So the latest research indicates that Prozac and similar anti-depressants are little better than placebos.
I am one of the millions who take anti-depressants - in my case, Seroxat (another SSRI like prozac). I've been a 'user' now for a long time.
I'd always been a worrier but over a number of years I became obsessively anxious. Something - usually tiny - would set me off and I'd be unable to concentrate for long on anything except the fear and anxiety I felt. It reached the point at which I was constantly down, miserable with my family and with myself.
I'd seen doctors at various times about this problem and finally one realised the effect that my anxiety was having on me and my family and she prescribed Seroxat. It took a little while for me to get settled with it but since then I haven't looked back. My life was given back to me.
Depression - in my case a by-product of anxiety - is hard to understand if you've never suffered it. 'What have you got to be miserable about?'
Nothing, but that doesn't alter the fact that misery had become my middle name. No, that's not right: it's not misery. It's something else. It's depression. It's not being miserable. It's not something you can control. It's not something you do for fun or attention.
I've tried counselling. The doctor sent me to an NHS counsellor. She gave me a relaxation tape saying that if I practised it, I could learn to relax whenever I felt panicky. I don't think I ever got to the end of the tape: I fell asleep usually about three-quarters of the way through. Relaxing my body has never been my problem! The counsellor gave up on me fairly quickly.
I went privately for arts therapy. Although I learned to understand myself and motivations a bit better, I can't honestly say that it helped to control my anxiety.
And I've been prayed for. Numerous times.
Christians aren't supposed to get depressed. We have the peace of God. If you don't have it we'll pray for you. Being a depressed Christian is bad enough; being a depressed Christian for whom prayer doesn't work is unadmittable. And guilt-inflicting. 'I must be such a bad Christian.'
As the years have gone by it's become okay to admit it but even now, in certain churches, taking pills to deal with depression would be frowned upon. Because it's not a real illness - like any other that would be treated with medication. It's all in the mind. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, get more exercise, join a club, keep busy. Don't consider for one moment that your depression might actually be a result of a chemical imbalance that needs righting.
In the article in the paper, users are being advised not to stop taking their prescribed medication suddenly because of the report. You don't have to worry about me: I have no intention of stopping taking my happy pills. In fact I'll fight anyone who tries to take them off me!
xx
6 comments:
It's good that you feel happy about yourself, you are doing the right thing for you :-)I have day to day contact with people who have the same anxieties and thoughts xxx
All I can say is that some anti-depressants are life savers for many people. Thank God there is help to be had for so many. I don't know that much about them, but I was on one for a month or so after my husband and mother died in a short time. It all hit me at once, and I was feeling blue. I think they made me feel better, but I honestly couldn't be sure. That was my only experience with anti-depressants. I know many people look down on them, but honestly Liz...can you imagine the consequences if some people didn't have them available to them?
My son takes Serotonin daily. Without it he would no longer be in this world. He came off for a while (changed psychiatrist!) and the difference was marked when they hurriedly restored the medication. Chemical imbalances need control. As you said -it's not all in the mind!
Depression may be good for you. See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7268496.stm
You must have seen my post on "Mental Illness and Recovery." One thing I forgot to include was that I, too, take a low dose of an anti-anxiety medication (Effexor) and it gave me my life back. I feel normal and am therefore more able to help my daughter as she struggles with a more serious MI - bipolar. And it may be in the "head" but it's a ,physical condition! And all physical health problems need intervention, be it bronchitis, diabetes, heart disease, or a form of depression.
Frankly I find that study to be quite suspect. Of course it's not all in the head and those who tell one to buck up are lucky to not have been afflicted with depression else they would be more understanding.
Christians aren't supposed to get depressed
I don't remember that in the bible. They suffer from all the physical ailments that everyone else gets.
No doubt counselling or real psychiatric treatment helps some things but depression is not one of them. We may not always know the exact mechanisms of depression, but these drugs do help many people function fully in their daily lives, so do what it takes, irregardless of what this study says.
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