Can antidepressants make you happy or just function?

[Ilovemycatalot]

just wondering if anyone can share there experiences. I have been on fluoxetine for 2 months now. I do feel better in the sense I can get out of bed, function, do housework and actually leave the house ( although still get anxious to some degree)
Its all positive but I still feel this overwhelming sadness like the tablets have given me the ability to function but I’m still masking my sadness if this makes sense.
So I guess I’m wondering do you ever get to a point of actual happiness on antidepressants or is more of a functional thing?
I’m on 20mg so not sure if dose is to low? Just want to remember what it feels like to actually wake up one morning feeling happy it’s been so long since I’ve felt like that.

Are you looking into getting some therapy too? It could make all the difference.

20mg is a low dose OP. I was on 60mg. My therapist said I was “away with the fairies”and my partner said I was a zombie. I felt happy on it but came off it because of those comments.

They hide what the real issue is. You really need to get to the root of your depression by finding a good counsellor, Therapist or hypnotherapy consultant. Quite often the problem comes from a box we've locked deep within us and finding it can help that cloud lift.
I really hope you find the help you need to wake up feeling like the real you that you deserve to be. I truly believe that drugs only mask a problem, rarely fix it.

Yes I’m on the waiting list for therapy but I’ve only just gone on the list so know I’m in for a wait.
I was thinking maybe the dose is to low will try and get a doctor appointment to see if they will increase it. Just hoping to feel a bit more than just functioning but didn’t know if I was expecting to much.

@Potter10 Definitely agree about getting to the real issue wish I could afford private instead of having to wait for NHS .

I was on different ones to you (Citalopram initially and later, Sertraline) but neither of them made me feel happy. They made me feel sort of flat or level- so I didn’t experience the crashing lows but also didn’t find real joy in anything. That state of being enabled me to function and was what I needed at the time. I am not on them now but overall saw them as a positive thing for me and would use them again if I needed to.

As a broader comment- I think as humans in the 21st Century, we are conditioned to want and expect happiness- but I think a more realistic way of living is to recognise that happiness is usually a short, transient feeling (just like all the other feelings!). Feeling happy all the time or even most of the time probably isn’t realistic for most people. Contentment and/or stability have become more realistic aims for me.

I'm on citalopram and they haven't taken away sadness but they have helped me be able to get on with my day despite it. Tbh they saved my life.

I found they got me to function and I'd have had no career without them
However, depending on what the sadness is, I'm not convinced they can help with that.

@Waitingfordoggo "Contentment and/or stability have become more realistic aims for me"

I think a lot of people say "happiness" but mean "contentment".

I think my anxiety lessened as a result, which in turn made room in my life for more joy and happiness.

Unless I have a particular reason to be sad or upset, I feel good most of the time, and happy quite a lot.

Citalopram has been utterly utterly life changing for me.
I had talking therapy for Africa and it did nothing until my biochemistry was fixed. I am so so grateful!

My ds, 18, was on escitalopram 20mg for 4 months and is now switching to sertraline.

He has intrusive thoughts ocd which started when he was 15 and became progressively unmanageable - to the point where he was self harming, having huge panic attacks, and lost so much weight he was referred to an ED unit.

Since starting AD he is a now a normal weight, sleeps for longer (he used to be up and about by 6.30am even in the holidays) whistles around the house and we can have a laugh with him.

He is nowhere near 'cured' and still has bad days/the intrusive thoughts are still there but less intense so compared with how he was, it's so much more manageable and life for all of us is more pleasant.

I hate him being on them, resisted it for ages and dread him maybe having the struggle to come off then one day, but he really had no other option as he had already had 4 lots of CBT therapy (which certainly helped and gave him strategies) but wasn't enough.

I don't think AD can make you happy, that's not their aim; they are there to enable you to function and engage with life in a more positive way which in turn allows others to support you and be positive around you - and therefore life becomes better. That's our experience anyway.

I've been on anti-depressants all my adult life and will be on them for the rest of my life (it's in my medical notes). I have never been happy, but I do at least find it bearable to be alive.

I’m on 50mg so do wonder if your dose needs increasing. I still do have worries in my mind but I’m nowhere near as bad dealing with things as I was then. They’ve given me some contentment and I find I can at least cope with day to day.

I think that depends who you ask. For me they make me function. But I have Bipolar and see my manic episodes as being truly content and happy times - albeit they are not. So for me being "normal" is functioning, and happiness always feels slightly out of reach.

That's not necessarily true. It depends whether you are depressed for a reason or just because you have a natural disposition to it.

Depression is sadly sometimes not 'caused' by anything. Those people need meds like any other illness. They aren't just 'avoiding' the truth.

Personally I think you should go on a bigger dose. I don't think you can say you are functioning if you are constantly feeling an underlying sadness. Functioning includes the ability to feel normal feelings both high and low in a proportionate way.

I've taken them many times. For me they are a life saver. When I'm on them I still get anxious/ sad / angry but within normal levels. Like I'll be a bit nervous about a presentation but not up ruminating about it for 3 days in advance. Or I'll be disappointed if a friend cancels a plan - but not convincing myself ' im a horrid person who deserved to be cancelled on'.

That's what they should feel like.

I don't think I agree that anti depressants hide the real issue.

They don't necessarily make you happy, they do make it possible to function and alleviate the low mood. Happiness can follow as a result of what you're able to do once anti depressants have done their bit.

I've been on sertraline for over 3 years. The way they work in my case is to stop my lows from getting quite so low. This helps me to function better and think clearer. I was able to attend counselling and properly engage with it. I have depression, anxiety and c-PTSD so I'm not sure I'll ever manage without medication because there's too much going on in my head but I'm just grateful to be able to live my life.

Oh I do hope you are feeling happier soon. At least the medication is enabling you to function. Many years ago I was on paroxetene - loads of concerns nowadays about making people feel suicidal - for me it was like sunshine in a pill. Made me feel great so it's horses for courses I suppose. You could try CBT a therapy I have found very helpful over the years.
I don't know if anything will make you happy though. For me being depressive is like being an alcoholic who doesn't drink. I know how to avoid the triggers that start a depressive episode and I haven't needed drugs or therapy for years. But it's a rare treat that I feel happy. Sorry.

Everyone is different and so is their response to every drug. Many years ago I took fluoxetine for about a year. I was depressed and anxious due to some horrible life events. The seroxat gave me a holiday from the awful thoughts and feelings, but on the other hand everything was just grey. Nothing really mattered at all. It was therapy with a very good NHS therapist, together with exercise and looking after my physical health, that enabled me to claw my way back to being myself again.
Don’t stop the seroxat suddenly, you can get really very ill.

You're not going to suddenly come up with happiness - that would be another drug: ecstasy.