I started on lexapro which helped w acute depressive episodes and allowed me to do things that would actually make me happy (seeing friends, keeping my life in order etc). I have increased dose/changed meds a couple of times now, and I feel like things get better for a while but then a low to medium-grade depression kinda returns (to be fixed by dose increases or med changes again). Bc of this, I’m interested in making a sustained effort for a year to make good habits etc etc (+ psychology) which will help me be more resilient in myself, and then to come off them. Extremely helpful and necessary for me when I needed them 💓
Feb 15, 2024
Related Recs
😃
- lexapro: first one ever, made me feel very flat and actually more depressed
- wellbutrin: made me manic and possibly activated my bipolar disorder
- prozac: sweaty and agitated
- zoloft: sweaty and agitated
- lithium: sleepy
- seroquel: sleepy
- buspar: didn’t work
- lamotrigine: horrific
- abilify: combined with zoloft + caffeine it felt like I took molly or ecstasy this was actually fun
for me personally the best antidepressant was realizing I was using drugs and alcohol to cope, stopped smoking weed all the time, find a good match for a therapist, ate healthier, got a job that was fulfilling, get off social media, exercise, find a supportive partner (it’s all easier said than done but this truly does help)
Feb 15, 2024
💊
been on it for 11 years.....have tried to come off it before but it's not possible for me and i've accepted that that is ok! SSRIs can be life saving drugs so definitly worth considering. they mostly kind of....put blinders on your emotions. like blunt the high highs and the low lows. so your spectrum of feeling might feel shortened..... which is hard. but in some cases is crucial for living life. i would not be who i am without the help of ssris
Feb 14, 2024
💊
When I left mine after 6 months of much needed help with situational depression leaving an abusive marriage, I researched other efficacious methods.
Meditation is as effective as SSRI's treating depression as it likely has a similar hormonal balancing effect. Therapy, talking with family/friends, talk therapy are all similarly efficacious treating depression as it seems we benefit simply from knowing someone cares. Please, I beg you, hang out together IRL and create friends and lovers judiciously and preciously (quality over quantity). Sleep deprivation is possibly the number one treatable cause of depression. Exercise and hydration will help with sleep hygiene and also have a hormonal balancing effect that lifts depression. Microdosing ketamine and psilocybin has been shown to be more effective than SSRI's with less side effects. Finally, many studies indicate a full dose of either can CURE depression. Research, find a druggie buddy (if you're not one) who can shepherd you with dosing and hold your hand during the trip if you're a novice and make sure you don't end up replacing the SSRI's with another drug crutch that you may seek to leave later.
P.S. Many SSRI users will benefit from lifelong use. No shame in that at all.
Jun 12, 2024
Top Recs from @siddhartha
So sweet to send them to thank them for your shared experience, and I’d much rather look at one of these than ten pics from that day
Jan 23, 2024
🧃
go to events even if u think they’ll be iffy - better to have some memories of living life than none, go to library, go sit on the nearest grass
also u can’t expect good arts and culture if u don’t support the bad/amateur stuff as well 🦀
Jan 30, 2024
🧠
Eg in shower, on walks, during commute, making dinner, to go to sleep, getting dressed. be able to do all these comfortably in silence. then u can try phase them back in in a way where they actually contribute something and ur not just listening for the sake of it
Jan 29, 2024