger improvements in your life, just by taking the edge off.

I've been in your position.

Take the anti depressants and take a week off sick with "gastric flu" or similar. During that week, have a rest, start the ADs and look for other jobs! Dishonest? Yes, but what is more important is your health and if they are making things so bad for you that you're in this position, you'd have nothing to feel bad about.

Anti depressants will help you get through a short term bad situation but as you already know in the long run you'll need to find a new job. Good luck!

Some great suggestions on here, especially the comment above mine.

Anti-depressants work for a LOT of people, myself included. I have bouts of anxiety and depression and they help me feel balanced. I love therapy too, but echoing what others have said, when things get really hard they take the edge off and give me a much needed crutch to sort my shit out.

@kowari

I was on venlafaxine and it made me feel nothing, no positive emotion either, I quit when I couldn't take it anymore.

Are you in the US? You'd be pretty unlikely to be prescribed an SNRI as a first port of call in the UK - much more common would be an SSRI like sertraline or citalopram. They don't numb you.

My DH was in the same situation. For him, he said the fact work had made him so ill he needed medication was the catalyst he needed to quit. But of course not everyone can just quit like that (especially not in these times). In which case I would echo other posters and use the ADs to manage the symptoms while you address the root causes.

Sertraline was fantastic for me. No numbness, just a sense of perspective and hope.
I sometimes wonder if therapists who disapprove of ADs have an agenda..