Views on anti depressants? Do they do more harm than good.

[princessAlo]

Hi all. I have been on anti depressants since I was around 25. Now 30. I stopped taking them for a wile a few months ago.

I have tried so many different ones and some leave me really sick/ shaky. It's the shakiness I notice the worst. Also can never ever sleep good on them.
I do have mild essential tremor and notice sometimes when I take anti depressents it makes it so so much worse? I tried to take sertraline again this past 2 weeks and notice the shake getting worse again. Almost feel like I might just try and not take anti depressants they sometimes get me more down because of the shakes and no sleep. Any advice?? Sometimes think this is a tablet that just does not agree with my body

Who prescribed them for you and can you go back and talk to them? It can take time to get medication right.

Are you seeing a counsellor to talk about your feelings too? That is helpful for a lot of people either instead of or as well as meds.

I'm starting a counsellor next week it definitly will be good especially in January I've felt 10 times worse ! Just a depressing month also but I suffer a lot with mental health

It was my doctor that prescribed them x

You have to weigh up the pros and cons and work out if the side effects are worth it.

That said, I would go back to your doctor if you are suffering with side effects and ask them first of all if this is something which will reduce once you get used to the dosage, sometimes they do.

If that is unlikely then you could ask about alternatives, a lower dose, or whether anything can help counteract the side effects.

I think it's too broad to ask if they do more harm than good - they do a lot of good for some people, and they might not be worth it for others. It just depends on your personal experience and situation.

I hope the counselling is helpful

Since you are finding it worse in winter, have you tried vitamin D supplements and a light box BTW?

Do you know what the cause of your depression is? If so, are you able to do anything about it? If you don't know, is it something you feel able to investigate? Have you learnt any techniques to help you cope/deal with the depression? I found a combination of counselling and medication worked.

I'm actually not sure tbh I haven't really felt right since me and my daughters dad broke up when she was 8 months old. Think it will like forever haunt me.

What medication are you on? Thanks x

I no longer need any medication. Over the years though, I was on most of the most common ones. Started off on Prozac in the mid 90s and ended up on Venlafaxine by the 2010s.

Try not to be too hard on yourself. Explore the haunted feelings in counselling. My advice would be to be brutally honest and don't hold anything back - even if you think it sounds stupid or embarrassing. Getting things out into the open means you can examine why they are having an effect on you. It can be empowering and liberating, but it is hard and raw. The benefits are worth it though.

I'm going to assume you are still young. You have your whole life ahead of you. You and your daughter deserve a happy life together, try and hold on to that. You can do this.

I was on Setraline last year, went through a very difficult period and then my Dsis killed herself out of the blue. I had never felt so bad in my life and rang the GP in tears.

I took a low dose for a month but then had it out up a bit. I then started to disassociate and with my job I couldn't just keep zoning out all the time. So I asked the GP to ween me off them and I've been fine.

I also had very bad nausea at first. That was hard.