Should I go on antidepressants or just 'suck it up'?

Hi,
I have been on antidepressants on and off for four years. I was near suicide. I was also abusing drugs/alcohol. I don't drink or do drugs anymore. I have had good experiences but also bad experiences with antidepressants.

Four years ago, I had the strange urge to shave my head on Paxil and I later found out that was a symptopm of the drug. I've been on prozac but it did nothing. My last experience was with Effexor and I took too many pills in order to gain a very artificial sence of happiness. They made me so happy that at times when I was alone I would just cry tears of sheer joy for no reason. It was an artificial happines, I guess.

Started taking a new one almost a year ago but I stopped because it made no difference. Some have kept me up at night and made me overtly outgoing.

I am going through a depression. If I see a doctor I can get him to prescribe some to me. Should I try to 'tough' it out or take medicine? I've been 'depressed' for MONTHS. Im also VERY shy.

I'm really against doctors who simply prescribe drugs to treat depression because not only do these "medications" give you a sense of artificial happiness, like you've experienced, but can also do a great deal of harm in many other ways because they all have side effects. Please, have you thought about talking to someone regarding the "root" of your depression?

Being shy is difficult, I know, but a professional psychologist may be able to help you get out of this roller coaster of depression and false sense of happiness induced by medications. To understand WHY you're so depressed may be the answer to your problem. Maybe you've kept too much to yourself, your inner feelings, because of your shyness; and you're probably feeling very much alone. But I'm thinking perhaps that's the very reason why you're depressed.

You're doing so well already because you don't drink or do drugs anymore. You should be very proud of yourself! To "tough" it out, you won't necessarily have to do it alone. Try talkiing about it with someone, don't keep it to yourself.

I wish you the very best...really.

You need to find a good psychiatrist that will work with you to find the antidepressive that works well for you. There are numerous new drugs for this out on the market since the ones you mentioned came out. I have dealt with depression off & on for many years & have been on a maintenance dose of an antidepressant forseveral years now. I find that as long as I stay on the drug I don't have wild mood swings or have crushing depression that stays with me for long periods of time...it keeps me on a fairly even keel. I do get down at times, but nothing like I used to & I get out of the dumps, usually within just a few days. Antidepressants aren't meant to make you "happy", just put you in a state of mind that resembles "normal"...& btw, only you (maybe with help from the antidepressants) can make yourself happy...no one else can do it for you. So as one who's been there, I wish you the best of luck, as I know it is VERY hard to get through.

I would work on your shyness and insecurity. The quick fix you are looking for is too temporary!
I'm no expert but there are plenty of sites on the Internet for help/information.

Don't make yourself suffer in dispair honey. Go see the doctor if you have been depressed for the last two months. Don't be shy around the doctor otherwise he cannot help you with your depression. Just get up and call the doctor so that he may be able to get you on a regimen of anti-depressents and therapy.

I have been on antidepressants in varying doses and varying ones for the past 4 years now. I am finally getting sorted and that is only because I am under a psychiatrist who has changed all my medication and put me into therapy. The new tablets along with the day care therapy are doing there job. Antidepressants certainly help, when you find the right one for you, but on their own I didn't make a lot of progress.

The tablets stopped me from being so down that I cried all the time and helped with my extremem mood swings, but they didn't help me with my confidence, low self-esteem and my shyness. That is what you should have the therapy for. I would advise it to anyone, it has made a lot of difference and I believe that if I would have had it in my last bout of severe depression I may well not be in my second severe depressive episode now.

Speak to your Doctor and get him to refer you to a psychiatrist ASAP. If it is on NHS then ask if there is a counsellor you could see in the meantime, just to talk through some of your feelings (get stuff off your chest type of thing). But if you have private healthcare, then I would ask to be referred to The Priory if there is one near enough to you. The Therapy there is THE BEST!!!!

Good Luck and PLEASE don't stop taking your medication. If you don't think it is working then speak to your doctor and get it changed.

If you want anyone to converse with (and I know this is difficult when you are shy) you can always drop me an email - it is so much easier to get your feelings down on an email without speaking to anyone face to face.

Take care of yourself, you will get there. Good luck.

i think that you should consult a psychiatrist and go for depression management therapy

Sucking it up can be impossible if you have a chemical imbalance of the brain which many of us do. Definetly speak with your Doctor...Never, Never take more than prescribed, that's your addictive behaviour. I gave up several x's after trying different meds. Then I started talking openly to my family doctor.. after all these years fighting with depression and sucidal thoughts discovered I was Bi-polar, took two tries with meds and I'm stable now. There are medications out there that will help but taking care of the physical, emotional, mental and SPIRITUAL part you must assist with. Good Luck!

Talk to a doctor that is understanding and follow what s/he says. You probably know that these drugs can take 3-4 weeks before they start making a difference. Taking a drug for less than that before deciding that it is time to be off is not fair unless there are significant side effects. If it is a longer term situation, have them find out WHY you are depressed and deal with that too. Is it because of diet, stress, workload, lifestyle or is it a hormonal problem. Get to the bottom of that and this will make a difference for you.